cyano

Oh, hai. Yes, I am still alive.

So apparently having a 3 year old and working full time makes for not much LJing.
I've been FBing more, as it's easier to do snippets there. I've also been doing a lot over on Fitocracy.com, which is it's own little world too.

I've been getting to the gym about twice a week, which also cuts into things like LJ
Speaking of which, I need to go put stuff together for my workout tomorrow.

( numbers numbers numbersCollapse )

12/05: GLU:81, CHOL:191 (HDL:34 LDL:107 TRI:252)
5/06: GLU:N/A, CHOL:194 (HDL:33 LDL:99 TRI:308)
9/06: GLU:82, CHOL:166 (HDL:33 LDL:88 TRI:227)
1/07: GLU:N/A, CHOL:192 (HDL:43 LDL:111 TRI:188)
6/07: GLU:91, CHOL:N/A
10/07: GLU:85, CHOL:173 (HDL:33 LDL:107 TRI:165)
2/08: GLU:93, CHOL:158 (HDL:30 LDL:86 TRI:209)
8/08: GLU:88, CHOL:168 (HDL:35 LDL:102 TRI:154)
2/09: GLU:89, CHOL:167 (HDL:34 LDL:87 TRI:232)
8/09: GLU:84, CHOL:189 (HDL:54 LDL:91 TRI:219)
2/10: GLU:90, CHOL:175 (HDL:35 LDL:87 TRI:266)
8/10: GLU:80, CHOL:159 (HDL:36 LDL:95 TRI:139)
3/11: GLU:87, CHOL:125 (HDL:29 LDL:73 TRI:113)
9/11: GLU:82, CHOL:163 (HDL:36 LDL:106 TRI:106)
3/12: GLU:86, CHOL:166 (HDL:33 LDL:101 TRI:162)
9/12: GLU:80, CHOL:170 (HDL:35 LDL:93 TRI:208)
3/13: GLU:89, CHOL:164 (HDL:38 LDL:102 TRI:118)

(normal is CHOL: 125-200, HDL>46 LDL<130, TRI<150)

or ( How To Spend Half of My Annual Salary in 3 MonthsCollapse )

Last year's entry

2011
This year has been a good one overall. Derek got a new job back at UPMC, and now works as close to home as I do. A good number of things reduced in cost for us, so we have been able to dig out of the hole that was the combination of maternity leave for me and unemployment time for Derek.

I am now officially the building curator for the gates hillman center for computer science, so that is something I have really enjoyed doing. We officially have art on the walls, and arguably on the outside of the building now too. More to come, and that makes me really happy. I missed out on a promotion at work, but the one I would have chosen to get it instead of me did. I am okay that I didn't get it, but it's a sign that I need to start making plans for my own future too.

Josh is amazing. He is smart, witty, and charming as the day is long. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful little boy in my life. He has an empathy that is striking and he truly wants to make everyone in the room feel cared for and welcome.

My fitness progress was level for a long part of this year, but this fall has really progressed. I backslid for a ways, but I am back on track and am making progress. I made it 6 laps around the track last week, and that is something I have never done, certainly not willingly.

My cousin has moved to town, and Josh and Noah have become fast friends. There is *something* about one that fascinates the other.

Looking Forward:
I want to enjoy this time with Josh as best as I can, make time for myself, and not fall into the mommy traps of overwhelmed/ask for help/feel guilty for others doing something/overwhelmed cycle.

I look forward to continuing to get to know my cousins and that side of my family better.

Gym. Fitness. Fierceness.

Yesterday was my first hosted Thanksgiving, and everything went really well.
There was Derek, Josh, & myself, Carol (D's mom), my 2 cousins Noah and Aaron, and my Uncle Erik and Aunt Meredith.
I made Turkey & gravy, cranberry relish, roasted veggies, and Moroccan Rice Pilaf.
Carol brought in 2 versions of mashed potatoes
Also brought was massive carrot+apple salad, kale w shallots, chestnut/apple/leek, baked sweet potatoes, and baked apples for dessert.

I think that was all of the food. Simply massive amount of it.

Turkey:
dry rub of pepper and kosher salt the day before.
set in roasting pan on top of celery and carrots, bring to room temp. for about 2 hours.
truss bird with baking string to keep things tight.
pour 2 cups of stock in roasting pan and put in 425 oven.
calculate ~13min/lb of unstuffed bird, but use meat thermometer anyway.
do not trust the pop up indicator (mine went off when the core of the bird only registered at 135F)
For the love of all things holy, let the bird rest after pulling it out of the oven.

Gravy:
simmer neck, gizzard & heart in saucepan.
When the bird comes out of the oven, clear out the solid bits from the sauce pan, and add the drippings from the roasting pan, turn up the heat.
pull the carrots out from under the bird and add to the saucepan, as well as a few of the potatoes that will be mashed (or post mash)
after breaking up the veg into smaller bits, puree everything together with a wand blender.
Makes for an orange-ish gravy, but the flavor is spectacular.

my last post was 3 months ago.
time marches on, I suppose.

in any case, Josh is now OFFICIALLY a toddler. A sweet, lovely and adorable toddler, but he has NEEDS and those NEEDS need to be met NOWNOWNOW.

We weighed him on Sunday, and he came in at 22.8lbs, at his last Dr appointment (May 23rd) he was 29in. That was over a month ago, and in the middle of a growth spurt that has been going on for 2 months. Also, 14 teeth.

Have I mentioned his NEEDS? Those needs usually involve food.

There is breakfast at 6:30am, snack(second breakfast) at 9, Lunch at 11:30, snack(Lunch 2) at 3:00, Dinner preferably before 6, and then finishes things off with some milk+yogurt at 8 before he passes out.

he is talking up a storm, though I haven't cataloged the list yet. Off the top of my head...
people: Josh, Dada, Mama, Nana, Mac, Aya, Audra,
body words: head/hair, eye, nose,
clothes: shoe, hat, sock
animals: duck, elephant (ele), dog, cat, giraffe, Lion (rawr)
food: cheese, milk, juice,
declarations: yes, no
stuff: wall, door, ball (dahl),

Of course, he understands way more than he can say himself, and he knows what he wants or doesn't want at any given point.

So, the Dr appointments earlier in the spring were brought on by a really bad set of virii that we all caught, and Josh ended up with back to back ear infections. Our regular Dr had been pretty tolerant of J being so low on the growth charts, but the part that he hadn't really grown at all in 4 mo or so was starting to concern her. Since I couldn't exactly argue against it I conceded to go to an endocrinologist for him. I expected to not get an appointment for him for 3 mo, but they heard the '16 mo old hasn't grown in 4 mo' and they had an opening within a week.

Long story short, they do a metric ton of bloodwork, and tell me that regardless of the result, they want to see us again in 6 mo. Without going through the entire list, which was exhaustive, the only thing in the slightest that wasn't normal or better than, was a SLIGHTLY lower than average protein level in his blood. All hormone, glandular functions, and dietary things were completely fine. Of course, between the first ear infection appt, the 10 day followup, and the Endo appointment, he grew a full inch in 3 weeks. *rolls eyes* So, I am less worried than I was before, and I really wasn't all that worried to start with.

Anyways, sorry for the radio silence, FB and now Google+, well you know.

Today, Josh is 17 months old.
Is it delirium? Who knows. I vote for sleep deprivation. It just doesn't seem like it has been that long.

But then again, it doesn't seem like it's been 12 years that Derek and I have been together either, which as of this weekend, we have. May 19th will be our 10 year wedding anniversary.

None of it seems like it has been very long.

Anyways, this past month has been grueling. It started with the Evil Flu of 2011, and Evil Sinus Virus of 2011 came swiftly after. Josh ended up with an ear infection from one, and a double ear infection from the other. Since we have basically back to back ear infections, we have another follow-up in a month to check up on his ears. We were all sick, and if it wasn't for derekbbell's mom, I really don't know what we would have done. Suffice it to say, we had to replenish the kleenex supply twice. We bought 3 packs of them each time.

Josh is nearly walking on his own now, though still a bit on the hesitant side. He prefers to have the support of something or someone. And the encouragement and attention helps him a lot. He is talking much more, some that is intelligible, some that is just Josh-isms. (aka: vocalizations) he knows and understands what we are saying, and generally reacts accordingly. He is super cute pretty much all the time, loves to play and give and receive tickles. Loves peekaboo, and discovered the magnet shape toys* that Carol bought for Christmas. We got him a table and chair from Ikea, which he also adores, even if he can't really get in or out of the chair by himself yet.

He is still pretty small, and this past month didn't do us any favors, but he has gained back the weight that he lost from being sick, so that is very good. At his followup appt, he came in at 21.4lbs, so he has gained back the pound he lost earlier.

Work has been reasonable for me, though the university just changed their travel and expense report policies, so we are all re-learning our jobs. Good Times.

Derek has mostly settled into his new UPMC job, and still is really really happy. Honeymoon or not, this is the best gig for him and his talents and we are just tickled.

*acknowledging that magnet toys are not age appropriate, all of the magnets are complete encased in the larger plastic forms, so as long as the plastic is intact, they are safe. I make sure he is playing with them supervised, and isn't chewing on them.

Last year's entry

2010:
This year has been filled with joy and heartbreak. Josh is truly a very happy baby. He is resilient, happy, and he loves people. Derek is still at his suboptimal job, hopefully we will hear good news in the new year. I am still in CMU's Computer Science Dept, which makes me pretty happy. I managed to lose 48lbs since Josh was born, I have gained some back in the last few months, due to illness, travel, and exhaustion from Josh teething, but I am determined to get things back on track in 2011.

year in review:
Jan: I started back to work, and got Josh into daycare at 2 months. There was some scrambling involved, but we haven't looked back.
Feb-Dec: Baby-Work-Baby-Baby-Work-Baby-Sleep-Baby-Work-Baby-Sleep-Baby-Work-Baby. (somewhere in there be a wife...)
Aug: we transitioned Josh to the Cyert Center, he took to it like a duck to water as well, and we have been really happy with the arrangement.
Sep: We lost Derek's cousin, Bryan tragically from domestic violence.
Oct: We did a roadtrip to Chicago at the beginning of the month, and then a went to DC at the end of the month.

Somewhere this fall I began being the official chair of the art committee for the new building. We are making great progress on it, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done. But I am super happy to be working on that.


Looking Forward:
- Continue to enjoy spending time with Josh, and be the best mom I can be for him.
- Continue to make time for myself, and ask for help when I need it.
- I have committed Monday and Thursday mornings at the gym, I am meeting people and this should help. Like I said, back on track for 2011. I have given away all of my big clothes, and won't be buying any new ones that are bigger.
- try to work on the garden, but I seem to be having problems even watering my houseplants these days.

A day late, but hey, I'm posting it. :)

I have just so much to be thankful for this year, it is an embarrassment of riches in many ways.

Josh continues to amaze me. He is such a special little boy. If every child has a mission, his is to make sure everyone around him is happy. I am so lucky that he is so easy to take care of, and so easy to enjoy. There are bumpy bits, he is challenging at times, but that is usually when he is sick, and that is to be expected.

Derek and I will have been married for 10 years this spring, and he still loves me! (well, I love him too. :) If we didn't have each other, we sure would be driving other people bonkers. He quite simply, loves me for me. That love gives me the mental freedom to push myself to be better for *me* and that he is proud of me for it makes it all the better.

My family has had a tight couple of years, but things are looking up and I am grateful for that. There has been one tragedy and one near-miss this year. The former is hard to see anything good out of it, but I am consoled to know that Bryan was well-loved and cared for while he was alive by very loyal friends. The latter I am grateful for the literal near-miss for my aunt and family friend.

My job is doing well, for the most part it's the same as it has been, just supporting different people. But I am now the Arts Administrator for the new building, and while officially it is only a small portion of my official duties, it gives me an opportunity to put forth my degree(s) to good use. And it makes me very happy. I wanted to do curator work but I didn't want to deal with the Crazy Drama that comes with working in a museum. Hopefully, I can make this the best of both worlds.

I am also extremely grateful for all of my wonderful friends, some that have put up with me for a surprisingly long time, some that I have only known for a relatively short time but their friendship fits like a glove.

I am actually sitting down currently, so I am going to try and get some of this written down.

So, yeah. Josh is now a year old. A-mazing.

He just gets cuter every day.

Let's see, how about the list of things that he does now...
- He offers things to me, toys, food, that sort of thing. Not that he actually wants me to have it mind you...
- He claps
- He climbs up the stairs now, with pretty good confidence too. I do have to make sure his pants are cuffed well though.
- He is starting to be picky about foods. Eggs are bad, as is stuff that is frozen (had been giving him frozen stuff so that his gums would get numb) He is still a good eater, but starting to be more selective about things.
- He is cruising around the furniture, and likes to walk around with help. We have walker toys for him, but he hasn't quite decided he trusts them yet to use them that way. He is playing with them though.
- He is 20lbs now, at least on our home scale.
- He is waving hello and goodbye now.
- He still loves to give hugs and kisses to people, both big and small.
- He is working around the difficulty with 'MA' by humming against his fist. Creative, no?
- His list of words is still fairly short, but getting longer. "ah dah" for all done is well established, da-da-dah frequently, and ah-ma-mah comes up periodically (without the hand trick). "Bah" appears to be bottle.
- He is starting in with the separation anxiety more than before. Still distractable from it, but it takes more effort now than before.
- Very strong empathic instincts, as tonight when I made a Very Sad Face, Josh burst into tears, and had to be comforted.

I will add more as I think of them.

Doc's appt went well this afternoon, just shy of 19lbs again, 28.5 inches tall.
She is happy with his benchmarks, observed that he is still fairly small for his age, but he is consistantly so. Reassessing in a month when I go in for Flu part 2.