A Day in the Life...

So, we've lived in Pullman a little over five months now and I feel like I'm finally getting into the swing of things. One semester down, seven more to go...

I absolutely love being able to stay home with Kharisma, but staying home is far from what we do. Here is a sneak peek into a typical (or ideal) week/day.

This semester I've had the goal of getting up when Ben does --around 6AM--

and be showered/dressed/ready for the day

(including having Ben's lunch packed)

before

Kharisma wakes up.

Doesn't always happen but that's the beauty of being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom)

I'm FLEXIBLE!

So, Kharisma is usually up by 7 or 7:30

Breakfast @ 8

Dressed ready to go before 9

Around 10:30, Kharisma's morning nap

NOON Lunch of course

Around 1 0r 2 snooze time again

3:00 An afternoon snack a.k.a. Milk Time for Baby

4:00 Think about/start preparing dinner (depending on how much time is needed)

5:00 I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home!

5:30 Dinner Time

Immediately followed by BATH time for baby (6ish)

AFTER Kharisma is bathed/lotioned/diapered/pj-ed up/kissed Dad goodnight

I go in her room, wrap her in her blanket, turn off the light, turn on her Twilight Turtle,

and nurse her once more

and rock her to sleep.

The only time she ever snuggles.

THEN, Ben and I hang out doing whatever, which is usually watching a movie. Sometimes he goes back to school to study like he is suppose to.

Ideally, 9:00 PM is bedtime, but that's pretty flexible as well.

Depending on the day...

Monday~ 9:00 Aerobics class! Started in January, it's at the church, a nursery for the kids, and I finally get a work out... goodbye mom bod? I hope. Now, on a good week I'll have a menu for the week planned and go grocery shopping after aerobics and Kharisma will nap while we're shopping.

Tuesday~ 9:00 Walking group... great time to visit with friends while being active!

Wednesday~ 9:30 Mother Goose Time @ the library... way cute and the Liberian is amazing!

Thursday~ 9:00 Aerobics again and at 7:30 PM it's a girls night of knitting with Knit Wits, very relaxing and much fun is had by all.

Friday~ 9:00 Walking group again and @ 10 hopefully we'll be starting up Play Group at the church again... I'm actually in charge, just waiting for a key!

Saturday~ 10:00 Swimming class... Kharisma loves the water and looks extremely cute in her little swim suite. I've also tried to make a habit of Saturday chores... the deep cleaning stuff. Usually I just appreciate it if Ben plays with Kharisma while I get it all done.

Sunday~ Rest and Relaxation... Oh, yeah, and church :) I try to make a big breakfast (that's my secret to getting Ben out of bed... sshhh)

There you have it.

Once again, this schedule is very flexible.

I usually throw in a few more play dates and visits w/friends, including late night Wii-ing

But

that's basically

A Day in the Life

of

ME

How Do I Register With the Tooth Fairy?

The dreaded day has come! But have no fear, there has been no biting problems yet. Kharisma's two bottom teeth have broke through the surface, you really can't see them in this picture but if you stick your finger in her mouth you can feel them... sharp as daggers. That's why, as a still nursing mother, I was dreading this day. So far so good. She didn't even seem to suffer much, no crying or running nose so that's good. Now, if I can only find out how I let the Tooth Fairy know that she has a new costumer... I guess she has awhile before they start falling out though.

I was going to post these next pictures earlier but never got around to it. I was knitting the other day and Kharisma grabbed the end of the scarf, did a crocodile death roll looking thing and was all tangled up in the scarf, it was super cute. Enjoy.

My Little Goldfish...

Kharisma just had her first swimming lesson. Yep, my 7-month old is swimming. Even though we live in a dumpy little town it actually has a lot of stuff to do with your children. The aquatic center has parent-child swim lessons so we signed up for the Goldfish class for 6 - 23 month olds. We have a great teacher that sings songs and does cute activities. I didn't dunk her under even though they taught us how. If you blow in their face they close their mouth and hold their breath for a moment so you count to three, blow, and quickly dip them under. Ben is going to swim with her next week and I'm pretty sure he'll be doing that. I didn't dare. Kharisma loves the water... and she looks super adorable in her little swimming suit. Hopefully we can stick with swimming lessons for a long time so she because a good swimmer like her dad!

Introducing... SOLIDS!

Since Kharisma has hit the six month mark it's that time. Solids. I've been excited about it for a long time, I don't know why, I guess I'm just wierd like that, but I've been planning it for quite some time. Probably before she was even born. Well, after a few weeks of it here are my thoughts: I'll keep nursing until she can feed and clean-up herself.

No, I'm kidding. But seriously, that's how I feel. I've nursed her exclusively so I haven't even had to deal with washing bottles but now... well, just look at the picture. Peas everywhere. I've gone through more kitchen rags then ever before. I'm not really complaining, it is fun to watch her at this stage but it's a lot more work.

I can't even tell how much she likes the food. She's had baby rice cereal, avacado, and peas. I'm making her food so next it will be green beans and carrots.

She's very independent and just wants to do it herself so that adds to the mess. Also, her recent discovery of blowing "raspberries" doesn't seem to help either. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks she'll catch on to the whole eating thing but for now I'll continue cleaning the entire kitchen after every meal. (Okay, not the entire kitchen gets messy.)

On a whole new subject...

First Christmas! Kharisma sat on Santa Clause's lap the other day, he visited our ward Christmas party. She sure eyed that beard of his, I'm sure it looked tasty to her. She didn't really react too much... right now she'll still go to strangers, we'll see what next year brings.

MERRY CHRISTMAS KHARISMA!

What's in a name?

