Sunny 9 for 2005 February

I started Lily on rice cereal on Sunday and already she has been sleeping much better. I think she just needed the extra calories to sleep soundly for longer. She was waking up every 3 hours and it was killing me with exhaustion, but now she eats at midnight or close to it, 5am, 8am, and then wakes up between 9:30-10:30am. That is much better.

I started this diet on Monday called the Sacred Heart soup diet. It may be one of those fad things, but I really want to lose a little bit more weight, and I am pretty desperate so I thought it is worth a try. It may be one of those things that once you are off it you gain it all back, but we shall see. It is a 7 day diet where you eat this vegetable soup all day long, and one the first day you can eat fruits with it, second day veggies, third day fruits and veggies, fourth day bananas and milk with the soup, fifth day 20 oz of meat and soup, sixth day all the meat you want and soup, then seventh day brown rice, veggies and soup.

I can tell you that after completing one and a half days of this diet, I am so sick of the soup. It isn't that it tastes bad b/c it is good, but I just don't like eating it in the morning for breakfast. I am a major cold cereal eater and like that every morning. With this diet though, it doesn't work if you cheat at all, and no carbs are allowed except the brown rice, and oh yeah, tonight I get a baked potato- yum (pretty sad I look forward to a baked potato in my diet). I am also walking about 4 days a week trying to stay active.

I can't wait for the fifth and sixth day where I get to eat steak.

I am proud of myself. I am almost done with the 5th day and I still have not cheated on my diet. Even though last night David and Aaron got a sweet tooth and went to Village Inn and bought a Strawberry Rhubarb pie and vanilla ice cream. I did not partake. I also got to eat steak today for lunch and am having one for dinner. This diet is pretty healthy, but not eating carbs has left my stomach feeling a little empty after eating b/c it is just fruits and veggies really, so I never feel full. Hopefully my stomach will shrink too. I've had a hearty appetite from nursing and can't remember when I didn't (pre-pregnancy). Except for when I was throwing up all the time and nothing sounded good to me.

Further news, I said Lily was sleeping better, but now she is not again. I am getting sooooo tired, or maybe more annoyed (I can't tell which) at getting up all night long. The past couple days have been every 2 1/2-3 hours. This morning is the first time I have been frustrated with Lily waking up so much. Call me crazy but I used to not mind and even like getting to spend that time with her at night holding and snuggling with her. Maybe it is b/c I feel like she is doing it out of want rather than need. In other words, I don't think she is waking up b/c she really is hungry, but that she likes the comfort of nursing and being held. Right now I need my sleep, or at least a good 5 hour stretch is all I am asking for. During the day she is becoming more clingy, and it seems like she can't be left in the room alone for very long anymore.

At Aaron's cousins' birthday party this past weekend, she bawled like I have never heard her before when we came in and set her car seat on the couch and her 2 yr old cousin Ethan came to say hi. And she wouldn't stop crying when Suzette was holding her, or even when I was nursing her. It was really loud in the house though.

I just feel really guilty that I am annoyed that she wakes up so often now, but I just don't get it b/c she used to sleep 6-7 hours straight and then another 4 and then another 3. What happened to that schedule? What am I doing wrong/different for her to be on this horrible schedule now. It has been a long time since I have woken up from a nap or from a night's sleep without her crying. And I feel bad asking Aaron to wake up and feed her b/c it takes him twice a long to prepare a bottle, and he gets up early for class most days.

One night I let her cry to see if she would cry herself to sleep and she cried for an hour and a half. I felt so terrible and bad that I didn't want to do it again, but should I? Will I ruin her sense of security, or will I build her sense of independence? All the different theories on raising children get me confused.

I've lost about 10 lbs. I am not really sure how much b/c the last time I weighed myself was during Christmas break in SA so I am not sure how much but it is about 10#. Let's see if I can keep it off, or maybe even lose more! I will probably try the diet again in about a week to two weeks. I have to schedule it around leaving town to go to San Antonio with Aaron and Lily Feb 19th-22nd b/c I can't really eat the soup there.

We are going to SA to pick out colors for our new house. I am so excited. This is like a dream come true for me being a home owner...finally. I know I didn't have to wait long, but this is a huge step for me and my family getting into dental school, buying a house, and joining the Air Force. All those plans I had since I was little planning out my life playing MASH and choosing where I want to live and who I marry and how many kids I will have and what car I will drive, silly little girl things, but I am actually making those things come true. It is so crazy how fast you "grow up". Graduating high school, I wouldn't have imagined myself living in a house with kids and my husband in dental school.

Also, I finished up listening to HP#5 on cd while deep cleaning the kitchen and moping the floor. I started John Grisham's "The Summons", so far so good.

