I'm elated. I found a babysitter - a 20 year old college student who came highly recommended by a mom in my mom's group. Now, for the first time since Dax was born, Tim and I can start going on regular dates. It's mind-blowing really. I still can't believe it. I'm already brainstorming about where to eat and what movie to see and the date isn't even until next Friday. Living far away from family has taken its toll on our marriage in terms of having quality time for just ourselves. And with a second one on the way, it's even more imperative that we start carving out Ki and Tim time.
For anyone who knows me well, they know how much I love beauty products. Forget the closet full of shoes or clothes, I spend my money on creams, shampoos, heat protector gels, scalp oils, cuticle salves. You name it, I've got it. But I'm very picky about what I buy. So here are my beauty tips for the day: Reviva Labs Rosewater Facial Spray combined with Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream. Then a thin layer of SPF 30 for the face and I'm glowing. The combination of Colorado's elevation, dry air, and intense rays are murder on women's skin. I'm 41 but I sure as hell don't want to look 41! And I took my wise sister's advice, and only wash my face with a cleansing milk. And I mist throughout the day with the Rosewater spray. It's heavenly.
And this is so as Dax's mom, I have this on record: as we drove to a friend's house the other day, Dax says without missing a beat - tractor's LIFT dirt, dump trucks CARRY dirt, snowplows PUSH snowflakes. Yup, he's brilliant.

This was an emotional day - getting the quick test results from Monday's amnio and learning that this baby boy's chromosomes are completely healthy and normal. Even though I knew my triple screen numbers were outstanding for someone my age, I needed to do the amnio to have peace of mind for the rest of my pregnancy. It looks like I got that today. And it was Dax's two year birthday. It's having to admit that Dax is no longer my baby, he's my little boy. And though he just gets more and more fun to talk to, hang with, laugh together over silly things - I'm seeing a fierce independence in him that scares me. There will be a time when Dax will think he may not need his mama (though I know he always will!). And that makes me sad. But strangely, the day he turns two, he acts more like a baby than ever before. Incredibly clingy, needing to cuddle longer in the big leather chair, and whiny. I think he's starting to understand that mama's "baby tummy" as he calls it is going to impact his life in a very big way.
I don't like to make New Year's Resolutions but I do set goals for myself at the beginning of every year. This year it's more of a mantra I'm trying to live by - to get back to who I used to be. The girl who picked quarts and quarts of ripe strawberries and then made homemade jam, the girl who loves to hike and backpack and be outdoors, not in. The dream of living in a farmhouse with a little land, some animals, and a creek that runs nearby. I don't want this to just be a "dream", I want Tim and I to work toward making that happen. And the girl who used to do a lot of yoga. The girl who used to write all the time. It's getting back to what's important and what feels right. And now it's time to say goodnight.

This is my first posting and I'm a tad nervous about having everyone read my writings - but then that's what blogging is all about - revealing oneself, right? My reason for blogging is to get back in to writing. I used to write all the time - I kept journals throughout my teen years, excelled in all my high school English classes and ended up majoring in English Lit in college. I taught remedial writing to college students at a community college and later did a six year stint at Outside Magazine as a fact checker and editor where I had many opportunities to write short pieces. Since leaving there in 2005, I've written very little. I realize I need to write to feel whole. Getting my words down on paper helps me to sort through my jumbled thoughts and to make sense of them. And blogging will be my way of recording my time at home and in the world with our nearly two year old son Dax (he turns two on TUESDAY!) - the joy and miracle of my life and my husband's. He's now speaking in five- and six-word sentences, counting to 12 and singing his full ABC's. His vocabulary is amazingly huge and he wows me daily with his grasp of the English language. And Dax is just downright sweet, funny, adorable - a one of a kind kid.