Snapshot

For those of you who complain that my blog "doesn't show what's going on in my life," I present a little snapshot. This is my Saturday morning:

Cat hunting birds.

Boy eating banana (unaided!).
My new book that I want to read. And probably won't.
My breakfast! Yes, on a Star Wars plate. It's the little things in life...

Thankful for a blessing.

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth.

Things Babies Love the Heck Out Of

(Don’t worry.  This is done totally in loving jest.  You know who you are out there…)

So, back along about a decade ago, while I was growing large with child and simultaneously racking up the frequent flier miles between here and Oklahoma, il mio sponso decided to begin a conversation about whether buying “the best” for baby was ok to do, provided you had the means.  Along with that conversation (which, as I recall, got some really heated responses out of the internetz) was a side question about what kinds of things were, well, okay to skimp on.  I, of course, make no such sort of studied inquiry.  I never have.  I probably never will.  Amazon reviews, registries, and rich relatives are the way of life.  I want the best for my child that my grandmother’s money can buy.  So, some things I totally recommend:

1. Swing: Who doesn’t like that relaxed feeling they after tripping for a while, right?  Rainbows and puppies and a gentle, rhythmic rock.  No people to bother you.  Just you and the swing.  (Ours came from the neighbor, who was giving it away as her uterine-use days were evidently over, and it got me through the first three months of teaching piano.  Price of swing: $0.  Money earned because swing freed my hands: $380.)

2. Infant Carseat: Because one sleeps better at night knowing that the carseat (which we put over 25,000 miles on before it was outgrown) we bought was crash tested, legal for use in the United States, and kept baby safe.  So what if he couldn’t use it until he’s five.  Hell, they’ll redesign cars before then and the seat will be unusable anyhow.  Also, goes with the uber-expensive stroller that great-grandma bought.  (Cost of seat + stroller: $280.  Money saved on gym membership because I carried that thing around at a whopping 32lbs for eleven months: $210.  And I’m still using the stroller.)

3. Millions of Clothes: Being able to change him four times a day, if necessary, and still have a complete matching outfit in the drawer—shirt, pants, vest, socks, and hat—is the kind of couture that a self-respecting mother should strive for.  After all, just because I wear the same clothes for days at a time and don’t brush my hair doesn’t mean that baby has to live that way.  Also, it comes in handy for when you got busy doing things and put pants on baby but not diaper.  Voila!  Extra pants in the dresser!  (Cost of clothes: $0, they came from the all-done neighbor.  Money saved on the water bill because I could just change baby’s clothes instead of washing his little body off all the time because I make him eat naked because I don’t want to wash so many clothes: $50-80.  Money saved on moisturizing lotion also from fewer washings: $30.)

4. Plates, Bowls, Spoons, Forks, Sippy Cups: Makes baby feel like a “big boy.”  This way, when he gets to be two or so and I want him to develop homo sapiens manners, he’s used to trying to act like an adult by using utensils and dinnerware.  After all, if I’m going to get the child a stinkin’ broom for Montessori sweeping—a broom his size, for those of you in Rio Linda—I can sure as heck get him a spoon that’s baby-mouth-sized, and a plate that sticks to the table/tray so he can’t projectile it at me.  Also, if he hates the sippy cup, get him a straw.  Put the straw in a sippy cup.  Put the straw in your beer.  Put beer in the sippy cup.  Whatever it takes.  (Cost of baby dinnerware: $25.  Money saved on carpet cleaning, no broken adult dishes, and valium for when preschooler still insists on eating with his hands: $500+.)

5.  Baby Bath Tub:  How else can I tell if the water is warm enough?  The tub has the little turns-white-when-too-hot ducky on it!

6. Crib: Ours turns in to a toddler bed, which is the way we’re using it now, and a full-size bed, which we probably won’t ever use.  Again, a great opportunity for little man to feel grown up, transition gradually into adulthood, and start saving for college.  What child in his own grown-up bed doesn’t want to start saving for college?  Interestingly enough, we did co-sleep with our guy for the first year, completely by serendipity and not by design.  He hated the crib.  So I converted it to a toddler bed.  Slept in it almost every night since.  (Crib cost: $200.  Peace of mind from having a no-drop-side crib that matches the furniture: priceless.)

That’s probably it for now.  I can think of other things to post, but my mobile and active son is sleeping.  Which means I’m supposed to be reading Scharnhorst or Machiavelli or Sun Tzu.

Monday, continued.

Because, even though I did a full day's worth of driving (6.5 hours) and a full day’s worth of teaching (3 hours), yesterday was technically part of the holiday.  And I didn’t do any school yesterday.  I went to bed instead.  So here is a post, as I go into hour 36 of my “Monday.”

Something is amiss with my child.  I might be his teeth.  It might be his tummy.  It might be his head.  But I think it’s his attitude.  Because he shore does have one.  And I’m going to go insane dealing with him.  I can’t take the climbing, writhing, crying, difficult little boy much longer.  Argh!

Pictures of Aforementioned Snow

Snow, Snow, Snow!!

I haven’t taken any good pictures yet, and blogger is being a pill so it doesn’t matter what kind of pictures I take they still won’t post, but there’s SNOW outside!  I think we’re probably pushing 2 inches out there, which is pretty impressive for the southern end of the North Carolina coast.  Wowie.  V was so excited, crawling all over my head and banging on the window at the snow.  It’s so pretty, too.  Nice big flakes, so soft and peaceful and quiet outside.  I love it.  Just don’t ask me to get out in it, at all.

Other than that, feeling really good about school this week.  I got everything that ought to be turned in, turned in last night, and also participated in two of the non-mandatory boards for the “third” class on my schedule.  It’s the standout favorite for the new semester, too.  “Great Military Philosophers.”   Right up my alley.  I still have two major assignments to turn in, but both have had their page limits reduced dramatically, such that the TOTAL due pages due by Thursday night is only 14.  Which is like, ppppsh.  Nothin.

Progress

Manged to complete over half of the reading for one of my classes. That's good. That means that 1/8th of the total assignments due Sunday at midnight are now complete.

Aaaaand I realized that the assignments due the NEXT weekend are going to have to be completed by, uh, Thursday. Because I'm sure as heck not working on school while traveling to and from a wedding. Nope. No sir.

A New Year

So, here's V enjoying the snow at my grandparents' over the Christmas holiday. It was a wild ride, as usual, complete with trips to bookstore and long drives to science museums. After all, I hardly ever get to ride in the car. Right?

Today is the first "real" day back home, as family is gone for good now, and even dear friends :) who stopped in on their way back home have moved on down the road. Now it really is just me and the kid. This nice part about this is that I'm nearly halfway done with the week's lessons already (halfway is actually at 3pm today), so I have only a half week of work left to do. The not nice part is that my new classes started on Monday and I'm still behind on the old ones. So. Oops.

And here's mah boy with his Gramma New Year's Day: