Cutting out the Fat

I did something totally impulsive today that im afraid I will regret tomorrow... especially tomorrow since Sean will be working and I'll probably be sitting at home all day with Dixie...

Anyhoo, in order to cut expenses due to my new job as a stay at home mom, I cancelled our cable tv. It was costing $67 a month which is roughly $800 a year, and since I am currently making $0 a year, cuts need to be made! This is the first of many. I am sad... I have absolutely loved having cable over the last year- probably too much. Im sure i will get a lot more cleaning, reading, and QT with Dixie mae in, so this is actually a good thing. But that doesnt mean i wont be going through withdrawal symptoms for the next month. I'll probably get the shakes and start vomiting shortly! The shows I will miss most are ( and please dont judge me based on this list)

House Hunters (HGTV)
Property Virgins (HGTV)
The Kardashians (E!)
Real Housewives of Orange County (E!)
Shear Genius (Bravo)
Millionaire Matchmaker (Bravo)
16 and pregnant (MTV)
Teen Mom (MTV)

Sean absolutely hates the tv that i watch.... but whatever. What are your favorite shows? And What have you cut out of your life in an effort to cut expenses? I need some ideas!

XOXO
Eve

OK, call me crazy, but im actually really enjoying staying at home with Dixie! My maternity leave is almost up and im really not sure what im going to do next. I know that Im not going to go back full time, thats for sure- But I might go part time if I can arrange it with my boss. But anyhoo.. here are the reasons i Love staying at home with miss dixie mae-

Top Ten Reason's I love staying home with Dixie:

1- Her huge smile and twinkling eyes

2- Listening to her hoot & hollow at the blinking lights on her activity mat

3- Feeding her on my rocker without ever having to worry about the time

4- Having time to take Sewing classes! I can make aprons and burp cloths- next up, a dress for dixie!

5-Having time to do the dishes, laundry and tidy up every single day

6- Taking a morning nap together, with Dixie sleeping on my chest(probably not best practice for sleep training, but whatever)

7- Having time to bake goodies for Sean's work crew at the firehouse & visiting him all the time

8- Taking long 2 hour walks with Dixie EVERY DAY!

9-Having time to Cook dinner! I cant even remember the last time i ate out!

10- Having time to do social things and making friends


How am I ever going to go back to work??? im not sure that i will...... maybe tomorrow I'll look at the budget and try to cut the fat out :) But it wont help that we really need a new larger vechicle. Did i mention that my car broke down AGAIN. Yes, that is the 3rd time in 7 months, not acceptable! Never buy a VW, they are engineered to break down all the time- everything in the damn engine is made out of plastic.

How can I possibly give up any time with this precious little thing?

Tomorrow, my baby sister Bunny is coming to visit for 4 whole days! Hip hip horay!!! Bunny, you wanna babysit pretty please- i need a date!

XOXO

Eve


XOXO
Eve

February 17, 2010

Here are some random pixs of Dixie over the last couple of weeks. We would blog about other stuff, but Dixie is taking up most of the spotlight right now. Can't wait for our trip to Utah in a couple of weeks when grandma and grandpa Werner can give us a couple of much needed babysitting breaks so we can go on some dating excursions.

Mama and Dixie getting some much needed R&R

Dixie enjoying a sunest in Palo Alto

Dixie Mae posing with Auntie Poopie during our Utah trip

Dixie Mae baring her gums for the whole world to see

Our first experimentation with our new flip camcorder

2 months old!

Dixie Mae is 2 months old today! We had her check up and her first shots today. She handled it like a champ, screaming for only 2 minutes then she settled right down... until a few hours later when she was screaming for at least an hour straight. A little bit of childrens tylenol did the trick though and she slept the next couple of hours like a baby.

Here are her stats:
11 lbs 7 ounces (69th percentile)

22 inches long (35th percentile)

Head is 15.5 inches around

as you can see i have a nice short chubby baby!

Shes super alert right now.. moving her head left to right to left to right all the live long day sucking in her surroundings. She gets really bored and angitated in the apartment all day and loves to take walks outside for a change of scenery (much like her mother). She eats constantly and will take it in whatever form is around, bottle or breast, she makes no distinction, as long as there is warm milk at the end of the tunnel! Her eyes are still blue, and we're crossing our fingers they will stay blue. We're not quite sure on her haircolor yet... sometimes it looks brown, othertimes it looks dark blonde, and in the sun it has definatly got some red in it as well.. so the verdict is still out. Her skin is extremly fair... so fair that if i hold her in one position for too long she gets red spots where my pressure points were, so I've got to be careful.

LIttle Dixie just LOVES to take baths with her mama. I try to read her books, but so far there is no interest. IN fact, she usually gets aggitaed when i do because im blocking her view to the surroundings. She loves the swing and the vibrating papasan chair... lifesavers when i need to get something done. We're just starting the whole sleeping routine thing, so I'll let you know how it goes. So far so good though. Oh, and for a 2 month old the doctor said her head control is really advanced. She basically has full neck control except when shes tired, then it flops around.... the jogging stoller is in sight!!


We Love Our little Dixie Mae! Happy 2 month birthday baby girl!

Twenty Nine

Yesterday I turned 29 years old. I can’t believe it!! I still feel like I’m still 22 and patience is 21 (this would be in the Oct- Jan timeframe… my favorite time of year)… but atlas, I’m not! 28 was a pretty big year for me- I got pregnant in March and had baby Dixie in December. I was pretty much pregnant all year long.

For my birthday we got our very first babysitter! Sean’s best friend Angel was nice enough to watch baby Dixie for 6 hours while Sean surprised me with Tickets to Wicked in San Fran. It was SUCH a great musical, and we had SUCH a great time! I recommend it to everyone! We went to a matinee, because I always fall asleep at evening shows. There were a ton of elderly people in the audience with walkers, wheelchairs and the like. Anyhoo, It was really nice to be alone with Sean- first time in 5 weeks! I think we’re going to have to find another couple to do babysitting swaps with- Anyone interested??

Oh, and as a gift from myself, I’m bidding on a pair of black knightbridge Ugg boots on eBay. They are super hot, and since I don’t really wear heels anymore, I need to work on my collection of casual flats! I hope I win, I hope I win!!! I've checked all the stores for this boot, and no one has my size in black, so this is really my last chance!

This year my goal is to get back to my wedding weight- this is a full 13 pounds less than my pre Dixie weight, and THIRTY pounds away from my current weight. My pre wedding weight is probably not attainable, as I remember eating broccoli everyday for dinner for at least a month before the big day. But I need to set my goals high : ). I’ve told Sean that we wont even think about #2 until Im back in shape, have run a couple of half marathons and am at my pre Dixie weight. (the wedding weight would be an added bonus). Oh, and for all of you that told me that "the weight will just fall off when you breastfeed", you are all a bunch of liars. I think that only happens to the stick skinny girls, of which I am not.

Speaking of baby fat, baby Dixie is such an awesome baby! She’s already at 10 plus pounds! Shes grown out of her newborn clothes & diapers, and she’s getting super cubby and cute. I LOVE it! Her appetite is crazy…I cant keep up with the little piglet . Shes super aware and alert and is always scanning the room when she is awake. She knows what she wants and she lets me know it if Im not doing the right thing. But, once I figure out what it is that she needs she always stops crying! So Nice! Anyways, for all of your childless sisters and friends out there, my advice is to wait until you are 100% ready to have a kid. It really does change your life, your daily routine, your time management skills and your body. Hopefully the body part isn’t permanent, but im pretty sure the other aspects are.

Happy birthday to me! Oh, and I Love facebook… it always makes me feel so special on my birthday.

Here are some pics from the last 2 weeks. i'd post more, as i have like 200 on my camera, but blogger takes SOSOOOo Long to upload, and only lets you do 5 at a time! Come on!

