One and Another

mundane wednesday

2013-07-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

today was mundane, in the most normal, nothing out of the ordinary kind of way. there were diapers and dishes and dinner preparations and naps (for the little one) and, well you get the point. there was just life. this beautiful, normal life. i considered just letting today pass me by without much of a second glance. not in a "good riddance" kind of way but rather "lets see what tomorrow brings." the thing is though that three months ago none of this was normal. not the staying at home part, not the diapers, not the small person napping in the other room. and, well, that is exactly what i started this blog for in the first place. to make memories of the mundane. to appreciate my life for what it is. i am in such a good place right now. a place that so many other women would like to be and i ~~need to~~ do realize that. i have an incredible husband, a child that smiles at me and lets me hold her and rock her and sing her to sleep. i have a home to call my own and even though i can't seem to make a decorating decision to save my life, it has the potential to be great and beautiful and exactly what i have dreamed of.

i am lucky and i am thankful for a "boring" wednesday to remind me of that.

lest you think that this post is getting a little too blah and not really saying a lot . . . two things of note from today:

- in a moment of great intelligence i suddenly realized that spotify could provide me with the ability to listen to all of my favorite musicals for free. Ah-maz-ing! i don't know how this managed to slip my attention before. hazel has been ~~enjoying~~ tolerating my sing-a-longs in my loudest most broadway-esq voice all day. "now, i'm defying gravity . . . ." her poor little ears will never be quite the same.
- secondly, i craved a banana for a midmorning snack. wait, what!? the last time that happened was, hmmmmm . . . never!

yep, like i warned in the beginning . . . pretty exciting around here today (which is also why the picture to accompany this post is of a dirty corner in my kitchen. if not exciting at least i'm keeping the theme of this post consistent).

summer days slippin' away

2013-06-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

around here summertime is this double edged sword. on the one hand it is perfection. the weather, the activities, that Colorado sunshine! the downside, though, is that this perfection is short lived before we start to see the snowflakes fly again. every summer we strive to strike this balance between staying home and relaxing and getting out and enjoying life for the short time that we can without a coat on.

this summer is particularly special not only because we have a new little one in tow but also because it is the first time in our whole relationship that jesse and i have the weekends to spend together. and oh what a wonderful thing two whole days together can be.

even though we are already a week into the official summer season i still thought it would be fun to come up with few things to help us make the most of our summer (and no jesse this is not a "to-do" list):

bake and decorate a layered cake (i need to perfect my skills before the pressure is on for birthday parties)
climb a 14er
go camping with the little one
attend a baseball game
plan another mountain-top picnic with friends
attend the denver flea market (and hopefully find some outdoor patio chairs)
get away for an overnight "adults-only" refresher
repaint our guest bathroom
try out a pure barre class
go for a family bike ride
hit up moab, utah
host an end of summer soiree
find an orchard to go peach picking

whether we do one or all of these things i am convinced that this will be our best summer yet. babies just have this way of making everything great, ya know?

sleeeeeeeeep

2013-06-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

so, last night this miraculous thing happened . . . my two month old daughter slept for nine hours straight. nine hours without so much as a peep, squeal, grunt or cry. (insert hallelujah chorus here).

i honestly haven't felt all that sleep deprived over the course of her infancy (isn't it amazing how your body can adjust!?) but i've got to say that those eight hours of uninterrupted blissful slumber were just plain magical.

on top of that, the little lady and i were in such bright spirits this morning that i had fed and changed her, done two loads of laundry, gone for a run, and was dressed for the day all before eight in the morning. this is big people, B.I.G.! i mean, i love this motherhood thing but being a mom on top of eight hours of sleep . . . well just picture me singing in my loudest most joyful voice, "this is fuuuuuuuuuunnnnnn!" yes indeedy. and here i thought that seeing my baby smile at me was the pinnacle of my week. it just keeps getting better and better.

and oh, i know that i will probably regret saying this sooner rather than later but as of today it has been on repeat in my head and i just can't get it to go away until i shout it from the tippy tippy top of the tallest tree in our yard:

bring on more babies!!!

finding balance (spoiler alert: apparently it's as easy as rearranging furniture)

