This time a year ago

I cannot believe this little punkin is about to be two years old, or as he would say, in answer to your question, "I'm almost TWO!" What a journey he has taken me on over the past two years. Although he has been the easiest child in the world to care for -- no allergies, two ear infections and no other doctor visits, no food refusals (unless you count rutabaga turnips, which I don't, because how many people really love those, anyway?), beautiful routine-follower, strong, adventuresome, polite, and downright funny -- it has still been one of the hardest things I've ever undertaken. Perhaps because I see what a huge responsibility I have -- to him, to our family, to society at large -- and perhaps because I want so much to do it the best I can. I would be lying if I said that all that's great about him did not come with struggles. It most certainly did. I am proud and happy to say that he has never drunk any kind of baby formula -- he was a master nursing baby from birth, and I was so happy about it, if overwhelmingly exhausted. Because I continued to work full-time, away from home, I know that he considered nighttime to be our time. It was especially difficult because I was going to class two nights a week, working on finishing my Masters degree. For a very, very long time, he wanted to nurse every 1.5 to 2 hours, and that nearly killed me. I think I can say, in all honesty, except for one night between birth and the day he was 15 months old, that there was ONE night during which I slept more than 2 hours at a time, uninterrupted. The day after he turned 15 months old, I had a surgery and a LOT of pain medications that required that I stop nursing. He handled it completely fine, and blast! if he didn't sleep all night that night! Whatever the circumstances, I was thrilled -- there were many nights after that, while I was recuperating that Chris got up with him however many times he needed something, and I appreciated that help more than anything! I so regret not having made the time and mustered the energy to write about this mothering experience more along the way, but perhaps it is for the best -- those memories are safe with me, and I think I could tap into them if anyone ever needed some advice or just to hear that some other mom's experience was similar to her own. I feel like I have had a million epiphanies over the two years and that if I would have documented them better, I might have even more wisdom to share, but perhaps they are safe, too, waiting for the right time to re-emerge. We shall see. I am allegedly having a yard sale this weekend, and while I am more prepared than I expected with four days to go, there are still a ton of things that I need to get in order before Saturday morning arrives. Most importantly, I have coffee for that early morning, and I have a chair to sit in, and a book to read whilst awaiting customers. I have not placed an ad, though, which is what I came in here to do, and look where that got me. Hope you like the pics -- I am going to be more diligent about posting new ones here.

Machiavellian

Haven't thought of this word in a long time, but a friend used it yesterday, and it sparked interest. Interesting -- there are some aspects of the mindset that make sense in the world we live in, but I was just thinking that this way of thinking ( all the negative aspects ) are exactly what drives all these reality based competitions on television, and I wonder if it is not really having a huge negative influence on our population at large. Although I think the gen pop might not be AS cunning as one would have to be in order to be a TRUE Machiavellian! So, we might be safe for a while! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Weird

So we are missing our 5th day of school this year today for inclement weather today. Crazy. Concerned about what this is doing to my internship hours. I HAVE to graduate in May. I need to start doing counseling for real! Russ Perry told me to call him about going to Nicaragua with Cypress Valley. If it is a summer trip, I might be able to go, but if it is spring break, I will need to pass. Baby is awake! Yay! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Snow day

Three days. Inside. Not counting the morning I spent slurping water up off the garage floor after the hot water heater kicked the bucket and started an ice skating rink in the garage! Good times. I have worked on some grad school stuff, so that has been helpful. Typing on an iPod Touch is stress-inducing so I am going to stop. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone