1. A few Saturdays ago I went out to a bar expecting to be joined by Jamaal's (and now my) friends. I was pleasantly surprised to be joined by my friends too. Jamaal had wanted to do something special for my birthday, and asked my friends to join us. He told me that everyone couldn't make it. But this wasn't quite true. Kayleen and Stevie did make it. It was a wonderful surprise, and I had a wonderful time. :D
2. I'm back to work now, and not exactly excited about it. The first day back was hard on me. But mostly because we are understaffed and overworked. Yesterday, my fifth day of work, was the first time I left on time. I got all of my charting done on time as well. I even had a pretty busy shift, and still got things done! I was pretty proud of myself. :D It is hard to get to the pump room, and really I should be going to pump more than just once a shift, but it is very hard to get off the floor. Last Saturday was awful. I stayed over for 2 hours, and cried mid shift when I felt overwhelmed and needed to go pump badly. I'm very happy with my decision to decrease to 50%. I have just a little bit over a week left at my current percentage.
3. I feel like working has made me more appreciative of my time with Mr. Riley. I don't pass him to his father as much for diaper changes (unless I have something to do like make dinner or do dishes). I cannot wait to decrease my hours, so I can spend even more time with the little booger.
4. Tomorrow, he will be 4 months old! He is becoming so much more interactive. Last Sunday, Jamaal was playing with him, and he laughed. I was washing dishes and immediately stopped what I was doing and asked Jamaal "Did he just laugh?!" Jamaal didn't realize this was a new thing, because he had done it before for him that day. (Sunday is Jamaal's day to watch Riley while I work.) Turns out he had laughed for my mom on Thursday as well. He has laughed a few times for me, now that I know that he can. It is crazy, because I have been playing with him so much, and he never laughed for me before. I guess I should be happy, because Riley doesn't think I'm as funny looking as everyone else is. ;) His laugh so far almost sounds like a cough, but of course, it is absolutely adorable.
5. Today I went walking around the Supermall with my cousin and her baby. We went into the Carter's store, and I fell in love with all of the Preemie size clothing. Why is it that the smaller something is, the cuter it is? I want a little peanut to dress up in tiny clothing again. :D Especially if it can be wrapped up in pink frilly lace and bows (and not feel guilty about it.) I'm physically not ready to have another baby, but I'm excited about what the future might bring. I do not look forward to having awful heartburn for 9 months and having gestational diabetes again, but I know the end product would be worth it. (Though I'm still hopeful that the next pregnancy will be different, and I won't have gestational diabetes again.) Looking at all the girl clothes made me giddy with excitement. Don't get me wrong, this little boy has stolen my heart, and there are a lot of cute clothes out there that I would love to buy him. But there is something about glitter, ruffles and lace that is absolutely adorable in small sizes. I couldn't leave that store empty handed... :D (I'll share my splurges at a later date.) Here is a preview:
6. I'm looking forward to the end of this month. My mom, aunt and I are going to our annual "Embroidery Party" in Lynnwood. This year will be complicated by a little booger boy. In order to accommodate having a wiggly little body with us, my MIL will be joining us to babysit. The "Party" is two full days of using Embroidery machines to make cute little projects. We go around in groups making the projects, and break for lunch. My MIL and Riley will stay around the hotel, and when he needs mama to eat, she'll bring him to me. He will be the star of the show. There will be oodles of grandma's and mommy's around thirsting for this little guy's attention. It will be an adventure, to say the least. But I'm excited for a few nights away. (And several days off of work in a row!) We will leave Wednesday evening and come home Saturday morning after check out. They had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel, and a nice little snack in the afternoon. Last year I was newly pregnant, and just ever so slightly particular when it came to food. While I wasn't queasy, food just didn't really sound good to me. I had very specific food cravings. And they served sandwiches for lunch (which included lunch meat, which should be heated in a microwave or avoided while pregnant.). If you have ever tried microwaving deli turkey meat you know how bad it tastes. ;) This year I won't have the same issues with food.
7. I have several projects in my craft room that I desperately want to get to. I crave time with my stamps and sewing machine. Hopefully I will be able to finish up organizing my craft room. I have started taking out a lot of the bigger items and a lot of the clutter, so that I can put up some shelves and reorganize everything when I put it back into the room. This means that Mr. Riley's room has become a storage room for my craft items. I need to get this done soon, so perhaps we can get Riley's room suitable for him to use. :D
Wow...I did it. I got this post done in one day. :D
