Dr. Seuss

One of my absolute favorite things to do in a day in life is to read a book or two to Emi before bedtime. Emi and I have this little bedtime routine. Dad give her the last bottle around 830pm. I change her diaper and change her into her jammies. We sit down in the rocking chair in her room with the lamp on, pacifier in mouth, and I read her a book or two (and occasionally dad will join us too- I think he enjoys the books also!). I LOVE LOVE LOVE this part of my day. The Dr. Seuss books are perfect! They are the perfect length because usually by the end Emi is snoring her head off and doesn't even wake up when I lay her in her crib.

As of yesterday we only had two Dr. Seuss books (Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham). I went to TJ tonight and picked up One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, There's No Place Like Space, The Lorax, and The Places You'll Go. I was somewhat surprised when I was reading that there are basically two categories of books. There are the Beginner Books (Green Eggs, Cat, Fish and Space fall into this category) and the Advanced Books (Lorax, Places). Who knew that at age 28 29, I could still tell the difference between Beginner and Advanced books!? That Dr. Seuss sure likes to make up a lot of words. Good thing Emi doesn't know yet when I mess up the words in the advanced books. And hopefully by the time she notices I will have mastered the crazy Dr. Seuss words!

If I didn't know better, I would think that these books are based on my life story. For example, in The Cat and the Hat, the Cat is attempting to do everything at the same time.

"Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW!
It is fun to have fun But you have to know how.
I can hold up the cup And the milk and the cake!
I can hold up these books! And the fish on a rake!
I can hold the toy ship And a little toy man!
And look! With my tail I can hold a red fan!
I can fan with the fan As I hop on the ball!
But that is not all. Oh, no. That is not all...”

Sometimes I feel like I try to do too much at once and then it all comes crashing down. But my favorite part about this book is at the end when Jack asks the reader if they would tell their mom what they had been up to all day with the Cat in the Hat at the house without Mom's approval. I always then pose the question to Emi and say "Emi, you would tell Mommy, wouldn't you?" Emi is always snoring by this time and never answers. But I always ask.

Yes, I even think Green Eggs and Ham is based on my life as well. In the book, Sam is a "relentless crusader" who asks everybody to try Green Eggs and Ham. In the book, Sam's roommate says:

I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not eat them in the rain.
I will not eat them on a train.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! You let me be!
I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I will not eat them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them ANYWHERE!

Sam is like my clients. They ask me a question. A question with a very easy answer. I give them the answer. Then my client asks me the same question about but changes one irrelevant factor and asks again. And again. And again. Continually changing very unimportant facts in hopes that I will change my answer.

I'm excited to read these new books to Emi! I hope she enjoys them as much as I do!

My Friend, Giuliana

Perhaps you know my friend, Giuliana Rancic (nee DePandi). She co-hosts E! News with Ryan Secrest and is married to Season 1 Apprentice winner, Bill Rancic. Giuliana doesn't know we're friends, but I have no doubt that if she did know she would not mind at all.

A few weeks ago Tommy was able to find a link on the internet so that I could watch her show "Giuliana and Bill" which airs on the Style Network. We have the less expensive cable plan which provides forty five thousand channels of ESPN, but no Style. Had I know about this link previously, I would have taken more maternity leave. I love her show! Seriously, if you have never seen it- its a MUST! Basically Giuliana and Bill is a reality show that follows these lovebirds around. In the last two years it focused more on her infertility as her and her husband tried (and failed) IVF two times. Season 5 (the current season) focuses on them preparing for their third (and final) round of IVF when Giuliana (age 36) finds out she has breast cancer! Prior to her finding out about her breast cancer they had successful stored two embryos. Because Giuliana had breast cancer she cannot safety undergo IVF for 3-5 years (she had a double mastectomy but apparently the surge of estrogen would increase the changes of her cancer coming back). With the two embryos they elected to have implanted in a gestational carrier. This past week they announced that the embryos took and they are expecting late summer! Wow! What a crazy story! They always say real life is stranger than fiction.

Here are the top reasons I am friends with Giuliana:

1. She was born in Italy and moved to the States at age 9. Giuliana and Bill went back to Italy to get married and failed to read up on international full faith and credit and did not realize for a year that their marriage was not recognized in the U.S. So funny!

2. She has the most amazing vocabulary. Think words like "Amazeballs" or "cutes".

3. Giuliana and Bil call each other by their last names. So Bil calls Giuliana "DePandi." and Giuliana calls Bill "Rancic."  I've started this trend around the office, and I really think its picking up. :-)

4. She basically has my dream job of being an entertainment journalist.

Watch the show. You and Giluana could be friends too!

