More options than an Old Country Buffet

While I was busy debating how to address my high school reunion, surprisingly, life carried on. Here's just a sampling of what's been occupying my time:

Great Aunt Flo Watch of 2008
Geez, you might be thinking, is she really still talking about this? Hell, yes, I'm still talking about this, today is day 55 of my cycle and still not a word from that bitch Aunt Flo. I took another test when I came home from work this afternoon because my stomach felt jittery before lunch, but alas, still negative, my fourth one since Mother's Day weekend. It's not so much that I'm freaked out about maybe having children THIRTEEN MONTHS APART, HOLY CRAP, but more like dying of curiosity; however, even that attitude isn't doing me any good, so I've decided to just sit tight until I'm presented with either two pink lines or a bloodbath in my underwear. I've been cramping on and off for days, and my gut feeling is that I'm not pregnant, but my gut also told me I would deliver Kara before her due date, possibly without drugs, and we all know how that went down.

While waiting for the latest test to register, Luke jokingly asked if there was a way to jumpstart my period. "If you can speed up labor, why not this?" he said.

Indeed.

Weight Watchers
Today marks week three of Weight Watchers 2.0, and things are going...okay. I've not been as dedicated as I was the first time around, so there were several incidents involving pancakes, bacon, and chicken strips, but I've lost 4.2 pounds to date--almost two pounds since last week--and that's not a bad thing. I've really enjoyed the ability to track my eating habits and calculate Points values online; it was through the Web site that I learned one point plus one point doesn't necessarily equal two. As in, three of the Weight Watchers one-point chocolate chip cookies are five points, not three, and I'm not sure why that is, exactly, but being off by a couple of points each day definitely makes a difference on the scale. I just discovered this gem a few days ago, and my newfound knowledge is bound to make a positive impact on next week's weigh-in.

I will say that I participated in a free health risk assessment at work the other day, and baby weight aside, I'm much healthier than I originally thought. In 2005 I was diagnosed with high cholesterol, and my efforts to bring it down were half-hearted at best. I was pregnant for most of 2007, and pregnancy raises cholesterol, so it wasn't until now that I was in a position to retest. I'm happy to report that all of my levels are in the optimal or near-optimal range, and I can breathe a little easier knowing I've reduced my risk for heart disease. It was in taking that test that I realized I'm doing Weight Watchers for more than just the weight loss. I've had an effed-up mentality regarding food for years, and I want to put my best foot forward and engage in a healthier lifestyle. I want Kara to look at me and see a strong role model for making good choices about food and exercise, and I want her to think that it's easy. I don't want her to use food to get attention, like I did when I made myself throw up for three weeks in junior high. I don't want her to obsess over supposed imperfections or compare herself to peers with drastically different body types or run to food whenever she needs comfort. But if I want that for her, I have to want it for me, too. And I do.

But hot damn, do I miss my spinach dip.

It's not all bad, though. I've been doing a little more in the kitchen, and on Tuesday night I used my Take Five! cookbook, a collection of Weight Watchers recipes with only five main ingredients, to make Pita Pizzas for five points a piece. And they were delicious. Isabel, you bonafide pizza lover you, they will not disappoint. I promise.

House
After months of hemming and hawing and pouring over Excel spreadsheets to make sure we are really in a financial position to do this, Luke and I took our first major step in becoming homeowners and mailed off an application to the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, a non-profit that helps first-time owners secure their first house. Now, Luke and I both have excellent credit (quick shout-out to myfico.com, where we purchased our credit reports and Fico scores from all three bureaus for forty-five bucks a piece), so we don't need to go through an agency to make this happen, but the INHP has relationships with banks throughout the city that will offer loans without requiring a down payment OR private mortgage insurance to qualified buyers. Plus, I took a (free!) intro-to-home-buying class last spring that they sponsored at a local university, and it was very infomative. It certainly couldn't hurt to see what they can offer us.

Our lease on this apartment is up at the end of July, but we'll definitely need more time then that to get our act together, so the plan is to switch to a month-to-month lease and close on a property sometime in September. We won't start looking until we've been pre-approved by a lender, which should allow us to move forward relatively quickly once we've found the house of our dreams. Luke and I are beyond excited about being able to do this and STILL have someone home with Kara. I know how lucky we are and I thank God every night for it.

My Gorgeous Baby
Kara turned five months old on Saturday, and she is taking the world by storm: scooting backwards, becoming more vocal, and as of Sunday, experimenting with rice cereal. She won't entertain more than a few spoonfuls before she's pushing away the spoon, but she's extremely interested in everything on our plates, so this is a good place to start.

Plus, she looks absolutely adorable in her high chair.

She continues to hold herself up really well and can sit unsupported for about ten minutes before toppling over like a house of cards.

She's also still snacking on her fingers and toes with passionate abandon.

So, to sum up, things are going really well right now, even if I feel a little like I'm burning the candle at both ends. Work is extremely busy, and I'm helping with a baby shower for my sister Samantha in June, which means invites needed to go out like, yesterday, and writing for Parents always keeps me on my toes. (Not sure why me wanting to clean my daughter's toes from a strange dog's germs is basis for telling me to relax, as if I couldn't wait to dip her foot in bleach or something, or why not wanting my five-month-old baby to be approached by a dog I don't know means I'm afraid of all dogs all the time, but whatever.) Sure, there are times I'm afraid of passing out behind the wheel, but really, what's a good night's sleep, anyway?

I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Comments

[dcfullest]

wear white underwear-- guaranteed to make aunt flo show up.

[Liana]

MAN your baby is cute! I just love her smile :)

[Kelly]

Ok, first things first. That girl of yours is so DAMN cute. That little chin! That hair! Those chubby legs and arms!

And... you are doing great on WW. I'm so glad we are in this together! :)

[Ree]

I would nom nom on those toes too. Too cute.

[Anonymous]

If it's very unlikely that you're pregnant, you could try drinking some parsley tea or take a bit of parsley extract, which are guaranteed to hasten Aunt Flo.

[Dorie]

I will try to put this gently - I love your blog but do you come off as a bit neurotic and paranoid. I also know that you're a new mother and that is extremely scary and emotional. You'll relax a little after the second child because you will have to in order to survive. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just saying I understand.

You do know that it is quite normal for your cycles to be wonky postpartum?

Also - I do mortgages for a medium-sized bank. When you apply for a mortgage, the bank is required by federal law to provide you with your credit scores. We charge a husband/wife $18 total for the credit report with all three scores. Sorry to say but I think you got ripped off. If you have any general mortgage/home purchase questions, I might be able to help. Even though you don't know me at all.

[Erika]

If it makes you feel any better about the furor surrounding your Parents post, when we first brought our puppy home I wouldn't even let other dogs play with him until he was 3 months old.

You're not uptight, just careful. Since you don't know the dog personally, it's well justified to want to keep your baby safe. Wouldn't all those haters feel just awful if you relaxed like they told you to and there was a terrible accident?

Also, wiping your baby's foot off was a good call. There are so many communicable parasites that dogs carry and, since you probably didn't inquire as to the dog's vaccination status, wiping off Kara's foot was smart. Those other people need to quit it with the griping...

[Bethany]

I hear Molly has a house for sale.

[Frema]

Dorie: "Neuotic" and "paranoid" aren't exactly what I would call gentle words. Plus, Luke and I wanted to know what we qualified for well before walking into any bank, so to us, paying for the credit scores was money well spent.

I *think* you meant well with your comment, but to me, it feels back-handed, not supportive at all and certainly not understanding. If my stance on this whole dog thing means I'm too sensitive and overprotective, so be it. I still don't want strange dogs sniffing around my baby.

[Dorie]

I was trying to say that everyone is a bit neurotic and paranoid and it just really comes out in your writing and really shows in all new parents.

For what it's worth (something to think about), here's one of the problems I see with blogs: I know you from what you share about your personal life on your blog (and I realize that's only bits and pieces of your life). You don't know me or many of your other commenters at all. So when a "stranger" disagrees with you it feels like an attack no matter how well-meaning it was meant to be.

[Frema]

Dorie: Maybe it was your intent to say everyone is neurotic and paranoid, but you didn't. You said that I was. I don't know how to take that nicely. I have no problems with people having different views from me, but I don't think that people calling me ridiculous, neurotic, and paranoid qualifies as a different view. It's a criticism and a judgement on my parenting, and when I get that from places that are normally safe, supportive communities for me, it's hurtful and a little embarrassing, just like it would be if somebody said it in real life.

I appreciate the clarification.

[Jen L.]

CUTE BABY KARA! Jeez, I can't believe she's 5 months old. We're about to start cereal, too, so I"m glad to read about how it's going for you.

That pizza looks YUMMY!

We're getting ready to close on our house!! Sending good vibes your way for your house hunt! It's kind of an emotional roller coaster in itself some days, but REALLY fun and exciting when you find the "perfect" place. :)

[eva]

Kara's sitting is AMAZING! Megan can sit for all of 2.5-ish seconds before toppling.
I'm ignoring all the neurotic/paranoid stuff. Ok I'm not. Your response to it was great, and I'm glad you responded publicly in the comments section.

ps - that pizza looks awesome! waaay better than a chicken strip or pancake:)

[Bearette24]

I like the pink pants. Baby clothing is so much cuter than adult clothing.

