Long Lost Update

Sometimes you have every intention in the world of doing something. Then life gets in the way. That's my excuse for why I never got an update out to you - life. :)

It has been super busy as of late as you can no doubt imagine. And, thanks to some recent developments, I can finally be open and frank about a lot of things I've been skirting around so we'll just jump right in to what promises to be a post that resembles a novel (but then, my posts often do, don't they!)

First, we'll start with Mark since he's been the center of a lot of activity lately. He's a doctor without a license as of yet, but hopefully that will all change with a good set of test scores tomorrow on those Part III exams he took in September. He's been a busy little beaver working to find himself a "home" once he has that special piece of paper (his license - we have the diploma in our possession!). He found a practice in July and we visited it and now, finally, several months later, it looks like it is still a great opportunity. It is centrally located in Colorado Springs which is just perfect and it is what he's always wanted - a practice with multiple disciplines. Whether it be chiropractic, sports rehabilitation, or massage (and other stuff), this practice has it. We're currently investigating funding options since we've had an appraisal and the doctor is willing to go with the appraised value as the price. I'll provide more details as time goes along...

In other Mark news, he should also be getting his guide dog when we are established in Colorado. He's received notification from a training school in New York that they'll send a trainer and a dog to work with him once we know where we'll be living, etc. So, there's another positive thing.

As far as living arrangements go, we'll be renting for the first few months so that we can find a house that we are pleased with and that meets our needs near his office. The idea is to get something relatively close such that he can walk to and from work. We have quite a few options since the housing market in Colorado Springs is simply not the best.

Speaking of houses, ours here in California is on the market. Much as I feared when we first purchased our home, the market here has also slowed and so we're not seeing a lot of activity at this point. We're keeping our options open, whether they be reducing the price or renting it out - whatever way we go, we're pretty likely to come out ahead in the venture.

With respect to me, I'm still at home with Nicholas. My doctor has been keeping tabs on me and didn't think it best to send me back to my job when the time came and so he's extended my maternity leave. Since I have always really wanted to stay at home with Nicholas, it was an answered prayer in a sense. Thankfully it hasn't been a detriment financially since in California we do receive disability pay while we're out after having a baby as long as our doctor feels we need to be and can provide reasoning behind his decision.

Because the doctor didn't give any indication as to when he'd release me to work, I was actually let go by my accounting firm. That was a little uncomfortable...especially since they didn't extend me the courtesy of calling me with their decision. I received the news via a Fed Ex letter. Granted, the letter did say that they were pleased with my work and would hire me back if they had space, but it just really left a bad taste in my mouth. And, of course, it presents another challenge since Nick and I have health insurance through them. We've decided that we're probably not going to do a COBRA thing since the plan we were on would not work in Colorado (other than for emergencies) and since Mark is trying to get group health coverage set up when he gets the practice going.

In other health news, I have knocked a few more foods off my allergy list - soy (believe it or not, though, I'll still avoid it as much as possible since it just isn't the healthiest substance), wheat/gluten, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and joy of joys peanut butter! We've actually been able to go out and have some food at some restaurants and it has been great. Today, in fact, we went to Macaroni Grill and I had a yummy salad and a tomato, basil and italian sausage soup that was fabulous...if only it hadn't had crushed red pepper in it, it would have been perfect. Ah well, we'll get those on another treatment.

The chiropractor that has been helping with my allergies has also been trying to help me with my milk supply and I believe we're making some headway. I've been helping the process by feeding Nick or pumping every 2 hours. I can actually sort of measure progress since I am feeding him via bottle first and then I breast feed to top him off. When he gets to a point where he doesn't seem to need to empty both breasts to be full, I take him down a 1/4 of an ounce. We started at 4 ounces about a month ago and we're currently at 3 ounces every two hours (except at night). In addition, he's started to have 2 "dirty, dirty" diapers per day (at least the past two days) and so I think we're finally really making significant progress here. If we keep things up, with the introduction of solids coming around the corner, I'm hoping that maybe we can really minimize his formula intake and avoid the gassy problems he has. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me on this - please keep them coming!

Mark and I have also started excercising every morning. We try to walk and then lift weights daily. Since the rainy season has started here, it is difficult to make it on our walks sometimes which is unfortunate because Nick usually takes his morning nap via that route. When we don't walk, he becomes a pretty grumpy bear by lunch time. I have a goal with respect to all this activity (aside from losing those last 19 pounds of pregnancy weight) - sculpted upper arms. I've always wanted them but have never really put in the effort that needed to be put in to have them. This time, though, I'm going for it...and I will succeed. It essentially means (according to my personal trainer, Mark - hee hee!) that I have to do push ups every day and that I have to get to the point that I can do real military style pushups. I'm already doing better after just a week or so doing them using the ledge that divides our kitchen and dining area...I'll be on the floor in no time!

And, now, for the update you've really been wanting, The Sprout is doing very well. He is such a little person and has such a sweet disposition. He's also pretty easy going other than when he's having that gas attack stuff. He's currently sporting his two front bottom teeth and looks as cute as ever with them. I did get some pictures up on his site through his 3rd month "birthday" - go check them out.

We have the little guy's costume as well. It is quite neat and something you've probably not seen before. We've been giving him a little time in it most days so that when Halloween arrives he'll be okay with wearing it. I can't wait to show him off! :)

Nick is getting closer to crawling and has actually come to enjoy tummy time. He really didn't like it in the beggining. He'd cry and cry when you put him on his tummy. Now, though, he can lift himself up and he grins quite a lot. He's also figured out that he can bat at things and grab things which is pretty fun to watch and yet a bit scary given that it makes me think of what trouble he might get into.

I almost forgot to tell you about our Adventures as of late. We've all had some it seems. Mark went on a tandem bike ride a couple of weekends ago with a group toward the Marin headlands. His partner and he never made it because they got two flat tires, but he really enjoyed the experience. We will look into getting a tandem bike ourselves at some point in the future. On that day, Nick and I bummed around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. We also went to Ghiradelli Square. We didn't do too much other than wander around, but Nicholas did get to see his first parade. Funny, since he does have a nice bit of Italian blood, that it was an Italian parade of some sort...

Then just a couple of days ago we all went to Alcatraz. Can you believe that during the time we've lived here, we've never gone? We picked a doozy of a day, but we still had fun. It was very wet, though. With all the feeding and caretaking we have to do for Nicholas, we barely made it out of there at closing time. We're lucky we didn't have to spend a night on "the rock." ;) It was a really neat outing - I only wish we would have made it before Mark lost his sight. I think he really would have enjoyed it. I tried to describe things as best as I could.

You know, I think I'm running out of stuff to talk about here...which is good because frankly, this post is out of line! ;) So, we'll leave it be at this and if I have anything else, it will make it into our next marathon post (or not, if I actually succeed at keeping up with the blog again). See you next time!