2013-06-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

i love being a mom! i hoped (and dare i say, knew) that i would. it has surprised me though how easily it has all come to me. how the smell of poop, or the middle of the night feedings really don't phase me at all. i somehow thought that i wouldn't quite latch onto it with the fervor that i have.

what has surprised me, though, is how hard it has been for me to find balance between being mom, wife, homemaker, fun-haver, and just simply an enjoyable to be around person. before baby this was one area that i thought was pretty straight forward - work hard, play hard. adding another person to the mix surely couldn't throw it off that much right?

perhaps because of the internet and all of the incredible "do-it-all" mothers out there (not to mention the example of my own amazing mother) i somehow have talked myself into a "you should/can be doing more" depression. needless to say this has left me with feelings of guilt for the moments that i am not 100% focused on hazel, and has left me running around like a crazy person two minutes before bed time trying to finish up the ten things still remaining on my teux-deux list.

oi. somethings gotta give.

when we bought this house back in october we wound up putting all miscellaneous items in one of two places, our bedroom and the coat closet underneath the stairs. our bedroom just so happens to be the largest single room in our house which is both incredible and incredibly hard to keep it from accumulating the greater majority of the "i don't know where to put this" items. enter my desk, the mecca of all "you should probably do something with this but don't know what" junk. every night i would climb into bed with what a thought was a clear head, roll onto my left side and then get hit with an overwhelming sense of "something has to be done with all of that stuff, and it has to be done right now or else the sun will not come out tomorrow!" yep, that is my 10 o'clock at night logic talking (and don't even try to tell my that your logic doesn't do a 180 in the worst kind of way after 9:30pm).

last week we moved the desk downstairs and i am kicking myself now for having not done it earlier. not only am i now able to walk into a bedroom that is free of clutter, but my work space has a clear separation from my personal space. (that and i now have a window to look out of when budgeting - dollars just make more sense when fresh air is involved.) oh, and as a bonus, because the desk is now the first thing that you see when you walk in our front door, i have an extra incentive to not let things literally and figuratively "pile-up."

my work space still has a ways to go before it feels like that pristine picture in my mind (or rather on my pinterest board) but its a start.

so there you have it. three cheers for finding balance and a peaceful night's sleep.

i know i'm her mom but really she is so cute!

2013-06-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

this girl has been all smiles this week and oh, is it fun!

Father's Day

2013-06-17T21:45:00.002-07:00

this man right here, yes the one who makes holding a bottle look dead sexy, celebrated his first Father's Day yesterday and let me just tell you that i am the luckiest to get to call this man my baby daddy. so, here's the thing . . . yesterday was also my birthday. even though this was one of those "meh" birthday years for me (31 doesn't really have a whole lot going for it in general, though i'm certainly happy to have another year) he went out of his way to make it special, on HIS special day. i came down the stairs to happy birthday banners, the "you are special today" plate was packed and traveled 2 hours with us for our picnic lunch. there were cupcakes, stroller schlepping, dirty diaper changes, chauffeuring, and pretty much everything that i'm sure Father's Day was invented to take a break from. he didn't even get a nap! yep, that's just the kind of guy he is.

hazel and i owe you one, hun.

it's a privilege to watch you as a father. i love you! *muuuuh*

tres

2013-06-05T11:12:00.002-07:00

this was the scene three years ago today. just the two of us, gettin ready.

but, oh, here we are three years later, a family of three. yes, i do believe that i like this number three very much!

to my love and my b.m.p. (baby-making partner), happy anniversary!

i love you three times as much as every before.

(photos taken by shane macomber)

so, so good

2013-06-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

let me just tell you quickly about the joy that is 6 weeks.