Grandpa Payne's visit!! We're so glad you came!

Dixie on Grandma Werner's Shoulder. She spent much of christmas day there :)

Dixie crying. I think she is sooo cute when she crys-

the quivering bottom lip does it for me every time


Dixie's first doll from Grandma Payne- thanks mom!

Dixie stretching. She is SO adorable when she stretches & yawns... OMG i want to eat those cheeks!! As you can see, shes getting nice and chubby. In comparison to my friend's baby who is one day younger than dixie, dixie looks like a month older. Shes such a little piggy!! She literally eats all day long. She would just stay on my boob all the day long if i didnt stop her... and i have enough milk....she gets it all over her face!

Dixies very first bath, after her cord fell off!

She didnt scream, so i think she liked it!

I've been giving her baths everyday since :)

Our christmas present! note the cute hat....

purchased on christmas eve at a mall kiosk in provo.

Only in provo are there cutesy baby items everywhere!

THey've got the market cornered.

Here is a link to one of the vendors that had really cute stuff: http://www.katelynandco.com/category_53/Whats-New.htm
Just in case you cant read her onsie- it says "best gift ever"!

This is me and dixie in the wee hours of the morning.

My guess is 4am, but who knows!

Opps... duplicate picture... but i just cant get enough of it!

I wish i could post more. I have SO Many.

Does anyone have any tips on how to upload to blogger quicker?

XOXo

Eve

PS- things are slowly getting better. Last night she went 3 hrs between feedings. Plus we've introduced one formula bottle per day at the beginning of the night- we've heard that formula digests more slowly so they sleep longer. Wish us luck! Oh, and we got a soothie pacificer from my OT friend that works with premies in the NICU at Stanford hospital- amazing. She loves it. She wont stop sucking!!!

Rocky Road

These nightly feedings are killing me-last night was especially bad- every 2 hours on the dot! 8pm, 10pm, 12am, 2am, 4am, 6am, 8am, and since it takes an entire hour to feed her, change her and settle her back down to sleep, that means only 1 hour catnaps in between feedings for me. Im exhausted. Sean goes back to work tomorrow which means i am on my own for his 24 hour shifts. Im scared. Im not sure i can do it by myself. I wish i had a mom or sisters around to save me!! I think i need to hire a wet nurse.... do they still exsist? Does anyone have any survival tips for me?? How to save my sanity??

DIXIE AND PREGO PIXS

Due to popular demand (my sister Betina), I am posting a couple additional pictures of little Dixie Mae. Included in this cornucopia of images are a few pregnancy shots taken by the aforementioned sister back in October. Enjoy!

Liz, Eve, and little Dixie

Daddy with his little girl

Uncle Rob at the hospital with a yawning Dixie

The star of the show

Angel and Dixie Mae

Angel and Sean after Dixie Mae had a bit of an explosion

EARLY CHRISTMAS

This is Sean, reporting in Eve's behalf as she is taking a much needed rest. I told Eve that her nap was limited to a half hour, but she laughed knowing I was jesting. So for those of you seeking the details of Dixie's entry into the world, here is my biased report.

On December 8, 2009 at approximately 0945 hours, Eve and I were in our one bedroom apartment preparing to make a double batch of an amazing sugar cookie recipe. I say we, but Eve was the one mixing the cookie dough and making the other necessary preparations. My lone responsibility consisted of tasting the product through the various phases of its creation. These caloric delights were to be distributed among the masses in order to prevent Eve and I from partaking of their buttery content exclusively. We also wanted to share a little bit of the Christmas cheer with our friends and acquaintances as we help to add inches to their waistlines. Just as we were about to start the process of rolling the dough, Eve informed me that she had just experienced a couple of cramps in her abdominal region that came and went. Ever the planner, Eve wanted to take every precaution in case these "cramps" turned out to be an announcement that Dixie was indeed on her way. With that, Eve hurriedly jumped into the shower so she could exercise her cosmotology skills on herself with a blowdry and makeup application. I was left to preserve the sacred sugar cookie dough by wrapping it with care for its storage in our freezer. The tasty treats would have to wait for another day.

