30DBC - Day 30: favorite song

Well, my favorite song changes often, but here are 3 that I'm really enjoying right now:


Lay, Lady, Lay - Magnet


Just Breath - Pearl Jam


Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons

There you have it. 30 Day Blogging Challenge COMPLETE!
And it only took me...38 days - not too bad really.

30DBC - Day 29: what have you learned this past month?

• That it has taken me much longer than 30 days to complete this challenge.
• That I have AMAZING friends. I hope that I am/can be as good a friend to others as they are to me.
  
• Never to take a day of pregnancy for granted.
• That I will NEVER be able to stick to a work-out plan. It is just never going to happen and that is okay.
• That I have gross nasal polyps.
• That a 30 week baby with a fully-functioning placenta is/feels SO MUCH BIGGER than a 29 weeker with a bleedy placenta.
• That I have a bigger sweet-tooth right now than every before in my life! No wonder I nearly DOUBLED what I had gained by 29 weeks with Greyson.
  

30DBC - Day 29: what have you learned this past month?

• That I really need to stay on top of the meal plan - our lives run so much better when I do.
• Even with as much as Greyson has grown this year he can still fit into most of his summer clothes from last year.
• That MayBaby is a pusher. Greyson was a kicker and she's just a pusher. Often you can see her baby butt sticking out of my belly.
• That we we need to take more photos of ME!
• That I have AMAZING friends.
• That Michael is a wonderful husband (but I knew that anyway).
• That 2 year olds like to cause trouble, but are so cute and loving that it is worth it.
  

30DBC - Day 28: A Photo of you from a year ago and how you've changed.

1) My hair is less than half that long now.
2) I weigh about 30lbs more now.
3) I'm currently pregnant so that's a big change :)
4) My adorable son is now so much bigger!

Also, this was just about the only photo of my during the 6 months surrounding this date last year. I know it's not a great one, but apparently I was always the one taking pictures!

30DBC - Day 27: why are you doing this 30 day challenge

Some other friends were doing it and then more joined in so I couldn't slack off!
It just looked like fun :)

30DBC - Day 26: what do you think about your friends

I love my friends!

Actually right now I have more friends than I have ever had before. I even have a whole community of friends who I have never met, but love dearly. The "Preemie Moms Group" as I call them. Wow, they are all amazing!

I have a fantastic group of "in real- life" friends too. I am so blessed to have their friendships!

30DBC - Day 25: what I would find in your bag:

This one is kind of shocking for those who knew me when...but I don't keep much in my bag at all. I used to have EVERYTHING in my bag. I could pretty much solve any problem with my wondrous bag of tricks, and then something happened - my back hurt from hauling all that stuff around. Now I carry very little. At the moment my bag holds exactly TWO items:

- Wallet
- Epi Pen

That's it! Sometimes it holds as much as my keys and my cell phone too, but that is all!

I know what you are thinking "You are a mom now, don't you need to carry more things with you?!" But honestly, no I don't. I have a diaper bag in the car but aside from making long outings like going to the zoo or spending time at a friends house, I just leave it in the car. This system has served us well so far. We'll see if I can keep it up with a newborn and a toddler. But even when Greyson was a newborn I found I actually used the things in my bag very little.

30DBC - Day 24: your last five facebook status updates

• "I think everyone on the planet, except perhaps a few people at KV Pharmaceuticals, would agree that a drug that once cost $10 to make should not now cost $1500. That’s not capitalism, that’s a crime."
  Linked to: http://www.preemieprimer.com/progesterone-to-prevent-preterm-delivery-is-now-more-expensive-than-gold/
  
  

• Celebrating "Baby Bonus Time"! Greyson was born at this point - 29 weeks 4 days - so every day from here on out is a bonus as far and I'm concerned. It is such a relief to hit this date! Here's hoping for 40 weeks!
  Linked to: http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?pp=2967513&ct=4&w=4515628&u=greysonsmom
  
  

• The library was a hit and so was lunch after wards, sadly the Nelson-Atkins had to endure one of the worst screaming melt-downs I have ever seen from a certain 2 year old. HORRIBLE. So embarrassing!
  (I'll post the story of our painful trip to the museum later.)
  
  

• It's been a busy week at work (I logged so many hours this week already) and I want to spend the day with Greyson so I asked him what he wanted to do. His answer: "Get new books and see the Lion Statue". So it looks like I'm headed to the museum then off to the library. Plus we have to get to a doctor's appointment this afternoon. It's going to be a busy day for this way tired mom.
  (Why we even went to the museum to begin with.)
  
  

• hello insomnia...we meet again.
  (and the reason I was so tired! I got 2ish hours of sleep last night. Not cool.)

30DBC - Day 23 - something you crave for a lot

Oh my cravings fluctuate. Here's a list of things I've craved lately.

• Chocolate Pop-Tarts
• Bananas (sliced, NOT whole)
• Dr. Pepper
• Cabbage (although I may be over this one)
• WINE (oh my gosh, I want wine SOOOOO badly!!)

30DBC - Day 22: what makes you differnt from everyone else

You know, I don't know. There is a list of weird traits like my elbows hyper-extend, my front teeth don't touch so doing things like eating an apple whole just doesn't work well, there is that peanut allergy thing and the awesome flat spot on the back of my head. But these things don't really matter.

