She's On the Move!

This business started on the 4th of July... *Cue Jaws soundtrack*

...And she hasn't stopped since! 

Hi-ho, hi-ho...

I returned to work last week and to be honest, it's really hard. I knew it would be, but it's harder than I anticipated. It doesn't really get easier to hand Jane over, I'm just usually in a hurry (what else is new!) and don't leave time to sit and weep over the hours I'll miss with her. She's just so dang cute! It's difficult to leave my little girl in the care of others to go care for other mothers' little girls! (Say that ten times fast!) I knew all of that would make work a challenge, but I didn't expect the adjustment issues to affect Jane's feeding patterns. She's decided that she quite likes the bottle because hey, who wouldn't want deliciously warm milk shot-gun shooting down your throat while being cuddled by your nana, grampa, aunt, or daddy seven times a day? 

In fact, she likes it so much that when I am home, she screams and scratches and arches her body away from me when I try to breastfeed her. 

Super fun. 

And I hate to admit it, but it kind of hurts my feel-bads. I know she doesn't mean it, but it's hard enough to be away from her at all, and then she doesn't want to engage in the most special, intimate of bonding opportunities and before you know it we're both crying! Les Sigh. 

I hear that this is normal and should stop in the next week or two.
Everybody cross your fingers and toes!

BUT! 

There is still so much good in my life!

I am overwhelmingly grateful that Jane gets to hang out with four of her favorite peeps every week and that they are people that I completely trust with her. 

I know how blessed we are that Josh and I both have jobs we enjoy. 

And after a rough week for our friends and their little baby who is failing to thrive, I am extremely grateful and humbled to cuddle my chunky, smiley, happy-as-long-as-she's-being-fed-her-way baby every day. 

I wish I could just stay home with my little Peanut all day every day, but until then I'll just count my blessings and make every day off count as much as I can.

Dearest, Favorite Darlings...

My friend Miranda passed along the Liebster award to me. In German, Liebster means darling, favorite, or dearest. So it's kind of a sweet way to connect. It reminds me of those interminably long tell-me-about-yourself emails we all passed around as kids, but I think it's fun, so here goes! Here are the instructions:

Post 11 random things about myself.


Answer the 11 questions my nominator set for me.


Create 11 questions for my nominees.


Nominate 11 other bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (no tag-backs).


Go to each of their blogs to tell them about their nominations.

My 11 Random Facts

• I love scarves. Like a lot. I have an entire drawer of them and I don’t think I’ve ever gone through all of them in a single season. It’s an easy Christmas gift!
• My feet obnoxiously grew during my pregnancy, which is I guess kind of normal. I am not happy, Bob. Not happy.
• I take great pride in my driving skills. I never had much confidence in my driving until coming to Cedar and especially since working at Sunrise. Doing the Black Ridge three times weekly in the winter has got to give me points!
• I have lived on two Continents.
• I’ve never had braces. I’m quite proud of my teeth.
• I love Yoga, although I am very inflexible.
• I love to run more than almost any pastime/sport. I’m still not cleared for running by my doctor and I miss it so much I’ve had several dreams about it.
• I love fashion but I have neither the money or the will to allocate much money to it so I mostly admire it in others.
• I am a bit of a food snob. Just a bit, though!
• I love dogs. They are my spirit guide! But ya wanna know a secret? I also love cats. Not the bratty ones. The really dumb, funny ones that belong in cartoons and youtube videos.
• I would rather clean dirty dishes than put away clean ones.

My answers to Miranda’s 11 questions

What’s your favorite book and why?

• Jane Eyre. It is a beautiful tale that crosses genres! It’s a love story full of mystery, crime, a hint of humor, and morality. It has been my constant friend since I was 9 years old.

 Who is your favorite sibling, and how did he/she get to be so awesome?

• My brother, Chad. We were close as kids and fought horribly throughout our youth but we became very close over the last 7 years. We can talk about anything and respect the other person’s opinions. We learn so much from each other and, most importantly, we have total trust! In the course of our lives as siblings, Chad has never lied to me. Not once. I can count on him to always be honest with me and I value that so much! We are learning to lean on each other and be there for each other in a way we never figured out as kids. He’s pretty great!

 What is your fantasy travel destination?

• I want to travel all over Italy. That’s one country we didn’t really go when we lived there and I am just dying to go visit the home of my Italian ancestors and eat lots of delicious food!

 What is your alternate life path?

• I would be working in an NGO or in international relations in DC to help women and children who are suffering in other countries.

 Is there intelligent life on other planets and will we ever meet them?

• Yes. No.

 What broke up you and your first best friend?

• I moved away.

 Who is your longest lasting pal? Why?