As Eve finished her shower, she advised me that the cramps had been occurring at regular intervals and that she thought that Dixie was coming. With that news, I started keeping track of the length between contractions and how long they lasted. I was doing it all in my head, but Eve insisted (very strongly) that I write down the exact times onto a piece of paper. As the contractions started happening with greater frequency, I called the nurse in the labor and delivery department of our hospital and apprised her of our situation. She recommended that we start heading to the hospital. We grabbed our ready bags and hurried down the steps to our car at about 1040 hours.

We arrived at the hospital around 1100 hours and were met by a logjam of people fighting over parking spaces. Eve wanted to be dropped off in front so that she would not have to walk very far. By this time, her contractions were pretty long and appeared to be causing her excruciating pain. I dropped her off and entered my own world of chaos and pain, of course, nothing comparable to Eve's. By the looks of things, I thought that it might be the Black Friday of the hospital world. Perhaps the hospital had a one time deal on the H1N1 vaccine that caused everyone and their mother in the Bay Area to congregate to this lone hospital at this exact time, such was my luck. After ten minutes of sweaty palmed, angry parking maneuvers to avoid a flurry of morons, I saw a saintly woman walking through the parking lot. I pulled up next to her and pleaded my case telling her that I was a dead man if I did not find a parking place immediately. She smiled and motioned as if to show a man dying of thirst the location of a lush oasis. I thanked her profusely as I claimed the spot she vacated and ran back to my waiting wife. The two bags I was carrying made the run quite awkward as I rushed to my wife's side fifteen minutes after I first left her. As I approached, I saw that she was away from the crowded hospital entrance, trying to be as inconsipcuous as possible as she was hunched over in pain. We entered the hospital at 1115 hours.

In an attempt to take her mind off of the pain, I told Eve that she was a pansy if she took the elevator instead of climbing the stairs to the third floor. It was then that I realized humor would not be playing much of a part during the labor process. We checked in and were sent to an observation room where we were informed that Eve was already dilated 5 cm. The nurse stated that she thought Eve's labor was going to be "fast and furious", a hint of things to come. The nurse whisked us into a delivery room as my poor Eve experiencied increased pain during her contractions. Although she initially thought she was going to go the natural route, the labor pains caused her to reconsider. Eve emphatically told the nurse that she wanted some drugs immediately. They put an IV in her right arm and gave her a dose of phentanol at 1200 hours. The pain subsided for only 15 minutes and came raging back with a vengeance. Eve pleaded for another hit, but the drug dealing nurse mercilessly refused. All the while I played the part of the waterboy/cheerleder; doing the bidding of the star athlete as I watched her in action. Chapstick, consoling words, caresses, and a cheery personality were the tools of my trade.

As 1230 approached, the star athlete began to succumb to the pains inflicted upon her by the stranger in her tummy. She begged the dealer of the narcotics if she could have an epidural. Again, the sinister nurse declined her pleadings, laughing and scoffing at the pain my poor wife was experiencing (actually the nurses were amazing...I am just altering the story a bit to make it more dramatic). The nurse actually told Eve that the baby was going to arrive before the anesthesiologist. At 1245 hours, my cool demeanor was caught off guard by the sounds of primal grunts emanating from my wife. The nurse turned to me and said the sounds I heard were pushes. She rushed off to inform the doctor that the baby would be coming soon. Sure enough, after 45 minutes of pushing, little Dixie Mae took her first breath.

While the day started off with the prospect of delicious sugar cookies, it turned out that we got our Christmas surprise a little early. Eve did an amazing job and Dixie, like her mother, came into the world as quickly and efficiently as possible.