I'm different because I'm me.

30DBC - Day 21: something that makes you happy

Lots of things make me happy. Here are a few:

• Reading
• Watching ridiculous TV shows (Say Yes To The Dress anyone?)
• Hot baths
• Going on adventures with my family (Zoo, Museum, Park)
• Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows
  
• Hugs from my little boy
• Kicks from my little girl
• Spending time with Michael
• Talking with friends
• Dreaming about having a garden

30DBC - Day 20: someone you love

Here are two someones!





(This time with a mustache!)

I LOVE MY BOYS!!!


(and my girl!)

30DBC - Day 18: plans/dreams/goals you have

• Carry MayBaby to term and have a VBAC!
  I really don't want to do c-section recovery again, this time with a 2 year old and a new baby. If we have to, we have to, but I'd like to do everything possible to avoid it.
  
  
• Take a really amazing family vacation.
  I don't know where or when, but I want to take my family on at least one really amazing vacation that we can all look back fondly on.
  
  
• Clean-up my part of the Office.
  Yea, I don't know if I'll ever really have the energy to do this - but I need to. Maybe if I keep mentioning it enough I'll actually do it!
  
  
• Make a "kids area" in the basement.
  Just a small space where they can safely play while I do laundry. Ideally it would also be a great place for crafting. (I love the Art Studio/Laundry Room at The Artful Parent.)
  
  
• Get Greyson Potty-Trained.
  He loves the potty. He loves to flush. He'll ask to sit on the potty and sometimes he'll even go. But he's still no where near potty trained. I think part of it is because I'm not good at "training" my child to do anything. We are better at the "it'll happen when it happens" approach. I'm sure this is why my son was 2 before he slept through the night. (But he does now and that's been great!)
  

30DBC - Day 17: someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

I'd like to switch lives with Michael for 1 day. I think it would be interesting for both of us to see how the other lives when we aren't with each other. I think we would both come away with a deeper appreciation for one another.

30DBC - Day 16: another picture of yourself

Little Miss Liberty 1984

In honor of my new obsession with the show Toddlers and Tiaras. Here I am winning the only pageant I ever entered. And no, I did not get a tiara.

Edited to Ad: No flipper, no make-up, no tan or fake hair. Just saggy tights, velcro shoes, ponytail with fly-aways that could never be tamed and my sparkling 3-year-old personality!

Ah, the 1980's were a simpler time! Also, for winning I got to ride in a parade and meet Ronald McDonald. I still have the sash somewhere.

30DBC - Day 15: put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play

I had to filter out all the chapters of audiobooks that played...I love an audiobook.
Also, my ipod hasn't worked in almost a year, so this is just from itunes.

1. On Love, In Sadness - Jason Mraz (who needs another vowel in his name)
2. Free Your Mind/I Am Women - The Dan Band
3. City of Angles Score - Gabriel Yared
4. Broom People - The Mountain Goats
5. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - Eddie Vedder
   
6. On The Willows - Godspell - Original Broadway Cast
7. Blowin' In The Wind - Bob Dylan
8. Cat's In The Cradle - Harry Chapin
9. If You're Feeling Sinister - Belle & Sebastian
10. I Hear The Bells - Mike Doughty
    

30DBC - Day 14: a picture of you and your family

My favorite photo!

(Thanks to Nick and Kelli for coming to our house and doing an amazing photo shoot when we were still in quarantine with Greyson. I cherish every photo from that day.)

30DBC - Day 13: a letter to someone

I'm postponing this one. I want to write a letter to May Baby, but with all the sickness in the house I just can't focus to write a good letter.

30DBC - Day 12: how you found out about blogger and why you have one

I think I found out about blogs through my friend Tricia. She sent me links to a few and I got hooked. I loved reading about what other people were doing - it was inspiring. I then tried to have my own "craft blog" where I too, would do inspiring things...only I didn't really do any. So that blog became defunct and after starting our family I started blogging here.

I love this blog as a way to keep our out of town family in touch with the goings on in our lives. Also it is a great "baby book", since let's face it, I was never going to be able to keep up a real baby book.

30DBC - Day 11: another picture of you and your friends

This is my friend Stehpanie, her son Zachary, Greyson and me at the 2010 March for Babies! We will be walking together again this year!

Greyson was born at 29 weeks gestation weighing a hardy 3 pounds, 4 ounces. He is now a happy, healthy two year old and soon to be a BIG BROTHER!

This year we are expecting a baby girl - MAY BABY! We are praying for 40 weeks! On May 1st, the day of this year's March for Babies May Baby will officially be FULL TERM! While we still have a few weeks after the walk to keep baby cooking - we will be in the "Safe Zone".

Please help me celebrate the 40 weeks that we hope to give May Baby by helping us reach our $400.00 goal! That's just $10.00 for every week we hope to keep our sweet baby safe!

Please help me give thanks to the March of Dimes and Overland Park Regional Medical Center NICU, for helping Greyson survive and thrive. May Baby will also be delivered at OPR - but we hope to skip the NICU this time! So far it looks like we will!