Thankful Thursday

I'm always thankful its Thursday!

I'm thankful that my girlfriend, Kimber, finally started her blog. Here is the link if you need another blog to read: http://www.thebartofamilyblog.blogspot.com/.

I'm thankful that my girlfriend, Laura is having her baby possibly tomorrow on my birthday. She is probably not thankful because she was hoping to have him today!

I'm thankful that tomorrow is my birthday. I love the unexpected things that come along with my birthday.

I'm thankful that my mom and I got some of my backyard cleaned up. I need to call the pool people because its almost time to open that bad boy up!

I'm thankful that I found my daycare provider. Sherry will be starting on May 21. I am sad to see Emi go there, but happy because I know she will be in good hands. When we went to visit Emi was looking around at the other kids. I'm sure she will love to start playing with them soon. I also know some of the parents of the kids that go there, and they are the type of people that you want your kids to be friends with, so that is great! Also, Sherry lives close to our house!

Happy Thursday!

Confucius Says...

Confucius Says... "One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure."

My mom and I were doing some yard work on Sunday. I noticed a few times that my neighbor would bring items out to the curb. Minutes later somebody would drive by in a truck and pick it up. At first I thought "well that was weird. I wonder why their friend who picked up their stuff didn't stop to say hi to them." Then she came out with another load of junk and the same thing happened-only a different person in a different truck. I looked at my mom and said "You don't suppose it's spring clean up days, do you?" We googled it and sure enough- Tuesday was City of Johnston Spring Clean Up Day.

Spring Clean Up Day ranks right up there with things like Birthdays and Christmas. Not only is it great to clean up your house but the entertainment it provides by the disbelief of people taking your trash off your curb is priceless.

At about 3pm on Sunday my mom and I drug out my old mailbox, old kitchen sink, a broken lamp and old microwave. My mom left about ten minutes later, I shut the garage door, and looked at the front door. A truck was approaching. The truck pulls up to the curb, the driver yells at his son to get out the back and shout back what he sees on my curb. The dad likes what he hears and gets out of the truck and they load up everything- yes everything. I stand there in disbelief. I mean, I knew it would happen, but yet was so surprised that somebody literally wanted my garbage and so quickly.

My mom called me on Monday and reminded me that I had a Christmas Tree, Satellite Dish, old flower pot and  some old fencing that was around a garden that I needed to get rid of. I hauled it all out to the curb and watched over the next thirty minutes as the trucks and trailers went by looking through all the trash my neighbors and I had brought to the curb. Sure enough, people found more treasures. By the time the garbage came today, all that was left was the Satellite Dish. Somebody even took the old fencing! Unreal!

I had not gotten rid of those items yet because Midwest Solid Waste wanted to charge me between $15-$45 to pick up those items. These hoarders took them off my hands for free! Now all the hoarders will have to wait until next year to make their trip around the neighborhoods for their trash treasures! I feel so bad for their heirs who are going to have to clean all that trash those treasures!

Emi's First Tooth

Wow! Wow! That's all I can say. I thought this post would be MONTHS away! (Actually I had no idea how soon babies get their first tooth, but after researching this I find that this is crazy!). Let me tell you how it all went down:

I was over at my friend Mindy's house to help celebrate her husband's 40th birthday. Her sister, Megan, was holding Emi. As she went to give Emi back to me she said "Is that a tooh?" I looked at her confused- "I don't think so."  (Note to self: Next time just say yes! Then you will not feel like a bad parent for not knowing your child had a tooth!) She responded "Hmmm, it must be a blister or something." Okay Okay, now I know my Emi would not have blisters in her mouth so I wanted to investigate further. "Wash your hands" I asked of Megan. Wisely, I knew if I stuck my finger in her mouth I'd have no idea if what I was feeling was a tooth or not. Megan is a mom, I knew she would know. Sure enough- its a tooth! Just to make sure, Mindy, who has three daughters currently teething, came over and gave it a good feel! Emi has her first tooth!
As we drove home I kept feeling so guilty. She must be in pain. She must be uncomfortable. How can I have missed the fact that my daughter got her very first tooth!?! I called my mom to tell her the news. I could tell by her reaction she thought I was full of crap but knew I was too smart to lie about something that is so easily proven.

The following Monday I had lunch with my friend, Kimber Dr. Kimber Barto, D.D.S. I was a little nervous that my Emi was getting teeth so soon, and I thought I had heard about babies having their teeth pulled when they came in too early. But Dr. Barto says Emi will be just fine!

