Posting on the fly....

I'm actually typing this on a plane on my way back to New Jersey for week 2 of training for my new job.  It was so good to be home for the weekend although my heart aches just as much as it did last Sunday when I left my boys. Reuniting with Jonah after being away for 5 nights was amazing- I was surprised at my emotions and he was surprised to wake up half way home from the airport and see me in front of him! :D Although there was a moment of panic I actually did have enough pumped milk in the freezer to last through the week and brought another batch home for this week. My company has the nicest "nurture space" complete with a sink, a fridge and magazines for me to do my thing while I'm at the institute. The only part that sucks is when my boobs wake me up in the middle of the night and all I have is a stupid pump to turn to rather than a snuggly little boy. I had some problems falling back asleep after the mid-night pumping sesh at first-- 2 hours of insomnia is not fun when you're sitting in a classroom all day long. Wednesday night Dustin said about flying solo with Jonah: "it's been a lot of work but it's been a lot of fun too".  That coupled with a glass of wine or two made for a full night's sleep... and a full 9 ounces of milk in the morning!

As expected Dustin was amazing and Felicia sent the cutest text messages and pictures every day. We were able to FaceTime every night, Jonah responded so much more compared to my October trip to Chicago.

The moving deal is working itself out... Dustin and I decided NOT to rent out our home in Minnesota and rather wait until March to list it (upon suggestion from our realtor/uncle whom we trust completely). It's going to suck to pay for a home we're not living in, but I would rather do that than rent it at a loss every month and have strangers live in it for a year only to have to deal with it next winter. I feel good about our decision. I found a home for us to rent in Cedar Rapids that has a fenced in yard for "the guys" (our two Puggles that I just realized I don't really talk much about...oopsy) and is close to family-- and just a mile from my best friend and her 14 month old I might add :)  We're going to be stretched thin for a little bit but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Jonah continues to transition into the most adorable little boy ever. He's really good at fighting naps for us on the weekends which makes for really long days. This weekend I said to Dustin: "we need to ask Felicia what she does" and he said she runs the vacuum cleaner.  Of course! Today after about an hour of feeding him and trying to coax him to sleep I laid him down and turned on the blow dryer, and low and behold the little munchkin slept for a few hours! What am I going to do without Felicia. Above everything leaving her and her boys makes me the saddest. Little Dylan is such a softie... I actually shed a few tears on my way home from my final interview knowing I nailed it and that would mean we would be moving away. I've got to think of something really special to do for them before we go.

I'm still carrying around that damn 10 pounds. I took a break from the gym inadvertently-- with the layoffs and interviewing and that laryngitis along with an annoying knee pain and Jonah starting solids meaning dinner time replaced my normal gym time. I just couldn't-- or didn't-- fit it in. After a few visits to PT I'm starting to run again and feel so good about it. It's something I can fit in anywhere, and I'm just committing to 3 days a week. I'll be happy to get into more of a regimen once life settles down a bit, but for now I'm just thankful to be back at it. This weekend I asked Dustin if he thought I would ever get back to my normal self and he replied: "if you want to". What a powerful statement! I do want to!!! Since I'm in sales and goal oriented I wrote down some goals for myself. They're actually pretty easy and attainable:

1. lose 4 lbs/month (about 1 lb/week) which would put me at my pre preg weight by March.

2. continue the couch to 5k program (followed by the 5k to 10k) running 3 days a week

3. limit sweets to 3 bites a day 

Actually I didn't write that third one down but thought of it later and think it deserves a spot on my post it note. The good news is I'm not obsessing about it anymore. Maybe it's the happy pills doing their job, or the fact that I'm running again... whatever it is it feels good to notice someone checking me out and think to myself "I look alright for having a six month old at home". And I'm only going to look better! 

I found out this week the National Sales meeting for my new company is in Puerto Rico.....!!!! I'm so stoked! One thing I learned from my Grandparents Elliott was that life is all about making memories. I love to travel and make memories and fortunately so does Dustin, so no matter how tight money is we will always figure out a way to see the world.  I can't wait to see Jonah in his little Batman swimming suit :D xx