Lawyer and a Mom's Blog

Motherhood and Society

2011-06-17T00:28:00.003-04:00

The whole concept of my blog is the balance of work and family life, of having one hat on by day and wearing another at night. But there are not distinct roles. One doesn't exist for 8 hours and be put aside for the remainder of the day. And motherhood isn't set aside during the 8 or so hours I am a lawyer, either. And lately it seems that the two are intertwining but not in the way one would expect. I haven't had a lot of sick children or daycare issues or bringing kids to work. I haven't had to work on cases that hit to close to home. Instead, lately I've realized more and more that my opinions and views as a mother, wife, and a woman in general do matter more in my life as a lawyer that I would ever have thought during law school. I realize that I am beginning to view the cases I see and the work I'm involved with the eyes of what type of world I want my children to grow up in. Even more than that, I am realizing that there are certain opinions that I hold strongly on a personal level, due to the opinions and beliefs I want my children raised to uphold, that I need to express more openly at work. These are the things you do not learn in law school. Over the last several months, I have realized that I need to become more proactive about trying to impress to the world around me things I feel strongly about. Too long I have become complacent with status quo and not stood firmly in things I believe strongly about. These are not the actions I would want my children to do. And, thus, this is not how I should behave either. These are not large issues, these are small things that mostly go unnoticed to most people. They are not, though, any less important. Perhaps it was the recent boycotting by 300 or so nursing mothers in a Georgia town that somehow tried to outlaw nursing your child over a certain age by County Ordinance that was the jumpstart to my realization to stand up more for what I believe in. Perhaps it was just one of many things. Nevertheless, I feel motivated now to stand up for my opinions much more fervently.Unfortunately, I heard of it too late to to stand beside those women with them. If I had heard of it before, though, I would gladly have taken a vacation day and my own daughter down to show my support. Nursing is something I believe strongly in. Very strongly. As in still nursing a 20 month old strongly. World Health Organization recommends it until 2 years of age. Recently, my daughter has shown indications of possible weaning soon but if she doesn't wean on her own, I don't have a problem with nursing at the 2 year mark. Literally no one else in my life -close friends, family, or work - agrees with me. But that doesn't matter to me. And it shouldn't matter to me, either. I should stand up for what I believe, regardless of the popularity of the opinion. That's what I'd expect of my children. It's not just nursing in public (which by the way is allowed by state-wide Georgia law) that I have strong opinions about. I have some specific strong opinions and stances on other topics/issues/situations that have come up in my professional world lately. It's time to take a stand when something offensive is said/done, whether it is an personal attack or and inadvertent comment. Maybe it is easiest to say all of this here, on a blog that I doubt anyone reads anyway. But maybe, just maybe if I post this on this blog, post a link on facebook and then do what I say I believe when the next situation arises, perhaps then I'll have some hope of at least imparting upon my world severe food for thought, if not an actual change. So be it then! Let this Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night truly show the world that I am giving my children the example in all situations of what I'd want them to say and how I'd want them to act. Until later...

-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2010-10-06T01:55:00.002-04:00

Today my daughter turns one year old! I can't believe it. I don't know where the time has gone. I also can't believe how much she has grown. She is just about walking and is eating all kinds of table foods. She doesn't talk much - says bye and mama (but not Mommy) and that is about it. She definitely understands a lot, though. She tries to get herself dressed - especially socks, shoes, and pants. She climbs everywhere - including inside the toilet once! She's tall for her age. She loves her brother very much. I can't believe that one year ago today I was still pregnant with her. I went into labor about 3:30 am and she was born at 1:37 pm. It has been a long year but one I have enjoyed with my daughter very much. I love her smile and how she loves her brother. I love how much she enjoys life to the fullest. She likes to move and explore. She loves to eat (and can eat a lot). She likes to "read" books and listen to music. She can "dance" to music while following the beat. She likes thanking baths. She loves her Daddy and she's pretty fond of her Mommy too (if I do say so myself!). I love watching her grow and learn and explore. I hope she grows up to be a happy person and enjoys life to the fullest and finds happiness in a career, in love, and in all things she does. Love you bunches baby girl. Happy Birthday Paleigh Anne. Until later...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Vacation 2010

2010-09-26T01:31:00.002-04:00

Our family (the four of us plus my Mom and Dad) are wrapping up our vacation. We rented a condo for 10 days in Daytona Beach Shores and we've had a great time! The condo is beautiful. It is nicely decorated and it's on the 9th floor in a corner unit so we have some great views of both the ocean and the inter-coastal waterway. Basically there is about 270 degree view or so. The kids have had fun here. Paleigh enjoyed the sand and water and Riley likes to dig in the sand and play in the pool and hot tub. We rode bikes down to the end of the island one day, rode bikes short distances other days, and took several walks. We ate at our favorite restaurants a few times. Tony and I even took Riley to lunch at the restaurant on the nearby pier (he called it a bridge). He liked eating up high and seeing out the windows. It has turned out to be a really great trip. Wish we could win the lottery and not have to return to work but that would require playing first at least! I can't believe that when we return it will be about a week and a half until my little girl turns one year old! I don't know where the time went but I do know that she didn't sleep the year away! She is still not a great sleeper - only sleeps through the night every other night or every third night. There hasn't been a single week in her entire life that she's slept through the night every night of the week. You do learn to survive but it is getting really old. I joked with my mother today that I hope she'll sleep through the night soon or else she'll be in kindergarten and we won't be able to go through the carpool line 'cause each day we'll have to walk her into school so we can tell the teacher what mood to expect her in based on how long she slept the night before! She is a great napper - usually at least one long nap a day, at least 3 hours long but it can go longer to 4 or 5 hours. In fact, almost every day on this trip she'll gotten in her 3 hour nap while someone waited in the room on her. She had one almost 5 hour nap this week and at least one 4 hour nap as well. Anyway, I hope everyone else had a great week 'cause we certainly did. Time to go, gotta get up early and finish packing. Until later....
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Sad Week

