The Third Prayer

We always have the radio on when we put Mary Rene to bed.  Sunday night, about 20 minutes into putting her to bed Darius Rucker’s song, Alright started playing.  Mary Rene was all quiet before this song and we thought she was getting close to falling asleep until she started singing, “Alright. Alright.”  It was so cute that Frank and I started laughing and then she did.  Well, that meant she was recharged.  Ugh.  Another 20 minutes later she starts singing another song, “Why. Why.”  So, maybe the reason we have a hard time putting her to bed at night is because she is trying to learn new words and sing!  Her mind is constantly racing! 

So last night, we switched to classical music.  She didn’t cry and went to bed much quicker.  Hmmm….Wish we would have thought of this months ago.

The last few months it has taken approximately 40-50 minutes to put Mary Rene to bed.  Every once in a blue moon we get lucky and she falls asleep nursing and when that happens, we do a happy dance.  The sleeping arrangements have become very frustrating for us and we have had barely any time to spend together at night.  And the time we do have together, we are still frustrated and can’t even relax.  So Saturday night we put the side rail back up on her crib and we started putting her in there for bedtime.  The crib is still next to our bed but now she can’t get out.  The first night she cried for about four or five minutes and then just rolled around until she got comfortable.  It still took her approximately 40-50 minutes to fall asleep.  Sunday night, she cried for only a minute, but it ended up taking her 1.5 hours to fall asleep.  Of course this had to do with her singing and then us laughing, and then other interruptions.  Last night she didn’t cry at all when we put her in the crib and she instantly laid down and started to get comfortable.  I’m not sure how long it took her to fall asleep because I left the room but it seemed to go much faster.

Pray that this new sleeping arrangement works!

On to other news.  It has been raining non-stop in St. Louis and it has really put a damper on our outings.  Being stuck in the house equals no fun.  Friday I decided that we would stay in our pajamas until we left for our ice cream date with Nicole C. later that afternoon.  So all day long, we were playing in our pjs.  We played downstairs for nearly 45 minutes in the 6′ x 8′ closet doing…absolutely nothing but at the same time entertaining the heck out of Mary Rene.  Apparently playing all these new activities I made up, wore her out because she was ready for a nap at 11:30 a.m.

And so she did.

She napped so peacefully on the couch for two plus hours and my heart just melted at her peacefulness.  But then Sophie got up and sniffed the foot that was hanging off the couch and well, nap time was over.  (It was an amazing two hour nap though!)

She wasn’t too happy about being woken up and whined a little and wanted to go back to her princess dreams.  I rubbed her back and played with her hair and within seconds she perked up and was ready to start her afternoon.

Mary Rene started an awesome nap trend that day and everyday since she has napped two plus hours.  Yesterday she actually napped for 2.5 hours.  Love those days.  I really hope she takes a good nap today while I’m at work so she doesn’t get off schedule.  I would love to keep her on these long nap days.  I’ve been able to get my work done and rest myself.  Love it!

I am so thankful for my mother-in-law because she has gotten Mary Rene to love green beans!  Not just any green beans but french style green beans.  Buy something else and she won’t eat it.  But Mary Rene will devour  her green beans which is AWESOME!

I put a small plate of green beans in front of her and she will take her fork and eat away.  While she is eating her green beans I get the rest of lunch ready.  If I time it out right, she will be done with her beans before the “good” food gets to the table.  If you bring the “good” food to the table too early then she quits eating the beans.  I’ve been able to make a can of green beans last four days!  Sweet.

While on the subject of my mother-in-law, Joanne, I must tell about the cuteness that she taught Mary Rene.  Joanne lives near a busy intersection and there are plenty of fire trucks and ambulance that go by.  Every time Joanne hears a siren she prays.  Now whenever Mary Rene hears a siren she throws her hands together and either says “ooh ooh” or “amen.”  I could eat her up.

Another cute thing she does, wakes up the cat and dog from naps.

She will do the “shhh” sign and sound from far away but then he creeps up the animal and then gives a loud, sweet “HI!!!!”  So funny, so cute.  What a little ham.  She just realized that the cats have whiskers and they can tickle her face.  Yesterday she kept rubbing her face against my sister’s cat’s whiskers and was laughing so hard.  She was petting him for the longest time so she could get more tickles.

On Saturday we went to the Ferguson festivities and did a 5K run.  It was a real bummer because they didn’t allow jogging strollers (most don’t) and I made the mistake of telling Frank.  Mr. 100% Honest Rule Follower said “no Mary Rene” in the race so she watched from the sidelines with my mom.  After Frank and I were done running the race she was ready to play.  We headed over to the free concert and she instantly started dancing.  Baby girl loves to dance.

I love this race picture because all three of us have different expressions on our face!

The race was rough on my body since I’ve been a bad girl and haven’t run lately.  So I decided that every Wednesday after Mary Rene’s nap we would run to the library which is just up the street.  Then she can get some books and play in the kid section and I can get me a book as well.  Lately I have been reading a book a week and I’m running low on books so this will be good for me physically and mentally! 

