Bad, bad, very bad blogger!

I have not fallen off the face of the Earth but I have been a very bad blogger...while this is far from my longest stretch, I had been doing pretty well keeping up-to-date, and then, well, life has been rather busy. Not as busy as my friend Marie, who, by-the-way, just had a baby and is doing better keeping up with her blog than I am. That is just sad on my part! But congrats to the Taylor family and welcome little Charlie. We are very excited to meet you!


All-in-all things are good.


School is winding down. Monday will be the beginning of the last 9 weeks of trying to get as much done as we can before testing and before the end of the year.


Brenna has been healthy (knock on tons of wood) and hasn't missed any day care days since tube surgery!! This is week 5 I am happy to say. We had a follow-up, no fluid, no infection....great news even though one tube was blocked. We are hoping that a second round of drops has taken care of the problem. Back to see the Dr. in about 2 weeks to make sure it is clear.


Sean hasn't had any major travel days for the last three weeks which has been nice. This week begins a new round but it was nice that he could be home for a few weeks in a row. It is nice too that he isn't usually gone for more than a night or two. Managable, especially with the weather being a little nicer.


I got to sleep for an extra half hour this morning because my wonderful husband took our daughter to day care. 30 extra minutes of sleep are sooooo valuable! Thank you!!!


I have started walking daily and doing my best to eat more healthfully. It is time. I can't set any kind of good example for Brenna while continuing on the path that I was on. I am not healthy and I have chosen to do everything I can to make a major change as far as my health is concerned. So far I am doing pretty well. It's challenging to make myself go for a walk everyday but I have been making myself go, even when I really have no desire. While today's walk wasn't long at all since it was a little chilly and Brenna was cold...apparently it isn't fun to be bundled up in the stroller when you want to be free. Mittens aren't fun when you want to be free either. So cold hands won today. At least we were able to get some fresh air.


I love springtime in Ohio...oh wait...it was 32 this morning...stupid groundhog.


I have been thinking about the bazillions (sometimes I think this may be more than a fair estimate) of pictures we have taken of Brenna and what to do with them all. I was great when she first came home....I printed all 400 (and I'm not kidding) that were taken before she came home from the hospital. And then I printed a few more. And diligently placed them in acid-free photo albums that had room for a little blurb about each picture (I even actually wrote something). And now I am looking thru folder after folder of photos that I have uploaded and don't really know where to start. I think scrapbooking would be great but there are SO MANY pictures~just of Brenna. First I think to myself "I'll do one of her days in the NICU", then I change my mind and think "maybe her first year" in an album. The task seems so big and there are so many little and big milestones that I don't want to leave anything out. Every moment filled with worry and hope and joy...how do you capture all of that in one or two scrapbooks? I want to do something that is more meaningful than just print, stick, write. I want something that she will treasure and that we can look back at and remember.


My dilemmas are this: 1 ~ where do I start, and 2 ~ what are the essential tools that I need to get started. The scrapbooking aisles in the stores are a little overwhelming when you don't even know where to start. If you are into scrapbooking....where do you start? what are your "must-have" tools? what advice can you give a beginner?


Here are a few photos to update any need for a "little girl" fix!