the basics

Hello again. We now have internet access at home! Now I can blog and email again. I have so much to say here to catch up. For today I will stick with some basics. In the coming days I hope to expound.

Melody Raine was born on December 22. She arrived three weeks before the due date. We were very surprised. Her weight of 7 pounds, 14 ounces coupled with her reflexes told us she was a full term baby. We were unsure of the due date. I am glad she came before and not after the due date of January 9th.

Being at home with Melody has been challenging and wonderful. She caught onto breastfeeding without too many difficulties. By week three she was a little pro. She's gaining weight at a nice pace. She is now ten weeks old and weighs around 9 lbs, 4 oz. She has grown 2.5 inches. I am happy she is staying little -- she is still in her 0-3 month clothes. I didn't want her to grow too fast! I love this cuddly tiny stage.

I quit my job. (!!!) It was an agonizing decision to make. I was hesitant to close that chapter of my life. My four years as a greeting card designer were amazing. I was good at it. I enjoyed it. My peers were cool people. We laughed together at the office everyday. We went out to lunch often. I went on fun trips at least once a year. (New York City and Vancouver, Cannada were the highlight trips.) But once I made the decision I felt waves of relief. I will start a new chapter. Sometimes I get pensive and sad about quitting work, but most of the time my heart is light with the prospects of the near future.

I am excited to pursue new hobbies and goals. I want to cook more. I subscribed to a new magazine called Everyday Food. It's a Martha Stewart publication even though her name is not on the cover. I love the photography, design, and concepts in it. Also, the recipes appear to be just the right level of difficulty.

Loosing my pregnancy weight is one of my biggest goals. I gained 50 pounds. I still need to loose about 30 in order to be at my pre-pregnancy weight. Everyday I either wear maternity pants and massive overalls. I stare at my smaller size 10 clothes and think, "Wow. I have fun stuff here." I can't wait to wear it all again. It will be like having all new cloths!

I am having a couple moms over in less than two hours. They are new acquaintances who both happen to be beginners at knitting. They are going to teach me the basics. One of them has a toddler so I need to get busy picking up the living room. The darts on the coffee table and the digital camera in the corner are not the best toy options for her.

I am very happy to be back in internet-land. I hope to blog often... but I cannot promise that it will be more than humdrum mom stuff from here on out!