Mary Rene is saying so many words that we had to stop writing them down.  Now she is starting to say little phrases.  The best part is she is saying new words and phrases without being prompted to do so.  Before we would have to say, “say cat,” for her to say the word ‘cat.’  Now she will point at something and say what it is.  Yesterday when I dropped her off at my parent’s house (they watch her on Mondays while I work) she walked in the front room to greet my mom.  After about a minute she grabbed my hand and said, “see pa pa,” and led me to the backroom saying “see pa pa” until she finally saw her pa pa.  So cute.  She says “bye dadda,”  “hi momma,” “hi doll,” “hi sophie,” and many more cute little greetings.  I love this new level of intelligence.

Darling Francis-

There will come a point in labor when I am going to be in a lot of pain and I’ll want an epidural.  I might start screaming for it or worse, crying for it.  I might curse at you, hit you or do something very out of character because I’m in pain.  Just remember, that’s not me.  You’ll want to take my pain away because you are a good husband and you love me so very much.  You’ll want to fix my problem and get me that epidural.  But remember, the epidural is only a temporary fix.  I will later regret that decision, you know that.  So fight through the pain with me and we’ll get through it together.

When the pain gets to this point you can remind me:

• Just take it one contraction at a time
• The pain is only temporary-it will end

To encourage me, you can say something like this:

• You are doing great!
• You are so amazing!
• I know you can do it; you can do anything!
• You are so beautiful
• You are strong and brave
• WOW!  I knew you could do this
• And add some of your other sweet sayings. 

Just don’t say:

• I didn’t think you could do this but look at you, you are.
• You are almost there (never, never, never tell someone they are almost somewhere when you don’t really know that they are.)
• Just a little longer (never, never make guesses.)
• Does it hurt?  (I might hit you if these words come out of your mouth.)
• And add your own weird comments to that list.

There will come a point when those sayings won’t work, so remind me of my labor & delivery mottos:

• I’m fulfilling my curse.
• Labor is a full marathon and then a half marathon.  You have done both many times.
• Our baby is named after St. Gianna.  Think of her pain and what she did for her daughter.
• Surrender to the pain, don’t hold it in, surrender.

That is only going to work for awhile too. 

I’ll need a bigger push and this is when you take me down memory lane.  While doing my breathing exercises, have me close my eyes and take me back to our honeymoon in St. Lucia:

• Describe the sandy beach, the waves crashing against our feet, the bird sounds, the cliffs.  Take me to paradise.
• Remind me of our dinner at Gordon’s and going to the piano bar and having Patrick sing “Let’s Stay Together” to us.
• Tell me the story of the “dead” cat.
• Tell me the story about how you lost your wedding ring.  The real story that only we know.

 But now I’m going to need some motivation and you’ll need to remind me of how strong I am.  So tell me this:

• Remind me of one of our first dates when we to Main Street for Tony’s in the freezing cold.  I had shin splints so bad I could barely walk.  Tony’s was closed because of the weather and we had to walk to another restaurant.  I pushed through that pain and we got to eat a nice meal.
• Remind me that those shin splints kept me from training for nearly two weeks and I missed my 20 mile run with my team.  I was so bummed out because the most I had run was 18 miles and I felt ill prepared for the Rome Marathon.  But I finished the race, shin splints and all.
• Remind me that I ran six to seven miles on cobblestone in Rome.  Ouch.
• Remind me that the water they served throughout the race was carbonated and my stomach couldn’t handle it.  I ran nearly the whole marathon on one cup of water and a gallon of gatorade.
• But remind me, with all those obstacles, I finished the race.
• Remind me that when I crossed the finish line at the Colosseum my mom was there to greet me.  She threw her arms around me and told me how proud she was of me.
• Remind me, that I am the mom at this finish line and I’ll be waiting to greet our new baby girl.  I’ll throw her in my arms and tell her how much I love her.
• Remind me that Dublin, my second marathon and Memphis, my third marathon, were amazing races for me because I trained better.  I knew what to expect and I was prepared.
• Remind me that I got prepared this pregnancy for labor and delivery.  I read all the books, watched the DVD and researched the internet.  I am prepared to do this.
• Remind me of how painful it was to nurse Mary Rene those first few weeks of life.  I cried everytime she cried because I knew I would have to nurse her.  I hurt so bad and wanted to give up.  And I fought through the pain, I stuck with it and look how far we nursed.  (As I write this I am five months pregnant and still nursing. Not sure if I will still be nursing when you say these things to me.)

Okay.  That is all I can think of right now.  Print this out, study it, memorize it, I’ll need it.

Love you,

Trena

About three weeks ago, Mary Rene and I meet my old running friend, Sharlene and her daughter at Creve Coeur Park for a playdate.  We meet at our usual running spot and then decided to head to the top of the park to the playground.  I got back in the car and started my drive around the lake.  As I drove pass the lake I noticed a few people on the course, walking, rollerblading, riding bikes and running.  And for the first time, I was at peace with being in the car instead of running.

To understand what I mean you have to understand who I was before Mary Rene was born.  When I was 21 or 22, I decided to start utilizing the college gym to get in shape.  I didn’t really know many people at the college and felt really awkward working out on a machine so I headed up to the indoor track.  And right there my love for running began.  Months went by and summer came along and I found myself signing up for 5K run after 5K run with my good buddy Jenny K.  At the end of each race, we would get a flyer for another race and would sign up.  At that race, another flyer, another race.  We ran a lot of 5Ks that summer and made a lot of great memories together.

At one of the last races that summer I recieved a flyer for a marathon in Rome, Italy.  At the time I didn’t realize that a marathon was 26.2 miles but the word “Rome” inticeted me enough to go to an informational meeting.  That night, I learned how much I would have to run and it didn’t phase me.  Even though I had never ran more than five miles at that point all I could think about was Rome.

