eh, what's up doc?

Carrots......

Random-ness

I have just submitted my first Federal Grant. It is to the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Outreach Grants. Wherever you live, your state has publicly funded children's health insurance- that's CHIP. In Florida, it's KidCare. We've been working on the proposal for about two and a half weeks, and it's really been a team effort, but I took the lead on crafting and maintaining the proposal. I am very, very, proud of it. For almost five years now, I've worked for a funder - as opposed to a grant-seeking organization. So it was a good mental exercise to sit on the other side and have to write a grant myself. I feel like our proposal is not only well-written, but well crafted and very strategic. I think that it shows how hard we worked to really come up with a project design that is consistent throughout the proposal. We'll hear back from the feds by September 30th. We are requesting $630K (for 2 years) and contributing our $1 million in insurance outreach programs as match to show that our project is sustainable.

Working on that proposal has really consumed my work for the past week, and as a result I've skipped out of other meetings whenever I could to work on it. But now it's done and I'm happy.

A couple of night ago I decided that we needed to make a more concerted effort at having a bedtime routine for Caleb. I know that Emily swears by them. The time at which Caleb was falling asleep was creeping up to almost 10-ish...I know that's not ok. So on Sunday, I gave him a bath at 7-ish, and then took him to his room, put on his pj's and nursed him until he almost fell asleep and then put him in his crib. He woke up some, but I spent about 10 minutes standing there with him and he fell asleep. We've repeated each night now, and tonight it was a little harder, and I had to go in three separate times because he was crying, but he finally fell asleep at a little after 8. I'm determined to get this right. Plus with that late bedtime I just couldn't get anything done. Last week between Caleb staying up and my working so hard on that proposal there was just nothing to eat in my house and it was messy. Three nights we ate at 9:00 just because it was the first chance we had to heat up leftovers or get take out.

This week is World Breastfeeding Week. I love how beautiful breastfeeding is. It's just one MORE thing that shows me how amazing and creative God was in His design for us. It is so good for babies, mommies and our community.

I think I mentioned in my last post that we started feeding Caleb cereals - that boy loves food. I'm so surprised at how good he is at eating from a spoon, it was really surprising to me. He really enjoys it. He seems to like the spelt/barley multigrain cereal a lot, I tasted it - it's not bad, it tastes like cream of wheat (minus all the sugar I would add to cream of wheat) :)

Okee dokee - that's it for me. Alex is at small group, I didn't go b/c I didn't want to disturb our very new bedtime routine. So I'm going to go enjoy me some time laying down and watching tv

Yikes!

Wow - I have been SOOO delinquent about blogging! That is because I am insanely busy!
Here are some updates:

• work is crazy. I get in at 7-ish and don't fool around during the day. I just work. We are preparing for a restructuring and will likely have layoffs. On August 3 the number of staff in my department will more than double - although I will only directly supervise 3 people rather than the 4 that I do now. Two of those will be Team Leaders who will each oversee a team of contract managers. So that will bring new challenges and new scope of programs in my department that I will need to learn. Rather than only administering The Trust's health funding, I will now also oversee the Parenting and Early Childhood Development programs.
• Caleb has been sleeping a lot less. Whereas he used to go to bed at 8:30 and wake up between 2-3, he is now fussing to sleep at 9-ish, waking up again at 11-ish to eat, and again between 4-5. This has been devestating to my sleep as well as to how much I'm able to pump. I've had trouble keeping up w/ this new demand and we've been raiding my freezer store. Our pediatrician noted that he is above development in several areas and thinks he is burning a lot of calories. So....we are starting on solids! At first I was wary, but then saw that it might actually help b/c right now I don't have "unoccupied" stretches of time where I can pump, except at work. Also I spoke to my good friend who's a pediatrician and she eventually agreed after asking me several questions. The other thing is that when Alex and his mom tried out the cereal for the first time yesterday he really liked it and didn't have much trouble eating it. Of course, today when Alex fed him alone...different story - he had to give him an entire bath afterward!
• I had a car accident yesterday. It wasn't serious and we're ok - me, Caleb and the other driver. It was completely my fault and just stupid. I had just left from picking Caleb up from my in-laws. We were stopped at a light and Caleb was fussing in the back. I was looking at him in the rearview mirror, when out of my peripheral vision I saw the cars on either lane beside me driving forward (passing me) - so I stepped (hard) on the gas. However, I slammed into the car in front of me. My first thought was whether Caleb was alright, but then What the heck just happened?? Looking back, I think that since I was really not paying attention and saw cars moving past me - I assumed that I must have been holding things up by not paying attention - when in reality - the lane on my left was a Left-turn lane, and the lane on my right was moving forward b/c people were now able to make right turns because of a lull of passing traffic. And my lane, well it wasn't going anywhere! Thankfully, progressive is great and my car goes into the body shop on Monday.

That's about it - OH YEAH - I put up a new post on our photography blog that has cool pictures of Caleb - enjoy!