2010-02-07T23:10:00.003-05:00

Last week was very sad. My friend whose daughter had cancer died on Thursday morning at 2:30 am. My friend's posts on facebook/the caringbridge website were very sad last week. At the beginning of the week she posted that her daughter had been sleeping since the weekend. Then there was a post about her temperature being down to 91, slowed heartbeat and congestion in her lungs. She posted on caringbridge within an hour of the little girl's passing that she died in my friend and her husband's bed. Apparently both parents held her hands as she took her last breaths and the little girl squeezed her daddy's fingers right before she took her last breath as if to let him know everything was okay. This was very, very sad. Though we were not close friends growing up, I went to school with her from kindergarten to high school graduation. I can not imagine what it is like to go through what they went through. I held my own babies tight all week long and cried many, many nights last week. I thought a lot about my friend and prayed for them often. I woke up many times during the night on several nights last week thinking about my friend. My own son came to my bed at 1:30 the night the little girl died and asked to sleep with me. I immediately thought of my friend and prayed for her as I let my son into my bed. In the morning I learned that the little girl died an hour after my own son came to my room. So sad to think that as I was sleeping with and holding my children (the baby was in the bed at that point too due to nursing), my friend was holding her youngest daughter for the last time and was up informing people of her daughter's death - posting on the caringbridge website about the girl's death within an hour of her passing. Her celebration of life service was Saturday. It was a beautiful service with many, many people there. There was a reception afterwards to visit with the family and there were many, many beautiful pictures of her daughter. Such a beautiful little girl. I hope never, ever to have to plan a funeral service for a child. A parent, grandparent, and spouse is something you know that eventually you will have to plan a funeral for. But for a child it should never, ever happen. I hope that faith will sustain my friend and her family through this difficult time. I hope this week will not bring any sad news. It is late and I should get some sleep before the baby wakes up to eat. Until later...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Winter Conference 2010

2010-01-26T00:37:00.002-05:00

Last week I went the PACGA (prosecuting attorney's council of georgia) Winter Conference 2010. It was at Callaway Gardens. I drove down Wednesday with my boss and a co-worker (Boss drove - explains why we were late). Hubby and the kids joined me Wednesday night and stayed the rest of the conference. Hubby took Thursday and Friday off and took the kids to Callaway while I learned how to be a prosecutor. ***** Callaway is offering free admission to anyone through the end of February************ So it was a nice, inexpensive little trip for all of us. This conference is a perfect example of the struggle to be a lawyer and a mom, especially a nursing mom. I didn't initially have a fridge in my room so being that I have to store valuable milk I had to call and get one delivered. Had to put up the privacy sign at 6 pm while making milk so the fridge delivery guy wouldn't walk in. Co-workers had to wait on me for dinner Wednesday so I could pump since there were no available breaks that afternoon for me to do so. Thursday I pumped at the two 15 minute breaks in the restroom 'cause my room was too far away to walk to and pump there. This meant I was using a manual pump in a stall since no stalls I have found ever have outlets in them! Since my daughter really doesn't like the bottle and thus only drinks the minimum amount (and sometimes refuses a third bottle during the day), I was able to pump more than she drank that day! I used a little bit more than 15 minutes at each break but when you are a lawyer (or any job) by day and mommy by night, you gotta do what you gotta do! The guy that delivered the fridge probably had no idea I was storing milk in it - since so many lawyers were there he probably thought I was buying beer or wine and keeping it in there. After all, when a co-worker went to the local package store, they told her that they had really stocked up when they learned all these attorneys were coming to town! And on Thursday night when everyone else went back to their rooms to take a nap or change into workout clothes and hit the gym, I was calling my husband on his cell to let him know that I was on my way right then since I just got a text asking me when I was coming back or did he need to heat a bottle?! And these are just the stories about me being a Mom to my youngest at the conference. Then there is the oldest one. He is into Thomas the Train A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!! AS IN ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!! We get it on the ON Demand channel at home. No such channel exist at Callaway. First words out of his mouth when he arrived at the hotel room - I want to watch Thomas on Mommy's TV! So I kept repeating for 2 1/2 days, we will watch Thomas as soon as we get home! Of course, he was asleep when he got home at 9 pm Friday! But we sure did watch it first thing Saturday morning - first words out of his mouth saturday morning as he came to my side of the bed - I need to watch Thomas! Gotta love that little boy!!!!!! I am sure that no one else at the conference (at least from my office) spent their last break on Friday running back to the hotel room to change 2 diapers so hubby could finish loading the car. During the entire conference, I learned about being a prosecutor - how its great, what we should try to accomplish, how to do it, war stories, etc. - but not a single thing about balancing work and family life or work and non-work life. No stories about circuits that have created in house daycare centers. No stories about take your child to work day. No stories about Judges making inappropriate comments about your water breaking on their carpet while you are pregnant. Yes, I enjoy being a prosecutor, I find traffic court very interesting (after all my senior thesis in college was The Evolution of Traffic Management Systems and the Development of Traffic Engineering), I love my profession and I never would want to stop being a lawyer, BUT there is nothing, nothing more enjoyable than seeing your kids face light up with excitement! Sometimes it is because you came home, sometimes it is because they get to watch Thomas, sometimes it is the Christmas tree you decorated for their room, or seeing a picture of their baby sister, whatever it is, there is nothing more enjoyable than seeing your child full of excitement. One day I may retire and stop being a lawyer but I will never, ever stop being a Mommy. It's late and I better get to sleep while I can. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Still Sleepless in Canton!

2010-01-12T11:27:00.003-05:00

It's been over 6 weeks since my first post about sleepless in Canton and things have improved a little but not much. She has started to sleep a little longer in her crib at a time but it varies and is not consistent. Friday and Saturday night she slept about 6 hours each night in her crib and we were excited things this was the start of a new trend. But it wasn't! It was a fluke. 'Cause it was only 3 hours the next night and less last night. Sometimes I think she gets cold but mostly I can't pinpoint her lack of sleeping to anything in particular - except her personality! She will still sleep beside us but still wakes up then too and we don't sleep too well when she is there with us. We are about at the point that Riley started sleeping through the night fulltime so we are getting really tired. And Riley didn't have a problem going back to sleep in his crib or cradle after getting up so we were not as tired with him. We can always be hopeful that better sleeping is in store soon but I am not overly hopeful.
On another note, we had a good Christmas and a great New Year. Lots and lots of presents were opened and most were pretty cool. Though we had a 2 year old and a 4 year old that were tired and whiny on Christmas (nephew is the 4 year old), I think everyone had a good time. And New Years was very, very relaxing. I hope everyone else enjoyed the same.
The downside to New Years, though, was more sad news for my friend and her little girl with the cancer. They went in December to St. Judes for a Clinical Trial and arrived back from that right before Christmas. Between Christmas and New Years, they had to be inpatient at Childrens Healthcare in Atlanta for fevers. They were still in the hospital and couldn't return to St. Judes right after the first of the year like they had planned. So they did a catscan here at Childrens and discoverd that the tumor had spread everywhere in 3 weeks. My friend and her husband made the hardest decision that a parent has to make and decided to end treatment for their daughter. They took her home on hospice care the first week of January. The little girl was given 4-6 weeks to live. My friend and her family have been in my thoughts and prayers constantly. Last weekend we had a snowfall here in Canton and some pretty bad icy conditions. We got to play in the snow with Riley - his first real time playing in the snow. I hope my friend did the same with her child. I can not imagine how it feels to know that your child is dying and that there is nothing you can do. She might not make it to her 2nd birthday. I guess you would take one day at a time. You are never, ever prepared as a parent to bury your child. I pray that God gives them the strength to handle this.
Anyway, that is a re-cap for the last 6 weeks or so of our selves. Oh, I am back at work now - been back 2 weeks now. Paleigh is taking bottles of my milk while I am at work but she fights it and is not happy about it. Just another part of having to be a Lawyer (or any type of working person) by Day and Mommy by Night. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:25:00.003-05:00

It was Paleigh's first Thanksgiving today. I have a lot to be thankful for. We had a sorta low key Thanksgiving with just my parents and brother-in-law over for dinner. My brother and nephew joined us after dinner and watched the Tree Lighting at Lenox on TV. Last year, my parents, husband, son, and I all went there in person. It was really neat in person. I hope to take Paleigh there too one day. I have a lot to be thankful for - especially a healthy new baby. My heart was also heavy this Thanksgiving because I found out some really sad news about a friend's baby girl. My friend's youngest daughter was diagnosed with a very rare tumor about 10 months ago that caused her to have a lot of horrible treatment with ill side effects and then eventually a liver transplant followed by additional chemo. They thought everything would be good then. There was a celebration party recently for her recovery. Well, the cancer has returned. Yesterday, she had surgery and the smallest of 4 tumors was removed. Her oncologist has basically said that there is very little, if anything, that he can do for her (my friend's facebook post said that her daughter's chances of living was like 0%). The family is considering going to a speciality cancer center out of state and possibly trying some clinical trials. My thoughts and prayers have constantly been about my friend. I can't imagine what she is thinking and feeling and the decisions they will have to try and make. The little girl was less than a year old when she was first diagnosed 10 months ago. Something so horrible shouldn't ever happen to anyone, let alone someone so young. And you should never have to see your child so sick or face the possibility of burying your own child. So, I was especially thankful for my family this year, and especially thankful for the health of my family. I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. And, please say a prayer for my friend and her family. I hope and pray that at some time later I can post good news about the situation. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Nursing

2009-11-22T00:05:00.003-05:00

A lot of things are different with this second baby. (See below post - Sleepless in Canton). One of them is Nursing. I know that nursing is a much talked about subject on certain sites but you wouldn't necessary expect it on a ordinary blog and you might not want to read about it either! This is certainly how I felt with my first baby - though I nursed for 13 months and I know it was the best for my child - I felt reluctant to discuss it, shy to let people know I was nursing, and certainly afraid almost that something embarrassing would happen because of it. I never nursed in public with my first baby. The closest I came to anything in public regarding nursing with my son was pumping in a closed, locked office at work and pumping in my closed, locked bedroom of the house I shared with co-workers during a conference. I was brave enough, though, to let people know there that I was nursing in order to prevent people from drinking the milk in the blue water bottle I stored the pumped milk in! I am not really sure why I was so reluctant and afraid to discuss it or do it in public. I guess it is because when I started nursing, I knew no one that had done it successfully and no one that continued to do it when they returned to work. None of this is the case with this baby. I know I can do it successfully, and I made it work once I returned to work with my first baby AND once I changed jobs to one requiring me to be in court 4 days a week and leaving me no opportunity to pump during the day. And to date, I have already nursed my child in public this time around! Perhaps it helps that this child has no weight gain issues with nursing that my first child had (she's risen in percentiles on 100% nursing). Perhaps it helps that I am more relaxed. Perhaps she is just a better nurser. It certainly doesn't hurt that I know I have a supportive Boss (his wife loaned me the pump I'll be using at work). Whatever the reason - I want to say that nursing is NOT something I will be embarrassed about this time or afraid to discuss. It is what is best for my child and for me and I will do it for as long as that continues to be the case. Do you know that there is even a Georgia law on breastfeeding??? It basically says that a mother can nurse her child anywhere that the child and mother can otherwise be! Why am I posting this you wonder? Well, it is something I feel strongly about. And I was reminded about that when I took my son, mother, and nephew to the Georgia Aquarium on Friday. There outside the main women's restroom was a sign that said Changing/Nursing station inside! Now, the nursing station was nothing more than a simple room of seating along 2 walls but still it was something! And the advertising made it no secret at all. More places ought to do this! Not even Babies-R-Us, which does have a Mother's room that mothers can use to change or nurse their child in, advertises it as such. With the American Academy of Pediatrics advising to nurse for the first 12 months of a child's life and then for as long as it mutually beneficial to mother and child, there should be more locations in public like this. There should be more resources, more benefits, more incentives, and definitely more support for women who chose to nurse. One local county - Fulton - provides rent-free a hospital grade pump to employees and their spouses (if the employee is male) to use as long as they need it. More government entities should do this. Fulton County also has a room in the government center where employees and members of the public (e.g. people on jury duty) can pump in private cubicles. There should be more of this. More insurance companies should cover the cost of pump and nursing accessories. (I spent $40 a piece recently on 2 nursing bras). Yes, I know that nursing is not for everyone and I don't look down on anyone that chose not to nurse their child. But, the health benefits to both mother and child have been proven scientifically. Society should recognize this and provide support to those that choose to nurse their children. Anyway, that's my position. This time around I am not afraid to let people know that I am a nursing mother. I am not afraid or embarrassed if someone finds out I nurse my child. And I won't be when I return to work. And if you work with me and can't find me for 15 minutes or so during the day (and possibly several times a day), please know that I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, I'll return shortly and I'll have small containers of a white substance to put in the fridge. And the next time you are out and about and see a women with a blanket draped over one shoulder and half her body (or like I was with her head underneath the blanket for a few seconds), don't wonder what she's doing - she's feeding her child. I didn't mean to be on soap box. It's just an issue I feel strongly about and don't want any other mother to feel embarrassed or afraid about it anymore. Now, off to other hopefully beneficial things...like sleep. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Sleepless in Canton

