The most wonderful time of the year

Sorry the posting has been limited. Things have been crazy busy at our house and this has been compounded by the fact that all 3 of us have been sick for 3 weeks. Jack ended up with a double ear infection but is feeling better now thanks to a course of antibiotics. Dr. Nick and I are getting there but still on the mend. We have also been dealing with the normal holiday craziness. This was made a little more stressful when we found out that Dr. Nick's company is being sold and he is out of a job at the end of the month. Not the best timing but there isn't much we can do about it. We are optimistic that this will be an opportunity for him to find something better. It will also give him some time to do some projects around that house that we have been wanting to do but lacked the time.

There is some good news though, we finally finished our basement renovation. To be clear we hired a contractor to do it and we just did the tiling and painting. We do need to finish painting the trim and a few other final bits but the majority is done. We went from a totally unfinished concrete basement:

to a nice heated family room and full bathroom.

The plan is to use this space as a playroom/family room/ guest area. Unfortunately the news of Dr. Nick's pending unemployment puts the big flat screen on hold. Looks like for now we will have a kick ass workout room for the treadmill and bike trainers and that's ok too. I will even have room to start doing my pilates video!

Oh, and the last bit of news is that Jack's top front teeth broke through overnight. He had a rough night but it looks like he's getting teeth for Christmas!

Woo-hoo!!

I can now fit in to all of my pre-pregnancy pants. Some of them are a little tight and probably are not acceptable to wear in public but I can get them on and buttoned. I am 4 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. I have been pretty good about swimming twice a week and running 2-3 times a week. I think this made a huge difference. I even managed to not gain anything over Thanksgiving. Christmas may be harder but I will do my best. My goal was to lose all the weight by the end of the year. I don't think I will hit that but I will be darn close. Now I just need to get all my strength back. I am trying to figure out how to work some weight training into my schedule. I am open to suggestions. It has to be free and something I can do at home. I do have a stability ball and the treadmill and once our basement renovation is done I hope to set up the bike trainer.

It feels good to be back in my old clothes and feel a little more like myself again. I owe a big thank you to Dr. Nick who never lets me slack off. When I try to make an excuse he is right there telling me I will feel better and to get moving. He also takes on solo dad duty 2 mornings a week so I can swim. Thanks honey!! You are the best.

Next phase is getting my fitness back. I hope to run the Maine half-marathon next fall and do a sprint or Olympic tri in late summer.

Helping another new mom out

You may notice that "Mom in Training" is no longer on the blogroll. She has moved to a new site- "Monica on the Go" in order to try to generate a little extra income to help out while she is home being a mom. Feel free to check it out. We new moms need to look out for one another and I certainly appreciate the need for extra income :) I wish her lots of luck with her new endeavor.

Jack's first time sledding

Gorham news

The following are exerpts from a recent edition of our town paper. Every week they have a police update with the newest in the crime wave. I should mention that there is a college campus in our town which puts some of the excerpts in context. Clearly crime isn't that big of a problem. My favorite is the dead bird in the driveway. Quite a change from when we lived in Boston and we always checked the blotter to make sure no one had been shot on our street that week.


College Avenue caller requested to
speak with an officer regarding their
beer having been confiscated and wanting
to know how to get it back.

Caller reported a male subject lying on
the ground behind a vehicle which was
parked on the side of the road. Subject
was changing a tire.

Libby Avenue caller reported that a
couple of younger males had been
going door to door trying to sell health
care for a donation of $200.

Shaw's Mill Road caller reported that a
dirt bike had been left in the back of a
vehicle and felt it looked suspicious.

Primrose Lane caller reported that their
children were out playing in their yard
and caller could smell the very strong
order of marijuana coming from a
neighbor's house.

Libby Avenue caller reported that there
was a dead bird in their driveway.

Caller reported that a male subject had
been thrown out of the frat house and
was walking towards the college. Male
was intoxicated, and caller thought male
needed to be picked up.

Caller reported a suspicious female
hiding behind a tree.

Mosher Road caller reported a large
white rabbit in their yard and was afraid
for its safety.

Mystery Followers

This may be poor blog etiquette but I'm going to do it anyway. It appears I have 2 followers who have never commented and who do not appear to have blogs themselves. I am calling you out. It weirds me out to have strangers lurking down in that corner who haven't said hello. I love that people (complete strangers even) are interested but this isn't exactly a super popular site and random folks are unusual. So "Su" and "Lilia" I would love to hear from you. Any other lurkers out there? I'd love to hear from you too. My little tracker thing shows people read this from all over the place.

On a serious note I do sometimes worry about putting pictures of my son on here and where they could end up. I read about an incident where a family had their photo taken from their web site and used in an ad somewhere in eastern Europe. I do not want Jack selling baby wipes in Poland, at least not if they aren't paying him.

Edited to add that "Lilia" does have a blog that managed to completely freeze my computer. It is in Spanish and appears to be some sort of advertisement. In any case, I wouldn't recommend checking it out. Anyone know how to delete a follower?

Happy December

It's been a busy couple of weeks and blogging had to take a bit of a backseat to other priorities like working and taking care of Jack. Thanksgiving was fun, we drove up to see Nick's parents and Jack handled the 9 hour trip really well. The trip there wasn't so great since it rained most of the way and we hit some major traffic en route. While we were there Nick got to do some duck hunting and Jack spent some time entertaining his grandparents. Jack also got to taste his first vanilla ice cream. Needless to say he enjoyed it. The trip home was a little better although all 3 of us managed to get sick while we were there. I am feeling better but Nick and Jack are still miserable.

Jack with Yiayia

In addition to Thanksgiving fun we have been busy trying to finish up our basement renovations. We are finishing one half of the basement and turning it into a family/play room and guest area. This included putting in a full bathroom. It's been going on since the beginning of October and we are getting really tired of having random workers in and out of the house every day.

On a random note it is December 3rd and it is 68 degrees and sunny. The past 2 winters we have had a ton of snow. I wonder what this winter will bring?

Happy Birthday O-dawg!

It's hard to believe that you are 2 already! It seems like just a few weeks ago we brought home a scrawny 45 lb mangy mutt from Alabama. Now you are pushing 70 lbs and can run 8-10 miles without any trouble. You have grown up and don't need your crate anymore. You are a great big brother now and are very gentle with your little brother, even when he pulls your lips and ears. You are a fine addition to our family and we can't imagine an Otto-less home now. Hope you are home chewing on your toys (and only your toys) and enjoying the peace and quiet. Happy Birthday!!