So for 23 weeks I trained, all this while working a part-time job and attending college.  And at the end, I went to Rome and ran my very first marathon.  And the love affair began. (I’ll write about this more someday.)

Soon I found myself running all the time.  For the past 23 weeks I had grown accustom to running six days a week so I decided to keep it up.  I decreased my mileage here and there depending on what I was training for but I continued to run six days a week.

Two years later I found myself in Dublin, Ireland running my second marathon.  If I was going to run the distance I decided the trip had to be worth it!

The following year I became a running coach for Team in Training.  My job was to take someone from the couch and turn them into a runner.  And not just any type of runner, I was training these awesome people to become half and full marathon runners.   Yes, I trained people who never ran before in their lives to run 26.2 miles.  Being a running coach was a great job (minimal pay-mostly volunteer) and I met so many fantastic people.

After coaching a few races I decided to take a break from coaching so I could focus on my personal running again.  One of the gals I trained to run her first half marathon, Sharlene (see first sentence of this post!) and I started to run together on the weekends.  Soon my Uncle Jerry was running with us too.  Soon his friend Ray was running with us and soon after followed Jerry’s friends Bridget and Scott.  We became our own little running group, with no destination in sight, and met every weekend.

This takes us to 2007.

We spent the summer training for the Lewis and Clark half marathon which would take place in September.  On a training run, I convinced Sharlene and my Uncle Jerry  that since we already were increasing our mileage we might as well increase it more and train for a full marathon in December.  It would be the first for both of them.  And like magic, they both said yes and we started training together.   Ray, Bridget and Scott would join us on our long runs and eventually run different full marathons.  For months and months we met every Saturday for our long runs.  I would measure out a course ahead of time and we would start in Forest Park, work our way through the streets of Clayton or downtown St. Louis and eventually make it back to Forest Park.  After our runs we would hang out in the parking lot, eating the homemade bread one of would bring and munching on other snacks. 

I must say, those were some of the best running months of my life and I enjoyed my time with my running group.  Even though I was training to run races in foreign countries before, this was a million times better.  I will never forget that experience for the rest of my life.  

When the training ended, Sharlene, my Uncle Jerry and myself found ourselves in Memphis, Tennessee where I would complete my third, and best marathon.

The following week, we were at our meeting place to run and continued to run together the next couple weeks.

On Jan. 12, 2008 I went for a seven mile run with my friend Joanne and some of her running friends.  They were all training for the St. Louis Marathon and I was just joining to socialize with Joanne.  I ran the first four or five miles with them and then they headed off the Forest Park trail to continue their long mileage.  I spent the last three miles thinking about what I was going to do the rest of that day.  I remember that run as if it were yesterday.  And it is a good thing because…

later that day I found out I was pregnant with Mary Rene.

and…

That seven mile run has been my longest mileage since.

I decreased my distance and the furthest I ran during pregnancy was five miles.  I stopped going to the Saturday morning runs because my speed had decreased and I couldn’t keep up with my old running buddies.  Instead, I ran at my new, slower pace as I got larger and larger each month.  I was able to comfortably run up until my seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.  By that point, I had become so slow that I was pretty much walking so I took the plunge and switched to the walking status.

Six weeks after Mary Rene’s birth, I went for my first run and it was fabulous.  Although, my body had changed a lot and I realized I needed to wear a pad for awhile until I was back to my old self.  For the first three months of Mary Rene’s life, I tried to sneak in a quick run here or there.  When I did get the chance to run, I felt miserable afterwards.  I was slow and out of breath.  I missed my old pace.  I missed my old distance.  I missed my running buddies.

Winter rolled around and I stopped running.  This was the first time in my running career that weather had impacted my decision to run.  I used to wake up at 5 a.m. to squeeze in a four or five mile run in the summer to beat the heat.  I ran in rain, which I must say is very refreshing.  I ran a 16 miler in snow.  I was a running nut.  But now, weather made me stay in and to be quite honest, it was probably because I was tired of feeling sorry for my slow, running self.

Spring rolled around and I got too busy to run consistently.  Summer rolled around, and nothing changed.  And winter…I found myself pregnant again.

Every time I saw someone run by my house I would feel a pit in my stomach and instantly feel jealous.  I wanted to be out there, feeling the wind against my cheeks, letting the endorphins run and take over my body.  I felt stuck in my house. 

I would read blogs about moms who “got back to their old running speed” in no time and were “training for their first post-baby race” just months after the birth.  I ended up cancelling all those blogs on my Google Reader because they just made me feel worse.

I thought this feeling would never leave until I started running long distance again.  I was constantly getting asked from various people when I would start running again, or even worse, when would I start using that jogging stroller to jog instead of walk.  I felt horrible every time someone would ask me these questions because deep down I wanted to be out there running again.  I wanted my running life back so bad, but lately, someone else was running my life.

And then it just happened.  I found peace.  As I drove pass the runners on the trail, I realized how awesome my life is now and I wouldn’t change one piece of it.  I am so very  blessed and so, so, so very fortunate to be a mother.  Instead of taking Mary Rene for a run in the stroller, we take walks to the park and then I watch her play on the playground.  And honestly, that is a million times more fun then any distance I can run.  Being a mother tops traveling anywhere in the world to run a marathon with my closest running friends.  I’m living the life.

