It's that lovely time of year when we begin to receive our tax refunds...which in reality is just a false sense of feeling like the government is giving us money because HELLO this was our money we originally earned anyway....but, I digress. It is still a great feeling when you trot out to the mailbox in the t-shirt you have been wearing for 3 days and your flip flops with socks (wait, just me? nevermind...) and see a nice, fat check.

At our house, 'tis a great feeling until reality sets in that this money is going straight to a savings account not to be touched. No shopping spree for me! Right now, there's about 100 things on my list to buy, but if I could buy myself a Mother's Day gift (since it's my inaugural celebration), I would swing by the jewelry store for this little chotchky...

It's only $1200. What? Too expensive? You see, I would justify it by saying that it is aquamarine, which is Noelle's birthstone. It is also done with chocolate diamonds, which is quite unique. AND...since I am planning on being a mom for the rest of my life, it really isn't a lot of money if you spread it out over the course of a lifetime...right? If I live another 75 years, that only amounts to $16 a year. Wow, don't I sound like one of those "Sponsor a Child" infomercials that are on at 4 a.m.? "For just 95 cents a day...."

Sigh. Never. Gonna. Happen.

'Spose I will settle for saving the check from Uncle Sam for a rainy day...or for when Luke's car will inevitably need thousands of dollars of repairs.

30 Day Shred - Day 11 & 12

Perhaps you thought I quit on the Shred? Nope. Not this girl (points to self). I did manage to squeeze it in yesterday, which happened to be the first day of Level 2. Holy Sweat...it was hard! I had forgotten how hard Level 2 was. I have done Level 3 in my past life (back when I had a semi-nice body), and I don't think Level 3 is as hard as Level 2. Anyway, I did it. Praise the Lord!

I also managed to do the Shred today...but it took three different times of turning the DVD on, then hitting pause because Noelle needed me. You see, she is on day 7 of no pooping (read my prior post about her poop habits). I think we will have a...breakthrough...tonight, but she is quite uncomfortable. She has needed her momma to hold her and love her today even more so than usual. However, she has been sleeping for a bit and allowed me to get my workout in. Thanks, Noelle!

If this 30 Day Shred doesn't work for me after all the effort I have been giving, I am going to personally hunt Jillian Michaels down and shred her.

Mom's Day Out

Because I have the two best sister-in-laws in the world, I will be visiting a Salon/Spa on Thursday, May 6 for a hair cut and color. They got me a gift certificate for my baby shower. I am so excited! I haven't done anything with my hair since February, and it desperately needs a makeover.

ALSO, I won a $25 gift certificate to another Salon/Spa in Fishers for donating money to Zumba for Autism! I made an appointment for Thursday as well to get my eyebrows waxed and have my first 30 minute facial! Thursday is going to be a great day!

With my upcoming return to work, it will be nice to feel refreshed and ready to see the general public again. Until then, I will be wearing my sweats and not wearing makeup.

7 Weeks!

My sweet baby girl is 7 weeks old today! I don't know if I should celebrate or cry. Maybe a little bit of both. I don't think I write enough about Noelle on this little blog, so I will update you on how the little "nugget" (as my dad says) is doing.

We weighed Noelle on the scale we are borrowing (thanks Amanda!) the other night, and she weighted just over 10 lbs! She has gained almost 2 lbs since birth. At her last doctor's appointment, she was 22" long. She will go again on May 11 for her 2 month check-up. I hear there are shots this time, so I am thankful that I will not be taking her (since I will be back to work).

Noelle has begun to smile when she is happy. When you tickle her cheek or get down in her face, she will usually crinkle her little nose and give you a smile. It just melts your heart! She holds her head up when you put her up by your shoulder. We work with her being able to lift her head when she is on her tummy. Her legs are getting stronger, and she will even start to bear a little weight on them when you stand her up.

She is making lots of noises right now. At first, I thought every little noise was her being upset, but I have realized that she is trying to find her voice. She will let out a little scream or grunt but not be unhappy. It's cute to see her figure herself out!

She is sleeping at night in chunks of about 5-6 hours. The trick is getting her to sleep for the correct 5-6 hours...meaning from 11-4 instead of 9-2. I am nervous about sleep for when I go back to school. However, I really can't complain, because she does pretty well.

Noelle is finally on a good feeding schedule. After having one near breakdown that would have resulted in throwing in the towel on breastfeeding, I have finally figured out that she can eat every 3 hours until she goes to bed and she is perfectly happy. This makes me happy, too, because I can get something down around the house in the in-between. She naps quite a bit during the day, too.

She is a perfect angel in public. At every wedding, funeral, church service, or restaurant we have visited, she hasn't made a peep. She is just wonderful. She allows anyone to hold her, and as long as she is held, she is happy.