Now, what's next?!

Ten Things...

Today was another interesting day in the practice of law. Here are ten thoughts I have.

1. Apparently their is a hierarchy in the public assistance type available to people. And those on a "higher" form of public assistance feel they can judge those on a "lower" form of assistance. For example, having Title XIX is apparently a higher form of class than WIC. On that note, many people do not realize that Title XIX is public assistance provided by the public and not the parent. For example, I ask "Do you provide health insurance for your child." Alleged parent says "Yes." I ask "Through your employer?" trying not to act surprised that this person would infact have a job. Alleged parent responds "Title XIX."

2. A more appropriate response to an alleged wife beater who is stressing out about something would be "don't stress yourself out about it" rather than "don't beat yourself up over it" which was what came out of my mouth.

3. It may be wildly inappropriate to start bets around the office about what crime your former client committed after they leave a message in your voicemail telling you to call them immediately for criminal representation.

4. Marrying your second wife before divorcing your first wife really pisses off your second wife and sure complicates child custody issues when you move on to your future third wife (which you already have a few kids with- but that is not relevent to the issue).

5. Jeff, my boss, during interview "We really try to treat people right because after we do their divorce we like to help them with their will, or by a house...." Me: "or their second divorce..."

6. If you want something done right you better just do it yourself.

7. Some people really don't get a chance in life. Really. They don't. And some people, well, they get all the chances in the world and they continue to blow them. Really. They do.

8. I have perfected the art of telling how somebody's UA (urine analysis) will come back just by the reaction they give me when I ask them to take one. Don't worry. This is an art you too can perfect in a very short amount of time.

9.  I wish wireless routers could be fixed like the original nintendo games. Eject the game, give it a few puffs, and magic- it works again!

10. Babies don't come any cuter than this:

Pinterest Quotes

Posting again about Pinterest is going to give my readers the false impression that I spend many hours a day on Pinterest. I usually get on Pinterest when I pump or nurse- so well, maybe I do get on hours a day...

Here are some of my favorite quotes that I have seen on Pinterest:

"May the bridges I burn light the way."

"I can't tell if I am dealing well with life these days or if I just don't give a sh*t anymore."

"Talk - Action = Sh*t."

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid. I thought you already knew."

"We'll be best friends forever because you already know too much."

"Somedays I really feel like throwing in the towel but that would make more laundry for me."

"My train of thought derailed. There were no survivors."

"I feel lazier than the guy who created the Japanese flag."

"I'd rather complain about high gas prices than take public transportation."

"No one said life was easy but several people have said you are."

Happy pinning!

Emi Chan

"Chan" - used by Japanese to show the speaker finds a person endearing. My Emi doesn't really have a nickname, but I do refer to her as "Emi Chan." I also assist in immersing her into her Japanese culture by having her waive good bye to people while saying "Sayonara."

Emi is ten weeks old today. She continues to change everyday and continues to fill our hearts with so much joy! (Are wondering if this is an over-the-top post about how great my daughter is? Yes. Yes, it is!).

Probably the biggest change is that Emi now sleeps through the night. And when I mean "she sleeps through the night" I'm not talking about the 5-6 hours that she had been doing since, well, since she was in the nursery at the hospital (c'mon, you remember me complaining about the nurses in their social hour at 3am). I got a very helpful tip from a co-worker friend to "top her off" with some formula before putting her to bed. After I got over the initial feeling that we were talking about cars leaking oil rather than babies eating formula I gave it a try. I have done it three nights in a row. Right before bed I give her two ounces of formula with her three ounces of breastmilk and she sleeps about 8 hours. It has been wonderful! I can't believe I waited so long. On second thought, it is probably good that I waited so long because I do think it is having a detrimental effect on my breastmilk supply (along with the exercising I have been doing). I am not sure how I feel about that yet. On one hand I feel really good about getting more and deeper sleep and some exercise. On the other hand, I feel really guilty that I am barely producing enough to feed her each day. I had a goal to breastfeed for six months. I have made it ten weeks so far. I'm not sure where I'm going from here.

Here Emi is with her first bottle of formula. Yah, no news really. She didn't mind it one bit.

Another big change is that Emi is now sucking her thumb. At first I was somewhat horrified by it. When I was younger, my sister sucked her thumb. A lot of my childhood memories are of my mom yelling at my sister to try to break that habit. I have been reading in books that it can be a good thing for a child to suck their thumb because they are learning to soothe themselves and are not relying on somebody else to provide the pacifier to soothe them. I did not think that this was a good thing because when I was ready to break her of the pacifier habit I could just yank it away. I can't very well chop off her thumbs. Now watching her spit her pacifier out to get her thumb into her mouth just melts my heart (much like everything else she does).

