Bath Time

Nicolas has finally come to like bathtime. For the first couple weeks after the sponge baths ended it was a crying fit. Like I was using acid instead of water, screaming, crying, kicking....no fun. I even had the cutest little bath tub set. None of that was making him any happier about the whole process. Then I received some sage advice from Rachel and Erin. I changed to the cheap foam pad that lays in the tub, got undressed and got in with him. Something in the comfort or the safety of having mom in there with him, made it all better. Or maybe he was just laughing at what pregnancy had done to mom's body. Either way, it's a happy experience now. We soap up dirty little hands and play in the water. We scrub up dirty bottoms and clean out the toejam. All of this to smiles and giggles.
Another milestone was reached today. Nic rolled over (3 times)! Not in a row across the floor, but 3 separate times from his tummy to his back.

Thank You!

I want to send a huge Thank You out to all who have wished me well in this new chapter of my life. Going back to and then leaving the Y was a great experience. Not only is it a great way to get more parties, cards and gifts, it was so nice to have so many people happy to have me back and sad to see me go. I have made a lot of good friends at the Y. The members at the Steele Creek YMCA are so very special to me. Compared to other places I have been, I would say they are all very "real". "Real" meaning that you get what you see and see what you get. Ginny is one of those special members. We laughed and cried together and shared many stories of our families and our dogs. Ginny is a caring, sweet woman, and I will miss her. Then there are Tim, Janelle, Asha, Martin, Bob, Susi and Jeri. I could name these special people and fill a whole paragraph. I have also lost 3 members whose faces will always be in my memory. Tony Rosa, Mike Bailey and Lili Bryson all passed away during my time there. Tony died of lung cancer and, needless to say, reminded me of my father. Tony loved people with all his heart and loved his family so tremendously. Mike was an avid cyclist who always gave me a hard time in the classes I would teach. Lili was a beautiful young woman with a handsome young son. She was taken from us all way too soon. Even as I write I get teary thinking of how these people have touched my life.
Thank you for making me feel so welcome and I hope it won't be too long before I see you all again.

Stay at Home Mom

If you had told me 7 years ago that I would be a stay at home mom, I never would have believed you. But then again 7 years ago I was living in Indy in a 500 sq. ft. apartment, sleeping on the same twin bed I had had since I was a kid, taking care of only me (and my cat -Zoe - but she was easy). Fast forward to today, I am living in Charlotte with a husband, a dog (Zoe died the week I found out I was pregnant) and most importantly a newborn baby boy. The commercials says that "Life comes at you fast" and well, it's true.
Friday I resigned from my position as Fitness Director at the Steele Creek YMCA. It was as tough a move as it was an easy one. Tough because we will be with one income and because I am afraid I will go crazy not working. Easy because I get to stay home and raise my son. Even though we go down to one income, working at the Y didn't make financial sense. Around $800 a month in daycare and $200 in gas to get to the Y. So I bring home about half my paycheck (yes, I made that little), work 50-60 hours a week and one weekend a month, and at the end of the day I get to spend a little time with my husband and son. NO THANKS! I can sum it all up in one sentence - I am not willing to give him only what I have left at the end of the day. Sometimes, that's not much. I will miss the friends I have made there and hope to keep in touch with as many people as possible. All said and done, I am very excited and feel a sigh of relief coming on.
So here starts a new chapter in my life.