2009-11-22T00:00:00.002-05:00

Sleep less in Canton is the story of our lives right now. Yes, new baby Paleigh does sleep but not always at night and not for any reasonable amount of time. So we are getting less sleep that we would like! With our first baby, everyone said to sleep when the baby sleeps. Great advice! But it doesn't work with the second baby! 'Cause if you sleep when the second baby sleeps it means that the first baby has a chance to get into something! I was really tired on Thursday afternoon when the Nanny left and hubby was working upstairs. I dozed off on the sofa with new baby besides me. The first baby was playing and I kept hearing, Mommy open your eyes! Needless to say I kept opening my eyes to make sure that there wasn't a reason I needed to be opening my eyes! Until then...
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

One Month Old!

2009-11-10T09:57:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted since I had my little one - it's been busy around here! I had a girl on October 6th at 1:37 pm - just one day after my due date! Paleigh Anne weighed 8 lbs and 8.5 ounces and she was 21 1/2 inches long. Her head was 36.5 centimeters. She was about 2 ounces heavier than her older brother was, 2 1/2 inches longer, and had a slightly larger head. I can't believe that I didn't have to be induced. Though I had contractions off and on all day on my due date, nothing became of then as they were somewhat irregular and never closer than 10 minutes apart. I fell asleep on the sofa and when I got up it was about 3 am on the 6th. I checked my e-mail and did a couple of things and then I realized between 3:30 and 4:00 am that my contractions had suddenly started again and that they were coming every 5 minutes. I finally called the doctor at almost 5:30 am. We got our things together, dropped our son off with a co-worker, and arrived at the hospital at 7:30. They started pictocin to help my contractions along and broke my water. I ordered an epidural shortly after 1 pm when I was finally 4 cm (I was 3 cm when I arrived). I went to the bathroom while the epidural was set up and then I felt a lot of pressure. Right before they started the epidural, they checked me again and I was 10 cm! 4 to 10 in about 10 minutes! My parents, who were there for the birth, had been set to eat lunch but my husband called them back! The doctor arrived and said he had planned to say hi and then eat lunch but instead he'd deliver the baby! 7 minutes of pushing and she was out! I did get an epidural right before I started pushing - it was put in low and just gave me a shot and not a drip since I was already involuntarily pushing while the epidural was being put in. It was an amazing delivery experience. The doctor was great and explained everything he was doing. I was so happy that she was a girl! She was put on my belly immediately. She had a full head of dark hair. I recovered easily but she had jaundice due to blood incompatability and had to be in NICU until the 10th (I was discharged on the 8th). But she has done fine every since we got home. She doesn't sleep a lot at night, though, so we are pretty tired over here! But we are happy to be home and together and I enjoy seeing her grow everyday! We have her one month check-up later today. I am betting that she will be almost 11 pounds! She doesn't seem much longer, though, so I don't know if she has gotten any taller. Our son Riley is doing well with her - he doesn't like to hear her cry at all! Anyway, that is about all for now. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Due Date!

2009-10-05T03:44:00.004-04:00

My due date is today - Monday, October 5th! I can't believe it is here already. Almost seems like has flown by - though I know at multiple times during the pregnancy it felt like it was going really slow. Only time will tell know when my baby will be born. My doctor won't let me go past 41 weeks so within a week I know I'll have a new baby to hold! I can't wait to see if it is a girl or a boy. Though I am tired a lot and have had lots of braxton-hicks contractions off and on, I don't feel as desperate to get this child out as I did with my first one at 40 weeks (I was induced with him at 41 weeks). Perhaps not being on bedrest is the difference. Anyway, I am still excited about knowing that I will meet my child soon. I can't wait! We have trial week this week but I don't have any assigned cases for trial. It will be a long week if I don't deliver until the end of the week but I suppose I'll survive. I better go and get to bed since I have to be in court in a little over 5 hours. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night.

Almost there!

2009-09-15T00:08:00.002-04:00

Since it is after midnight now, I am 20 days from my due date of October 5th. Things have been busy over here. We are trying to finish part of our basement, build a fire engine bunkbed from scratch for our son, and then move the existing office into the basement, the son into his new bed in the old office and re-decorate the office, as well as decorate the existing nursery for the new baby. We hope that we finish everything before the baby gets here. Our son is also having his 2 year old birthday party on Saturday. He'll turn two next Monday, on the 21st. So we have a lot going on. Not to mention that I am tired all the time, and this has not been as easy of a pregnancy as it was with my son. Though I have not had the swelling issues I had with Riley and have not had to go on bedrest (I'd been on bedrest 9 days with Riley as this point), this pregnancy has been more difficult. Nasuea for 16 weeks straight. Severe indigestion since before teh pregnancy test was positive that only stopped for a couple of weeks between 16 and 18 weeks. Braxton-Hicks contractions that started at 18 weeks I believe. Lots of baby movenments, some of which are painful. More exhaustion with this child as well. So between trying to help my husband care for our toddler and being pregnant, it has been a rough 9 months. All of this while working fulltime! It will all be worth it in the end when the baby gets here. We did not find out what we are having this time either (I had to veto my husband's request that we find out this time). SO it will be exciting to see what the baby is. Today Riley refused to wear a pair of shorts that we classified as "baby pants" and said that they were for the "girl in mommy's tummy". Perhaps he knows something that we don't! Only time will tell. I guess that is about all for now. Until later...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Big News!

2009-02-13T00:06:00.002-05:00

I have big news to announce! Our son will be a big brother in the fall! I am 6 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am due October 5th. We are all very, very excited over here! They will be almost exactly 2 years apart as the baby is due 2 weeks after my son's birthday. So far I am feeling pretty good. I have had a lot of indigestion but that is about it, besides being tired. Hopefully it will continue to be a great pregnancy. With our son, I had to go on bedrest at 36 weeks due to severe swelling from my knees down so I hope that does not happen this time. And I also hope that this spring and summer will be mild and NOT hot. In 2007 when I was pregnant with our son, it began getting hot in March! It was a long, long time from March until September 21st. So a nice cool spring and summer sound great to me! Not much else going on here. It was a long week in court this week as it was trial week but I managed to survive. Next month's trial week doesn't look bad at all. Hopefully we can manage to try some new methods in traffic court which will keep me on my feet less. Until then...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Great Weekend!