Emi is still quite the chatter box. In the mornings I get her out of her crib, which by the way, she is usually just smiling as I walk in and looks up as to say "oh, its you again!" I nurse her in my bed and then hand her off to Tommy and go downstairs to pump. This morning as I walked back up the stairs and down the hallway to our bedroom I could hear her and Tommy "talking." She would say a few things back to Tommy as he would talk to her. Honestly, I don't know how you could have a bad day after hearing that.

Here she is "talking" tonight with daddy. I also wanted to get a picture of her with her "Japanese Flag" pajamas before she grows out of them! Yes, she is about grown out of the three month size.

Emi had her two month appointment at the doctor on April 3. She was 25 inches long (remember she was 22 inches at her two week appointment and allegedly 20 1/4 at birth). Her length is the 99th percentile. Grandpa thinks she is going to be a basketball player which he thinks is great so long as she isn't like the girl on the Baylor team. She weighed 11 pounds 15 ounces which was the 61st percentile. Her head circumference is in the 89th percentile. I knew she was smart! Two month appointment also meant immunizations. That was miserable for all parties involved. A few minutes after the shot she was fine for a few hours, but it made for a miserable evening. I nursed her most of the evening. Sometimes she would forget she was mad at me and look up and smile and then start fussing after remembering the pain.

Emi continues to make even the simpliest of outfits just darling. Check out these leggings!

Yes, I'm aware I've posted this picture before. I just wanted to post it again- she is so cute!

Emi is showing so much more interest in her toys. She is talking to her stuffed animals and batting at her playmat. I should probably be working with her to spend more time on her tummy- which she doesn't really appreciate right now.

She isn't really onto a regular sleep pattern yet. She usually gets one good nap in (think 3ish hours) but sometimes that is in the morning and sometimes that is the in afternoon. In the opposite she takes like a 1ish hour nap or a few little cat naps.

I have been working 30ish hours a week which means Emi has been spending about the same with Grandma. I have no doubt she loves her time at Grandma's, but I miss her dearly when I'm without her. My mom says when I take her to the babysitter I will not be able to call this much to check up on her. I like calling my mom to check up on her because its like when she calls me to check up on her. :-) Slowly but surely my mom is starting to trust me with Emi. This is good because she still doesn't trust me with Anthony!

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

Happy 31st Birthday to my magnificent husband! (Well, his birthday was on the 11th- I'm just late posting!)

Tommy took the day off to spend with Emi and me. To be honest, I felt like it was more my birthday! Emi slept through the night and I didn't have to get her ready and out the door in the morning. (On a side, Emi has now slept through the night 3 nights in a row!)

Like Father Like Daughter...

We then went to lunch at Jethros. They opened a new location in Waukee! We shared this tenderloin sandwich. Seriously, if you haven't tried Jethros you are missing out!

When I was in Clear Lake earlier in the week I had these delicious Cheddar Corn Bread soup. I googled to find a recipe similar. I couldn't find anything so I made one up myself. Here is what I did- find a typical corn chowder recipe. Instead of flour use jiffy corn bread mix. then top it with shredded cheddar cheese. It was a nice light meal for dinner after our huge lunch at Jethros!

Happy Birthday, my love!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that its, well, Thursday!

I'm thankful that two ounces of formula doubles the hours of Emi's sleep during the night. She now has gone about eight hours two nights in a row. Surprisingly, I thought I would feel more rested after these nights, but it turns out my body no longer knows the difference between 4-5 hours of sleep and 7-8 hours of sleep.

I'm thankful that we got our lawn fertilized and its no longer the ugliest yard on the block.

I'm thankful for the guy who let me cut in front of him to get onto the interstate this morning.

I'm thankful for the long lines at starbucks in the morning so I take a pass.

I'm thankful for all the smiles, laughs and coos that Emi gives me everyday.

Happy Thursday!

Hoppy Easter

We had a wonderful Easter today! We were up early to get dressed for Easter service at Prairie Ridge Church. We then had a nice brunch at Americana Cafe in downtown Des Moines. Anthony came over later for an Easter egg hunt. And we all got wonderful naps in!

Emi insisted on wearing some traditional Easter attire. She was the prettiest girl in church!

Daddy even wore a pink sweater to match Emi's dress!

Lots of smiles for everybody today! I can't help but to look at these photos and feel so much joy in my heart.

