We bought a car!

Whew. I tell ya. When we make up our minds about something, we don't mess around. This morning we looked on boston.com at used cars, went to a dealer to check out one that seemed like a great deal and 2 hours later it was ours. It was part of a new program they started where they 'discount' a one year old car at the end of the month to get people in the door and meet their quota. We were first through the door at that price and it is ours!

It is a 2009 Toyota Matrix. Black with about 10,000 miles on it. One of the big advantages is that it has 'smart 4-wheel drive', so when it detects the potential for slippage on snow or ice, the all wheel drive kicks in. Otherwise it stays in front wheel drive. So, for us we wanted a car that got good gas mileage but could get us down the driveway in Maine in the winter. This was it! It was a bit more than what we had planned on spending, but in the long run we will recoup the cost in not having to do maintenance or replace things which we would have done on an '07 model with more higher mileage.

We go back tomorrow to do final paperwork as the Fuss Bucket was at the end of her patience today.

Yay. And, honestly, can we add one more big life event for 2009...jeez. Moved in together, got married, had a baby, bought a car....I asked Ben today to please not get offered a new job in February....

Travel Update

So, here we are in Maine. It has rained yesterday, froze overnight and then snowed today. We went On Christmas Day to my mom's in NH and had a wild, frenzied present opening session with Emily and Nate. They exhausted me just by being near them. Em was gifted a keyboard which came with a microphone on a headset. She entertained us by beatboxing and singing.

We spent the night there and survived. Ella or more less slept the way she normally did (or sometimes does) by doing a 5 hour stretch followed by 2, 2 hour stretches. The next day we packed up again and headed on to Maine. Las night Ella only slept for 5 hours again, but then she did a 4 hour stretch which was lovely. Except then she was pretty awake and it was only 6:30am. I was not thrilled, but we both eventually went back to sleep for another hour.

Today's snow didn't stop us from venturing to North Conway to do some shopping. It was Ben's suggestion, and when the man indicates an interest in going shopping, one does not say no! We got him some new clothes and came back tot he house and threw out two huge trashbags of old, old clothes. I'm not saying he suffers from hoarding, but he is a definite pack rat. Who needs the gigundous J.Crew shirts you wore senior year of college???? I only hope the interest in purging continues when we return to our own home.

Tomorrow we venture back to the great state of MA and return to normal life. Ben is off this week and then goes to FL for a wedding so I'll fly solo for two days. I'm hoping Kat is going to come stay with me for most of the time so I don't A) go crazy and B) get wimpy about being a mom.

Hope everyone is enjoying the season!

Here's to Hoping

The big day is nearly upon us and like most people we will be taking to the roads to travel to see family over Christmas. This will be our first overnight expedition with the FussBucket (FB) and I've got my fingers and toes crossed that it goes okay. My biggest concern is her sleep. It could go one of two ways. Be better than normal because she's a bit unsure of where she is and just passes out, or is like her first night home from the hospital when she slept not a wink because she was a bit unsure of where she was.

I feel daunted by the organization that needs to happen between now and then to get us out the door and ready to be gone for 4 days. The diapers, wipes, pumps, swings, clothes, presents etc. Oy. There's nothing I hate more than a harried, running late, exit from home to get somewhere. We seem to have a lot of those these days and everyone but me is okay with it. Maybe I'll try to pack the car the night before so we aren't hurrying around on Christmas morning.

In any event it will be lovely to be with family the whole time and to have, I hope, the chance to relax a bit with extra hands around to hold, jiggle, coo over FB.

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas!

Christmas card rejects

A funny feline moment

I swear she was looking at me like, 'Could someone please turn this thing on?'

Happy Holidays

Lordy, I've been away from the blog for a while. Life has just been happening and, sadly, for the last 4 days, happening with some kind of funky virus. No voice, sore throat and dry cough. NOT FUN. Who wouldn't love to just take a day and sleep and get over such a thing? Not when you are the household cow, you don't. Ah me.

Anyway, Miss Ella is doing swimmingly. She is beginning to hold her head up, gives some megawatt smiles that are no longer early warning signs of a majorly loud fart to come and makes lots of babbly, baby noises like aaaa, oooo, etc. She is also continuing to go bald. There is new hair growing in and it looks lighter - in the sun it looks almost blond. Her eyes also seem to have gotten a little lighter which makes me think they might stay blue (these are the things I spend our 40 minute nursing sessions contemplating).

I've gotten much more brave about going places with her. Why, just this past Saturday I VOLUNTEERED to go to the grocery store with her. Popped her in the Bjorn and walked the aisles with every old lady in the place wanting to Ooo and Aaa (See earlier baby noises mentioned above, apparently there is regression in old age) over her. The only issue came when she spit up on me, but oh well, I seem to end every day covered in stuff that came out of one or the other of us. Today I'm hoping for an afternoon 'spo to Target to pick up some pictures and get some xmas things.

We have a good morning routine which is that after I've gotten her out of her jammies, and nursed her, she goes into her swing. She either is happy or fusses for a bit while I eat and then pump (dear god, I'll write about pumping in another post, but man does it SUCK). Then I've been doing 20 minutes of yoga - usually she's calmed down by now and is semi-asleep, or I do a pose, put the pacifier back in, do a pose, put the pacifier back in etc.. and 15 minutes of ab/butt work. The weight is coming off - 12 pounds to go - and that is nice. I can now wear a pair of jeans I bought when I was in early pregnancy that aren't maternity and it feels so humanizing to wear pants that don't have a giant elastic band at the top. I'd like to not have the little muffin top action, but all in good time.

So that's where we're at. The tree is up, some gifts are bought, nothing is wrapped and the house is in a varying state of chaos at all times!

I am a newlywed.

Sometimes I forget that.

This has been quite the year. With today being December first, I am thinking back over the year and it makes my head spin! June 20 feels like it is a million years ago - sometimes that is in a good way and other times not so much. In the good way, Ben and I feel as though we have known each other forever and he has said to me before that he feels as though we have been married for 10 years (as a good thing, not a bad thing!). In the bad way it sometimes makes me a little sad that we didn't get time to savor the event or just being married for a little while. I don't feel that way very often and we talked early on about how our intention in getting married was not to find a person, but to have a family - and of course we didn't wait on that one!

I can only imagine what 2010 will hold for us (no babies, I promise!). But, I suspect there will be at least one job change and likely a move somewhere (please, please, not until at least May!). I'd like a little time to catch my breath and actually absorb everything that has transpired. I'd like time to watch little Ella grow. Time to put together a concert I've been contemplating. Time to get back into shape and time to just enjoy life.

So, happy holiday season to everyone. We are headed to our first Christmas party with child in tow this weekend. Let's hope she sleeps through it!