a diabetic's feast

When I was pregnant, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes which actually wasn't a total shock considering the family history. My grandma had diabetes, my mom has diabetes and just about all my aunts and uncles either have it or heart disease.

But what I didn't realize is when you have gestation diabetes, it significantly increases the risk of getting diabetes later in life. And with my family history, it's almost certain I'll get it. Lovely.

So I'm on an anti-diabetes campaign and I am determined to beat the odds.

My sister recommended this program called the Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise. While I'm not sure if it's the best long-term solution for me, it's working for now. The basic program is to significantly reduce your intake of sugar and carbohydrates. You can have 25 grams of sugar and 6 servings of carbs (20 grams is 1 serving). Reducing sugar and carbs reduces belly fat.

Best of all, I've lost 8 pounds and 4 inches around my waist and I can still have some sugar and and chips and salsa. I've also been testing my blood sugar (yes, I prick my finger on a regular basis which isn't as bad as I thought it would be) and my numbers have been great.

So with Thanksgiving coming up, I've come up with a strategy. Instead of my usual gobble till I wobble, I'm going to have lots of the healthy stuff - turkey, veggies and the like. And I'm going to allow myself a bit of dessert, a bread item, a bit of sweet potato pie (my favorite!) and a bit of mashed potatoes.

So there it is - I've gone public with my plan...and I plan to report in on Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

our great adventure

Last week Ryan and I flew to High Point - it was a great adventure, but one that I hope we don't have to repeat. At least not the way we did it.

When Tony dropped us off at the SLC airport, it was a sad good-bye. I felt like I was separating our little family for a much longer time than 5 days. I put Ryan in his little sling/carrier thing and we headed towards Delta security. By the time we got to the end of the walkway, Ryan was clearly telling me that he hated HATED the sling. I put down my two bags (why, oh why did I take TWO bags?!) and took Ryan out of the carrier and held him in my arms which is where he stayed for the next TEN hours.

I had opted for a carrier instead of a stroller because I didn't think I would be able to push a stroller and pull luggage once I landed in NC. But the carrier idea was a disaster. Not only did it not work, but it also became additional luggage to carry in my bags.

As I sat in my window seat waiting to see who would be sitting next to us for the next 3-ish hours, I hoped and prayed for a grandmotherly type. Someone who would think Ryan is the most adorable baby and who would generously offer to hold him while I went to the bathroom or took a break. So when a very large man who smelled like smoke, had a crew cut and dressed in army fatigues sat down next to me, I knew Ryan and I were on our own. He was nice enough, but even if he surprised me and did offer to hold my baby, I would have politely declined.

After a few minutes of fussiness, Ryan settled down and slept for the rest of the flight. I was paranoid about his ears with the take-off and landing, but I was able to time feeding him just right.

Walking through the Atlanta airport carrying Ryan and two bags was a challenge. Even though I booked a 2 hour layover in anticipation of the situation, I think I lost 5 pounds traveling that day. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Ryan had a record-breaking poopy diaper. He leaked through his outfit and everything. He only had one prior poop leakage and chose this special day to make his second leaky poopy diaper in his life.

The flight to Greensboro wasn't as smooth as our Atlanta flight however. Both in terms of Ryan and the plane flying. Ryan maintained his record breaking day and chose the turbulent flight to Greensboro to produce his third leaky poopy diaper. And because of the turbulence, we couldn't get up to change his diaper. And because of his poopy diaper, Ryan cried the entire flight.

The bright light at the end of the flight was a dear rental car agent who took pity on me and personally went to get the car herself so I didn't have to trek across the airport and through the parking lot carrying a baby, a large suitcase, a pack and play (which I didn't use at all) and a rented car seat.

Bless Evion's soul, she saved me from a breakdown.

blessing baby

There is something special about blessing a baby. As my sister Janelle put it, it's like the culmination of all activies that come with having a baby and seems like the climax to the newborn era. Is that too dramatic? That's how it felt.

Mom and dad were here which is always a fun and special time. I love seeing my parents hold and play with Ryan. Since Tony's parents have long passed away, they are Ryan's only grandparents. And he's very lucky to have such wonderful people in his life. But I'll save my thoughts for another posting.

Anyway, it was a busy weekend getting ready. As usual, mom cooked up a feast but she did it in between Brixen's soccer games, family parties and cuddling time with Ryan. We had potato soup, amazing chicken soup, taco soup, a beautiful salad, chicken salad, a delicious pumpkin dessert with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. And she opted not to make her apple dessert because we had so many leftovers from the family party the night before. Seriously, that woman is amazing.

So many people came for Ryan's blessing. We were blessed with good family on both sides. Tony's brother Chris, Tom's wife Lucy and daughter Annie, and dear, sweet Aunt Daphne. Cousins Laurel and Wallace, Diana, Becky and Patience and David. My family on both the Mano and Inouye sides were there as well. We had almost 40 people over at our house!

Tony's blessing was absolutely beautiful. We'll see if we can get him to write about both the blessing and his testimony. I know I won't be able to do him justice.