Just like Alyson, I have a sick baby. Last night before bed I changed Lily's diaper, come to find out her poor bum was red. I put her to bed, but then she woke up at 1am with a stuffy, snotty nose. I felt so bad for her. She couldn't really nurse well b/c her nose was stuffed up, but she was waking up every hour and a half none-the-less. She also had diarrhea b/c she had a messy diaper every other time she woke up, and she would howl in pain every time we changed it. It is so sad having a sick little baby on your hands. You feel so helpless, and then you start thinking that her not sleeping well was a piece of cake compared to watching them suffer.

I took her to the doctor, and they didn't say anything surprising, so afterwards I went to the store to get heavy duty desitin and cold medicine. At the store she sneezed a couple times and lots of snot came out each time. It was pathetic. Better out than in. I hope she is feeling better and that her bum doesn't hurt so badly.

Last night for Enrichment, we had a healthily living lesson, and I was on the food committee this month. I decided to make Hummus, so I called Alyson and got her tried and true recipe. I am not a huge fan of Hummus; especially store bought hummus, but this stuff I could not put down. It was just sooo tasty. Aaron even likes it. It was funny b/c in line I heard people say "what's that?" "It looks interesting...” "I'll pass on that". I was a little embarrassed b/c I know how it feels to be talking about someone and they are behind you. Not that I was offended, but I knew they would be embarrassed if they knew I was the one that made it. Thanks for the great recipe Aly. Garbanzo beans have 9 grams of fiber per serving so, if you need a little nudge, there you go.

On the not so bright side, Bishop called Aaron and asked if we could speak in church. Meh. That is probably my least favorite thing to do in the world is be in front of a group of people. I thought since we had been in the ward over a year and were leaving in July that we cleared the radar, not so. Oh well, we didn't have to speak in our old ward so we had some luck.

I rented Cold Mountain on Clean Flicks, so I'll let you know how I like it on Monday.

Can I just say that Cold Mountain is one of the most depressing movies I have ever seen. I thought it was worth watching for sure. I can't say I 'enjoyed' it, but I did like it- especially Renee Zellwegger's performance. Plus staring at Jude Law is pretty easy. I don't see how this is your favorite book Aly, because you are a softy, but then again the story has many redeeming qualities. I just can't believe how evil and corrupt some human beings are. Three words: depressing, gory, and enduring.

My V-Day was very great. Aaron bought me Irises, and got me new shoes completely unexpected. We had plans to go to dinner in Park City at a place called Fiore's, and Julie volunteered to babysit. The food was great, and everything went well until on the way home. We got to Deer Creek Dam (about 10 mins outside Provo/Orem) and apparently they had closed the roads at 10PM and it was 10:30. We could not pass! So we had to drive back to Park City, from there to Salt Lake, and from Salt Lake to Provo. I was not very happy about it for several obvious reasons, and to top it off we had to drive through a blizzard. Some stretches of the road/highway had no lighting. I don't understand this about UT. Where are there no street lamps anywhere? Especially in the canyon when it is pitch black? We made it home safe at 12:45, and Lily had woken up and was waiting to eat for about 10 mins. She was hysterical by the time I got home (poor Julie) and so awake that when she was done she didn't want to go back to sleep. Just when I thought she was down and I left the room, 10 mins later I could hear her playing in her crib. That lasted until 2:15. I got scattered sleep throughout the night. Just a bunch or series of unfortunate events. Hopefully better luck next V-Day.

Back again from a short trip to San Antonio. We went down to pick out all our house 'stuff'. I am very pleased with out choices. I was fun to pick cabinets, carpet, tile, brick, siding, light fixtures, washer/dryer, refrigerator, bathroom vanity, and tubs. We will have a lot of work to do to transform our house into our style with landscaping and painting. It is funny; I never thought I would die to get a Home Depot gift certificate much less want to go there and to buy stuff.

Lily went to the doctor's today. Well, I took her. She was 26 inches long, in the 75th percentile in height. She weighed 14 lbs on the dot, which is 15th percentile in weight. Her head circumference was in the 5th percentile. She was very good and playful, and the nurses kept commenting on how cute she was, and alert, and what a good baby she was. Not to brag, but I literally can't take her anywhere without someone saying she is the cutest thing, and I know I am bragging but I don't care b/c I agree with them.

Anyone else watching American Idol? It seems like there is way more talent this year than last. I didn't care for much of the contestants last year, but I really like a couple this year.

Also, I mentioned this to Alyson and Susie, but I am putting in a Mary Kay order and if someone wants to piggyback on my order to get the 50% off discount, feel free to email me or let me know. I hope I don't get in trouble for posting this in public, so if we aren't related I am charging you full price. (Except Sumana)

I have this lump on my upper back, and recently in the past year it has gotten bigger and more sensitive. I sometimes tease Aaron not to be mean b/c I might have cancer and die unexpectantly. I need to get it checked out but I have no insurance so it will have to wait till the fall.