Sunday, April 12, 2009
Getting ready for baby... very slowly.
Today Henry let me tie the monkey to him. He liked it, for 30 seconds. He would NOT let Bret change the monkey's diaper. Or let us read him the big brother book we have. It's the only book in the house he won't read, making it less popular than assembly instructions, catalogs, and CD cases. But maybe we put a toe in the right direction. And 30 seconds was long enough to get this picture, which is pretty darn cute.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
OK, mea culpa.
Dear Henry,
Good job, sleeping boy. Clearly, you just needed more craziness and fun in the morning, and perhaps an extra half an hour before lunch. I'll work on that from now on.
I'm glad you had such fun with Maya at the museum. I can't wait to see how much fun you have picking strawberries tomorrow. This "being busy" is working better for me too.
Big kisses, Mommy
Good job, sleeping boy. Clearly, you just needed more craziness and fun in the morning, and perhaps an extra half an hour before lunch. I'll work on that from now on.
I'm glad you had such fun with Maya at the museum. I can't wait to see how much fun you have picking strawberries tomorrow. This "being busy" is working better for me too.
Big kisses, Mommy
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
For goodness' sake!
Dear Henry,
I love you to bits and pieces. Go to sleep. Seriously, you are making me crazy. Sleep, please, sleep. You know you want to. You keep getting almost there, and then going crazy. Let it go. Sleep. You can sing Happy Birthday to Brobee and talk about oatmeal and applesauce when you get up. I promise, promise, promise. Shhh, sleep.
Love, Your mommy
PS - 3:15 is too late to finally fall asleep. Let's work on that together tomorrow, huh?
I love you to bits and pieces. Go to sleep. Seriously, you are making me crazy. Sleep, please, sleep. You know you want to. You keep getting almost there, and then going crazy. Let it go. Sleep. You can sing Happy Birthday to Brobee and talk about oatmeal and applesauce when you get up. I promise, promise, promise. Shhh, sleep.
Love, Your mommy
PS - 3:15 is too late to finally fall asleep. Let's work on that together tomorrow, huh?
Clarification, or something like that.
Since posting this a while back, I have had a lot of private comments, and I want to add a little something to clarify, as I think I adopted a bit of a tone that made it seem like I had the answer to some universal "should," which is oh so far from the case. That, and my own perspective on "should" is quite a bit different now that I have been hanging out with a rambunctious 2 year old all day for several weeks, while also getting progressively bigger and slower due to being super-pregnant.
#1: I think it got a bit buried, but what should (ha!) have been the most important thing I said in that whole tirade was that every parent has to make a million decisions every day, week, month, year - and all of those decisions are a balance between circumstances, what your kid wants, what your kid needs, what you want and need, and how it all fits into your life. It's friggin' messy as hell. You have to make decisions and compromises on everything all the time, from what to feed the kid for lunch, to what preschool the kid will attend (or not), to whether or not you should take the AAP's advice on everything (TV, vaccines, car seats - I have to write about all that another time), it doesn't end. The decisions you end up making are as varied as the intensity and impact the decisions will have. There is no universal "should" for ANY of these questions, no matter what the professionals, your mom, me, your nosy neighbor, other moms, or any other "they" might say. The "should" becomes the decision you make, and whether I think it might not be the best thing is so beyond irrelevant that really the only "should" there is that I should shut my mouth.
#2: Decisions about life constantly shift. I was a working mom from the time Henry was 10 weeks old until he was 2 years old. In the balance, this worked for us. When it stopped working - or when circumstances shifted so that we had other options and could think about whether it was working - then what I felt like I should be doing shifted. I have a ton of respect for moms who work outside the home - it is exhausting to split yourself! Trust me, taking care of a firecracker 2 year old all day while incubating a fetus is exhausting too, but I have to admit that even though I am finding Henry incredibly challenging right now, I'm not the same kind of tired all the time.
#3: It is absolutely, 100% none of my buisiness how fast anyone gets into their clothes after birth. (And it's absolutely, 100% none of anyone else's buisiness that my butt stayed in some maternity clothes continuously from pregnancy with Henry to now because they are comfy my bottom clings to extra weight like... I don't have a pithy thing to say, I just stay fat, OK.)
#4: Mamas that make it work are good mamas, no matter what. You have to work pretty hard to screw up a baby - they are just resilliant little boogers. So mamas, ignore me and my judgmental self, and so long as things are working for you, power to you.
#5: I'm not a perfect mama, even when I try. To start, there is no such thing as a perfect mama. And beyond that, even when I try to live by my internal "should" compass, I can't do everything. My to do list is obscene. I'm sitting here, writing this, next to a window that has Henry tongue prints that are months old on it while within eyeshot of crushed graham crackers in the carpet from yesterday. I'm watching Henry spin in circles in his crib on the monitor, hoping he will fall asleep for his nap, knowing there's not a whole lot I can do to make him go to sleep since my belly's too big to let me rock him, and feeling guilty that his playing in there right now means he'll spend three hours in his crib since he'll probably sleep for at least 2 hours. Since I've been home with him, he's learned the words "french fries" and "banana popsicle." He's eaten fewer vegetables (except for tomatoes - he's eaten loads of tomatoes). I have developed a growning sense of inadequacy as a parent, mainly because his behavior is challenging, and I'm not handling that terribly well. There are a lot of "should" moments I let pass because I am tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed. But in the end, it will be OK. We're making it work, in our own little way, and that is kind of the most important thing (or I hope it is!).