• Cara. We can go weeks without talking and pick up the phone and it’s like nothing has changed and no time has passed. We have become like sisters and we are always there for each other, no matter what. And because when we pranked a bunch of boys in college and I got hog tied with zip ties, she came running in after me!

 In what ways do you hope to be just like your mother, and in what ways do you not?

• Someday I would like to approach cooking like she does. She get’s an idea of how it should taste and just starts throwing stuff in. It shouldn’t work, but it always tastes great! I love her unending variety of hobbies and interests. She reminds me I don’t have to just do one thing my whole life. I can do whatever I want with my time. My mom has found a wonderful man that makes her completely happy and helps her be herself in all the best ways. Unfortunately it took her several tries. I hope to be different from her by getting it right with Josh. I chose very carefully in part because I watched her struggle for so long.

 College class you never got to take?

• Humanities with Jim Harrison, ballet, ASL, cooking, drugs and behavior, Directing I, Horsemanship I (I took it, I just want to take it again with Josh!), self-defense, and various English and History classes. Good thing Josh is technically employed by the University so I can take whatever I want now!

 Hobby you can’t afford?

• Travel, Kayaking, Horseback Riding, Photography.

 What is the deal?!

• BOGO.

My Questions

• Boxers or briefs?
• If you could hang out with anyone, alive or dead, for an afternoon, who would it be?
• What are the last 5 shows/movies in your Netflix queue or equivalent watching device or site?
• What is the most treasured piece of jewelry you own? (If one of them is your wedding ring, add the next best one as well!)
• What is your fondest memory as a child, in elementary, junior, high school, and college?
• What is the greatest piece of advice your parents have ever given you?
• Favorite treat?
• Crunchy or creamy, mayo or miracle, Colgate or Crest, sweet or dill, East Coast or West Coast, cats or dogs?
• Something you learned recently?
• What is your biggest pet peeve?
• How will you survive the zombie apocalypse? What makes you likely to survive?

My Peeps

Cara

Chelsea

Ali

Carlee

Ashley

Amanda

Lara

Anne-Marie

Alyssa

Chandler

Lindsey

Enjoy! Tag me back so I can see all your answers!

A New Year. A New Word!

Inspired by Miranda and Lara, I have decided that rather than making a long list of things I want to do or change in the next year that I will inevitably forget about by the time my birthday rolls around, I will have a word to guide me this year. Whilst pondering this concept, I thought over the last year and asked myself what my word would have been last year and it was pretty easy to come up with.

Increase!

2012 was a very busy one for the Stavros family! Here’s the breakdown:

January: We bought our home!

February: We became big kids when Josh became an official full-time employee of the Shakespeare Festival and got full benefits. We also adopted our wonderful dog Rosie

March: Found out I was pregnant

April: I was promoted to Supervisor at Sunrise

May: Chad returned from his mission and Haela graduated from High School

June/July: We began the never-ending project of home improvement

August: Cara and Steve welcomed Ella into their family

September: Kellie and Troy brought little Ephraim into the world

October: We started a family tradition of participating in the Butch Cassidy fun run, Josh ran another successful Shakespeare Competition, in which my girls participated again, and we prepared for our world to be completely turned upside down.

November: Our beautiful daughter, Jane, was born!

December: Jane got a cousin when Nora was born in Brazil to Jake and Ashley!

SO yeah. It was a big one. Every month brought an increase to our lives. An increase of responsibility, anticipation, family, joy…it was a really good year for us!

However, we are really looking forward to a slightly calmer year! We don’t want to stop growing, but we want to enjoy the wonderful changes that came to us last year. Josh thought of comparing it to a plant:

Last year we increased by planting a lot of seeds (and watched them sprout rather quickly!), but this year they need lots of attention and…

Cultivation!

So in 2013 we look forward to tending all of these increases and cultivating their beauty in our lives. Specifically, I want to cultivate my testimony of the Savior, actually plant a garden, cultivate my relationship with my daughter, husband, and the rest of my family, and get out of debt! (The debt one only sort of works with my word, but I’m DETERMINED to pay off at least one student loan by the end of next year!) I’d also like to NOT cultivate my hips as I work off my love weight (that’s what I’ve decided to call baby weight. My body weight was increased with love. Now that my Little Love is outside of me, it’s time to give all that weight back to her!).

In conclusion, here’s to 2013, and my year of cultivating the many wonderful blessings 2012 brought to our little family!

What's your word for 2013?

Brrrr!

On the one hand...

it's zero degrees outside. 

ZERO.

On the other...

Cara's coming today!

Just think: 

Our husbands have given us four whole days to do absolutely positively whatever we want. 

All that's really required of us is that we feed our babies 

(and Josh. I need to keep feeding Josh). 

I think we can handle that!