Kharisma Sky Dixon

The word charisma (Greek "kharisma," meaning "gift," "of/from/favored by God/the divine") refers to a trait found in persons whose personalities are characterized by a personal charm and magnetism (attractiveness), along with innate and powerfully sophisticated abilities of interpersonal communication and persuasion. One who is charismatic is said to be capable of using their personal being, rather than just speech or logic alone, to interface with other human beings in a personal and direct manner, and effectively communicate an argument or concept to them.

Our BABY story...

As some might know, I was baby hungry from the get-go, but I knew we needed to wait. So we waited as long as I could (three years--pretty good in my opinion) and after much planning--we needed her born after Ben graduated but before we moved--we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl on June 10, 2009. She is perfect.

After a near-perfect pregnancy and even more perfect delivery I feel like I could have at least five more (the nurses suggested twenty) but Ben doesn't quite feel the same way. We'll see. We've always talked about eventually adopting a few kids too if we are ever financially comfortable enough to. There are so many kids out there in need of a loving home so I hope someday we can.

I want to write a little about Kharisma's birth, especially since I haven't even written about it in my journal. I know my labor experience is the type that makes others want to hate me but I promise I'm not trying to rub it in the face of those who had a more difficult time. This is mostly for me to remember and reflect on... especially when the next one is opposite (although I hope not).

Kharisma's due date was June 15th. Of course, like I'm sure everyone who is pregnant for the first time has experienced, I got tons of people saying, "Oh, the first one is always early," and just as many with, "Oh, the first one is always late," to what I would respond, "Yep, that's what I hear." So, I didn't know what to expect and that was honestly the hardest part of being pregnant, although I did read What to Expect When You're Expecting, oh the irony.

Wednesday, June 10th arrived and I awoke at about 6 AM with slight cramping in my abdomen. I didn't think much of it and stayed in bed until about 7. I was scheduled to work at 7:30, work was only five minutes away so that was my normal time of getting up. I started getting ready for work but the cramps started to get a little more intense. My doctor had told me that contraction pain would be bad enough that I wouldn't be able to walk. I was still walking but I decided I'd call the hospital and see what they said. Ben talked to a nurse and she advised me to go back to bed and drink some water, rest, and see if the contractions would spread out. They were already two to three minutes apart. I then called my work and said I didn't think I'd be in that day, but if I felt better I'd come. That was the first time in about seven years of working that I had called in sick. I went back to bed but the pain just continued to increase in intensity so I called the nurse back and told her I was coming in.

During the ten minute car ride to the hospital I began to doubt my ability to handle a drug-free labor like I had dreamed of and started crying. Ben, who was very calm and supportive the entire time, told me I was strong and would support whatever I wanted to do.

We got to the hospital at about 8:45 and, hobbling across the parking lot, finally found our way to labor and delivery check-in. They showed me to my room and hooked me up to all the monitoring equipment. Then came the waiting game. I had to wait for my doctor to check on me. When he arrived we found out I was already dilated to 6 cm. I was suppose to tell them my pain level on a scale of 1-10, I said a 4. They wanted to know at which level would I ask for pain killers and I said at a 8... thank goodness I never reached that point.

A nurse came in to give me some breathing pointers since we never had time to take a class and she ended up staying the whole time. She was amazing. She had the most soothing voice and she just talked me through all the contractions, telling me how good I was doing, rubbing my back in between contractions, and even taking pictures after. (I had been so worried about being sent home we didn't even bring our stuff in out of the car.) Little Kharisma dropped so fast the nurses had to make me stop pushing because my doctor wasn't there (he had left for awhile). Luckily he slipped his gloves on just in time, 10:54 AM. Ben was able to cut the cord before they put her on my chest. No words can describe the utter relief felt after that baby was out. I did it. No drugs. I felt like I could've ran a marathon. As soon as I could speak, the first thing I said was, "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!" The doctor laughed and told me what an amazing job I had done. What an intense experience.

The second my baby was in my arms I knew our lives had changed forever. She was so small and precious, I never wanted to put her down. She was so beautiful, even fresh from the womb. Ben and I love her so much. It's hard to explain the love for a child but just thinking about it makes me cry. I'd do anything for her. I thank my Heavenly Father every day that He sent her to us. She is such a gift.

Kharisma Sky

Our story continued...

We've spent from June 2006 to August 2009 living in Logan, Utah. We bought a little white house on the west side of town, among the Historic District, and spent the entire time fixing it up. Every single room of the house needed help. It was built in 1902 and was probably last updated sometime in the 70's, judging by the wallpaper and carpet. We did everything, tore down wallpaper, replastered the walls, painted, ripped up carpet, new floors, new countertops, re-wired the entire place, replaced all light fixtures, added new outlets, added on a laundry room... and that's the just the inside. We also tore off the roof and put up a new one, painted the outside and the yard had quite a make-over. These are before and during the work pictures. I can't find any of the after pictures.

We worked our little guts out on this house. Most of the work inside was done while I was pregnant so I was doing everything I was told not to i.e. climbing ladders, painting, tiling, tearing up carpet... just days before delivering I was still up on a ladder painting. But we got it done. Just when we had it exactly the way we wanted it... we sold it.

We loved our house but from day one we knew we wouldn't be there forever. It was a great opportunity and we learned a lot. I could probably host my own home improvment show now. If I had endless money and time I'd love to spend my life fixing up old houses. After our experience with this house though I've told Ben that the next house we buy will be new... too much stress is involved trying to live in a house and remodel it at the same time... and have a baby.

So for the first three years it was just Ben--going to school at USU, Me--working full time and going to school full time (most of the time), and the Devil's spawn. I mean, our cat.

Ping-Pong-- Ben so kindly adopted from the vet clinic he was working at. Don't be fooled, this picture of her may seem cute and adorable but she truly is some sort of devil cat. She's not so cute anymore and loves to hide under my bed when I'm folding clothes and attack my toes.