6 weeks is like this bridge that you have seen from a distance for so long and didn't quite know what was on the other side of it. you keep getting closer and closer to it and the closer that you get the more exciting what is on the other side looks. the hint of a smile, the start of recognition, the wonder and awe at every little movement. and good grief if you don't feel like you have just run a marathon every single day those last 6 weeks, but you feel it in the best kind of way where you are so sore and tired but so incredibly exhilarated and proud that you don't actually have any recollection of running those first 25 miles. and then you get to this bridge and you stand up on it (because you are now able to stand on your own two feet at this point) and you can look out to where you have come from and admire how beautiful those past six weeks were. because they were beautiful, wildly and mysteriously beautiful especially when looking back from this vantage point. and then you look out in the other direction and you can see those next six weeks stretched out before you and oh goodness do they look like fun. full nights of sleep, smiles, laughter, baby coos and plump round faces to greet you each morning.

and there you are standing on top of this bridge with your baby in your arms. and oh she looks so big in your arms but then you hand her to your husband and miraculously she is somehow still a tiny newborn as well. and you cherish her at this size. and you just stand there, the three of you, and take it all in as long as you can. no doubt these next six weeks will be altogether too fast. but for right now, this moment is just perfect. this moment of relief and joy, of anticipation and of the realization that this parenting thing is just going to keep on getting better and better.

6 weeks is just so, so good!

on this cold and rainy thursday let's . . . .

2013-05-30T15:26:00.001-07:00

^^drink a glass of strawberry tea^^

^^work on writing (embarassingly) long overdue thank you cards^^

^^wear a polka dot scarf - because, you know, its cheery^^

^^enjoy some casual reading^^

^^oogle over my baby and how cute she is in that hat even though it is probably still too big for her tiny head

(oh, and lets go ahead and kiss those rosy cheeks while we're at it)^^

loving

2013-05-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

listening to a Kirk Franklin gospel album Sunday morning before church, and jesse's (off-key though enthusiastic) accompaniment

afternoons outside on our lawn with my little buddy

friends that bring over dinner

^plants that defy my black thumb^

facetime with family

jesse's bedtime tradition of reading psalms to our little one

the sound of birds chirping in the AM

^a plateful of these cookies. a perfect summer treat! (ps go ahead and double the recipe - trust me!)^

the anticipation i feel for our first night out (sans baby) - thank you aunt kathy!

my sister-in-law's new blog

hanging out with old friends again and (kind of) pretending like nothing has changed

hearing jesse giggle like a little boy as he tries out the slack line that he put up in our backyard

^iced tea, sun tea, sweet tea - doesn't matter in my book, it's all good^

purging my closet

the state of my room right now - that will last, hmmmm, 5 minutes?

moms who sneakily figure out your wishes via pinterest

learning

2013-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

i'll admit that as much as i would like to pretend that i am supermom and have it all figured out, we are definitely still learning over here.

learning that just when you think that you have finally established a routine, the next day will most likely look like anything but that routine. learning that when your baby is screaming at the top of their lungs and you have done everything, ev-re-thing you can think of to help her and you just can't, that you are not a failure. learning that another person's company or sing-a-longs might be just that thing that you didn't think of that she needed and being ok with that. learning that the outdoors really is the best mood fixer for her and i (no matter how difficult it is to get outside). learning that i really should buy more burp cloths or at least that i shouldn't have thrown away all of those useless free college t-shirts that would have welcomed the spit-ups. learning that my body is INCREDIBLE but not invincible and that if i don't take care of it no one else will. learning that the phrase "that's ok, i'll get to it tomorrow" just really doesn't hold true anymore. learning that my daily capabilities aren't what they used to be, and learning to be ok with that. learning that spending an hour looking at my daughter when i haven't finished even half of the things on my to-do list is still important. learning that in that short hour i might very well witness her growing. learning that my husband is my greatest ally, support, and encourager (well technically i already knew this but i've been relearning it in wonderful new ways).

the thought that this is only the beginning of everything that i have to learn is daunting but good grief is this time rewarding. there are nights that i go to bed so defeated, so discouraged by how little i have actually accomplished but then i look at my daughter and the mere fact that she is alive and healthy puts things back into perspective. and you know what, i think we're doing all right, we three.

summer salad

2013-05-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

summer is (unofficially) upon us, horray! let's break out the white jeans, fire up the grill and enjoy all things bright, colorful, and delicious.

here is one of my favorite go-to salads for summer:

watermelon salad
- leafy greens (i used a "spring mix" that I already had on hand in my fridge)
- watermelon (cubed or balled)
- crumbled feta cheese
- sliced red onions
- candied almond slivers*
- balsamic vinaigrette dressing**

*candied almond slivers
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar

combine almonds and sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat. stir mixture as it is heating up to prevent burning. sugar will begin to melt and coat almonds. reduce heat to medium. continue stirring almonds until they have started to brown. immediately remove from heat. almonds will continue to brown slightly. spread out onto parchment paper or aluminum foil to cool. break up chunks before sprinkling on salad.