THE END

To fill the waiting period I've been doing alot of baking and cooking. I've been filling my freezer up with shepard's pie, lasagna, monster cookie dough... you know, the essentials.

I've tried out a few new recipes, all of which have been raging successes (including my very first Turkey dinner !!) .... until today that is.

Today I found a recipe for blueberry creamcheese muffins on cooks.com...... sounds delicious right? Just the thing for a cold winter's day... or so i thought. (california cold = 5 degrees celicus for my canadians comrades)

Well my friends, when a recipe sounds TOO healthy, it means it probably IS. And they are really nasty. Yuck... these are going straight in the trash. Sometimes a little white flour and sugar are necessary ingredients!

Here's the recipe for your viewing pleasure only. Do not attempt these at home!


BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten3
/4 c. honey
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 c. milk
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed & drained
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cut into 16 pieces

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix together in a separate bowl egg, honey, oil and milk. Add to dry ingredients. Mix until just moist, fold in berries. Fill greased muffin cups 1/3 full. Place a piece of cream cheese on each cup. Cover with remaining batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

ARGHHHH Im going insane waiting.....I Miss Working!!!!!!!

Last Day

So today was my last day of work before baby Dixie arrives! It was a super busy day- I had about 20 emails to go through from the 4 day weekend (apparently not everyone took the weekend off!), and then I had several other things that needed to be done before I left, so I ended up working through lunch, and then leaving at 5:30pm.

I’m so glad it was a busy day though. I hate boring, slow days, and since it’s my last day, it would have been super depressing. Instead though I left on a high note, feeling confident in my accounting abilities and satisfied because I was able to tie up all the loose ends before my departure.

I’m kinda sad though, as this feels like the end of an era! I’ve been at this job (in various roles) for 4 years…. That’s a whole year longer than my public accounting days! It feels like home there. Everyone was really nice, sent me well wishes, and told me to leave early because they didn’t want me to go into labor!

There is something so fulfilling about a job well done, and let’s not lie, the paycheck is really nice too. I love that I am at a place in my career that I have experience (6.5yrs!), I have confidence that I’m actually doing it right, and surprise surprise, I can actually answer a lot of questions sent my way from the auditors, managers, and co workers. I’ve become the go to girl in the GL department, and I LOVE that. I’m really going to miss being “good” at something.

I’m a little nervous about being a mom. I mean, I really sucked at swaddling the plastic babies at my newborn care class. I’m probably going to hate breast feeding, and I’ll feel like a failure feeding the baby formula bottles. Plus to top it all off, its going to take a while to loose the baby weight, so in the meantime, I’m going to look and feel like a heffer.

So, wish me luck in my next life adventure. I sure hope I can be as good at the mom thing as I am at the accounting thing. Here’s to the next 3 months of maternity leave!

Our New Baby!!!

ok- Not to dissapoint, but its not "THE" baby Dixie I speak of. A few weeks ago sean and i invested in an ellipitcal machine for our apartment. The rational is this- He works 24 hours shifts, at which time i will basically be house bound, so i needed a way to get a really good work out at home. Afterall, sweat is my happy drug, and If im not happy, Sean isnt either :) So, we put the couch in storage and made room for the new machine.

The last 3 weeks have been SO NICE being able to work out at home after work without having to leave the house. Especially since it is now dark outside so i cant go for walks. Anyhoo, this is me, 9 months pregnant on the ellipitical for 60 minutes. Im really hoping this new baby will help me bouce back after THE baby. (editors note- the following pictures are not pretty)

Best Jacket Ever

I bought this jacket from lulu lemon about a year ago. Its my favorite. Its warm, snuggly, sophicated and stylish. It fit me when i was a solid non-pregnant size 6, and it still fits me as a lumpy bumpy pregnant size 6 ++ . (I've been wearing maternity size 6, but i think its acutally more like a size 10, its just sized down to make me feel better about myself).