So thanks to mom and dad for a beautiful weekend. Thanks to my dear family for all the love and support. And thanks to Ryan for blessing our lives in ways we never dreamt possible.

from newborn to infant

I subscribe to a baby website that sends me emails about baby development, solutions for baby situations, etc. The other day the email told me that my 3 month old baby is no longer a newborn and is now just an infant. I was actually shocked when I read that. For some reason I think I thought MY baby was different than the millions of other babies out there. For some reason I thought that MY baby would stay cute and adorable and 9 pounds forever. For some reason I thought MY baby would never grow up.

Actually, I knew he would, but I didn't realize it would happen so fast. Even though someone tells me so at least once a day. Enjoy it - they grow up so fast.

But growing up he is. I dressed him in his first 3 month outfit the other day and it fit. He's rolling over, smiling and giggling. He's gained a bunch of weight and is a regular chubby baby - complete with double chin. And even though he's no longer a newborn, Ryan at 3 months is still so, so cute.

It's a good thing he's going to be 3 months forever.

I survived...sorta

The past two weeks have been, well, thoroughly exhausting. Physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and any other way possible that I'm not thinking of right now. And unfortunately, it's not over.


Another High Point Market has come and gone. I thought things would calm down once Market started, but they haven't. The high level stress of launching a new company on October 16th is gone, but that's about it.

I worked my butt off. It felt like the old days when I worked 100 hour weeks at Oly. And I did everything I needed to plus a little more. And I felt really good about the job I did.

What do I do? I work for a furniture designer, Julian Chichester, in their US office (Julian lives in London) and am over the sales and marketing but I also do a lot of the operations. The office is in High Point, NC and I work from home and travel...a lot.

In launching this new company we had about 150 new products that were arriving a week before Market. A WEEK. Which, let me tell you, is not enough time. We set up a photography booth in our warehouse and as each container arrived, they would unload it, unpack it, measure it and photograph it.

I had to create skus, descriptions, and all the other information for importing into our system. I had to set up this complicated scanning system to take orders at the show. I had to create all the marketing including ads, postcards, email blasts, price lists, tear sheets, website, price tags, terms & conditions, business cards, catalogs, order forms. I had to keep track of deadlines, maintain the mailing list, work with my graphics designer, photoshop guru, office staff, photographer and customers.

And did I mention that I had to do this for our existing company, Julian Chichester, as well? Oh, and I have a newborn baby who was born prematurely and was in the NICU for 25 days during all of this.

I didn't sleep much. In fact, I slept very little at all - 2 or 3 hours a night. I neglected and ignored everything. I didn't have time for personal email or calls and have about 50 emails and calls to return. I didn't have time to exercise. Tony took care of all household chores (which he usually does anyway) and fed me. I even neglected Tony and Ryan. I would nurse Ryan on a pillow on my lap while I worked on my laptop - the above photo is my boy on my lap. He would sleep on that same pillow. I would glance at him and kiss him once in awhile cause he's just so darn cute, but I was definitely focused on other things.

But I really do love my job. And I do love my company - both of them. And we were a huge success. It wasn't all perfect, but I am very happy with the job I did - especially in such a short amount of time.

I believe I am done venting. If any of you are still reading, thank you. And for those of you who have called or emailed, my goal is to return those calls and emails....soon.

this is why I've been absent lately...

My company is launching a new company called "MR BROWN" and our company launch is this Saturday at the High Point Furniture Market.

But I have to say, modern technology is amazing. It has made it possible for me to work at home. I have a photographer in High Point photographing the images. They upload them onto our server. I have someone send the high res images from NC to my photoshop guy in CA and he emails the images back to me so I can do all the marketing.

Amazing.

What will be more amazing is if I finish it all. It should have been sent to the printer last week, but we have yet to receive TWO containers and an air shipment of products.

But I have to say, I really do love my job. I'm creating all the marketing materials and the majority of the operational functions. And, although I'm embarrassed and disappointed in myself, I've outsourced the website programming and it is amazing. The program basically allows me to go in and load and edit all of the content which has been really fun.

I'm hoping the website will be up and running by Saturday - for now, I'm still testing and loading content, but the website address is www.mrbrownhome.com. And my other website is www.julianchichester.com.

See? Although it is much more boring, I can write about something other than Ryan.

right up to the moon and back

When Ryan was in the NICU I think I cried every single day. I cried when I would see him looking like this...wouldn't you? I cried when they would stick a needle in him. I cried when he struggled with the tubes in his nose or mouth. Most of all, I cried when I had to say good-bye at the end of the day and leave him in the hospital.

And I don't think I've cried since the day we brought him home...until yesterday. I read books to Ryan once in a while even though he usually sleeps through them. Yesterday I read "Guess How Much I Love You" which has always been one of my favorite books. In fact, I gave this to Tony when we were dating. If you're a mom - or even if you're not - I'm sure you know this book.

But if by chance you've never read it, you should. Yesterday I did and I cried. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for this little baby. That he is in our lives and that he is healthy. I really didn't think I would be a mom so this feels like the biggest bonus blessing.

So yes, I cried when I read to my Little Nutbrown Hair whom I love to right up to the moon and back.