I realize my dreams and interest have changed along the way of changing diaper after diaper.  Instead of handing Mary Rene off to Frank when he gets home from work so I can go for a run, I look forward to family time.  I look forward to jumping on the bed with Mary Rene while Frank comes and tickles her.  I look forward to having a good meal on the table and enjoying it with my family.  I look forward to spending my little free time sewing.  My life is completely different now but it a much more fulfilling life and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Yesterday when I went to the zoo, which is at Forest Park, I didn’t blink an eye at the runners.  Forest Park, the place that for so many years I spent nearly every Saturday morning, meeting my friends for a run.  Forest Park, the place I trained for countless half marathons and three full marathons.  Forest Park, the place I meet my runners that I coached during my short time as a coach.  Forest Park, the best place to run in St. Louis.  I didn’t bat an eye.  Because sitting in my backseat was my pride and joy, Mary Rene.  And running was the last thing on my mind.

So much has happened since the last time I wrote a Mary Rene update that I’m afraid I will forget some important milestones and events!  But I’ll try my best.

Mary Rene turned 18 months (1.5 years) last Tuesday!  How time files.  She has grown up so much in the last six months that I can’t believe it.  I remember going to St. Ferdinand Park when she was about 12 or 13 months old and I had to help her up all the steps and go down the slides with her.  Now, she can walk up the steps by herself (some of the steps) and go down the slides alone!  It was so neat to watch her do it alone, although I was one step behind her the entire way, but it was also sad to see her being all independent and growing up.

Last time we went to West County Mall she couldn’t get up the steps on the slide without falling.  Now…

Sure the independence is sad, but then again, it makes for some lazy parenting!  Frank and I were able to sit and watch her play for an entire 45 minutes without helping her.  It was a very relaxing day at the mall.

I haven’t checked the internet to confirm if there is an 18 month growth spurt but I think she is going through one right now.  Her appetite has increased, although that could be due to my lack of milk production.  On St. Patrick’s Day, for the first time we ordered Mary Rene her own meal off the kid’s menu.  She ate both chicken strips (they were adult sized) and half of her fries!  Seriously that girl can put down some food.  Sunday at lunch, she ate two thin slices of pizza.  Okay, don’t worry, we feed her healthy food too.

On top of eating more, she is starting to outgrow some of her 18 month onesie.  She could still wear them with disposable diapers but the cloth diapers are so big that I can’t button a few of them anymore.

In the last two weeks, Mary Rene has added the following words to her vocabulary:

1. Clap
2. Bird
3. Puppy
4. Book
5. Eat
6. Out
7. Ball
8. Mary
9. Pray
10. Mine
11. Grandma (maw maw)
12. Water
13. Beads
14. Please

There are a few other words that she is saying but I can’t figure out what they are yet.  Also, she is starting to try and repeat after me.  If I say, ‘book’ then she tries to say ‘book.’  I’ll try four or five new words each day and she’ll try her best to say them. 

She is also starting to say two words together to form a sentence.  The first time she did it she grabbed a ball from my mom’s hands and said, “MY BALL.”  Well, little miss thing, take your ball.  But I’ll also give her some props here because she is saying, “More please,” when she wants another bite to eat.

Mary Rene really enjoys looking in the mirror and seeing how she is dressed.  If she likes the way she looks…

She’ll give herself a kiss.

She likes using the mirror to put on hats, ribbons and other hair accessories.

But sometimes she decides that the accessories look better on someone else.

We ran in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Run a couple weekends ago.

We got to mile three and Mary Rene decided she was done with the stroller.  So we decided to carry her.  That was one long mile.  When we got to mile four I decided to cut over two blocks to the place we were going to watch the parade with our friends.  Baby girl was crabby and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.  It was pretty darn cold outside but it turned out she was tired.  I sat on a cooler and rocked her in my arms and she fell asleep in minutes.

After her 30 minute snooze, she was ready to party again.

A few days later on St. Patrick’s Day, my parents joined us and we went to Dogtown to watch the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  It was gorgeous outside (what a difference a few days can make!) and we watched the parade at the very beginning near the zoo.

Mary Rene was having so much fun collecting all her beads.

All the kids around us were chanting, “BEADS BEADS BEADS” whenever someone in the parade walked by with a handful of beads.  Soon, Mary Rene was joining in and started chanting, “Beads Beads Beads” with them.  On the way home, she was still chanting her Bead song.  It was so cute.

As an early Easter present, my parents got Mary Rene her own table and chair set.

Mary Rene loves to color so I set up her coloring books and crayons and she went to work.  The top of the table comes off and underneath is a lego table top.

I let her play with these for a few minutes but decided to hide them until she gets a little older.  I’m still afraid she will try to eat them!  I’ll replace them with big legos instead. 

My friend Nicole C and I went to a consignment sale on Friday and I bought some early Easter gifts for Mary Rene.

How cool is that?  Her very own lawn chair!

She’s been having fun pushing around her baby doll, Bobby, a cat magnet and a piece of toy bacon in her new stroller.

She got some other toys as well and is in early Easter toy heaven.