Unfortunately, Noelle only poops like once every 5 or 6 days. She has even gone as long as a week. We don't like this...not that we want more poop in our lives, but she gets some pretty intense stomach pains and we can't really help her. Not to mention when she does finally let it go, it is DISGUSTING! Speaking of disgusting, Noelle passes some serious gas. It could clear a room. People try to be cute about it and tell us that she is "tooting." No. Noelle is having some man farts. It's not one of her finer qualities.

So, that's my little girl in a nutshell. She is the light of our lives and makes us so happy. I look forward to each day with her. Here are some updated pictures of little Noelle Elizabeth. Enjoy!

30 Day Shred - Day 10

I am 1/3 of the way there! I plan to step up to Level 2 tomorrow.

Still no budge on the scales. Disappointing. However, I am hoping my body decides to give birth to Noelle's 15 lb twin soon.

In other healthy news, I bought a rice cooker/steamer last night. We used it for dinner already. It was awesome! I steamed brown rice in the bottom and then broccoli on top. They came out perfectly! I always cook rice horribly when I do it on the stove. It is always too watery. This came out perfect...almost like the sticky rice at Asian restaurants. I also had chicken tortellini. Too bad Luke took the leftovers with him today...

Zero Tolerance

Several years ago, Luke, his brother Abel, and Abel's then-girlfriend-now-wife Elizabeth and I were riding in a car together. Somehow, the conversation was started about the guys' dream girls. Abel so famously piped up, "Sandra Bullock," but he said it like this..."Soooondra BullOCK!" We all have quoted and re-quoted his words numerous times over the years. And now I have to say that Miss Sandy might be my dream girl, too.

Unfortunately, Sandra Bullock's name has recently been added to the list of gorgeous women who have been cheated on and publicly humiliated by their famous husbands. cough:: Elin Woods ::cough Apparently the tatted up, grungy, wanna-be hardass Jesse James wasn't worth the years of defense that Sandra Bullock gave him to the press, because he proved the stereotype to be true and decided to engage in numerous extra-marital affairs with some of the nation's finest women (i.e. strippers and neo-nazis). And of course, the news had to hit within days of Sandra winning her first Oscar, forcing the media to forget about her award-winning Blindside performance and focus on her philandering husband.

So why is Sandra my new favorite woman? Well, she has filed for divorce. It's not that I love divorce or think it is OK 100% of the time. It's that she was humiliated. She was betrayed. She was hurt. He probably endangered her health by exposing her to STDs. And she has enough strength to say, "I am not going to stay with you and pretend like we are going to work through it. I am not going to stay with you because you go to a 30-day rehab and call yourself healed. I am not going to stay with you, even if you offer me money." She is accepting that her marriage is over, and she is not going to put on a happy face and pretend that infidelity and betrayal are OK in a relationship.

Elin Woods should take some notes. All her husband had to do was make a scripted public apology, shoot a new Nike commercial, and make a few great shots at the Masters and now we have forgotten all he has done. I realize that they have children together, but staying together will not erase what he did or keep his children from knowing about it. Staying together will not necessarily promise those kids a happier life than if Elin and Tiger were apart. Unless Elin 100% has truly forgiven and forgotten (which I doubt, given her lack of appearance at the Masters), the children will be able to tell that their mom and dad are not happy together. Smiles will be fake. Conversations will be tense. Elin will be miserable. Tiger goes on living his egocentric, power-hungry life. Tell me how this is better for the children?

It is NOT ok for anyone to go outside his or her marriage. It is NOT ok for someone to hire a prostitute or pay off a fling with millions of dollars just because they can. It is NOT ok for a person to piss all over the vows they made on their wedding day and then go to a rehab for a month and declare the problem as solved. I think a lot of times, when affairs happen, women are made to feel that they weren't pretty enough. They weren't supportive enough. They weren't adventurous enough. They weren't fun enough. Somehow, the affair is the woman's fault. Celebrity wives who stay with their husbands after such repetitive and disgusting affairs only back up this theory. "It's my fault, so I will stay with him and try to make it better."

I know it's hard to declare a relationship "over." I have been with Luke for 10 years, and I feel physically ill at the thought of not being with him...but I also feel physically ill at the thought of him being with another woman...of him taking hard earned money to pay off the other woman...of him lying to me over and over and over again.

So, Sandra, if you were my friend, I would buy you a drink and give you a hug. I would also thank you for being true to yourself and realizing that the right decisions are the tough decisions. Your best days are ahead!

30 Day Shred - Day 9

If you're asking if I did the Shred today, I will just tell you the answer is YES!

I feel stronger already. I think I will step it up to Level 2 on Day 11. I haven't missed a day since almost a week ago, which is an accomplishment given how hard it can be to find time for myself in a day, even if it's only 20 minutes.

Almost 1/3 of the way done!