#1: I think it got a bit buried, but what should (ha!) have been the most important thing I said in that whole tirade was that every parent has to make a million decisions every day, week, month, year - and all of those decisions are a balance between circumstances, what your kid wants, what your kid needs, what you want and need, and how it all fits into your life. It's friggin' messy as hell. You have to make decisions and compromises on everything all the time, from what to feed the kid for lunch, to what preschool the kid will attend (or not), to whether or not you should take the AAP's advice on everything (TV, vaccines, car seats - I have to write about all that another time), it doesn't end. The decisions you end up making are as varied as the intensity and impact the decisions will have. There is no universal "should" for ANY of these questions, no matter what the professionals, your mom, me, your nosy neighbor, other moms, or any other "they" might say. The "should" becomes the decision you make, and whether I think it might not be the best thing is so beyond irrelevant that really the only "should" there is that I should shut my mouth.
#2: Decisions about life constantly shift. I was a working mom from the time Henry was 10 weeks old until he was 2 years old. In the balance, this worked for us. When it stopped working - or when circumstances shifted so that we had other options and could think about whether it was working - then what I felt like I should be doing shifted. I have a ton of respect for moms who work outside the home - it is exhausting to split yourself! Trust me, taking care of a firecracker 2 year old all day while incubating a fetus is exhausting too, but I have to admit that even though I am finding Henry incredibly challenging right now, I'm not the same kind of tired all the time.
#3: It is absolutely, 100% none of my buisiness how fast anyone gets into their clothes after birth. (And it's absolutely, 100% none of anyone else's buisiness that my butt stayed in some maternity clothes continuously from pregnancy with Henry to now because they are comfy my bottom clings to extra weight like... I don't have a pithy thing to say, I just stay fat, OK.)
#4: Mamas that make it work are good mamas, no matter what. You have to work pretty hard to screw up a baby - they are just resilliant little boogers. So mamas, ignore me and my judgmental self, and so long as things are working for you, power to you.
#5: I'm not a perfect mama, even when I try. To start, there is no such thing as a perfect mama. And beyond that, even when I try to live by my internal "should" compass, I can't do everything. My to do list is obscene. I'm sitting here, writing this, next to a window that has Henry tongue prints that are months old on it while within eyeshot of crushed graham crackers in the carpet from yesterday. I'm watching Henry spin in circles in his crib on the monitor, hoping he will fall asleep for his nap, knowing there's not a whole lot I can do to make him go to sleep since my belly's too big to let me rock him, and feeling guilty that his playing in there right now means he'll spend three hours in his crib since he'll probably sleep for at least 2 hours. Since I've been home with him, he's learned the words "french fries" and "banana popsicle." He's eaten fewer vegetables (except for tomatoes - he's eaten loads of tomatoes). I have developed a growning sense of inadequacy as a parent, mainly because his behavior is challenging, and I'm not handling that terribly well. There are a lot of "should" moments I let pass because I am tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed. But in the end, it will be OK. We're making it work, in our own little way, and that is kind of the most important thing (or I hope it is!).
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Right now...
...being hugely pregnant is annoying the heck out of me. It's starting to get hard to put on my underwear, and I remember this being the portent of being done with it from last time around. I don't remember it happening with six weeks to go, however. Grrr.
Between chasing Henry, trying to manage the house, and trying to get everything together for the new baby, I'm feeling like I don't get anything actually done in a day. I kind of wish I had stopped working before I was pregnant, or at least before I was pretty darn pregnant, so I could have gotten things done around the house, chased Henry around all over the place, and learned the ropes of this whole stay-at-home bit before I felt like a full-sized home myself.
Ah well. In another couple of months something else will be annoying me, and this will seem great, right?
Between chasing Henry, trying to manage the house, and trying to get everything together for the new baby, I'm feeling like I don't get anything actually done in a day. I kind of wish I had stopped working before I was pregnant, or at least before I was pretty darn pregnant, so I could have gotten things done around the house, chased Henry around all over the place, and learned the ropes of this whole stay-at-home bit before I felt like a full-sized home myself.
Ah well. In another couple of months something else will be annoying me, and this will seem great, right?
Friday, April 3, 2009
Menace.
When I say that Henry gets into everything, I think people assume it's maternal hyperbole. He's two, he's adorable, he's only about 3 feet tall, how bad could it possibly be?
