January Blahs!

Isn't January a boring month? I personally think this is the worst month of the year. After Christmas, you still have New Years to look forward to, but after Christmas is such a letdown. I get so excited for Christmas day, and just wish it would not end. Christmas was really good. Sidney got a LOT of stuff from everyone. She loved everything you all sent her. She has been playing in her new Cinderella castle, which is in our upstairs living room. I must admit, it is the most beautiful play castle that I have ever seen. Sidney is really into the Disney princesses. She wakes up and says "The Princess is awake, Mommy". The amount of money I spend in Hello Kitty Lip Gloss and nail polish would probably pay for a week of daycare. But I have learned, through friends, that almost every 3 year old is at this stage right now. At Toys R Us, there were 3 aisles devoted to Disney Princess stuff.

I don't think Sidney is destined to be a girl jock. I may have more of a singer and dancer on my hands. I am going to enroll her in dance class when she starts back to school. They offer dance, gymnastics, computer classes, and music. I had her in music since we already go to gymnastics on Saturdays. It is time to register for soccer again, and I may try her for one more season. The only problem is that NONE of the moms on her team worked, and they wanted to have the practices smack dab in the middle of the day. I had to beg just to have the practices at 3:30 pm, and had to hurry to get her there.I may enroll her in soccer lessons and then at a later time try actual games.

My camera needs new batteries. That is why I have not put any new pictures out. But I WILL go out and get batteries today. I think I was more organized when I was working because I only had 4 hours a day between work and bedtime to get everything done. Therefore, I did everything at breakneck speed trying to all of the household tasks accomplished. Now I keep thinking, "I have all day to mop the floors". Well the floors don't get done. It is strange, being home all day during the workweek. I am going back to work on January 21st. Work only pays me for 8 weeks. With hospital bills looming, I can't afford to take the rest of the 4 weeks that FMLA leave says you can take. FMLA guarantees 12 weeks unpaid leave, and you will still have your job. With Travelocity, birth of a child falls under short term disability, and I can take 8 weeks of paid leave for that. My 8 weeks is up January 18. So, I only have 2 more weeks at home. The time has just flown by.

Garrett has filled out quite a lot. At his one month checkup he weighed a whopping 10.5 lbs. He gained 2 pounds in two weeks. At this rate, he will catch up to Sidney in 5 months!! His acid reflux is better, but not gone. He is still very fussy. I have been experimenting with different formulas to see which one is the magic one. When he smiles, let me tell you, it seems as if the whole world lights up. He has the cutest smile on the planet. Who doesn't love a smiling baby. He has lost almost all of his hair. He has a tiny bit in the back left. I think his hair will come back blonde, like Sidney's hair. He looks so much like Sidney when she was his age. I just can't wait to see what Garrett's features are going to look like when he is a little older.

Since I am not nursing, the weight is NOT coming off very fast. I am stuck. I have about 15 pounds to lose, in order to fit into my prepregnancy jeans. If Heidi Klum can return to modeling after 2 kids, I can surely lose 15 pounds. I have been watching "The Biggest Loser" for motivation, and I started back on Weight Watcher on January 2nd.I must say that Weight Watchers really works. You can eat anything you want, as long as you don't go over your points allotment. No prepackaged food to buy and eat. I am hoping to lose 8 pounds in Jan. That is my goal. I have tried "The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, "Southbeach Diet", and "Atkins Diet" in the past, but Weight Watchers is the only one that has worked for me. My mother and my sister are currently doing cold laser therapy for weight loss, and swear that it has decreased their appetites. I might try that sometime as well. But enough on weight.

My friend Niveen is pregnant. We have a lot in common. She was born within 3 days of me, she has a little girl that is 2 weeks older than Sidney, and she works in the same field as me. I looked up her conception date on the Chinese Gender prediction chart, and she is "supposed" to have a boy too. That would be so ironic.

I did a little bit of painting this weekend, and painted the main wall of our living room the color of our couches, dark brown. I love it! It really changes the room. I am going to paint the top half of the dining room this color, and then paint the kitchen the color of the lower half of the dining room, which is more of a cream color. That way, I can get rid of the dark red, and the royal blue. It is amazing, the power of paint. It is like I have a whole new living room.

I feel so fortunate to be in this house. It is big and roomy, and we are not crowded for space. I pray our air conditioners hold out for another summer!