November 21, 2005
The BIG Update
Wow. Almost a MONTH since my last post. Pretty sorry publishing schedule, if I do say so myself! Lots has happened, so I'll try to capture some of it here...
Sydney is now four months old! Her personality is really starting to show and her smiles can just melt your heart. She's really starting to interact with things around her now (the mirror, the mobile in her bedroom, toys on the baby mat, the dog...) and starting to talk a bit too. Well, maybe talking is a bit overstating it, but she IS starting to vocalize and it's simply amazing! She is starting to outgrow quite a bit of her clothing for 3-6 months, but I don't think clothes manufacturers have any idea what size they are selling when the put a label on something anyway. Heidi gave her a little bit of rice cereal this week... Sydney was not too sure about it for a while, but she seems to like it. She'll get maybye a tablespoon's worth when she's eating, but mostly still nursing. Heidi has some great photos of the kids on her site: Heidi.highcroft.com
Caroline has gone through a couple bouts with flu or viruses or whatever, but comes out each time with more energy than ever. Her vocabulary is growing every day. She still loves to play in the bathtub and she's starting to help us in the kitchen, in the laundryroom, and all over the house. Sometimes she "helps" by taking all her toys out in an attempt to cover every square inch of carpet in the living room. Sometimes she helps by standing on her stool in the kitchen, drying dishes next to mom and dad. She even joins us in the laundry room, hapilly flinging clothes into the washing machine for us. Of course, she loves to play and sing and dance, too, and we love every minute of her playtime.
I'm incredibly lucky, in these busy days of school and work, to come home to a houseful of girls who generally meet me at the door with smiles, hugs, and kisses. I could not ask for more!
So, the not-so-fun reason I started all this was because I had some extra time on my hands after spending 6 hours in the ER today. I read all my homework for this week, and found myself thinking on the grander scheme of things. You know, Life and all. Let's step back a moment.
So I work a normal work week, like 40-50 hours. Not uncommon. I go to school and study 20-30 hours each week. Also not unexpected. Playtime with the kids, dinner with the family, some wonderful time spent with Heidi, it's just fantastic. However, last week I started having some chest pains. I just let it slide for a few days but it would not go away. So today I spend 6 hours in the ER getting chest x-rays, a CT scan, bloodtests, the whole nine yards. While they could not find anything after 6 hours of tests, it really got me thinking about my overall state of health (not great). So, despite all my previous new year's resolutions and statements of "I'm going to get healthy soon," I realize that I have to make some drastic changes to the diet, start exercising and generally have greater regard for my health. Making all the changes at once may be a bit hard, but I'm ready to commit. If I can do all the other things I'm doing, I should be able to dedicate myself to a healthier lifestyle. For me, I'm starting with with fours simple things:
- Eat reasonable-sized portions
- Exercise (typing does not count as exercise) at least 3 times each week
- Get a good night's sleep
- Stop snacking between meals
I've never really paid much attention to my health, but now I plan to be more aware of what my body tells me. Oh yeah, and I WILL pay attention when the doctor talks about cholesterol, or blood pressure, or weight, or whatever advice he has for me.
I love my family too much to think that my health is not a matter of concern. I pay very close attention to the health of everyone in my family, now I just need to include myself in that picture.
Posted by MEK at November 21, 2005 10:57 PM