Currently [v8]

Well hello there! I promise I'm still alive. Let's check in and throw in some pictures of Mark for good measure shall we?

Reading: articles on bleeding disorders, leukemias & lymphomas, and dysfunctions of spleens. Glorious I know but as is the life of a medical student. Throw in a bit of recap reading from Babywise: Giving your infant the gift of nighttime sleep to make sure I'm not totally blowing the "schedule" we're trying to set for the babe with some Brown bear brown bear and Where's spot? and it's all sorts of fun reading around here.

Watching: a surprising amount of recorded shows from the DVR with my hubs. I assumed that once the baby came there would be absolutely no time for such thing but we've actually been able to keep up with our favorite shows. On the queue that we both enjoy is Scandal, How to get Away with Murder, The Blacklist, and Law & Order SVU. Throw in some Chicago Fire and 19 Kids & Counting for me and the list suddenly seems extraordinarily long. Whoops.

Listening: to J make jokes with Mark downstairs and it warms my heart to hear their little conversations. J is the best dad and I can't wait to watch (or in this case, listen to) their relationship grow. Also listening to the Rockabye Baby! station on Pandora because it's actually quite fantastic.

Loving: that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and that Christmas is right around the corner. This has always been my favorite time of year, the festivities, the celebration, the family time and this year is no exception. Not to mention we have our little man to include in the traditions this year. Now if only I could convince my scrooge of a husband to hang some Christmas lights outside (and I promise not to turn them on until December!) then I'd be in seventh heaven.

Hating: the freezing cold weather (aka negative degrees) that decided to show up all of a sudden, my post-baby body (this changes day to day, todays a hate day), the fact that I don't have regular doctors appointments with my OB anymore (because I actually really like her) and spending time away from my sweet little boy.

Drinking: water, water and more water. With the occasional Vanilla Porter thrown in for good measure. They say dark beer helps with milk production and I just so happen to love it.

Wearing: my typical mom-med-student-uniform. Yoga pants with the top unfolded to hold in my still squishy belly, a tank with a nursing bra underneath, a sweatshirt because I'm always cold and a headband because this unwashed hair is out of control.

Needing: to start getting back into a workout routine but where oh where to fit that in is the problem. It's been months, probably at least 5, since I've used my membership at 24 Hour thanks to the end of pregnancy making me feel miserably huge and then the fact that we now have an infant. But somethings gotta give at least occasionally. J has a pretty decent set up of weights in our basement that I need to take advantage of. I'd also love to stop by the actual gym for a treadmill/elliptical workout on my way home sometime soon and start making a habit of it again. They say working out gives you more energy and goodness knows I could use that on the daily!

Feeling: generally happy, truthfully. Sure there are rough days and rough moments. Like sobbing in bed at 4am while nursing Mark because I have never felt such exhaustion before. Like fighting with my husband because we're both at our whits end and can't catch a break. But then there are moments of goodness, a 4 hour stretch at night, the flash of a gummy grin from a sweet boy, a compliment that turns your day around, a test score that proves I really can do this all. Life is definitely hard right now but I wouldn't change it for anything.