2009-01-26T22:16:00.003-05:00

I surprised my husband on MLK weekend and went away to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville for the weekend. We left on Friday and returned on Monday. We stayed at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. It was very nice and relaxing. We left our son with my parents for the weekend. He had fun there, despite developing a cold/ear infection while he was there (probably had started the day before, though). We toured the Biltmore House, winery and farm and then shopped in the historic Biltmore Village and in downtown Asheville. We also went ice skating at the civic center in downtown Asheville - just happened to be walking past a few minutes before the next ice skating session. It was a lot of fun! We had ate at some great (expensive) restaurants. All in all, it was a lovely weekend. It was a great way to spend a weekend, especially since we just had concluded a trial week at work. Though I didn't have any trials this week, I was in court until 8:45 on Monday night. I am glad that this doesn't happen too much! I still got to spend a few minutes with my son when I got home - but it was only a few minutes as we have instituted a new bedtime of 9:30 for him. He seems to be doing well with it. A couple of days after we returned from the weekend getaway, our son turned 16 months old! I can't believe that he is growing up so fast. He is so smart! He speaks a lot of words and several phrases. His new favorite word is... MOMMY! I am so excited. He says Daddy a lot but he's never said Mommy more than a hand full of times before. It is perhaps one of the sweetest sounds ever! The other one is hearing him say I love you! Not sure that he is doing anything more with that than repeating what we say, but it is still awesome! Well, it is late and I am tired so Until then...
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Great Christmas!

2008-12-29T22:59:00.002-05:00

It is four days after Christmas and our house still looks like Christmas exploded! But it is a good explosion. We had a really good and relaxing Christmas. Everyone got a lot of presents. And we still managed to find time to relax. I was tired at the end but not over tired. Riley had an absolute ball. He got so many things for Christmas and he honestly has enjoyed playing with each item. He is learning and growing so much. We found a fifth tooth coming in on Saturday. He is starting to repeat or try to repeat many words and phrases. "I see you" and "Love you" are two new phrases from this weekend. Total he can say about 35 words and 4 phrases. He goes tomorrow for his 15 month checkup. Anyway, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Until then...
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Historic Night!

2008-11-05T00:45:00.002-05:00

Although the polls predicted the result, I still sat in amazement tonight as Obama won! I am so proud of my country that we were finally able to move past our racial issues and elect a president of African-American heritage. I am saddened that it took almost 150 years after the Civil War and Reconstruction period. I truly thought that McCain's speech tonight said it all - America has spoken and it is time to move on and accept our new leadership. Unlike in previous elections, it appears that Obama won both the electoral votes as well as the popular vote! I hope that any remaining race issues this country has will go by the waste side. I don't want to raise my son in a racist society and I hope that the election of this new president will resolve remaining issues for our country. Though I live in county that still has a majority of white Americans, though the numbers of non-whites is rapidly growing, I don't want to raise my son in society filled with racial issues. I grew up hardly knowing anyone that wasn't white. I had a African-American roommate in college and I used to work with many African-Americans and have grown to have several close friends that are African-American. I moved onto a street with neighbors that are from a diverse group of ethnic and racial heritage. I hope that my son grows up in a world much more diverse that I have done so. I sat almost stunned tonight as Obama won. I expected it but still it was amazing to watch! My only regret is that I didn't actually vote for Obama. Though I agreed with almost every platform he had, I voted for McCain in order to give a women a shot at getting near the White House. My husband voted for Obama, though! Well I guess I better get back to preparing for a motions hearing tomorrow. I was in court until almost 9 pm Monday night and did not get home before my son went to sleep. And then this morning I had to leave early in order to be back in court by shortly after 8:30 so I didn't see him too much this morning either. Then after work today, which I didn't leave until 6:30, I ran by and picked up my son and husband and went to a local restaurant to wait with a friend that ran for mayor (and lost unfortunately) of a small town up here (app. 1000 residents with about 200 registered voters only 100 or so which voted!) for the results of the local election. My son fell asleep on the way back from the restaurant and didn't wake up when we got home. It is trial week this week so there was been a lot of extra work this week and not much Mommy time so far. In addition to a motion, I will likely also to to trial on a separate case tomorrow. My son's body still hasn't adjusted to the time falling back so he has gone to sleep earlier in the evenings. He grew up a lot this weekend, though. When he got back from Grandmommie and Granddaddy's house on Sunday, he was walking all over the place and he was refusing bottles! No more bottles! He drinks all his milk from a sippy cup. I just posted on Sunday that he wasn't walking very far just yet and was not very willing to take milk from sippy cups yet and then we arrive at my mother's house to pick him up and he walks down the way towards us! And it wasn't a fluke, he is walking everywhere! And all the bottles I sent for him to use on the weekend went unused! He refused to drink from a bottle! Both mornings this week so far I have given him milk in a sippy cup and sat him on the couch and he drank all his milk, gave me the sippy cup when finished, and got down the play! I no longer have a baby - he's a little boy now! Hopefully I'll get more time later in the week to spend with him before he grows up anymore! Until later...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

13 months old!

