adam's wife's blog

Not many people would go camping when it is 14 degrees outside. But Adam and I did lastnight. In fact, we've been camping about once a week throughout January. However - we camp indoors. Lily often sleeps with us. During the day, she naps alone - but she seems to sleep better, at night, in our drafty house, if she's in our bed. It was, actually, Adam's suggestion to have her co-sleep with us, so that I could get more sleep. And - I get a lot more sleep this way. I never thought we would let her sleep with us - but we do. For now, anyway. Once she stops nursing we will revisit the subject. So - in order to have alone time - we've been camping out on our large couch. Lily typically goes to bed between 7:30 & 8pm. Then Adam and I get plenty of time to hang out together. Lastnight, we cuddled up on the couch and played a board game together. Then we stayed up late and ended up falling asleep, on the couch, together. It was absolutely blissful. Sorta like we were dating ...

Well - it was a cold Wednesday, last week, when our Lily started coughing. Thursday the temperature was below zero - but the cough sounded pretty bad. So, I called Dr. Peg. Her office said they'd have her call me right away. She called and advised me to keep Lily warm, at home, and then gave me some advice on how to get her healthy again. Among other things, she told me to crush some fresh garlic and mix it with a tiny bit of olive oil. Then put it on the bottom of Lily's left foot, wrap it, put a sock on it and leave it on overnight. So, we did. Next morning, Lily was still sick, but the congestion seemed to be breaking up quite a bit. We used the garlic poultice for three days and she was on the upswing. Her cold never progressed to a fever or anything worse. Pretty amazing. Lily's doctor (also our family doctor) is fantastic. She is both a Nurse Practitioner and a naturopathic doctor - with more credentials after her name than anyone I know. She can write a script for us...

So - I kept most of this on the down-low. But now I'm ready to process something that happened recently. End of October, 2008 : Had a large lump in my right breast. I was (and am) still nursing Lily, so I thought that a lump could be a clogged milk duct. I read some home remedies for working it out. Tried them for a couple of weeks. Didn't work. On a Tuesday morning, I went to see some lactation consultants at the hospital. Three of them felt me up and agreed that there was no way it was a clogged duct. They encouraged me to get it "checked out" right away. So - the next morning, I called my OB. She rearranged her morning schedule to see me. Back then, miss Lily was just around 4 mos. old. Adam left work and met us at the doctor's office. We both thought we'd be in and out for a quick exam. My doctor palpated for a while and then stood up, walked out of the exam room and called a breast surgeon. He agreed to see me that afternoon - though he wasn't plannin...

Miss Lily's morning nap was interrupted by my phone ringing. It was the "centralized showing office" calling to let me know that a Realtor wanted to show our home in exactly one hour. We've been trying to sell our beloved home for well over a year. We've recently re-listed it and we get pretty consistent traffic. So the house stays pretty-well clean. However. . . I had, sorta, fallen off the wagon a bit and let some dust-bunnies reproduce here and there. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's - people generally aren't house-hunting. So, we hadn't done the spit-shine in weeks. I stammered on the phone, but agreed to the showing. I quickly carried the sleepy-eyed Lily to Adam and forced them both out the front door. I used my fifty-five minutes wisely and was able to make our house look like the inside pages of MetHome magazine. I walked out our back door just as the Realtor and his client were approaching our home. I joined Adam and Lily, who had found she...

Saturday, I went to the office before 6am to catch up on some artwork. Adam and Lily slept in until 9:30am - and came to see me at lunch. When I made it home from work - at around 3pm, Lily, Adam and I snuggled in for a nap. We napped for a short while - then Adam got a phonecall and had to rush to the hospital to help someone in our family. Lily and I stayed home, since babies aren't exactly comforting or helpful in medical emergencies. We cleaned the kitchen and had a low-key evening. Bedtime came, and Lily was ready for some shut-eye. I decided to put her down and wait up for Adam. I wasn't quite sure what a girl does when the house is clean, the husband is away and the baby is quietly sleeping. But it didn't take me long to figure it out. I baked some pumpkin scones for Sunday breakfast, cooled and iced them. Then I warmed up some leftovers for my dinner. I ate dinner, while I watched a funny show on our laptop. Then, I returned some email and did a little o...

So - let me just say . . . . Happy New Year. No, I didn't coin the phrase - but it is from me to you. And - this isn't a public, google-able, blog. So - if you have my blog address, it is because I actually want you to read this and/or vote on my poll or post a reply. If you are reading this, it is because I truly hope you have a beautiful day tomorrow (New Year's Day) - and a good idea of what will make your 2009 better than any other year of your life. Adam and Lily and I will be enjoying some down time tomorrow - as none of us have to punch a timeclock on the first day of the new year. (yeah!) We are really learning to cherish these fleeting days. I don't think we'll ever get them back once they are spent. Happy January 1st. To you and yours. Love, - adam's wife

Better than we ever could've expected. Thanksgiving was awesome. We had a nice, short drive down to the mountains to spend time with some cherished family members that we seldom see. My brother and his wife and son. They are so very important to me and Adam. They treated us like we were weary travelers in need of a peaceful respite in their home. My brother had prepared the guestroom; my sister-in-law had bought sweet little gifts for Lily and she made an incredible Thanksgiving dinner; and my "all-grown-up" nephew gave up a weekend of college-life to spend the holiday with us. Just before we left town, my sister-in-law insisted on a trip to the local babystore so that she could be assured that baby Lily had that one item that all mothers of crawlers need . . . the (formerly banned) baby-walker. And what an investment. I've never quite been a fan of the "exersaucer". I mean - sure - it seems like it might be fun for five minutes, but a baby like ours needs ...