Bucket List for 2012

Mark and I made a bucket list of 25 things we wanted to do this year in the state of Indiana. I will post all 25 things, but on the list was to try a new growler of beer every month from a local brewery. We love beer, but mind you were are drinking for taste and a new experience rather then reasons we did in college (well at least I am anyways!) We actually ended up with 2 growlers this weekend, the great thing is that after you purchase the growler you bring it for refills around $6-8 = cheap easy date night! We sent to Granite City and tried the "two pull" described as "Created and made popular by our Guests, the Two Pull is a blend of our Northern Light and Brother Benedict's Bock beers. Sometimes the best creations are a mix of great creations" It was a darker beer then I normally prefer but it was actually quite tasty, my favorite of the 2 this weekend. Then we went to Broadripple Brew Pub and tried the "Wobbly Bob American Ale" described as a light copper color,  this pale ale has a nice citrus aroma from generous cascade hopping" Whatever that means! They were good and we can check it off our list for February, with only 2 days to go :)

The Purpose of My Existance...

My Patho Midterm is over and it is Friday...Nothing else to say besides that!

Rearing Its Ugly Head...

One of my biggest flaws...my struggle with perfectionism is rearing its ugly head lately. It all started with an assignment for school that I did not get an "A" in. Actually the professor kinda ripped our groups assignment apart and I have not been able to let it go so much as it is affecting the other areas of my life. This strive to be perfect has been present my whole life. Even though sports teaches you so many invaluable lessons it does have a few negatives and for me that was/is perfectionism. I felt so much pressure of expectations to be "perfect" at my sports, starting in high school. If I wanted to play in college,  I had to have a "perfect" high school career. And if I wanted to get a scholarship my grades needed to be perfect too because coaches do not want a player lacking in academics. ..the desire for "perfect" only got stronger from there...throughout college, my basketball career and nursing education the expectation's I placed upon myself were hardly attainable and even though I reached most of goals it was hard not to let them be overshadowed by my unrealistic expectations. This "perfectionism" has followed me everywhere. Some waves of my life I am focused on just being the best I can be, working hard and accept the imperfections. Other waves of my life, nothing is ever good enough, I feel like I need to be doing more and doing it better. My "to-do" list become miles long and when it doesn't get done it only feeds the negative. One thing I am good at s recognizes this "ugly head" and working hard to get my mind back on the right track. Gently reminding myself that perfect does not exist, that no one can do everything all the time100% and that the important things in life are spending time with family and friends and not the spotless house an straight A's. So after making a to- do list today with no joke 44 things on it...I'm going to pick Leah up as she is currently waking up from her nap and give the only truly perfect thing in my life a big hug and kiss.

Valentine's Day

Yesterday we "celebrated" Valentines Day. I am not going to lie, I was almost repulsed by the idea of it this year. With the years changes I just wanted to scream at everyone and yell what is the big deal..we love each other everyday...we have been working extra hard at our marriage since September 16 when or newest love entered the world. Maybe this makes me a "bad wife" but it is just the truth. The nice thing is that Mark felt the same way too. So we did a typical night at the Franklin household with a few tweaks. I snagged two pieces of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory on my way home from picking up Leah from the babysitters house and Mark bought me the 3rd Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn which he sat faithfully by me as I drooled over Edward (pathetic I know) Just as it was time for bed, Leah woke up to eat and then the next thing it was 4 am and I was still passed out in the chair, boob out, holding Leah...sounds romantic huh! Oh well, I enjoyed my time with Mark last night (as well as with my cheesecake) and that's all that matters!