Frank has been teaching Mary Rene new dance moves.  She already can bop her head to a beat, shake her legs, tap her feet and wiggle her arms.  Now when Frank says “shake your butt” she will squat and put her hands on her knees and move her butt a little.  When Frank says “spin in a circle” she will start spinning in a circle.  She loves spinning in a circle and doesn’t know how to stop.  When she finally does stop she is so dizzy that she keeps falling.  Sometimes she will start spinning even though there is no music playing and we have to make her stop so she doesn’t keep falling.  Baby girl is so darn funny sometimes!

-1-

This is the first time that I have written a 7 Quick Takes Friday post on Friday, and not constructed it all week long.  Basically I am saying, opps I forgot.  And well, this is probably going to be quick and short not reasonable thoughts.

-2-

Frank did a really good job over Christmas break of making me sleeping in.  My cell phone’s alarm clock usually goes off at 6:25 a.m. and he very so kindly would shut it off before I had the chance to do it.  There was one day that I slept in until 8:30 a.m. and Mary Rene slept in until 9 a.m.  Those were some glorious days.  But once we went back to work, Wednesday, the snooze button days have disappeared.  And I assume they won’t be back for a really long time.

-3-

It is very easy to get yourself back on schedule after hitting snooze a few days.  Really it is.  But to get a baby back on schedule?  Not so easy.  Honestly, it just really isn’t worth it.  I’m thinking back to those days of snoozing longer and it might have benefited us more if Mary Rene continued to get up at 7:30 a.m. everyday.  Getting her to bed lately has been a bit of a chore.

-4-

Yesterday I went on the website, mint.com, a free personal finance software program, and started plugging in all our numbers.  I always nagged Frank about how much money he spent on entertainment (bar time with the boys.)  But the website provided that not only did Frank’s bar time put us over the budget but so did my grocery shopping habits.  I never realized how much I spend on groceries until the computer actually calculated it all up for me, hightlighted it in a bold red, and screamed “OVER BUDGET OVER BUDGET.”  Needless to say, we are going to make some changes.

-5-

Regarding #4, this is a good time to do such.  We could really use the extra money come….the end of August.  So my New Year’s Resolution: Be a Better Shopper.  I usually make five to 10 resolutions that are over the top and unachievable.  Things that I feel I should say I’ll do even though I probably won’t.  But this year I decided not to do resolutions.  Well, until I went to that website.  So for now, my only resolution is to be a better shopper.  I need to clip coupons again and shop off the grocery weekly ads.  I need to plan meals again and always have an extra meal available when we are in a crunch.  Starting today, no emergency runs to the grocery store. 

-6-

I just saw a man run past my front window and even though it is 20 degrees outside, I felt a hint of jealousy.  As blessed as I feel to be pregnant, I know I am putting my running on hold again.  Sure I have picked up a few runs here and a few runs there but I never got back into my normal running routine.  I’ve been running after Mary Rene too much to have the energy to run on my own.  Oh, this could be a dangerous huge pregnancy.

-7-

Today is a Holy Day of Obligation.  Our church only offers Mass at 7 and 9 a.m.  Honestly, I think this is a really bad day to have a Holy Day of Obligation.  It is almost as if they purposely do it to see who is really going to come the day after being up so late.  I mean, couldn’t this day fall on January 2nd instead?

Last week, loyal reader Rae mentioned in a comment that I should write a post about time management.  Interesting.  I immediately thought, “oh that is a great idea.  Something different to write about.”  The next morning while I was out for my morning run I started to think about how I manage my time.  And well, I realized I don’t. 

So that day I decided to start managing my time more effectively so well, I could write about how I manage my time.  I decided that in order to figure out how I manage my time I needed to limit my internet usage.  I keep my work laptop on the kitchen table so I can respond to work emails throughout the day.  Sunday evening I  would open the following internet windows for the week:  work email, personal email, facebook, google reader, my blog and an open yahoo to do web searches.  The days I am at home, every 20 or 30 minutes I would walk to my laptop to see if I had a work issue to address.  If I did, I took care of it.  If I didn’t, I would take a look at all those other open windows.  Okay, I’ll be honest here.  Even if I had a work issue I still looked at all my personal windows.  The first thing I did in the morning was check all my windows, first thing when Mary Rene napped was check my windows and last thing I did before I went to bed was check my windows.  I realized that my day was revolving around all those darn windows.

So thank you Rae for the comment because now I am managing my time better.  But to answer your question, this is how I do it.

TV watching: 

I’m not much of a tv person however I DVR four shows. The shows come on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.  I watch Tuesday’s shows on Wednesday while I nurse Mary Rene to nap.  Thursday’s show on Friday while I nurse Mary Rene to nap.  Friday’s show with Frank after Mary Rene goes to bed.  And Sunday’s show on Monday while I nurse Mary Rene to nap.  When she was taking two naps I would also watch a soap opera during the second nap but that nap is gone so I don’t watch that crap show anymore.

In the morning I watch the news so I can know what is going on in the world before I open the front door.  Once the news is over I turn off the television and switch over to the radio.  Depending on the guest, I might turn on Ellen at 1 p.m. but most days I don’t.  We do not watch any cartoons or other programs during the day.  The radio stays on all day until the 5 p.m. news.  After the news I turn the radio back on.  When Frank gets home he turns the tv back on and it is usually on for the rest of the evening.  At this point it becomes background sound and we really should switch back to the radio.  That is something I need to work on with him. 

