Growth!

My Perpetually Shiny Sink

As of today I have completed the first 31 days (or babysteps) of Flylady, the famous home-improvement/self-improvement program that starts with a shiny sink. I am thoroughly hooked.

Maybe it's the sleep deprivation of being a new mom, or maybe it's because on my own I am such a hopeless procrastinator, but I love waking up every day with an email in my inbox telling me exactly what to do. It even reminds me to brush my hair and put my shoes on! That might make a more together woman feel like an idiot, but at the end of the day when the baby is asleep and I can look around at a tidy house with no laundry or dishes waiting for me, I feel a wave of peace, and I can go to sleep looking forward to the next day.

If it takes having a stranger instructing me when to vacuum my carpet or clean out my purse, then so be it. Flylady's wish is my command.

An Oasis in the Desert

Summer in the Mojave Desert gets old fast. I have to go out to get the mail at night because during the day the hot air stings my nose. The cats don't scratch at the door anymore because the cement floor of the balcony scorches their paws. And if I don't water my plants at night before bed it takes them all of one day to start curling up and drying out.

So to be able to get in the car and drive 30 minutes to a place that is a good 20 degrees cooler feels like a miracle! Mt. Charleston is a favorite destination for locals for that very reason, and I made it out there for the first time last week when the Stangers were in town.

Not only is it cooler, it's gorgeous and shady and smells like pine heaven! It made me feel like I was back in the Appalachians on vacation...and it's practically in our backyard! Just one more reason that I have fallen in love with Las Vegas.

I Write Like...

I heard about this website on the oh so high brow Kathie Lee & Hoda this morning and had to try it out. You copy and paste an excerpt of your writing (a blog entry, email etc.) and the website uses an algorithm to compare your style to that of famous authors and comes back with a match. It matched me with David Foster Wallace which was kind of a disappointment because, besides the circumstances of his unfortunate end (which received wall-to-wall coverage worthy of the passing of a president on NPR a couple of years ago), I am totally unfamiliar with him.

Anyway, click on the link to see which famous author the software thinks you write like.

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Remy News

• Remy turned two months old this week!
• He has grown about 3.5 lbs and nearly 5 inches and is now 2 feet tall!
• He loves to take baths in the big bath.
  
• He hooks his arm around me and holds on when I carry him which is sweet and helpful.
• He is a morning person.
• He likes looking at the people in my magazines, especially the pretty ladies in the cosmetics ads. He smiles and makes flirty faces at them!
  
• He has begun to notice the cats. He thinks their tails are quite interesting.
• He loves his daddy!
  
• His affection for ceiling fans is being eclipsed by his love for his teddy bear mobile.
• He is getting too tall for size 0-3 month onesies, but is too skinny for 0-3 month shorts.
  
• His smile takes my breath away.
  

What's Up

• Steph and co. are on their way for a nice long visit! I'm getting the guest room ready and counting down the minutes!
• I turned 32 this week. I don't mind the age, it's just the dang biological clock that freaks me out. I still want to have one more kid and I want to do it before I turn 35 but I can't start trying until I get my thyroid out and I can't get my thyroid out until I wean Remy, and that's not something they encourage you to rush...So I know I should chill, but EEEK!
• Ross got me a nook (Barnes & Noble's e-reader) for my birthday! Best husband ever!
• Remy's hair is growing back and it looks fabulous. Seriously I'm kind of obsessed with his hair and his eyelashes these days. I wish it was okay to put bows and ribbons on boys because he is just sooo pretty :P
  
• I'm totally annoyed at Southwest Medical, the company that pretty much monopolizes all medical care around here. It's been more than a week and I'm still waiting on a referral to a surgeon for my gallbladder and no one will freaking call me back.
• My gallbladder sucks and makes me cry. But that's what hydrocodone is for!
• Ross and I are going to a taping of Wheel of Fortune next week! Is it dorky that we live in the "Entertainment Capital of the World" and that's what I wanna see?
• Remy's two month appointment is also next week - two months, already? Slow down, little guy!
  

A Manly Man

(Photos from Fourth of July weekend.)

Followed by...

Reading...

Steph lent me her copy of Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (because it hasn't come out in paperback yet and I'm cheap like that :) i'm only half way into it so far but I think it's good, at least as good as Blue Like Jazz and maybe better. Here are some of the bits I copied into my journal:

I've wondered...if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of live is that we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgement. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants.

If the point of live is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation.

I admitted something other than me was showing a better way, and when I did this I realized the Voice, the Writer who was not me, was trying to make a better story, a more meaningful series of experiences I could live through.

...when you are a better character your story gets better.

Charming Little Man

Happy Time...

...but let's not get carried away.

6 Weeks

Remy turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday. He is such a smart, mellow, handsome little guy! He is excellent company. And we had a great week because Mommo was here, and she's great company too! She came out to help me after my scary gallbladder attack the week before. I haven't had any more severe attacks but I had some pretty sore days, and it was a load off to have someone to take care of Remy, food, driving, and the cleaning when I didn't feel up to it. Even better was just hanging out all day and enjoying Remy together. I think I will always remember this week not for the gallbladder drama but for the wonderful times with two of my favorite people.

Now she is back home, but the last two days I have felt significantly better and I think maybe the gallbladder is calming down. It's distracting and annoying to be dealing with this when I just want to focus on being a momma to Remy, but that's life. Tuesday I have an appointment with my new doctor (well, his PA actually) and I'll talk to him about what the anesthesiologist said, and my plan to try to postpone the surgery til 12 weeks postpartum. Of course, I'm counting on a refill of my pain medicine or the waiting plan will go out the window.

In developmental news, Remy has started smiling! Big, goofy, open-mouthed smiles. And sometimes he makes a primitive giggling noise that is just too cute. He is a total champ at holding his head up now and loves to sit on laps. He is also alarmingly interested in the TV. Fortunately he is equally interested in the windows and so I try to set him in his little seat facing the window for a little while every day.

He has gone from pooping about a bazillion times a day to going days between poops. This was really scary at first until I read that it is common with breast fed babies - something about the efficiency of the system and not producing a lot of waste. So hey, in that case, poop as little as you want, little guy! We'll save on the diapers!


I still leave his mittens on him every day because when I take them off he
invariably has a welt on his cheek within minutes. But I read in my baby book that he is supposed to start grabbing things soon so I may have to put the mittens away. I clipped the nails on his left had while he was sleeping but they still seemed kind of sharp to me. We'll just have to see how it goes.

July is coming up fast and it's going to be an awesome month! I'll turn 32, go to a live taping of Wheel of Fortune at the Venetian, and host the Stangers for a week during their big cross-country vacation. Bring on the awesome!