Leah- 4 Months ( A bit late)

Age: Four Months
Weight: 14lbs
Length: 26.5 in
Size: 3 months and 3-6 months
Teeth: none poking through, but lots of drooling and gnawing
Hair: Still has lots...I swear the color changes daily- blond, brown, slightly red WHO KNOWS!
Sleeping: Is our downfall. She is so inconsistent. Earlier this month we worked on learning to self soothe and cry it out a bit. The first days were rough because she cried for a long time, but it got better and she was sleeping longer stretches. But slowly she has creeped back into waking up every 2-3 hours at night. She goes to bed fine, but it was waking up and the ONLY thing that calms her is to nurse. We have let her cry it out in the middle of the night, but 2 hours later it is just easier to nurse her. Taking 3-4 45 min cat naps.
Eating: NURSING ALL THE TIME!
Movement: Very active still. Has mastered bringing toys to her mouth this month, so now everything goes into her mouth. Holding her own binki, developing some of those fine motor skills. Legs are getting stronger. Still rolling from belly to back
Milestones: Talking, bringing things to her mouth
Favorite Toys: Books..loves books! Likes this "baby paper" that makes noise. Finally sitting in bouncy seat.
Dislikes: Getting a tiny bit better in car...still fussy. Doesn't like being put down or interrupted eating sessions
Words/sounds: Lots of coos and talking. Carries on a "conversation" with you!

Her new face with her new sound

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SuperBowl!!

Superbowl week is over!! Indy did such a great job hosting! Mark and I got to head back downtown on Saturday with our friends! It was awesome...This momma had one to many adult beverages (total lightweight these days)  and enjoyed laughs with some great friends. We were home by 11 and Leah was up all night :) Oh the joys of parenthood. Sunday we vegged all day, Leah got dressed up for the game in these adorable football legwarmers. Love them! It was an awesome game and very happy the Giants one. So football is over for now, already looking forward to next season!

Look at those cheeks!

One Little Word

So one of my New Year's Resolutions/Goals whatever you want to call then was to not actually pick a goal but pick a word I wanted to focus on all year. This project called "One Little Word" is a sort of a "class" that offers prompts at the beginning of the month that you can use to focus on your word and ways to cultivate it in your own life. You take pictures, write journal entries, anything that speaks to you about your word, you collect and place in a binder. I thought this was such a cool idea as this is right up my alley, easy enough and simple. January's prompt was just picking your word, defining it, and thinking about what you wanted your word to bring to you. At first I wanted to pick the word discipline...I need a little bit of in my life when it comes to healthy habits, cleaning, work, money etc etc...but the more I pondered the more I realized that one of my downfalls is speaking harshly to myself. My internal dialogue tends to be condescending and judgemental even though it is not that way towards others. I felt "discipline" was encouraging that harsh tone. So I thought of other words that could mean the similar things, but was of a softer tone. I stumbled upon the word NURTURE and it felt perfect. It is gently, encouraging and I feel like I accomplish some of the same things I want to in a softer more gentle tone. So my word for 2010 is Nurture. I love it. It has been popping up all over the place all of a sudden. January was spent thing of different areas of my life that I would like to nurture and planning on focusing on one of these each month. My ultimate goal is to nurture myself, be kinder to myself in hopes to be kinder to others. My new role as a mom is the definition of nurture. I love this new role. But I am trying to learn that I have other needs and my husband has other needs that need to nurtured. Letting myself be "okay" with nurturing my other needs does not make me a bad mother, but it is hard to believe and live this sometimes. So there are a few areas of focus for me. I will be sharing along my journey.  Here is the first page of my "journal" The definition of nurture, synonyms, what I want to "invite" and a few pictures of what comes to my mind with the word nurture.

Super Bowl Festivities

Indy is hosting the superbowl and it has been CRAZY around here! We had the chance to go down Saturday afternoon/evening to join in the festivities. We bundled up Leah, walked around and enjoyed an adult beverage. We left by 7:30, boy how times have changed. None the less it was fun!

A quick video of downtown!

Breakfast of Champions...For Real!

Soo in addition to my "green machine" smoothie I have also recently become fond of steel cut oats in the morning. They are SO YUMMY! In my opinion they are better then the regular as they have a grainy, crunchy, hearty taste and flavor! The only draw back is they take awhile to cook, BUT I have also found a way around that as well...From THIS post...go ahead and give them a try! I have been adding vanilla almond milk and blueberries, bananas, and raisins...soo yummy! I also plan on using these when I start Leah on some solid food..instead of generic rice cereal, I plan to grind the oats up super fine and mix with my milk...delicious and nutritious! Perfect!