2008 Recap

DISCLAIMER: So I have been working on this post for a couple of days now, and it's never materialized into what I had imagined. Last night as I was putting the finishing touches on it [i.e. links to the prior posts mentioned in each section], the power went out, and the last draft saved was the one you are getting below. Enjoy, and relish in the fact that I'm too lazy to try to recreate what I had already created. You can always go back and look in the archives if you are really that interested. ☺

I decided that a quick little 2008 recap would be a fun way to sign off 2008 on my blog [he, he, little late]. Only problem? My brain does not have the ability to chronologically remember anything. So I went back to my trusty blog to try to remember what went down, and what exactly 2008 was like. It's funny looking back and remembering so much from the past year. So many things that happened so long ago, yet it feels like yesterday. So here goes:


[JANUARY]: I start this little thing called a blog. The original intention was to keep my out-of-town family updated on my pregnancy progress, thus my blog was private. I'll be the first to admit. My blog was a little boring, and my total knowledge of the blog world was just beginning. Some could say I was a little "green." Who knew what a wonderful world would await me? I'm into my second trimester with my first child, and still feeling the pain of nausea. It is also during this month that I find out the alien growing inside me is a boy [something I knew all along]. Excited for the news I look forward to the next few months of baby planning. Jeff and I take a quick jot to Vegas for a work-thing, and there I stay in the most ghetto suite at the Tropicana. Never. Again. It is also during this month that BabyGate starts. Evidently Jeff and I weren't the only ones making babies at the end of 2007...


[FEBRUARY]: I debut my first line-up of maternity clothes. Looking back it's funny to think about how little I bought in maternity clothes. Guess I just didn't feel like spending the money on such an ugly part of my life. I reach my half-way point in my pregnancy this month, and celebrate by searching for baby furniture and fabric to make my own baby bedding. Oh, and don't forget my swaddling practice on Milo, the Dorkie Yorkie. He loved every minute of it. The search for a baby name continues, and for the longest time Habeeb takes the top billing. Go figure that it didn't end up the winner. Last but not least, I get my office ready to hire an assistant. Something I probably should have done 4 years earlier.


[MARCH]: I'm a lousy blogger who only posts once a week if I'm lucky. My only readers are family, and my only commenters are my dad and step-mom [thanks guys]. I was a blogging dweeb [not much has changed]. Our baby furniture arrives, and we finally get our house up for sale. Our goal is to move to the Sandy/Draper area before Habeeb arrives. Speaking of Habeeb, our preferred name changes to Kaeden, and we are close to making it official. Milo makes the transition of staying home each day, and my life at work becomes that much more peaceful. Last but not least, I fail my first glucose test which sends me in to do the dreaded 3 hour test. Later I find out that when they tell you to not eat anything "about an hour before" the first test, they really mean, "eat a minimal amount [if anything] hours before the test or else you will fail."


[APRIL]: Lots of hit and miss activity on our house. When it dies down, we decide to list with an agent. Selling should be quick now, right? [ha, ha] Jeff and I head back to Vegas for a last hurrah before baby. Hotel upgrade from January? check. Beached whale at the pool? Double check. Ain't no shame in hanging your fat prego belly out at the pool, right?


[MAY]: May was t-minus countdown for Kaeden's birth. Baby Jane was born and kicked off BabyGate 2008. On Memorial Day we made the first-time-mom's obligatory trip to the labor and delivery room in fear of pre-term labor. It was a false alarm, but I'm still happy to have been safe rather than sorry.


[JUNE]: Fat-face [and rest of the body for that matter] sets in. I have a lovely surprise when my step-mom from Texas shows up my baby shower. Totally wasn't expecting that one! Jeff and I do all that we can to get ready for baby, but realize that we'll never be ready for baby. Kade's due on June 30th, but the doctor decides to induce a week early due to my heavy contractions and baby Kade's size. I check into labor and delivery at a 2.5 cm, and after 15 hours of heavy contractions, Pitocin fed to me at 10 ml above max, and countless "checks," the doctor determines that I am a 'tight' 4cm. I think he was just trying to make me feel better by pushing the measurement in the realm of 4. At 9:30 p.m. it's determined that I'm a complete failure-to-progress [Kaeden hadn't even attempted to drop in the birth canal], and I'm prepped for a c-section. At 10:40 p.m. Kaeden joins us in the world, and our lives have not been the same since.


[JULY]: I am pretty much preoccupied with trying to figure out the new mom thing. I'm also trying to juggle a job that hasn't ever heard the term "maternity leave." I struggle with emotions of trying to be a good mommy while still holding down a job [something I still struggle with to this day], but somehow I make it through the first-month fog. I also turn 25 this month [halfway to 50!], and get a new camera to celebrate. To this day I still have not had the time to learn how to use the darn thing in anything but AUTO.


[AUGUST]: Busy month. I get my first real blog reader [x2], mostly because I was an avid stalker of their blogs [and still am]. My mom quits her job to come work with me and my crazy boss, and I couldn't be more thankful for her daily presence in my life. She's a lifesaver. In fact, she's a whole package of lifesavers. Love her. Jeff and I decide to lose the baby weight and start a diet and exercise program. I have awesome results in the first 8 weeks, and then life got in the way, and let's just say I've never gotten around to taking those 'end result' pictures. Seven weeks after Kaeden is born, Baby Chase joins the baby brigade. Kaeden learns a new love for swimming, and our neighbor is lucky to not suffer the effects of a mailbox pipe bomb after they ruin the sell of our home. I'm still a little bitter.


[SEPTEMBER]: Jeff and I sell our home, move half way out, and then learn that the buyer lost his job. We then move back in. It was devastating, but we got past it. I get Photoshop CS3 to compliment my camera, and realize that the program is insanely complex. I'm still learning to play with things here and there, but I feel like I'm just playing with the tip of the iceberg. Kaeden receives his first haircut [he's had three now-I know. Blasphemy!], and our niece Sammie is born. She and Kaeden will have so much fun growing up together.


[OCTOBER]: October brought with it a visit from the cutest red dragon. My dreams of exclusively breastfeeding come crashing down, and Jeff and I finally sell our house and move to my mom's condo while we look for a new home. I decide to change my blog domain and go public. I pick up a new client under my company, and have the sad task of putting my dog of 14 years down. Still really miss that dog.


[NOVEMBER]: My work continues to overwhelm my life, and I have a feeling it always will. I decide to change up my hair a little and cut bangs. While I was not a big fan at first, I am now loving the change. In November I also get a chance to meet many wonderful bloggers in person. I also get to go see Twighlight with a few special gals. I loved the experience as much as I love the girls!


[DECEMBER]: Our baby turned 6 months on Christmas Eve, and with that has learned how to sit up on his own, roll over on his belly, and continually keep us in awe. Jeff and I find a dream home, put in an offer, and are still waiting to find out if the bank wants to sell it to us. In the meantime, we've found another dream home, and are now in the dilemma of trying to figure out which we'd prefer. I'm a ball of mess, and Jeff is over the moon. Yes. Opposites do attract.


Even though I'm a little late with this post, I wish all of you the best for 2009! Cheers!