Monday, July 29, 2013

He's finally better~

Over the weekend, Nathan finally got over his first real illness (colds don't count).  He had a stomach bug that lingered on for almost seven days.  He was sick so much, that I did laundry nearly every day this past week - poor little guy.   It is amazing how the doctor wasn't at all concerned with his 103+ fever when he was first taken to see the doctor.  I learned so much about myself and Nathan this week.  I feel like we conquered a huge hill, and it was just one little step toward strengthening our bonds as a family.  All in all, even though it was really scary, I think Brian and I did a great job at keeping calm and handling our sweetie being so sick.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Zombiefied

Today I feel like a character from the AMC show, "The Walking Dead".  And not a good character either.  It would be cool to be one of the kick-ass survivors who are battling the zombies.  Oh no, I feel like ONE of the zombies.  I guess getting only a couple hours sleep tends to do that to a person.  Nathan was up half the night, sick and unable to keep any food down.  Hopefully he will improve today.

During my PPD/PPA times was when Brian and I discovered Walking Dead and while I was at the height of my crazy, was when we watched the first two full seasons.  I swear I felt like I was living their story right along with the characters.  Everything was so real, so raw, so terrifying.  I dreamed about what I saw, and worked out escape plans - changes to the story - new events ... in my head as if I were a part of their struggle and journey.  I've recently discovered that others have done the exact same things, sans PPD/PPA.   I guess the show is just that damn good.  Kudos AMC.

PS -   Nathan's funny baby noises sometimes sound like he's trying to impersonate a Zombie.  I can't wait to see him discover the aforementioned TV series for himself one day.  I bet he'll like it, after all, he can audibly relate, at least for a little while as a baby.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Reminders (part one) "Be a Better Person"

The only way to make an improvement in any of these departments is to first take note of your current behavior, then reflect on how it can be improved, and finally, make the necessary changes. Remember that the change cannot happen until you know what is wrong in the first place.  Learn to stop criticizing yourself. Take time to appreciate your talents and best features, whether they are physical or internal. The more hostile you are toward yourself, the more hostile you are likely to be toward others.

Become more self-aware. The first step toward becoming a better person is learning to notice your current behavior, whether it is how you react to stress, how you cope with loss, how you manage your anger, or how you treat the people you love.

Learn to love yourself. Before you can learn to love others, you will have to learn to love yourself. This isn't the sort of vain, self-absorbed love; it's the love that accepts you for the person you are, that delves deep to unearth the skills and values that truly make up who you are and embraces these. Even if you don't believe in the value of self-love, start telling yourself that you are a kind, compassionate person and most of all, that you're worthy. Coupled with virtuous and kind actions, this will help you to be more self-accepting and understanding.

Learn to control anger and jealousy. These emotions are a natural part of life, but if you constantly feel angry or jealous toward others, you are going to have a difficult time finding happiness.  

  • Rather than constantly comparing yourself to people who you think are better off than you, take some time to acknowledge the fact that there are countless people in the world who are worse off than you. What's more, there are people out there who have less than you, but who are even more appreciative!
  • To let go of anger, forgive the people who have wronged you in the past. Holding anger and resentment toward someone else punishes you, not the other person. It's a fairly sobering thought to realize that you haven't moved on while they have. Give yourself the gift that frees your heart by forgiving.
  • It might help to talk to the person you are angry with, let them know what they did wrong, and tell them that you forgive them. If you would rather not talk to the person, then write everything down in a letter and keep it to yourself.
  • Remember that forgiveness is not absolution. The bad thing still happened; what you're doing is lifting the burden that weighs you down and lets you heal.

Practice empathy. This is about standing in the other person's shoes and realizing what place this person is coming from (pain, fear, loss, etc.). Remember that everybody has his or her own struggles and insecurities; understanding this will help you be more sensitive toward other peoples' feelings, learn to bond with others, and feel less isolated. And practicing empathy will help you to treat others as you would like to be treated.  This skill will come in handy when trying to improve your personal relationships with friends, family members, and lovers.

Show people that you care. Did you know that some people are actually too shy to be nice? Don't be afraid to tell somebody that you love them or care deeply for them.  Do this genuinely. Don't tell people what they want to hear just to make them happy, or to get something in return. Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to communicating with loved ones.

Be appreciative. Stop spending a lot of your time obsessing over the things you wish you had. Instead, count and appreciate the things you do have. You might be surprised if you actually focus on what is already good and helpful in your life. Chasing dreams can sometimes lose you the sight of what's already before you.

Give to others. Not everybody can afford to donate thousands of dollars to their favorite charity, but that doesn't mean you can't make small contributions to help those in need.
  • Practice random acts of kindness every day. This could be as small an act as helping an elderly person carry groceries to their car, or giving somebody the right of way when driving. The more you do this, the more you will realize how gratifying it feels to help others, which will ultimately help overcome selfishness.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Flying at the speed of light...

Time is flying by!  I can't believe how much of a whirlwind this week has been.  It's been full of eventful happenings.  In short, we got two offers yesterday on the house - one of which was good $ wise so we accepted and today are working on getting all the items finalized for the consultant to submit to the bank with the offer.

I forced myself to sketch as a means to brainstorm for a design I just completed today.  It was a smallish exhibit for Amazon Web Services.  I'm quite pleased with the results and am happy I made myself go back to my roots, so to speak.  The AE was astonished and so happy with the design, and subsequently - I am too.  Hopefully the client likes it!

I also hope to have more time to expand on my thoughts later... but can't for now.



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Apples!

Lately I have been so worried about my sweet fella eating foods and picking things up on his own.  His interest level in all the different foods I keep plopping in front of him on his high chair tray has been almost nil. To top it off, he has been cranky and teething again which seems to make food exploration more frustrating and less interesting to him.

But last night Nathan ate poached apple slices.  I AM SO PROUD!  I peeled and cored and sliced a small gala, added a dash of sugar and cinnamon and poached the slices in the m-wave for about 3 minutes.  He thought it was so funny to squeeze the juice out of the first slice but he actually ate half of it.  Then, much to my utter amazement and delight, he nibbled at two other slices.

There is hope!

More soon..... <3

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Trying this once again.....

So, here I am again - wanting desperately to chronicle my daily thoughts.  Actually remembering to log in and do so, is well, really tough!  I recently started reading some blogs from other women and they are inspirational to me, so here I am again, with the desire to start over and make it a life long habit.