Internet usage:

Like I mentioned above, my internet usage was out of hand.  So now I open all my windows in the morning before Mary Rene wakes up.  I check my personal email first and respond to anything that needs quick attention.  I do a quick facebook scan and might do a status update (although I haven’t in a week.)  I then will spend the rest of the time on google reader until Mary Rene wakes up.  Once she wakes up all my windows are closed except my work email.  During Mary Rene’s nap or when she goes to bed I will work on my blog. 

Sewing:

Now that Mary Rene is taking one long nap I have been able to sneak in a little sewing during the day.  (I wasn’t doing this before because I was always on the internet!  But now I have so much more free time!)  However, I only do this once a week during nap time.  Physically sewing is out of the question since the machine would wake her so instead I do my prep work during naps.  I can look through my material, pick out the fabric and start cutting out my pieces.  During one of her naps last week I was able to cut out a whole pattern to make my mom a purse!

(I call the purse, “Pieces of Mary” because it is made from different pieces of all the dresses and hats I have made her thus far.)  Depending on our week, I try to sew at least once or twice a week after Mary Rene goes to bed.  If Frank is watching the game or another show that I’m not interested in then I will go downstairs and sew.  I usually sew for at least an hour before I head back upstairs.  (I’m very religious about being in bed at 10:30 p.m.) I’m not much of a tv person and sitting on the couch doing nothing is very hard for me to do.  The only time I really sit on the couch with him is if we are listening to the radio and actually interacting (a/k/a talking.)  TV watching together doesn’t count as quality time to me.  Although we do it on Friday nights while I watch Ugly Betty.  But then again, I rub his feet while I watch my show so we both win.

Workout:

Every morning I set my alarm to go off 45 minutes early so I can get up and go for a run.  Seven out of 10 times I hit snooze.  I blame that on the fact that Mary Rene still doesn’t sleep through the night.  But the mornings I do go for a run…heaven.  I love my morning runs so much and really wish I could do a better job of getting up every morning.  I clear my mind (and lungs) and re-energize.  Plus it is my bonding time with Sophie B.  She needs all the attention she can get.  Besides running, I do mini workouts with Mary Rene.  I have different ways I hold her and play with her so I can work on my arms and legs.  Little does she know that I am using her as a 23 pound weight.

Clean House:

Now that Mary Rene is mobile and more independent, I am able to clean house while she is awake.  I used to clean during her naps but that left little time for me to work or relax.  So now, I save all the chores that I can easily do while she is awake for well, when she is awake.  We load and unload the dishwasher together.  She walks behind me while I sweep.  She runs away when I vacuum.  She hands me clothes to fold.  The only thing I can’t do while she is awake is iron because the board is downstairs.  I either iron when she naps or I iron on the weekends when Frank is home. 

Run Errands:

Working part-time makes life easier for Frank and I.  I try to get all our errands run on my days off.  Mary Rene loves running errands and she does really good at the store.  We start running our errands immediately after eating breakfast and could be gone for at least an hour or two.  By the time we get home and unpacked she is usually ready for a nap.  It does take up a chunk of the day but it is nice to get this done so the weekends can be spent doing family things.

Hanging out with Frank:

We have a stay-in date night once a week when Mary Rene goes to bed.  The nights when I don’t sew we sit on the couch together and hang out.  We do family activities on the weekends.

Hanging out with Friends:

Well I’m not doing as well in this category but I am getting better.  The group of friends I hung out with before Mary Rene was born I don’t get to see that much.  They hang out at night and frankly I’m just too tired to get together.  But motherhood has connected me with a lot of new groups of women and I’m getting some adult time still!  I go to La Leche League meetings to have some womanly conversation and Mary-free time.  For those that don’t have kids that may sound BORING but let me tell you, I love those meetings.  It is a chance to get out and be surrounded by women who share my same views (on so many different levels.)  I also have a few different mom groups that I belong to and I go on play dates occasionally.  That depends on what Mary Rene and I have planned for the week.  My sister doesn’t work on Fridays so we’ve been hanging out during the day.  And honestly, my mom has been my best gal pal lately and I’ve been spending a lot of time with her.  If Frank is going out with friends or when he has a hockey game, I usually call her first to see if she wants to get together.  Unfortunately she lost her job so she has more free time.  But on the flip side, we’ve grown much closer.

Okay, I think that covers everything.  I still could do much better at managing my time but I am getting better at it.  The older Mary Rene gets the easier it is to sew and workout.  I really don’t know what will happen when we have a second baby in the house someday!  That will definately put a completely different spin to my schedule.  But for now, I’ll do what I do.

About two weeks ago, Frank told me to start buying lottery tickets when I went grocery shopping.  Hey, you can’t win unless you play.  So I started to play.  I even signed up for Publisher’s Clearing House and I am doing their online lottery game.  Frank and I are having fun talking about what we would do if we won.  On our stay-in date nights we can sit on the couch for a good hour or so just talking about what we would do and where we would go.  Winning the lottery makes for great conversations.

Yesterday morning after my run with Sophie, I took a shower and started to go in our bedroom to grab my clothes.  Mary Rene and Frank were cuddled together sleeping so good that I decided to wait to get dressed.  I hung out in the kitchen, wearing my pink fluffy bathrobe as I checked work emails. 

It was time to wake Frank up so I headed back to the bedroom.  But when I walked in the room I looked down at the two of them and they took my breath away.  I stood there for about 30 seconds just staring at them both as they breathed in and out.

At that moment I realized, I already won the lottery.  I got the winning ticket three years and three months ago when I married Frank.  I got the winning ticket 13 months and 3 weeks ago when Mary Rene was born.  And every morning when I wake up with the two of them at my side, it is another winning ticket day. 

Many people say that the best day of their lives is their wedding day or the day their child/ren was/were born.  But for me, the best day of my life is today.  And tomorrow, the best day will be that day.  Because each day is another day that I am blessed to be the wife of an amazing husband and a mother of an incredible daugther.  Each day is another opportunity for me to love and be loved.  Each morning I win the lottery.

No amount of money can ever complete me like my family already does.

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When people used to ask how many kids I wanted I always used to say four or five.  I really wanted to have a big family and couldn’t think of any other way to show my love for Frank.  But after having Mary Rene, I changed my mind.  I don’t want Mary Rene to be an only child but I honestly can’t imagine how my heart can love another child as much as I love her.  I always hear that when you have a second child your heart doesn’t divide but it grows.  I can’t even begin to imagine loving another baby as much as I love her, but I guess, only time will tell.  For now I will watch as my friends do it.  My friend, Emily, gave birth to her second daughter, a beautiful baby girl, Beatrice Louise, on Monday.  CONGRATULATIONS!  One of her last post was about how she was reading “Goodnight Moon” to her daughter Ella and she realized at that moment it might be their last moment alone together.  It was a touching post because my heart ached for her but at the same time my heart was aching for myself.  If God so blesses me, someday I will have that same feeling as I am reading to Mary Rene.  I’m looking forward to learning from Emily and how this heart of hers is growing and growing each and everyday.

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Monday evening I stayed up and I sewed three taggie blankets and then I decided to make a baby cube for Beatrice.  About five months ago I was at a baby shower and I saw these cloth baby cubes sitting on the food table.  I realized how easy it would be to sew them and decided I would give it a try.  Apparently I forgot about that internal conversation until now.  I took some yellow fleece and cut out the letter “B” and then I cut a satin heart and sewed both to different pieces of fabric. 

I had a little of the St. Louis Cardinals fleece left and was able to make a square of the cube from it.

Now my cube has some St. Louis flavor.  I meant to add tags to some of the sides so it would be a taggie cube, but as you can see, I forgot.  The cube is much bigger than I anticipated and it isn’t as square as I would like but hey, it is my first cube.  Four days after completing it, I was on one of my new favorite websites, Make It and Love It and I noticed that she did this same project back in March.  Ugh.  Now I feel like a cheat.  Although I must say, mine has more flavor since I added the fleece “B” and the satin heart.

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About two months ago, Frank and I made the decision to take a break from being Eucharist Ministers.  We were scheduled every other month for the noon Mass but some weeks it would be really hard to commit to that Mass time because of Mary Rene’s nap schedule.  I called Richard, the Eucharist Minister coordinator, to tell him to remove us from the schedule for a couple months.  I was happy to get his voicemail because I hated to disappoint him over the phone.  A week went by and I never heard from him.  And then I got the call.  He had passed away, at his home, and was found four days later.  It turns out that I probably called when he had already passed away.  My heart sank in grief for him and his family.  But even more, my heart yearned to be a minister again.  So on Sunday, Frank and I started ministering again but now we have switched to the 9 a.m.  Mass.  Mary Rene usually takes her first nap at 10 a.m. so this works out perfect. 

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I have finished my first official week of not pumping.  On Tuesday I was able to take my co-worker, Laurie, out to lunch for her birthday.  Yesterday, I was able to get a new battery installed in my Jeep and run into Kohl’s and Best Buy for some errands.  It was like old times all over again.  I can now say, I don’t miss pumping.

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I don’t want to jinx myself by saying this but, I have been doing an awesome job of getting up every morning and running.  I still have to be quiet and try to trick Sophie…most of the times I fail.  My running friends are gearing up for a half marathon in March.  They have asked me to join and I highly doubt I will be ready.  But, I might be ready to do the 10K the day before the race. 

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Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice outside and this may just be the last nice day for awhile.  What is something fun that Frank, Mary Rene and I can do outside?  I was thinking Grant’s Farm.  Frank wants to go apple picking.  Any suggestions?

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Mary Rene has learned how to get on and off the couch all by herself.  I must say, she is very gracious and careful when she does it.  The only problem is she likes to pester Sophie all day long.

I say pester because she likes to stick her finger in Sophie’s eye.

What does Sophie do?  Absolutely nothing.  Good dog.

-1-

Tuesday was such a beautiful day that Mary Rene played outside when I got home from work.  She was having so much fun walking back in forth from the front yard to the back yard.  She thinks it is so cool that she can open and close the gate.  Adorable.  Mr. Meyer (by the way, it is Meyer not Meyers.  my bad!) saw us out playing and he came over to join in the fun.  Mary Rene grabbed his finger and she walked him to the backyard to show him her playhouse.  Such a show off.  She is so darn proud of her playhouse that she wants to show it to the whole neighborhood.

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Later that night, Frank and I pulled out the china and used it for our stay-in date.  Did you use your china this week? 

Katie H., go get your momma’s china and start using it!

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Speaking of our date, Frank gave me a standing ovation for the dinner I cooked!  Oh my goodness I felt like Martha Stewart and all.  When he heard the ingredients I was going to use he tried getting me to make something else.  But I surprised him-again.  I think this is going to become my “new mom” dish.  So good, so healthy, so yummy.