Anyways, it was slightly expensive for a sweater, but worth every penny. I highly recommend this jacket/wrap to all women, pregnant or not. It will last a lifetime, it doesnt loose its shape, and its pretty darn stylish if you ask me.

http://shop.lululemon.com/Savasana_Wrap/pd/c/550/np/550/p/1107.html

Enjoy!

Eve

Going Private... (again)

So as soon as baby dixie is born, im making my blog private... I know I was private before and then changed back to public, but I've decided I dont want baby Dixie exposed to the World Wide Web unfiltered.

Plus i got this random comment from someone i didnt know a few posts back- it wasnt a weird comment by any means, but just the fact that i didnt know the person kind of freaked me out. So, if you wanna read me- either leave a comment to this post, or send me an email.

XOXo

Eve

ps- Twilight comes out Friday!!!

Second Thoughts...


So i've been thinking that i would go au natural (ie- no epidural) for dixie's birth. You know, so i can get the full experience without being drugged up and without complications.

Well my friends, I had to go to labor and delivery yesterday to drop off my pre-admission paperwork, and now im having second thoughts.

There was a lady in labor that was screaming bloody murder the entire 10 minutes that i was in there.

i think i looked freaked out bc the admission clerk said to me "dont be alarmed, shes in labor"... .and she was totatly non chalaunt about it... like that amount of screaming was totatly normal.

Well my friends....i think i might opt for modern medicine to ease the pain... isnt that what its there for anyways???

Lucky Lady

Little Dixie is a lucky lady- not only did my friends throw me a baby shower on saturday (see previous post), but a few weeks ago my very good friend marjie threw me a surprise baby shower, and yesterday my work also threw me a surprise baby shower. i have soooo much baby stuff now! I am so greatful for the abundance of love I've been showered with. its nice to know that people care :) its also nice not to have to buy a ton of stuff. i have all the baby clothes im going to need for the next 12 months of dixies life! Not to mention several beautiful homemade blankets, recieving blankets, burb clothes, baby books, shoes, wipes, diapers, oh and the carseat my work purchased, and the awesome jogging stroller my Dad bought for me! Wowzers...i am one lucky mama, and so is baby dixie. i'll post a picture of my baby loot shortly.

XOXO
Eve

My Baby Shower!
My good friends Jenny and Sarah threw me a beautiful baby shower on Saturday. I was hesitant at first to have a shower, as Im not a big fan of being in the spotlight, but i relented, and these ladies did such an amazing job! Everything was perfect. I am so lucky to count them as friends:) Thanks to everyone for coming and making me feel so loved. Only thing that could have made it better would be if my sisters and mom could have come too.... maybe next time :)

Lots of presents for dixie- tons of pink!
me, sandra, sarah & Jenny (sarah and jenny hosted)

Alecia, me Liz, Lindsey & Adrienne. such hotties :)

My work friends! Friends at work make the work week fly by- thank you ladies!

My Cake- 32 more days till D Day!

First

I had a realization this weekend. At my age (28), there arent alot of "first's" left in life. I mean, I've done all the really important stuff already, first step, first word, first kiss, first time driving, first college class, first real job, first paycheck, first (an only) marriage ect ect ect......

Well my friends, on (or around) Dec 11, I get to experience another of live's "firsts"- First Delivery of my first child! How exciting, I cant wait to meet little Dixie!


And on that note, you'll all be happy to hear that i am already in a much better mood this week. I think the fact that i worked out at the gym twice, and walked the dish this weekend really helped my mood. I am a big proponent of exercise. It pumps those seratonin's through your body, which is my "happy" drug. So, next time I post 3 depressing posts in a row, all in the same week, im going to do myself a big favor and jump on the ellipitical machine for an hour. (the elliptical machine has been my saving grace in this pregancy, since i can no longer run so the treadmill is off limits).

XOXO
Eve

WANTED

Cute pictures of my neices and

nephew in halloween costumes

Outstanding warrants for:

Eden

Oakley

Ivy

Georgia

Abby

Mina

Sam

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