2008-11-02T11:16:00.002-05:00

My son Riley turned 13 months old on October 21st. I don't know where the time went. He is definitely a toddler now! He can walk but chooses not to as he is still unsteady and would rather crawl and get there faster. But he did walk about 6 feet on his own at a party on Friday night. He can communicate well, just not in understandable words! He points a lot at things he wants and he just keeps pointing until we get it right. If he wants milk, he'll go and sit by the fridge and point at it. If he's hungry, he'll sometimes go and sit by his highchair. He definitely understands a lot of what we say. If we say something that he wants, he'll stop dead in his tracts and look at you. But if he doesn't want it, then he won't respond at all. Yesterday he dropped something on the floor when he was playing and he understood me when I asked him to pick it up and give it to me - he picked it up and gave it to me! If he's mad at you, he'll face you directly and growl at you or make a terrible screeching noise to your face. He babbles all the time, too. He can say dog and Daddy pretty well. He is working on saying ball. He is so cute. He is almost drinking milk out of a sippy cup. He has been drinking water out of a sippy cup since the summer but he just envisons that milk comes in a bottle! We are working on getting him to drink his milk out of sippy cups as well and we are making good progress. He did, though, manage to break the drawer underneath his crib the other day. Apparently while his Daddy was using the restroom, Riley pulled out the drawer underneath his crib and then tried to climb on top of it which bent the metal guide on the drawer! So the drawer is now on the floor waiting to be fixed! What can I say, he's all boy! I certainly miss him everyday when I go to work but I also know that as tired as I am when I get home from work, if I stayed at home with with, I'd be exhausted by noon! Currently Riley is at Grandmommie and Granddaddy's house (my parents). Grandmommie picked up Riley yesterday and he spent the night there. This allowed my husband Tony and I to do some Christmas shopping and to get some much needed cleaning done (or at least we hope to get the cleaning done today!) I can't believe he's old enough to have a sleepover already! From what I can tell, he's having a ball! She had to move a few fall decorations and pull him out of the fireplace! Well, I guess I better go and help my husband finish our cleaning before our little monkey comes back home! Until later...
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night.

We can clap!

2008-10-06T19:43:00.002-04:00

Riley learned a new trick yesterday. He can clap! He claps a lot now. But he will also clap upon request. Just say Riley can you clap for me and he'll stop doing whatever he's doing and clap! And this is not even something we have worked on! He just started doing it and clearly understands the meaning of the word clap! I think we are working on some more teeth as well as the dentist said that his gums were swollen and he hasn't slept well recently. He got a good report at the one year visit at the doctor on the 25th of September. He weighed almost 22 lbs and was almost 30 inches tall. The doctor did suggest that he drink 24-32 oz of whole milk each day! This seemed like a lot to us. We working on adding more milk into his diet but it is difficult. One day he had 17 oz between what he drank and what we used to make cereals with and that was a record for him! He is still nursing in the mornings and the evenings so he isn't totally on whole milk yet anyway. He usually eats a yogurt each day so he gets other dairy in too. He just so cute but boy is he a handful! I played with him yesterday for about 30-45 minutes outside near the sandbox and I was exhausted! I think we definitely underpay our nanny! Although I miss being at home with my child, I think I am still exhausted after working all day and being in trial than I would be chasing after my little monkey all day long! Well, I better go. My husband just came in from the store (we forget to buy whole milk) and brought both dinner and flowers! What a wonderful husband I have. Well until later...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

One Year Old!

2008-09-23T23:12:00.002-04:00

My son turned one year old on Sunday! I can't believe it has been a year already! I really don't know how that happened. We had a Curious George themed birthday party for him. It turned out really good. We didn't get back from vacation until late the night before but we still managed to get everything together on time - decorations and food. We just had cake, bananas, popcorn, animal crackers, trail mix, and M-n-Ms. It was pretty good. And he got soooo many gifts! We really are going to have to set limits for Christmas or else we'll need a new house just for all the toys! He goes to the doctor on Thursday for his one year check-up so we'll find out how much he weighs and how tall he is. I am sure that he has grown a lot. We were at the beach last week and he got in his fourth tooth! His smile looks so different with four teeth! I definitely need to update the photos I have on here. Well, it is late and I better get to bed. Until later,
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night.

Almost a Year Old.

2008-09-09T06:18:00.002-04:00

My son is going to be one year old on the 21st. I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly. This time last year I was on bedrest anxiously anticipating the arrival of our baby. In fact, I was particularly anxious on this day last year because we had gone to the hospital a few days before when I thought I was in labor and was sent home. I had contractions that started at 10 minutes apart and then went to 7 minutes and then to 2-3 minutes apart starting around 7 pm. I called the doctor at 11 and arrived at the hospital at midnight and was sent home by about 2 am! It was very disappointing! It was a Thursday night/Friday morning. I had a complete meltdown on that Saturday! My poor husband didn't know what to do so he finally just started a bubble bath and figured that if that didn't work then nothing would. And all of this seems like yesterday, not a year ago! We have my son's first birthday party all planned out. It is a Curious George theme and we have the decorations bought and the goody bags made. I am at a conference this week - came in Monday night for all day conference Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Then, my husband, son, and parents are picking me up for vacation and we won't be back until the day before my son's birthday. We are having the party on his birthday. So we actually had to plan and prepare in advance. We didn't invite everyone we knew; just the closest of friends and the immediate family. We didn't want to overwhelm my son and with being out of town we didn't want to come back from vacation and have this huge party to stress over. Still with limiting it though, I invited 14 families! I know that some of the family we invited will not be able to be there (my brother and my husband's sister) but we hope that everyone else will be able to. It would be really great if all my son's grandparents and great-grandparents are at his party. But the indication from my in -aws so far is that they are not coming for his party. I don't know why exactly - they are retired! Not sure what else they have planned - but must be something really pressing!

It is about 6:30 AM where I am here. I am getting ready for my conference. I rode down with an Officer so I didn't have to drive since my family is picking me up from here. I have to meet him outside at 10 'til 7 to go the conference. I got up at 5 am so that I could shower and get dressed and leave plenty of time of my motherly away from baby duties! My goal is to make it until at least his first birthday with nursing so I am almost there. I really should have invested in some good nursing bras! I only bought 3 and those were the ones that I looked at briefly and said that yeah, they'll probably do, because I was rushing back in August '07 to buy everything the books said I'd need and I had this instinct kick in that I had to get all the shopping done ASAP in case the baby arrived early! Of course I was induced and he arrived 8 days late though! And then every time I thought about buying more I talked myself out of the idea since they are expensive and I didn't know how long I would be able to keep it up while working. Anyway, I guess I better go and finish getting ready for the conference.
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

I survived the last 2 weeks!

2008-07-13T00:46:00.003-04:00

My husband Tony got back Friday morning from being in Manila for 2 weeks. He was only able to call part of the time but we e-mailed a lot. And he made videos for Riley before he left and he sent videos for us directly from Manila to the home computer one day. We still missed him though! Mom and I took photos of Riley during each day and sent Tony an album each day so we didn't feel like he missed anything. The time went by faster than a I thought. It helped that that the first week was a short work week because of the 4th of July and that the second week was jury trial week so it was very busy at work.