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I just wanted to say that I love the Fall season and I’m so sad that is is nearly over. 

-5-

The last few weeks everyone kept asking us what Mary Rene was going to be for Halloween.  We thought we had plenty of time to figure it out but…well, holidays and events have a way of sneaking up on you.  So last week, on a whim, I decided to sew Mary Rene’s costume.  My mom and I went to the store and I bought a princess pattern.  I decided to go with a princess because (1) Mary Rene is a princess (2) I have a crown and wand from her birthday cake and (3) I already have half the costume since part of it is a tutu.  I took her pink tutu from her birthday and added blue tulle so now it is a multi-colored tutu.  Then I took all the extra material from the dress Mary Rene wore in my sister’s wedding to make the top of the costume.  I added some white satin that my mom gave me, pink ribbon from Mary Rene’s tutu and some blue ribbon I bought at the store.  All together, her costume only cost $7.  Wanna see it?  You’ll have to wait until Halloween!

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After teasing you about showing the Halloween costume I realized I haven’t added one single photo to this post.  How boring of me.  I haven’t taken any pictures the last few days with my camera so a picture from my cell phone will have to do.  Excuse the quality.

Yesterday I walked in the kitchen for a brief second (okay, maybe seven seconds) and when I walked back in the room Mary Rene was standing up on her chair looking out the window.  She is such a little daredevil and has no sense of fear.  (See how close her little foot is to the edge…ready to fall off.)  When she turned around and saw me she started laughing and did a little dance.  By this point I was freaking out because if she danced a little harder she would have fallen off the chair.  I helped her get down carefully but it only a took a matter of minutes before she climbed up the chair again.

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I got my butt out of bed and ran three mornings in a row this week.  Oh I’m feeling so much better.  I decided that I will start running Monday through Thursday, sleep in with Mary Rene on Fridays, and rest on the weekend.  Sophie B. is really enjoying her runs.  When she hears my alarm go off she gets really excited and whimpers and pants until we get out the door.  She is so loud, with her long toe nails scraping the floor, that I’m always afraid she will wake Frank and Mary Rene.  So I’m a total dork and I started sleeping in my running underwear, pants and socks.  (Yes I wear special underwear and special socks for running.)  When my alarm goes off I stay in bed for a couple minutes to trick Sophie B.  I take off my sleeping bra and t-shirt and once Sophie B thinks I am “hitting snooze” I quietly sneak into the bathroom.  Okay, here is where I get even more ridiculous.  I sneak in the bathroom and put my contacts in and wait.  As soon as the heat starts running (it is loud) I start to pee and at the same time I quickly put on my sports bra, running shirt (wick material!) and my running shoes.  Now all I have to do is flush and wash my hands.  As soon as I flush Sophie B. is up and prancing back and forth.  I quickly leave the bathroom, go to the back door and put on her leash and start the run.  So far she hasn’t woken anybody up.  So far I’m a real dork.

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I have been busy all week getting ready for my sister’s bridal shower which is tomorrow.  All of her other bridesmaids live out of town, except for my sister-in-law, so my mom and I have been doing all the work for the shower.  I usually don’t wait until the last minute to do things but well, I have a baby now and that just really throws a wrench into the mix.  So today, I have to run to the grocery store and buy all the last minute ingredients.  Once I get the ingredients, Mary Rene and I will be spending the day at my parents’ house helping get all the last minute items together.  I just hope we can pull off a nice shower for her.

-2-

Yesterday we went to a consignment sale and I was able to get Mary Rene: three pairs of pjs, three toys, a winter coat and mittens and a hat for $26.  The winter coat was only $3 so I had to get it.  It is not pratical at all because it is pure white, furry and soft but absolutely gorgeous.  She will look like a little snow princess in her coat.  Oh, can you believe I am talking about coats already when it was nearly 95 degrees yesterday?

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Happy World Breastfeeding Week!  I planned on attending a few of the events but I got too busy with preparing for my sister’s bridal shower.  But we did participate in the kickoff run at Creve Coeur Park.  I ran the entire inter loop which is 3.7 miles.  Okay, not the entire loop because for five minutes I had to carry Mary Rene because she was upset.  But the rest of the time I ran.  Go me. 

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So I’m starting to get my mojo back and ran two other times this week.  The hard part is getting out of bed when the alarm clock goes off.  I’ve been setting it for the past two weeks to get up and go for a run but I’ve been hitting snooze.  My luck would have it that this week Mary Rene has decided to get up at 5:50 a.m.  three days in a row.  So I nurse her back to sleep and instead of going back to bed I go for a run.  It really worked out great for me, but honestly, I would rather her stay asleep. 

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This is a premature thought, but I need to say my thought now because I won’t be able to tell you my thought next week.  Frank and I are going out of town next Thursday and will be gone until the following Tuesday.  We are heading down to Steelville, Missouri for a little R&R at Eagle Hurst Ranch.  We went here last year for our anniversary and decided to do it again this year.  It is a nice relaxing weekend because everything you need is on the ranch.  But the bonus, they cook three home cooked meals for you each day.  And these aren’t skimpy meals.  I might come back with those extra 20 pounds I lost!

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Why are we going out of town?  Wednesday is our three year anniversary so this will be our anniversary trip.  We still haven’t decided how to spend our anniversary though.  Any suggestions?

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Just for grins.