Why I suck at New Year's resolutions

So far, 2011 has been a quiet year for our family. Mike and Laney had the flu. Mike now has strep throat. We didn't have much of a celebration on New Year's Eve because of the sickies. Laney is finally recovering and I feel like I can start thinking about the new year. I don't know why but I am a total sucker for New Year's resolutions and for having fresh starts come January 1.

However, thinking about resolutions on the fourth of January doesn't have the same effect as it does on the thirty-first of December. Maybe that is why I haven't had much success in past years. It gets old a mere four days later. If you've read my blog for any length of time you will know that I have tons of ideas...and poor follow-through.With that being said, why don't I share some more ideas with you.

Last year Mike and I sat down to write out all the blessings God gave us in 2009. I want to sit down and do the same for 2010. When you see all the good it makes it hard to be a downer.

I want to make a list of resolutions for 2011.

I want to purge and clean out my house. I am such a pack-rat and I am just sick of caring about stuff. Why do we fall so easily prey to caring about stuff?

I start my new job on Monday. This means relinquishing some control of taking care of Laney. You have no idea how much I'm struggling with this. My sister is even going to be the one looking after her.

I have a new angle for weight loss that I really want to share with you. I think it's going to be really fun and I am planning to have a series here on my blog.

Wish me good luck. And, I'll leave you with this little gem. You have to know that Laney is sick if she's sleeping on one of us. She's been doing it non-stop over the past week. I have been relishing these moments all the while wishing that she was squirming to get down and away from us because it would mean she's healthy.

Happy New Year (or all 361 days that are left of it)

Monday Randoms

-Mike and I got into a fight yesterday over something stupid. I was totally ashamed of myself afterwards. I have always tried to fight fair and I've always been proud of the fact that I don't ever use low blows. Yesterday I failed. I insulted Mike as a father to Laney when it was totally unrelated to the argument at hand. I knew it was the easiest way to hurt him. Mike and I forgave each other last night, but both of us still feel bad about the way we treated each other. Why was it so easy for us to argue like that? It was so untypical of us. It was all selfishness. We were both angry with each other from the start of the day and Mike is usually the first one to apologize. He didn't. I didn't either. I felt God really convicting me in the afternoon and telling me to apologize. My response was to ask Mike if he was going to apologize. That is what started the fight. I'm thankful for clean slates and forgiveness. I don't think a marriage would get very far without it. It's all good now.

I love my husband. And for the record, he is an amazing father.

-Laney is dropping weight percentiles. The doctor told me to try and get her eating more food and drinking less milk. It is not easy now as Laney has picked up on a bit of signing and constantly is asking me for milk. It is so cute I can't say no. She also still has a bad cough and we are monitoring it in the next little while. Apparently her lungs were clear. The cough really gets bad at nighttime. She is still her happy little self though.

-I've really been thinking lately about giving. I can't fathom the thought that 30,000 children die every day from starvation or preventable diseases. I am not doing enough. I have way too much. I am sickened at the thought that I need to lose weight because I eat too much and there are children out there who do not have enough food to survive. Mike and I have been having a lot of conversations lately about increasing our giving. As we make more money we want to increase our standard of giving, not our standard of living.

 -Wow. I didn't intend for this to be such a heavy "random Monday" but I guess I need to unload a little bit.

-How's this for random. One day last week our city was the second coldest place on Earth. Here I was feeling all guilty for thinking it was too cold to bundle Laney up and take her outside. Then I saw the news. The only place colder on that day was Antarctica. We were colder than Siberia. Colder than the northern territories in Canada. I will stand by my decision to not take Laney outside in -33 C/-27 F weather. Just so you know, it is much warmer this week.

I snapped this from my window. I did go outside to shovel the walks while Laney was napping, but that was about the only time I stepped out all week.

Thanks for letting me get that out.

A few randoms

-Laney has croup. Poor little one. I've tried taking her outside to breathe cold air and we have been doing a lot of snuggling. She is now on breathing medications. She doesn't exactly enjoy having the mask held over her face. Have any of you guys dealt with croup before? What helped?

-Winter arrived. Last night we had a winter storm warning. It's days like this when I'm glad I don't have to leave the house if I don't want to. The temperature dropped significantly and we now have a lovely white blanket covering everything outside. During times like these I always wish I had a fireplace to snuggle up in front of. Hence, the Wooden Wick candles I bought. They crackle a bit and smell great.

-I got my Christmas decorations up. The tree looks a little funny as I've had to move all the ornaments out of Laney's reach. That's alright though. I'd rather have my Laney and a funny looking tree, than a department store tree and no Laney.

-I got the job! I start in January which is exactly what I was hoping for. Now I get to enjoy a couple more months with my little one before starting work. It is five shifts every fourteen days. I wouldn't mind a little less, but I am so thankful that I do not have to work full-time. Now I'm just nervous because it seems like I have forgotten everything and it has been awhile since I have had patients depending on me. I am so thankful that my old job wouldn't extend my maternity leave giving me the impetus to quit. I probably wouldn't have quit even though I wanted to.

-With a sick baby, my house is a disaster zone. Seriously. I need to do a good clean, but I am lacking energy after spending most of my time tending to Laney.

-I've also now missed two days of the 30 day shred. I am making myself do it tonight after Laney is sleeping for the night.

Are you sick? and the winner

...because it seems like everyone I know has either been experiencing the flu or a cold. Laney got hit with a pretty bad cold a couple of weeks ago and it is still lingering. There have been several times that either Mike or I has woken up out of a dead sleep and ran into her room because of a major coughing fit. I am hoping it is nearing its end. As for me, I was so excited that I didn't catch it from her for the first time (out of about 8 colds so far). Then, yesterday I got it. The only high note was Mike running me a hot bath and making me some lemon ginger tea with honey. What a keeper!

The cold couldn't have come at a worse time because I have my job interview tomorrow. It has been so long since I have been to one of those. Yikes. I feel nervous and don't know how prepared I am. Is anyone ever totally prepared for one of those?

In totally unrelated, uninteresting news, my computer is on its last legs. I am expecting its demise any day now. RIP Porky (when Windows asked me to name my computer I gave it the first name that popped into my head). Porky is four years old, but there are many things wrong with him/her. It overheats, the battery is totally dead, the power cord is frayed and falls out, Laney broke the "ctrl" key, and now, the spacebar key isn't working properly. I really want a Mac computer and I have the money saved up for it, but I will not buy one until I have a job. Yay responsible me.

And finally, the winner of the CSN giveaway is...

Carrie! Congratulations. Check your email.

Hope you all have a fantastic week

How to Get Your Baby to Cuddle

My baby hasn't really appreciated cuddling for the past few months. When she was born, I remember telling Mike how excited I was that our baby was a snuggler. I held her nonstop for the first couple of months. My Moby wrap was put to good use.

Then something happened--she started moving. She decided that getting around and falling asleep by herself was much better than cuddling with mummy.

Fast forward to nine-and-a-half months, add in one nasty virus, and voila--I have a cuddler.

As much as I appreciate the cuddles, I would give them up in a heartbeat to have her feeling better. Holding a feverish baby who can't go to sleep with dark circles under her eyes is one of the saddest things to see.

Do you have any tips to keep me from panicking and racing her to the doctor? Her fever is mild today and her nose is just pouring with mucus.