This would be a good time to update my blog...

...I think.

My bread is baking and Shona is napping. When the bread is done, and Shona is awake and fed, we will hopefully take it to my grandparents along with some supper. My grandma had back surgery on Monday. She is doing well (they let her go home the very next day!), but still in a lot of pain.

Yesterday I had a "comprehensive physical" done. It was way up in Houston, and lasted about 2 hours, so Caleb went with me to take care of Shona. It was certainly a comprehensive health exam because they redid the EKG 3 (!) times, measured my height 3 times (because the measurements showed that I shrunk half an inch since last time--i.e. 2007! But it was due to an error on their part), rechecked my weight at least once, and redid the breathing test. LOL! As we were on our way to Houston yesterday morning, I had this vague notion that I dislike the hearing test. When it came time for it, I remembered why. You sit in a contraption that strongly resembles a refrigerator, and wear huge, heavy earphones that make your ears ring. (I dunno why.) They give you a tiny black thing that looks like a miniature microphone but has a red button on top. Then they instruct you to press the button every time - and as soon as - you hear a beep. There were so many times when I pressed the button even though I wasn't sure if I was hearing a beep or it was just my ears ringing. I had an ominous feeling they were going to diagnose me as schizophrenic because I was claiming to hear beeping when it didn't exist. ;-) However, everything turned out okay - my hearing is fine, my vision is fine, my heart is fine, my breathing is fine...just have to wait for the results of the blood work. That's the scary part - they send a detailed report (about 50 pages. Okay, I'm exaggerating :-)) on everything in your blood and what you have too much or too little of. It's pretty neat really.

Just heard thunder and remembered that we're supposed to have a storm today! Exciting! Earlier today I saw lightning in the middle of a bright blue sky. It was so weird.

Today Shona and I had to do some errands. First we returned some stuff to Rue 21, then we got fuel, then we deposited a check at the ATM, and then we went grocery shopping at Kroger. She did great - I only had to pull off on the side of the road twice. She was totally happy when we were in the stores.

Oooh, before I forget, I have to tell this story. For ages now, I've been reading/hearing about this Fisher Price seahorse that glows and plays music and is supposed to soothe babies and help them go to sleep. I was very skeptical because, well, nothing so far has worked for my baby. However, I finally gave in and bought one - mainly because it's just so cute and I thought it'd be a nice toy for Shona. First off, here's what it looks like, although Shona has a blue one (I didn't even know a pink one existed until I just now looked on Google for a photo to post, and the best photo I found was of this pink one!):

Anyway. The seahorse plays lullabies and ocean sounds for 5 minutes. When it was time for Shona's nap (the day I bought it - this past Tuesday), I put it next to her in her bed, and she was asleep long before the 5 minutes was up! Pretty neat. On Wednesday, I put her down for a nap with her seahorse, turned on the monitor, and went outside for a bit. I set the monitor on the ground next to me, and Shannon was very intrigued by this little white thing that plays music (since we could hear the seahorse through the monitor). Here's the funny part: she curled up next to the monitor and went to sleep! Sooooooooo, the seahorse puts my baby AND my dog to sleep. However, before you assume that our sleep problems are solved, let me say that Shona does not, under any circumstances, go to sleep without her pacifier. This is still a big problem because every time she loses it in her sleep she wakes up and cries for it. This can occur 15-20 times per night, and once during every nap. That means she's not getting good, solid sleep and it also means that I'm up constantly through the night. To complicate things, she's having a LOT of gas pain again, even though I haven't changed my diet. I'm still staying away from anything that would bother her. I'm also giving her Mylicon right before bedtime (even though I really don't like the idea), but it doesn't help enough. The past few nights, she was up *at least* every single hour - and I'm serious about that. We have a clock beside the bed and I saw each and every hour of the night. (I know, I really ought to make a point NOT to look at the clock!) Sooo, I'm still trying to figure out how to help my darling little baby sleep better.

Anyhow, it's great being a mommy. :-) Shona is such a sweetheart. And she's changing SO fast. I know babies grow up super fast, and they are constantly changing, but when you see it with your own eyes, on a day-to-day basis, it's just pretty incredible. All of the sudden, in one day, Shona will start doing things she's never done before. Yesterday she rolled from her back to her tummy for the first time! And she's just really starting to notice things and grab at everything! She also "talks" ALLLLL the time and loves to blow spit bubbles. It's hilarious!

Okay, lemme see if I have any new photos to add....

Oh yes, I have some reeeally cute ones from today.






Okay, bread is done but Shona is still sleeping. Better try and get a few things done before she wakes up.

Cheers for now!