I had my first jury trial at my new job! And I was successful in getting a conviction. It was my first straight misdemeanor trial, my first DUI, and my first trial in Cherokee County. The same result happened though as when I was a PD - someone went to jail after the trial. The difference is that it means I won instead of loosing!

Riley is doing so much now and growing fast. He got a second tooth that came in recently. He eats tons of food! He is starting to eat more table food now. He eats anything and everything we give him. Tony and I will have to change our diet when Riley goes to all table food because the boy is used to tons of variety and he'll get bored with our diet! Riley will be 10 months old soon. I don't know where the time went! It is so fun watching him grow and learn new things but I definitely miss the little baby stage too! But it is cool that we can take him to restaurant and be able to feed him some of what we eat. He ate a couple of bites of a pancake but I don't think he was too thrilled with it. He definitely really still likes his rice cereal and oatmeal because when he is really tired he just wants to eat a lot of oatmeal for dinner and he gets sooooo excited when he sees that you have made oatmeal for him. I guess rice cereal and oatmeal are his comfort foods!

The best thing with Riley that happened recently is that he twice waved bye to me as I went to work. It is so cute! But it definitely makes it harder to leave! We neither need to win the lottery or we need to use technology to conduct a jury trial from home via webcam! Wouldn't that be cool - the lottery cooler but webcam would be awesome. With the price of gas these days, even the 8 mile roundtrip to week really adds up!

I am tired so I think I'll go to bed now. Here's to hoping my son doesn't wake up before 6 am tomorrow morning again.
Until next time...
-Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Father's Day and Cutting Teeth

2008-06-19T22:30:00.002-04:00

We had a pretty good Father's Day. I took my father out to breakfast (our favorite meal together) and we had a good time. My husband liked the gifts I have him - a new float for the pool, tongs for the grill, and candles for the patio table. Riley got his father a cool t-shirt (it's too small but all Wal-Mart had last minute so it will just have to do). Riley gave my father a t-shirt too and he liked it.

The best part of Father's Day, though, was realizing why Riley had been so fussy the last couple of days and hadn't slept well for two nights in a row. It's because he's teething! One tooth broke through the skin and you can feel it in his mouth! And we can see where the next one might come in soon! No wonder he woke up two nights in a row crying, seemed hot during the day, was fussy, won't eat much, and had a little bit of a runny nose! It finally hit me Sunday morning that maybe he was teething and a little while later we could see/feel the tooth! So my poor baby was trying to tell us for 2 days that hit mouth hurt! After all, he's almost 9 months old, it's about time those teeth started coming in!

We have about a week with my husband before he goes on a business trip for 12 days. He goes to Manila, Philippines (not Milan as previously posted - I can't spell!) It takes forever to get there. He'll be exhausted! And we will certainly miss him. No telling what Riley will look like or what he'll learn to do in 2 weeks time. He is starting to make more sounds - adding for constants to his vocabulary. He seems to learn a new task and then master it very quickly. He can sit up from lying down in about 2 seconds flat!

Well, that is about all for now. I am trying to get to bed at a decent time. I am always so exhausted everyday. We have jury trials again starting on July 7th and there is much to do at work. So until the next time...
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night.

Long Week.

2008-06-15T00:52:00.003-04:00

We just finished a long week of jury trials. I didn't try one but I came close! We had 3 attorneys out for various reasons so we were all expecting to be pretty busy. There were 7 trials, I think, this week. And lots of pleas and other dispositions. I worked late several days this week. Hopefully this upcoming week won't be as busy. Tomorrow is Father's Day. I hope my father and my husband like the gifts I purchased for them.

In other news, Riley (our son) has gotten on all fours a couple of times this week. He might start crawling soon. He also learned to sit himself up from laying down. So he is pretty mobile now. We've already lowered the crib mattress to the lowest sitting because he is siting up in the crib now and it will only be a matter of time before he learns to pull himself up on the railing. He turns 9 months in one week. I can't believe it has been that long. Where did the time go? We have his 9 month old appointment a few days after his birthday. We can't wait to see how much he's grown. We think he'll be about 20 lbs. No shots this time!

At the end of the month, my husband leaves for a long business trip to Milan. He'll be gone for a total of 13 days. I am NOT looking forward to it. It's the longest he's been gone ever that I can remember! And certainly the longest he's been away from our son. We will miss him dearly. My husband is such a great father. Just today he said that he'd rather eat at home instead of going out to dinner for Father's Day because he wanted to spend time with our son and although Riley is pretty good at restaurants that going out wasn't any fun for Riley. So we'd rather stay at home where Riley could play and not have to sit in a high chair being a good baby for a long time! I never thought I'd see the day my husband voluntarily gave up an opportunity to go out to eat!

Well, I better go and get some sleep so I can help the fathers in my life celebrate Father's Day.
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night.

Assisted Walking and Other Fun Activities!

2008-06-04T23:42:00.003-04:00

Last Friday when I was at work, Tony called to tell me that Riley started walking when you hold his hands. So when I came home, instead of Tony meeting me at the garage door with Riley in his arms, Riley walked to meet me! He was really unsteady at first but he is getting better at it everyday. He still isn't crawling yet so we are beginning to think that he won't. He'll just be a roller and a walker! You really should have seen how fast he walked once when his father put his bottle down on his exersaucer, pointed it out to him, and then asked him if he wanted it! He speed walked then! My child doesn't let anything come between him and his bottle!

He is getting so big and growing up so fast. I can't believe he is already 8 1/2 months old. Where did the time go? We weighed him on his 8 month birthday and he was 18 lbs and about 12 ounces. He just weighed him again tonight (he seemed bigger and we were just curious) and he weighed in at about 20 lbs! (This was about an hour and a half after his dinner, though). So it's no wonder that his new pjs seemed a little small!

