What a great week!

I started my new job on Tuesday.  I work 2 days a week, and so far, so good.  I’m still in the very early learning stages of the job, so I don’t have deadlines yet (or any kind of tangible stress), but all signs point to this being a very good fit.  I don’t remember if I shared much (or anything) about the job, so here goes:  it’s essentially a 2nd postdoctoral position, where my sole responsibility is to do research.  Broadly, the research area is clinical neuroscience, which means that the studies are all conducted in humans, (e.g. this is largely new territory for me).  The specific research area I am working in is chronic pain, which is also new to me.  The primary investigational technique I will be using is fMRI, a technique with which I have very limited familiarity.  So basically everything about this opportunity is new, fresh, and exciting.  Right now I am trying to come up to speed on the methodological and statistical aspects of fMRI, since my supervisor wants me to become the programming and data analytic guru of the lab.  In 2 days at work, I’ve dabbled in two different programs for fMRI data analysis, I’ve figuratively banged my head against the wall while becoming acquainted with Linux, and I’ve done some not-so-light reading on statistical modeling for fMRI data sets.  There is so much I don’t know, but I’ve been in this position so many times, of not knowing, that it’s almost comfortable to me, and I almost find it easier to find faith in my cluelessness because I know it will be temporary and one day I will be conversant and fluid in this area.  But it will take some hard work.  And that’s fine.  Ninety percent of learning something new is about figuring out what you don’t know.

Let’s see—- other news from this week:  I had my glucose/anemia/urine screening completed.  My glucose levels are looking good (a HUGE personal relief for me because gestational diabetes significantly increases the likelihood of developing diabetes later in life, and I have a very strong family history of diabetes, so whew!  SO thankful and relieved that turned out OK!).  My iron levels are also good.  Another relief.  The not-so-great news is that I have ANOTHER urinary tract infection.  This is my 2nd one during this pregnancy.  They prescribed a 7-day course of antibiotics, which completely deplete my energy levels.  My provider also said that we would have to discuss the possibility of me being on antibiotics for the rest of the pregnancy, to ward off future possible infections.  I don’t like this idea at all, so I’ll talk to my midwife at the next appointment to see if there are alternatives.  This week I also have a follow-up ultrasound to check on the location of my pesky low-lying placenta.  So…lots of things going on with our little boy.  This hasn’t been the super smooth pregnancy that I had with H, but hey…different pregnancies, different kids.  It’s just all different this time, and I shouldn’t keep comparing them.

On the house front, I’m making progress with our little guy’s new room.  I have a closet door left to paint, and then we’ll be ready to move in his furniture, hang his curtains, and make some art work for his room.  Three more months until our little guy gets here, so there’s still plenty of time.  Other than that, nothing new.  Just keeping up with my yoga and my running (which is starting to morph into brisk walking on the treadmill).  Treating myself to some fiction-reading time each night, and cooking healthy meals every day.  Things are good.

We spent New Year’s weekend with R’s family.  We all stayed at the lovely Black Bear Inn, which is a quick 20 minute drive from our house.  R and his dad enjoyed 2 days of skiing, while I got to spend time with R’s mom, his brother S, my nephew C, and my crazy little H.  We took the kids to the aquarium in downtown Burlington, did little art projects at the house, visited the chocolate factory, and of course, made the short trek to do the Ben & Jerry’s factory tour in Waterbury, VT on New Year’s Eve.  We had a lovely New Year’s Eve dinner at the Inn, followed by a showing of E.T. in our hotel room (which my 7-year old nephew referred to as “E dot T dot.”).  We had 2 yummy days of breakfast at the Inn as well (why are pancakes always tastier when someone else makes them?)  We were asleep for a few hours by the time the clock struck midnight, although I have to say,  I TOTALLY don’t mind sleeping through New Year’s if it means that I get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  Ahhhhh…..

Today, R, H, and I all came back to the house and de-decorated our living room.  I did 45 minutes of yoga in the family room, because I wanted to start 2012 off right.  We played with H, but mostly tried to calm him down after an overstimulating weekend.  Right now, H is in bed (although it doesn’t sound like he’s asleep), a fire is going, the house is clean, and I’m ready to make myself some hot chocolate.  2012 is going to be great.

Tomorrow:  glucose screening.  Followed by last-minute work preparations (I start my new job on Tuesday!!!!)  So thrilled!

Holden is getting creative with his excuses.  We have a lovely houseguest (R’s youngest brother) who wants to sleep in during his holiday break from college (I don’t blame him!)  We let him sleep as long as he can, through the cacophony and screaming that sometimes characterizes our mornings and early afternoons.  I do urge Holden to speak in a lower voice, however, which as you know for most 3.5 year olds is a near impossibility.  Yesterday morning after speaking quietly for about 30 minutes (because Holden narrates EVERYTHING he does, all day long), Holden comes to me and exclaims, “Talking quietly hurts my throat.”  I laughed at him, of course, because we all know how respectful behavior can sometimes result in physical pain.