[Rachel]

GEEEEZ!!! Sitting up????? How??? Didn't you just have her! And she would be cute sitting anywhere.

Getting a copy of your credit reports before applying for anything is a great idea. That way, you can check for and eliminate any errors before your report is pulled and causes the FICO score to go down for no reason.

[Isabel]

Frema, I heart you and your parenting skillz.

I also heard your pizza making skillz...now, please share the recipe. Please.

(I haven't read the post about the dog...but...there are A LOT of dogs that live in our building. We are constantly forced to ride the elevator with them. Being in such a confined space with a dog leads to my child to being very scared of dogs. Dude, I don't want him to be afraid. But I do want him to be cautious. I wish that the dog owners would not get on the elevator when we are already on it with our child. If there is already a dog on it, we try to just wait for the next elevator. I guess what I'm saying is dogs can be gross. And if it's a dog I'm not familiar with...I don't it sniffing around my precious child.)

(Does that make me paranoid?! Whatever....!)

[Isabel]

Also...that kid of your is cute.

[Molly]

Bree, I just have to say that (obviously) I know you very well, and I would not consider you paranoid or neurotic. You're a great planner, a great mom and you have more of your shit together at pre-thirty than many people do much further on. Your worries for Kara? Straight from the heart - something all moms feel whether they talk about them, blog about them or smash them deep down into their insides. Every mom wants to protect her baby(ies) and every mom would like to to give her child(ren) the world. I can't see why you should be criticized for it. As long as any of us are doing the best we can with what we have, it is enough.

The pictures you posted are adorable. (Don't grow up too fast, Kara. Your little girlfriend is cookin!)

[Heather]

Hello Bree,

I must tell you that I love your parents blog and this one. I am mama to 3 girls (almost 9 - YIKES, 6 and 4) and I must tell you that the dog slobber comment was a realistic concern. I love our dog to pieces but you never, ever know what a dog has just been licking - ahem! AND, especially with an unfamiliar dog you don't know how they will react with your child. Our dog is great with our kids but I am hesitant to let her near kids we don't know 'cause you just don't know with animals. You'd think after doing this mom stuff for a while some neuroses would pass but honestly, my kids come first. If I'm not comfortable with a situation I say so, if that makes me neurotic to someone else, it's their problem, not mine.

PS - Re: Aunt Flo, easier said than done but really, relax - it'll be ok. After I had my kids things were a bit uneven for a while.

[Mrs. Higrens]

I'm a dog owner and I probably would have wiped off her foot also. I have a pretty good idea of what my dog has been in, but there's no telling what a strange dog has been up to. Not to mention the whole unpredictability of animals thing.

In regards to your effed up relationship with food - how can we not be screwed up when we are presented with the double societal pressures to both super-size our meals and be model thin?

That said, do you think Kara would be willing to share her toes so I can nom nom nom on them too?

[Meg]

Kudos for recognizing the potential danger of strange dogs! I wish all parents would teach their children to be cautious around strange dogs and ask before touching them. We have no kids yet, but we do have two BIG dogs (115 pounds and 75 pounds). Both my dogs are very friendly and adore the kids in our neighborhood, who they see everyday and play with outside. But when we were walking them outside once, a little child came screaming out of his garage and threw himself at my 115 pounder screaming, "Doggie!" Thankfully, my dog didn't do anything but sit there. Another time, I had the "little" one at the pet store with me, and a two year old ran at him from behind to hug him. Again he didn't do anything but I could tell he wasn't happy about it because he has bad hips that hurt him. The parents didn't say anything to their child in either case, and I am wondering what is going to happen to those children if they surprise or hug the wrong dog one day. Always better to be cautious! I will teach my own children to be cautious around strange dogs. Also good luck with the house hunt!

P.S. Kara is adorable! :) I can't believe she is 5 months already!

[Jess]

When my girl was 5 months old, we found out that a condom-free moment had indeed borne fruit in the form of baby 2. Yeah.

Mine are thirteen months and one week apart in age. And I must say, it's chaos. All the time. But it's the most adorable chaos in the world, and even though we absolutely did not plan for our kids to be so close, if I could do it again I'd do it exactly the same way.

[daddy d]

Great thoughts, Super baby, and fine looking pizza. Life is good.

[HollowSquirrel]

Guess I need to head over and read your Parents post, but I'm blind in one eye from a seemingly nice cat scratching me when I was 2, so please, don't let anyone tell you you're neurotic about animals around your baby! Now you can say, "My friend Stacy..."

[HollowSquirrel]

Also... I cannot believe she is sitting up. STOP that growing, baby girl! ack!