He is still such a good baby. I had a few things to pick up at Publix today (sale ended today) and Tony had an appointment so Tony meet me after work at Publix and left Riley with me. Riley slept part of the time and sat in the car seat in the cart the rest of the time. It ended up being a much longer trip that I thought it would be and he was good the entire time. But when I came home, I had a surprise waiting for me on the family room floor. Last night, you see, I straightened up (I know a shocker!) and put most of Riley's toys back in the basket, with only a few toys left on his blanket. Well, when we got home from Publix, the basket was empty and all the toys were on the floor! I asked Riley what happened and explained that it wasn't this way when I left for work! He just grinned from ear to ear, though! Finally his father explained that Riley was playing this morning by the basket and he went down the hall for something and when he came back Riley had tipped the basket over and then one by one in the 20 minutes between when I left for work and the Nanny arrived he pulled every toy out of the basket! My child was grinning at us the entire time his father told the story! What a cutie! At least it was his toys and not the DVDs again! There are only a few DVDs that were pulled down from the shelf today. I guess Riley didn't want to pull them all down. All this from the child that can't crawl! It is amazing what you can get to when you can roll well! Last weekend he rolled unto the kitchen and had fun for a long time opening and closing the drawer underneath the ovens that holds the pie pans. He also tried to help unload the dishwasher. I had a plastic bag on the floor of plastic baby food containers waiting to go to the basement. He took them out one by one and then a few at a time 'til he good pick the bag up and empty it completely. He loves playing with plastic or paper or anything that crinkles. And a plastic bag won't crinkle when it's full! Silly Mommy!
He is always such a happy baby. Each day with him is such a joy! I am so blessed to have him in my life and to have such a wonderful husband to assist me.

Well, I guess I better sign off for now so I can try and get a little sleep before Traffic Court in the morning. Until then...
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night

Great Week!

2008-05-23T22:30:00.002-04:00

The day after Mother's Day we left to go on conference with my job. Luckily, my husband and son were able to join me. We drove down on Monday and came back on Friday (a week ago). It was great week. We played together on the beach and in the pool. And my husband and son got to hang out all day with some of my co-workers while I went to the conference. The conference started Tuesday afternoon and was on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a half day each. Each night we ate seafood - my favorite! We stayed on St. Simons Island and I really enjoyed it. The house we rented was pretty spacious and very comfortable. It was right on the beach. There was only a protected sand dune between us and the beach. The views were really nice. There were lots of good restaurants on the island. There were several shops near the pier, which also had a great playground. It really was a great time. I am so lucky to work somewhere that not only sends me to a conference at a cool location but also allows me to bring my family with me! Everyone had a great time. It was a fun, relaxing week, and it was one that was much needed. Our son was so good at the house and everyone time we went out. We'd been there about half the time when someone said that they finally heard that baby cry. Someone else said that our child was deceiving - that everyone would have lots of babies if they were all as good as my son. He is such a cutie pie. We just love and adore him. I'll have to post some pictures later from the Beach Week. Until then,
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by Night.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T20:54:00.003-04:00

Today was my first Mother's Day and I had a great day. My husband "helped" my son fix me breakfast in bed. And then we just hung out most the day and prepared for our trip that we leave on tomorrow. We've put a big dent in the preparations for the trip and hope to be finished in not too long. We finished the Mother's Day celebration by eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant up the street - my favorite food. All in all, it was a great Mother's Day. I got great presents too - my husband gave me a Mom locket where I can put a photo inside and my son published a note to me in a local newspaper. It was a great relaxing day, even though we have been packing off and on all day.

In fact, the entire weekend was pretty relaxing. We rearranged some furniture, mostly the stuff we had at the loft [we got a renter in finally on Friday so we brought up the furniture that was in the loft. After a year of double mortgage payments, we finally have some help on the financial end]. After rearranging the furniture, we walked to the clubhouse and swung on the swings and slid down the slide and walked on the trail that leads to the reservoir. Later, Grandmommie kept our son so my husband and I could go out and run several errands and eat dinner, celebrating the arrival of a renter. So, overall all we had a great Mother's Day weekend. I better run now and finished preparing for our trip. Happy Mother's Day to everyone.
- Lawyer by Day and Mommy by night.

Good Night

2008-05-06T23:09:00.000-04:00

We had a good family time this afternoon after I got home from work. My husband feed the baby while I got ready to go on a walk. Then we went on a really long walk. We walked down to the clubhouse where there are swings and a playground. I think it is about 1/2 a mile away or a little more (and 2 big hills away!). We swung in the swings and Riley just laughed and laughed. We also slid down the slide together. He liked that. He also laughed when we walked on the swinging bridge. It was a very nice time together. We were gone about an hour and a half. I love it when I have good Mommy time like this.

Long Day in Court

2008-05-06T17:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a really long day in court. We started at 9 am and I finished after 6 pm - close to 6:30 pm. Some of my co-workers were there any longer. It is hard when we are in court that long because that means I don't get as much time with my little guy once I get home. I miss my little guy a lot during the day. Sometimes I see babies in court and I always think of my little one. I am glad that I work only 10 minutes away now. I used to work 40 miles away and it took much longer in commute time. It is very tough being a mother and having a full time job. I am often envious of my husband who works full time from home. Our little guy stays at home with his Daddy and there is a nanny that comes in for a few hours each day. So my husband gets to see him a lot during the day. I love my job, I love being a lawyer, but it is difficult being a mother and a lawyer. I am very proud of my own mother - that she was able to be so successful in her job and be a mother at the same time. I am proud of the fact that she was three college degrees, all obtained while working full time and being a mother. I can't say that I always felt that way going up, but I am very proud of her now. I can only hope that one day my son will be proud of the work that I do. It will all be worth it then. It's time to sign off for now. See ya!
- Lawyer by day and Mommy by night.

Great Birthday Party!

2008-05-04T21:54:00.000-04:00

I had a great birthday party! Current co-workers, old co-workers, neighbors, family friends, etc. all came. The weather was nice and everyone had a good time relaxing. Riley's such a good baby and he went to everyone who wanted to hold him. He only cried when he got really tired and wanted to go to sleep. My mother and husband prepared some really great food. We have plenty of leftovers so we'll be be able to partake for days to come. I had a great day. You only turn 30 once and I wanted a nice party and that is exactly what we had.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-05-04T09:17:00.000-04:00

My husband set up this neat blog for me for my 30th Birthday. What a great present! Now I can share my life with the world!

Today is my 30th Birthday. It has been a good one so far. My son, Riley (7 months old), gave me a digital picture frame for my office. And my mother gave me some new clothes to wear to work and some new spring placements for the kitchen table. I am having a big party later to celebrate. We are pretty behind in our preparations so I better go and get back to assisting our caterer, aka my mother!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-05-03T00:49:00.000-04:00

Present: One blog, comes with free tech support (as in I won't complain too much).