I do love listening to Holden’s ongoing narrative.  He has conflicts between his toys, which usually result in one of the toys proposing a diplomatic solution (e.g. “We’ll just share this delicious meal of carrion, monster truck!!!!”)  Holden incorporates a lot of what he has learned about dinosaurs and evolution into his dialogues.  He is obsessed with documentaries about prehistoric life, and has cultivated an encyclopedic-like knowledge of different types of dinosaurs, their dietary habits, and the part of the Mesozoic era in which they lived.  He knows the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals, herbivorous/carnivorous/omnivorous animals, and the difference between mammalian and non-mammalian species.  His latest obsession is about nursing.  He knows that mammals nurse and that we are mammals, and that I will therefore nurse his little brother.  He sometimes takes out his mother and baby brachiosaurus, and pretending that they are giraffes, has the baby nurse from the mother.  It’s very sweet.

Today:  R’s parents and H’s cousin C will be visiting for a few days.  It should be fun—-H always has such a blast with his big cousin:)

Last year, I had established a pretty ambitious set of New Year’s Resolutions—you can find them in all their glory, here.

And I did a DAMN good job of getting to everything on my list!  Let’s revisit them one by one, shall we?

1.  Getting tubes for Holden again.  This one ended up being a non-issue.  Holden’s ear infection turned out to be an isolated incident, and he has remained infection-free since, (except for one minor infection that cleared up sans antibiotics).  He gets one more check-up with the ENT this winter, and if he has no more problems, he doesn’t have to go back.  It would be lovely if we were out of the woods with those nasty infections for good!

2.  Giving my job talk and getting the job at my last employer.  Well, we all know that I aborted mission on that one.  And I am still very pleased with my decision.  Sometimes walking away from opportunities is a good thing.

3.  Learning how to knit/taking a knitting class.  I did finally take a knitting class this past fall.  I’ve only practiced knitting a couple of times since, but not enough to really master that skill.  But that’s OK!  I’ve taken the first step to learn something new.

4.  More exercise.  I rocked this one.  And I’m doing the pregnancy-related version of rocking it now (running 2x/week, yoga once each week).

5.  Taking a yoga class with H.  We did this last winter and it was great!!!  I don’t know if we’ll do it again this winter, since I’m already taking my own yoga classes, and that is something that is important to my mental and physical health.  But H and I sometimes do yoga together in the family room, and that is just as much fun!

6.  Swimming lessons for H.  We did this last summer, although as you may recall, H wasn’t the best student!  We’ll repeat this same class next summer, and I’m sure he’ll do better next time!

7.  A cleaner house.  I can’t bring myself to hire someone to help with the cleaning, especially now that I’m not working full-time.  But I do think we’re doing a better job with keeping things tidy.  We make our bed almost every day, we’ve gotten H into the routine of picking up his own stuff and putting it away, and we’ve gotten better about miscellaneous dusting and sweeping.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it is better than it was, and that is good enough for me!

8.  Better contact with friends/family.  I have done so-so on this.  I go through phases with friends where I speak to them a lot, and then months where we get busy and don’t talk at all.  I guess that’s the way it goes with busy schedules, although I wish it was easier to stay in touch.

9.  Replace all the windows in our house.  Done.

10.  Painting projects in the house.  This past year I have painted our foyer, dining room, kitchen, all of the kitchen cabinets, Holden’s closet door, the baby’s new room, and the baby’s bedroom door.  I would like to not pick up another paint brush for another year, even though we still have a lot of painting to finish up.  I do think it can wait!

11.  A long weekend getaway for our 10th wedding anniversary.  Well, we went to Maine and got pregnant.  Does that count?

12.  Rock-climbing date with Rob.  Check.  Did this one last April.  It was fun!

13.  Learn to cross-country ski.  I didn’t quite get to that one, but I’m hoping to make up for it this winter!

14.  Regular massages.  No problem!  I’ve been pampering myself left and right, although I’ve definitely had more of an excuse to do this since getting pregnant.  I get a massage every month.  It’s really helped me feel like I am doing something special for myself.

15.  Drink more water.  I’m doing well with this now, but late August through late November found me unable to stomach water in almost any form (e.g. herbal tea, sparkling water, ice water, etc.).  Now that my stomach is functioning normally again, I’m back to drinking adequately and that has made a huge difference in how I feel.

So—I feel really, really, really impressed that I had such a banner year with trying new things and getting to nearly everything I wanted to accomplish.  This next year is going to be about having no resolutions.  I just want to enjoy my family this next year, usher in the birth of our newest boy, and continue to find balance in my friendships, health, and work.  I don’t want to pressure myself with a list of things to do….I just want to feel whole, however that happens for me in 2012.