In other news, I picked up a third full time job. My first full time job is nursing/pumping. My second full time job is a practicing attorney. My last full time job is a dish washer. This is just Emi's meals. this is 1.5 days worth of dishes!

Happy Easter!

Pinterest

People who know me well know that I love the idea of being crafty- I'm just not that crafty myself. This is really a shame considering my mom has no desire to be crafty and actually is very crafty.

While I was on maternity leave spending time with Emi, I found a few projects I wanted to do on Pinterest. I was so happy when I found this project because I have a friend that I was looking to do something special for.  I think it turned out pretty well. My goal is to drop it off at her office before I get into my own office by 9am. I hope I am able to get out the door in time! And I know she'll love it!

The supplies include two glass vases (one large and a small one to fit inside), jelly beans, peeps and a bouquet of flowers.

Place the jelly beans in the bottom, peeps on the side, and small vase inside the large. Arrange your flowers and voila! Super happy with the way it turned out!

Nothing says "you're special" like this peep vase!

On another note, being a mom has made me a more grateful emotional appreciative better person. I started to notice this when I was pregnant with Emi. The feeling has continued since I have had her. Every time I think about all my friends and family who show her so much love I just feel so grateful and so blessed. I love the co-worker that texts me because she is thinking about Emi and how she isn't sleeping through the night and gives me an idea; I love the friend that calls me to tell me she has been thinking about Emi and just really thinks she is something special; I love the grandma that loves her only like a grandma could.

Thankful Thursday

Favorite Months...

Do you remember me posting about the amount of time that I spend a week thinking about what my favorite day of the week is? (If not- you should know that Sundays are amazing. I love Sundays. And every Sunday I think about how much I love it).  Well, my friend recently posted about her favorite month so I spent considerable amounts of time this morning ranking them, and here is what I came up with:

Most favorite to least favorite:

1. December (lots of PTO and the spirit of Christmas! Oh, and my anniversary of course!)
2. May (weather is finally getting nice and pool opens!)
3. June (lots of bbqs and time with family and friends. I LOVE summer).
4. July (lots of lazy summer days, fun on the boat, fun at the pool, and fun with friends and family!)
5. October (the start of the fall and the yummy scents that come with fall (and cool house decor that I have for the fall).
6. November (this month always seems to fly and I get TWO days of paid time off. Rock on, BLG!)
7. April (Tommy and my birthday are in this month and so we usually do something special to celebrate. Last year we went to Vegas... that is sounding kind of nice right now!)
8. August (I love August but it always is a sign of the end of summer, and although I do not have kids in school or am a teacher, summer is always just different in a better kind of way.)
9. February (I really don't like February but it doesn't go to the bottom because it only has 28 days and Emi's birthday is in February!)
10. September (I'm failing to find anything good about this month right now other than the weather isn't as bad as March usually.)
11. March (See notes regarding September.)
12. January (This month drags and drags and drags- especially when you are 9 months pregnant. The excitement of Christmas is over and nice weather is MONTHS away!)

I really only dislike February, September, March and January. So pretty much the coming of April is very good news!

Thankful Thursday

(Note: I wrote this on Thursday but could not get my pictures to download so I'm late posting it).

I'm always thankful for my Emi. I'm also thankful for the time my mom has been taking her so that I can focus on getting my work done faster while I am there.

I'm thankful for this little gadget that I purchased on amazon.com. It is a garage door sensor. Right now it is green telling me that my garage door is closed. If it were open, it would be blinking red. Its nice to have this at my mission control center (aka: bedroom nightstand which also houses cell phone charger, baby monitor, remote control, lighting remote control and breast pump). I can hardly remember anything these days, so its nice to have this light to assure me at least my garage door is closed.

I'm thankful for Emi's new best friend, Mr. Octopus, which is part of her Einstein Baby Ocean Play Mat. She laughs and smiles more at that Octopus than anything else. It's super cute!

I'm thankful for my kitchen jewelry.

If you remember, about a month ago, I wrote a post about spousonomics, comparing your household chores to your economy. Well... here's the status of the takekawa economy:



Update: I'm thankful for a new Chinese restaurant I recently found out about in Johnston, Chopsticks. The food is fantastic!

I'm also thankful that i'm two half projects away from my winter/fall project list. If you remember- there were ten things I wanted to get done in this past fall and winter including new carpet, new nursery, buying bedroom furniture, et cetera. All I have left to do is switch out the door knobs and hinges and finish putting on some light switch plates in the basement. This spring and summer I am just going to  do the landscaping around the pool!