Found: A Glimpse of Another's Life

First let me tell you about a website a found a long time ago - Foundmagazine.com is just that - a website where people post pictures of 'found' items. A love note, a doodle, a list of pros/cons, a random thought jotted down - things that make you wish that you knew more about the story behind the found item.

Every once in a rare while I stop by the site. But the other day, while at a conference I 'Found' something that was found.com-worthy.

Last week I was a conference at the Westin Diplomat in Fort Lauderdale. I spent a lot of time in the fancy upscale restrooms while I pumped twice a day there. At the sink one day, I spotted this lying next to the sink on the marble counter:


It made me think the following: How did it get here? Did Jessica or Paul give this to a pregnant woman that they spotted? Did they leave it here hoping that someone would find it and give them their baby? In either situation, but particularly the first, how much courage would it take to ask a pregnant stranger whether she would like to give up the baby she is carrying? I instantly felt for this couple and wished that I knew more about them.

So I Googled them - they live in Indiana. Jessica is a school nurse - which means that she was, in fact, at the conference I was at - the National Assembly for School Based Health Care.

They seem like wonderful people, they mention that they have a strong faith. I hope that they are successful in adopting a baby. I've decided to pray for them, I'm sure that their struggle is hard.

Originally, I had intended to post this picture on found.com - I don't think that I will now. Their journey is too personal to place there, I think. I know that the people who read my blog will appreciate and respect what these people are trying to accomplish - I hope that many of you will take a moment to pray for them.

Happy Father's Day and Other Stuff

Happy Father's Day (way late). We've been super busy lately. It took me approximately 2.5 weeks to be fully booked again with work. By 'booked' I mean, already spending approximately 80% of my work week in meetings and trying to get actual work produced in the 20% of the remainder. I'm happy to be busy at work - helps the day go by really fast!

Both of our families were out of town on Father's Day so it was just us - we went to church and then decided to head to Alex's parents' house to go in their pool because it was SO hot. I think that day it actually broke a temperature record, hitting about 98 degrees. We went in the pool, took Caleb in the pool - we also brought the dogs and after Caleb got out we let Miles loose and he went swimming. They were pooped that night (totally our goal!) Pete was pooped too, but not from swimming he despises swimming and he barks like a madman at people (or Miles) in the pool. Imagine how you would react if you saw someone purposely walk into fire - that's about the same way Pete reacts at seeing us go into the pool. So he was tuckered out from his hysteria.

Here are the pics of my main - he's getting chubby! He really is a happy baby but I think he was really processing this whole water-thing b/c he looks so serious!




I love this face here! So simple - but so expressive!

Done: Week 1

My first week back at work is under my belt. It feels good to be done with it.

• The whole pumping thing went SO well. Really, God is so good at meeting our needs exactly at the time that we need it - as my friend Donna said - not sooner and not later. On Monday I worked a half day, going to work after the La Leche League meeting. I got to work at about 2pm. I pumped once - 3.5 oz. When I picked Caleb up from my Mom's house she told me that she fed him once - 3.5 oz (even though she had 7 prepared)!
  
• My general schedule is such that I pump before leaving for work because Caleb is sleeping so I can't feed him, then I pump twice at work - on days that he was at with my in-laws I pumped in the car on the way there b/c it takes longer to get to their house. So my highest volume day I pumped 17 oz! the most he ever ate was 15 oz while I was at work. I am so pleasantly surprised, relieved and grateful to see that I have plenty of milk despite the past 3 months of worrying because I don't have all of the tell-tale signs of plenty of milk that some other women have.
• The hardest thing about returning to work is being VERY tired. When I was home, it was ok to lose 45 minutes or an hour of sleep because I could sleep until 8 or so when Caleb woke up - but in order to get to work by 7:30 I'm getting up at 5:30 or 6 - the days that I have boot camp I get up 4:45. On a couple of nights last week Caleb woke up at 2:45 or 3, which means I that by the time I got back to sleep - I only had an hour or hour and a half to sleep before getting up.
• This week was my anniversary! Alex and I have been married for four years! how wonderful - I'm going to post some old-school pics for you to enjoy.
• For those of you with kids - my cousin, Dave, in Chattanooga, DJs a Saturday morning radio show - the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl - it's awesome, funky, rockin kid music. You can listen live on the internet from 8-10.

Rain at Disney...early in our dating life - 2002?
Please no comments about how SKINNY I was here - sheesh.

Later...2003 or 2004? (how about those sideburns??)
June 11, 2005



May 2008 - SeattleMay 2008 - Alaska

A compound word for lots of staples - The Stapletons

So while Lourdes and Jamie were in Miami for Sienna's birthday party, we took the opportunity to shoot some family pictures. What a beautiful little girl and an awesome family!

I really love this one!
So CLEARLY daddy's little girl (and not just b/c she looks just like him!)

So sweet!