**balsamic vinaigrette
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 clove of garlic (minced)

combine all ingredients in a container with a lid. shake vigorously before using.

a little bit crunchy, a little bit sweet, a little bit cold and refreshing. ahhhhh, the perfect light lunch.

happy salad making friends!

and now for a post that has nothing to do with babies but instead pertains to my sweet tooth

2013-05-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

you all are in for a treat today. not only am i going to stop talking about my baby for one whole day, but i am also going to share with you one of my all time favorite cookie recipes. this is the recipe that always garners plenty of compliments and is somewhat of a sneaky cookie - oats, coconut? really? i don't taste either one of those in there. yep, its sneaky. so without further ado i give you:

oatmeal coconut cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups original oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coconut flakes

combine butter and sugars until light and fluffy. add in eggs and oats until combined. in a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. add dry ingredients into mixer. lastly, pour in coconut flakes. (i think that this recipe would also be pretty tasty with a spice or two mixed in. maybe 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon? i've never tried it though so let me know how it goes if you take the risk)

bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or until lightly browned on bottom and top)

oh, get ready! you are in for a treat!

regular mother/baby post will resume tomorrow, because that's about all that is going on in my life right now.

one month

2013-05-21T19:30:00.002-07:00

sweet chubby cheeks, an adorable button nose, long legs just starting to develop their baby fat rolls and all of my love!

how have the four weeks gone by so fast?

because really, what is more fun than watching your infant daughter's dance moves on the countertop on a monday night?

2013-05-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

nothing. the answer is nothing.
(don't worry she loved it)

happy weekend

2013-05-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

this weekend marks the first that we get to spend together as a family, just the three of us, without anything "to-do". the weather looks like it might be that miserable kind of cold spring rain that makes you forget about house projects and instead allows you the freedom to enjoy the finer things in indoors, like recently plumped up infant cheeks and thighs. and on that note i think i hear someone that needs a mama's lovin.

have a good one friends!

the reality of things

2013-05-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

yesterday was a rough one.

my sweet little girl was having a bad day and unfortunately her rookie mother just didn't know what to do. the poor girl was overly exhausted (as was i) but try as i might i just couldn't get her to fall asleep. all of my tricks that had so cleverly worked on her the day before amounted to nothing. i tried every carrying position in every room of the house, i tried singing to her, i tried all of the expert recommended methods but to know avail. and so, realizing my defeat, i simply gave her a kiss and told her that i loved her and that i was sorry that i couldn't help her . . . which was met with even louder screams. fail!

the details are all a little fuzzy now. in fact i'm not sure i could recall exactly what happened next if my life depended on it but somehow both of us ended up asleep (i wish i could remember how to replicate that). sleeeeeeeep! i awoke to the sound of my husband coming home (blessed relief!) and my baby girl's arm stretched out across my chest. and oh, that moment, that beautiful moment when confidence and energy reentered my body.

and you know what . . . last night i got the best night of sleep that i have had in a month. it wasn't eight hours straight or even anything close to that but it was my personal best so i'll take it. oh, and looking back now i was able to fit in a shower in addition to my nap and cross off six of the ten things on my "to-do" list (over half counts as a win in my book). so, looking back i guess yesterday wasn't quite so bad after all.

spring has sprung

2013-05-15T20:43:00.003-07:00

there is this downside to living in the mountains, one which i forget about until the middle of march each year. while what seems like the rest of the world is gearing up for spring via fresh flowers, and sunny weather posts on my instagram feed we are still experiencing some of our heaviest snowfalls of the season. every year when this happens i tell myself "two more months, we still have two more months," to try to reign in my own expectations.

