Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Back to Work I Go ...

Well, I officially started back to work on March 6 and I must say - it's not as bad as I thought. I picked a week when all of our execs were in Vegas at our national convention to make my debut - that was the best decision I've made in a while! I got to wear jeans and tennis shoes all week - and my workload was relatively light. This week they are all back, so I'm getting loaded up again - but I'm glad I had the first week to catch up on emails and such before the onslaught of mediocre tasks began.

Here is a list of a few things that I DON'T miss about being back at work:

• Rush Hour Traffic - it still sucks the big one and the roads are still full of idiots that can't drive. If I'm not being cut-off, some fool will have an accident causing major backups and delays that will double my commute time.
• The Wind Tunnel - my office is in a trio of buildings that create a magnificent wind tunnel effect. This is quite nice on a steamy hot summer day. But when it's 40 degrees and precipitating, it's a pain in the arse. Yesterday I was literally being pushed by the wind. You'd think the extra 30 lbs. I'm caring around would have me more grounded - this wind is very strong.
• Idiot Bosses - my direct supervisor is cool. We trade jabs about our favorite college basketball teams (I like Duke, he likes Maryland - poor guy). But there are other bosses in my office that are complete idiots. You know the ones that give you the most asinine tasks to do and then 2 weeks/months later completely forgets and asks for them again. Or the ones that ask you to research something and then doesn't believe you when you tell them what you found - so they ask one of the office men! And my all-time favorite -- when they ask you for a report that they desperately need (which takes you days to complete) and then they just use it as refuse. UGH!

But it's not all bad. Sam is doing really well in daycare - they LOVE him....but that's probably due to a combination of him being adorable, sweet and the new baby in class. It freaked me out a little until I asked another daycare mommy and she reassured me that they do this with all the kids - especially the new babies that are as cute as Sam.

And I'm really enjoying having some time to do something other than mommy-stuff. It's nice to be able to finish something I started and to get down to the gym to try to work off the rest of these baby lbs. It also makes me really enjoy the nights and weekends with Mr. Sam. I'm not so anxious to pass him off to his daddy now that my time with him has decreased.

I Think I've Got The Hang Of This Mommy Thing ....

Ok, I probably don't really - but I feel like things are going so well right now that I must be doing something right! I was able to shower today while Sam slept - usually I have David watch him. Also, Sam didn't scream during tummy time and actually rolled over for the first time! And I've been able to get a little housework done recently. I feel like things are coming together finally. It only took almost 3 months - ha ha!

Of course all the mommies say that as soon as you think you've got a routine going, Sam will have a growth spurt and it will change again. Since he starts daycare next week and I go back to work the following week - his routine will get a change at that point whether we like it or not. Until then, I'm going to enjoy thinking that I've got it all figured out ;)

10 Weeks And Counting ...

Well, Sam is 10 weeks old now and he's getting bigger and more active every day. I can't believe that just 3 months ago he was still in my tummy making me eat everything in site.

Recently, Sam has realized that he has hands. He's started to reach out and bat at toys and grab things - like mommy and daddy's shirts. He's also a lot more vocal - and I don't mean the screaming. He's making all sorts of coos and gurgles and baby talk these days and it is absolutely adorable!

It snowed this past weekend. We got about 8 inches - a lot more than we thought, but pretty close to what the weather guys were predicting. Wanna see some pics? Snow photos (please keep in mind that the last 5 pics are from a snow in January 2005)

It's a 3-day weekend for the working folks this weekend, so we're looking forward to loafing around with daddy for an extra day! And for those of you that haven't seen him lately - here are some pics of Sam.

Better Late Than Never ...

I know it's been 2 months since my last entry and for that I apologize, but I have a good excuse. Samuel David Brown was born on December 6, 2005 at 6:03 pm! That's right, just after I posted my last entry - my water broke! I was quite surprised since I wasn't having any contractions....they started shortly thereafter though. For those of you that haven't had a baby - contractions HURT! Don't let the Lamaze classes fool you - breathing through the initial ones is tough. I don't know how ladies go through having a baby without any drugs - I barely made it to 3-4 centimeters!

Ok, so here's the story of the birth process - it's in 3 parts because it's kind of long. Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 .

And here are pictures of our little boy - they are posted with the most recent ones first.

He's 2 months old now and doing great! You can always check our Family Website if you want to keep up with how we are all doing. It's updated more often than mine these days. You wouldn't believe how little free time you have with a new baby in the house.

I'm still enjoying my maternity leave, but will be headed back to work in March. I'm not exactly looking forward to leaving Sam at daycare, but I know that it will be the best thing for all of us. I'm sure it will be harder on me than him.

Well, I'll try to post more often now that Sam and I have a little routine down. So keep checking back every so often for updates. Until then, hope you are all doing well and that your kids turn out to be as cute as my little Sam ;)

Still No Baby ...

It's Monday, December 5^th and still no baby. Evidently I've been feeding 'boy' too well over the last 9 months and he's quite happy staying put. Here's the update on what we know so far:

• He was due on November 30^th - so he's almost a week late
• I'm not progressing - no contractions, barely 1 cm dilated, etc.
• He's still a boy and still facing head down (which is good)
• Last week we had an ultrasound that estimated his weight at 9 lbs. 9 oz. - OUCH!

We'll be heading to the hospital on Wednesday (Dec. 7^th) morning to induce labor - 'boy' is going to get evicted whether he likes it or not. In the meantime, I'm taking days off from work to rest and relax. Here's what I looked like last week:

39 weeks - Monday, Nov. 28^th

Hopefully the next post will include pics of our new little boy!! Stay tuned...