Multi tasking at its finest

I thought the last photo was too big.. This one is too small. What happened to Photobucket? They changed... Gosh, you go away for a few months and blogger changes, photobucket changes, I've changed! Everything is different.

I'm sitting here typing, as my foot is tapping on the bouncy chair that has no bounce. The batteries may have died, or, because we got this second hand from some friends, the vibrator part occasionally goes on the fritz. Whatever it is, I have to bounce the girl sometimes when she's getting tired.. then she'll fall asleep.. It's like rubbing your head and patting your belly (or is it the other way around?) - it's tough! But she's napping and that's all that matters.

I was supposed to start working today. We have no kitchen though so I eked another day out so that M could get some work done. Only we had to go to the pediatrician because it seems our little pet has eczema and this rash seems to be making her rather fussy. Or maybe she's just getting fussy. I don't know. Just when you think you've got it figured out, it changes. Like blogger. Like photobucket!

Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow so M is stuck. He'll have to start working when she is asleep or after I finish work or maybe while I am working... sometimes it's not too busy. He's only getting the backerboard down so that he can lay tile. We are wondering why we decided to get rid of the hardwood floor there instead of just refinishing. Ah well, lesson learned.
Anyhow, it's a noisy bit of work since it requires a bit of hammering...

I'm looking forward to going back to work (did I say that last week? am i repeating myself?)
because some days I just can't get a thing done. It's funny how having more to do makes me more organized.. does anyone else feel like that? Laying around the house just makes me lazier sometimes. Anyhow, I am looking forward to challenging my mind a bit. And I'm certainly looking forward to having something to talk about other than E - it's hilarious really. M and I talk about two things and he talks about one and I talk about the other. He talks about the kitchen. He can't stop thinking about the kitchen even in the evening when we are having dinner, I can see him looking over my shoulder and contemplating all the work he has left to do. I only talk about E - the rash that looks so uncomfortable, why she's being cranky suddenly, how cute she is, etc. I am boring. I've become my own nightmare. And therefore, going back to work is a NECESSITY. Getting back to the gym, also a necessity. Having a life, you guessed it, necessity.

I've started to see this homeopathic doctor, if you call him that. He works with acupunture and chinese herbal medicine. This is to take care of an ongoing problem but one that flared up after giving birth. I've only been once but I like the practice. He gave me some chinese herbs to take but god, they are nasty! If you've ever taken echinacea with golden seal as a tincture, under the tongue, it's akin to that. Bleccch! All I can say is that it better be working because I'm choking it down twice a day. I think it's meant to get my chi in order or something. Let's hope it works. Unlike the last acupuncturist I went to, I don't have to go back for two weeks. So it would seem he's not out to dry out my checking account anyway. I'm more committed this time, I'm going the distance. I've had this problem too long and surgery cannot be the only option. Treating the symptom and not the problem is the problem with western medicine sometimes. I'll keep you posted.

Ok, that's all. It was nice having a 20 minute space of time to write. What will I do now? She's still asleep so I might actually write a few emails! Or read a magazine. The mind reels.

I'm in love....

I don't know where to start. After over a month away, I'm finally home. I left for San Diego back in December and spent a week there, enjoying the sunshine, getting myself back. I took Emer out and about, by myself, got more comfortable with her and my ability to take care of her. We had a great time and I know my parents enjoyed spending time with her. Before we left Seattle, she was sleeping in our bed and would absolutely not go to sleep in the pack and play beside us. By the time we left for Ireland, she was sleeping on her own in the pack and play. Not only that, but sleeping through the night. We are blessed.

Without making this a blog strictly about my little girl, well.. it's kind of hard, since that's all my life has been for the past two and a half months. The amazing thing is how much she's grown. How much she's changed. She's smiling at us now. It's truly a miracle. I can't say enough.

Ireland was great. The flight over on Aer Lingus was brilliant, the stewardesses were so sweet to us with the baby. We had a bassinet, which meant we had a place for Emer to sleep which was nice. We sat next to a nice couple with another baby a week older than Emer. It was the first time we spent any time with anyone with a baby and it was fun to talk about our youngsters without feeling like we had to stop! We arrived with no problems and spent the 3 weeks visiting Martin's friends and family. It was a lot of craziness but we even managed to get a couple nights out on our own - drinking pints of Guinness - YUM - and catching up with everyone. Martin's sister had had a baby in July, her second, and he is adorable and really mellow. Her older son David, at 4 1/2, was in love with "Baby Emer" and would give her the sweetest gentlest kisses on her head and hugs. Then he'd run around like the Tasmanian devil the rest of the time! But he was always gentle with her. He wanted us to leave her in Ireland!!

I managed to catch up with one of my best friends, Julie. She had spent the last 5 months in Ireland and had met a lovely guy. They had just moved to Edinburgh in Scotland, to try and make things work as she couldn't stay in Ireland any longer due to visa restrictions. She had flown home over Christmas to LA and her flight went back through Dublin. She had a 6 hour layover so we picked her up at the airport and went into town for a couple pints and a catch up. It was absolutely brilliant - it had been over a year since I've seen her - and she is so happy. It's great to see and I hope everything works out for her and her irishman!

We spent the last 3 days in San Diego again and enjoyed a few days of 80 degrees before heading back to Seattle. The night we arrived to six inches of snow! It was such a bad storm that my friend who was going to pick us up from the airport couldn't get there. The taxi rank was 2 hours long so we ended up renting a car and driving home at 25 miles an hour. We made it. It's been crazy cold and icy for the past two days! What a welcome home.

Anyhow, there is so much that went on.. too much to post about, almost. I'll write things as I think of them. And hopefully I'll be posting photos each time.... Maybe one of these days I'll be able to get to read your posts as well!! I hope you are all doing well.

I'm back

I don't know if any of you are checking on this site anymore but we're back. Keep checking in for updates and photos. I just got home last night, have a pile of laundry to do and mail/bills to sort through but I'll get back here soon.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. May this be a wonderful year for you all.