i find that i try so hard to convince myself that it is not spring just yet that all of the sudden one day it just up and surprises me. and let me tell you, it is the most welcome surprise. springtime in the mountains is just about the best thing there is. crisp mornings, hillsides full of vibrant green aspens, and that smell of the earth reawakening promises five whole months of life in the outdoors! i am not saying that we won't have snow again before october. we will. no doubt, we will.

what i am saying is let hammock season begin!

let's hear it for my mama

2013-05-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

my mom left town yesterday and there were tears, big tears that went with her.

i cannot imagine these last three weeks without her around. she walked through our doors two days before i went into labor and immediately went to work doing everything that she could to make life easier on jesse and i. she cleaned out cupboards, shopped for groceries, picked up the mail, raked the yard, took out the trash, planted flowers, helped me make my mind up about the nursery decor and oh, pretty much prepared us a feast every. single. night! seriously, i don't know if jesse has eaten that well over the course of our entire relationship.

when i went into labor she patiently listened to me moan and groan for two days and was an incredible support to jesse while he stayed by my side. she was there in the hospital with a gentle massage and encouraging words when things started to get tough and waited up until the wee hours of the morning to hear that sweet, sweet newborn cry before heading back to the house in a snowstorm to get some rest. she awoke to hazel's cries in the middle of the night but instead of offering advice (which would probably not have been received well at 2am) instead stayed quiet and allowed us to learn on our own.

i don't know how she does it. she is the hardest working, most selfless person out there. never once did she complain as i fully took advantage of every possible way that she could lend a hand. i have so much to learn about motherhood but i am so thankful that i have the best example to learn it from. i hope that some day down the line hazel can say this about me. that i was the kind of mother that she could count on in any situation to be her strength and support.

i love my mama so dearly and am so thankful to have been able to share this special time with her. we can't wait until the next time we can see her! until then, thank goodness for facetime!

mother's day

2013-05-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

yesterday was Mother's Day. my very first Mother's Day. the sound of it is still so strange to my ears. am i really old enough for this?

i wanted to show up to church put together with my hair curled and a decent outfit on in celebration of this special day. instead, nursing dictated what i could wear (which ended up being embarrassingly wrinkled with no time to remedy that) and my hair was left to lay how it fell from when i collapsed into bed with it wet last night and both Hazel and i ended up wearing spit-up before we could get a decent picture together. as much as these trivial things wanted to cause me to call into question my abilities as a mother, i managed to laugh them off and call the day perfect.

perfect that i had my beautiful, healthy daughter to fall asleep on my chest. perfect that i had my husband there to kiss and congratulate me. perfect that i had my in-laws treat me to my first ever Mother's Day brunch. perfect that my own mother (and incredible example) was in town and managed to make me cry with just a few simple words in a card.

i don't know that i have my head wrapped around this thing called motherhood yet. the holiday almost seems a little premature to me this time around (with the pains of childbirth still lingering). what i do know about motherhood, even early on, is that i love this child. wholeheartedly, unquestionably, L.O.V.E this child. i know now that to be filled with this kind of love, by no doing of my own, is the greatest privilege a parent can have. to understand what my own parents felt/feel about me is overwhelming! completely overwhelming.

i feel like the luckiest girl in the world yesterday, today and all of the days to come with this child of mine. hazel belle, thank you for making me a mother.

right now i love

2013-05-09T13:49:00.003-07:00

a pair of beautiful eyes that recognize me, i think

baby sneezes

naps and warm baths

a husband who promises treats from the pantry to coax me to wake up

french toast for dinner

mom's cooking

4:15pm - daddy's home!

^this face^

hearing other people call her by name

jesse's patience with her even while she screams in his ear

sitting on the porch talking dirty diapers and dreams

her little elfan ear (and the fact that after i pointed it out to jesse he quickly reassured her that the elfs were the most beautiful creatures in middle earth)

how excited jesse was to pack his "gear bag" for our first outing with baby

my husband's reactions to her bodily functions

dancing in the kitchen as a family to Louis Armstrong

hulu in bed while we wait for her last feeding before midnight

my little family of three

genetics

2013-05-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Jesse + Molly

Hazel

what do you think? who won the ever competitive battle of the genetics?

a father's love

2013-05-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

there is nothing quite like seeing the man that you love become a father. and let me just tell you my man is doing it with flying colors. not only is he AH-MAZING with hazel but he has also managed to love and support me unabashedly through this beautiful, awkward, (sometimes gross), thing called childbirth and healing. i am pretty sure that he is every bit as tired as i am right now but he somehow manages to find the patience and energy when he gets home from work to introduce hazel to the likes of johnny cash, willie nelson, and louis armstrong amidst one of her screaming fits. i ache to be around them together but right now most of what i can hear of their interactions comes from the sound that travels up into my bedroom as i am in and out of sleep.

this man is a trooper i tell ya and has got the kindest, purest love for his new daughter. my heart is so full!

the first week

2013-04-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

i don't know if i have words to accurately describe this first week with the little one. in short, we are so in love!! we cannot get enough of all of her little squeaks, and coos, and grunts and even those little cries for help or food just melt us right to the core. oh and those perfect lips and that sweet little tongue have kept us entertained for hours. she has already mastered the art of surprise with her spit ups and diaper changes and keeps her dad and i in stitches as we continually laugh at the misfortune of the other. then there are the crossed ankles when she feeds and the way that she throws her hands up over her head in triumph after she has finished as if she has just crossed the finish line of a marathon or won the coney island hot dog eating contest.

learning so much about our little hazel has already made me painfully aware of how fast she is changing. each time she stretches out those legs and flexes those little feet she never quite shrinks back up to the same size that she was. and those beautiful navy eyes are now fighting to stay open rather than trying to stay closed.

weekend milestones

2013-04-29T21:56:00.003-07:00

this photo is completely unrelated to what you are about to read but it cracks me up so i had to share. i think the poor girl already knows that her mother takes too many pictures and is trying to tell me to back off.

they say that when you have a baby everything changes, that you start to appreciate the little things a bit more (like 3 hours of sleep in a row - just as an example of course. not anything that i can relate to). so, just for the sake of remembering how big these little things are i thought that i would share them here so that in a couple of months i can look back and smile on these first few days with Hazel.

Sunday afternoon i took a nap - flat out on my stomach! my stomach! do you know how glorious it was to add this fourth sleeping position back into my repertoire? it was glorious! also, thanks to the help of my mother, Jesse and I were able to sneak away for one whole hour to attend church, just the two of us. first public appearance since baby - check that one off the list. then there was that "glass" of red wine that really didn't amount to much more than a couple of sips but it sure did taste good, and i'm really not much of a drinker.

Hazel and i also just jumped right in and got over our fear of breastfeeding in public. sure i was in a corner and nobody was around (and thank goodness because i was a fumbling mess between the buttons and the blanket) but it was a public building and we were doing our thing so i count it as a success. speaking of feedings, this kiddo and i are starting to figure out our system, which i probably shouldn't lump in with the little things because this is HUGE (engorgement is no joke)! its one of those you scratch my back, i'll scratch yours scenarios and let me just tell you that the human body is incredible with the way that it can adapt. incredible!!

and now back to the little stuff. hmmm, how about the four times that i managed to leave the house for a walk. oh the pain! but, around here you don't just go wasting two 60 degree days in April. i should probably also mention the mild freak out that i had over goose bumps on her little body while i was changing her. i started crying and fumbling with her clothes thinking for sure she was going to freeze up into a little popsicle right there on the spot. haha, you should have seen jesse not really sure who he should rescue first - the cold child or his hysterical wife. whew! well at least we got that out of the way. i'll be a calm, cool, and collected mom from this point forward, i'm sure of it. also, without thinking, i licked my finger to wipe off a spot on her face. so, apparently that is instintive (i always kind of wondered). and, lastly, there was her first bath at home. she didn't like it and i have the pictures to prove it. in reality though i think that had more to do with her feelings towards us as clueless bath givers than it did with her actual feelings towards baths in general. time will tell on that one.

and those my friends are about all of the milestones that i can remember from being in and out of a sleep coma all weekend. notice that i did not include a shower for myself in this run down. we're trying not to push things too fast around here.