We were at a friend's house the other day for a playdate. This mama friend has the most toddler-proof house I have ever seen. Not in a sterile way, but in a laid-back, sensible, kid-friendly way. Her daughter has run of the house (without incident). My friend's a mama that has this ability to channel both calm and control all at the same time, and it's quite incredible. She talks about homeschooling her now-2-year-old, and it makes perfect sense. (And I am of the opinion that many or most of us mamas should leave the schooling to the professionals, as discussed very well here. Right on sister.) My friend, however, will be a badass homeschooler.
By the end of our little visit, she joked (OK, she was probably only half-joking) that I should hire Henry out as a consultant for toddler-proofing. In the course of a wee 2 hours, Henry managed to 1) find and open the knife drawer, weilding the largest, sharpest knife in the house for about three seconds, and 2) open the closed bathroom door, find a bottle of cleaner with bleach, bring it in the hallway and spray it in the air.
I don't think we did any permanent damage. Mama, if we did, we will make it right. (I really hope the rug is OK!) So general warning: if you hear me say he gets into everything, or that he is like some kind of homing pigeon for danger, trust me, I mean it at face value. But he is still adorable.
We were at a friend's house the other day for a playdate. This mama friend has the most toddler-proof house I have ever seen. Not in a sterile way, but in a laid-back, sensible, kid-friendly way. Her daughter has run of the house (without incident). My friend's a mama that has this ability to channel both calm and control all at the same time, and it's quite incredible. She talks about homeschooling her now-2-year-old, and it makes perfect sense. (And I am of the opinion that many or most of us mamas should leave the schooling to the professionals, as discussed very well here. Right on sister.) My friend, however, will be a badass homeschooler.
By the end of our little visit, she joked (OK, she was probably only half-joking) that I should hire Henry out as a consultant for toddler-proofing. In the course of a wee 2 hours, Henry managed to 1) find and open the knife drawer, weilding the largest, sharpest knife in the house for about three seconds, and 2) open the closed bathroom door, find a bottle of cleaner with bleach, bring it in the hallway and spray it in the air.
I don't think we did any permanent damage. Mama, if we did, we will make it right. (I really hope the rug is OK!) So general warning: if you hear me say he gets into everything, or that he is like some kind of homing pigeon for danger, trust me, I mean it at face value. But he is still adorable.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Baby, bonding, twos, and 2.
Recently, I have noticed a lot of mamas talking and writing about how it took them a long time to bond with their babies. I've seen articles like this, and when a mama friend recently wrote this, I can't even tell you how many mamas in our playgroup said that they had felt the same way. I've had mamas from other groups I am in say similar things, and had several mama-friends tell me that they didn't really bond with baby until the baby was more interactive, or that the baby felt more like an appendage than a person for the first few months.
This was not my experience. Although I feel like I am in the minority, I have to admit that I was immediately, wholly, and completely smitten from just about the moment Henry was born. Even after 24 hours of labor on 2 hours of sleep, I think I stayed awake almost continuously for the next 48 hours, unable to take my eyes off of him even when he was fast asleep. If I was unprepared for anything, it was the intensity of the emotion and the feeling of shift in self and surrender to this tiny person.
As babies go, Henry was a bit unusual. He was bursting with personality from the start. I had spent my whole pregnancy warning Bret that babies don't make eye contact or interact right away, and it might take some time for our baby not to look and seem a bit like an alien. But Henry wrecked all my conceptions of babies by making and sustaining eye contact the first day, holding his head up, smiling - honestly, it felt like he was actively bonding with us. He continued to shake my expectations throughout babyhood: he was like a clock, eating and sleeping regularly (with no prompting or "training"); he slept well, and consistently; he never got sick; he never, ever really cried; he smiled and laughed regularly at first, and constantly from about 4 or 5 weeks old. I could say that I tapped an infinite well of patience that made me love being a mommy to a baby from the beginning, but I think having Henry as that baby made it a lot easier. Trust me, I have no idea how I managed to get what might be the happiest baby I have ever heard of.
Now that I am about to have my second son, I worry about this bonding issue. If it takes me longer to bond this time around, how will I handle it? I know that as Henry has entered toddlerhood (well, really since he turned two) he has become quite a bit more unpredictable and difficult to manage. I have found myself far less patient than I was when he was a baby, and that worries me too. Will I find that well of patience that I was ready to tap into when Henry was born, or will the new baby get a much more high-strung mama? How will I negotiate dealing with the frustrations that come with a two-year-old while I also mother a newborn? How does developing a bond with another baby really impact your first baby with whom you have this incredibly strong, organic bond?
I'm also worried that because Henry was such an easy baby, I am totally uprepared for the reality of life with a baby. Maybe lighting will strike twice, and maybe my new baby will be super-mellow, engaged, and happy all the time. Maybe. Or, more likely, I will have to completely re-learn how to be a mama for this new person, and it may take a little longer to get to know him. It's nice to know that if it does take a little longer this time around, there is a posse of mamas who know how that feels.
This was not my experience. Although I feel like I am in the minority, I have to admit that I was immediately, wholly, and completely smitten from just about the moment Henry was born. Even after 24 hours of labor on 2 hours of sleep, I think I stayed awake almost continuously for the next 48 hours, unable to take my eyes off of him even when he was fast asleep. If I was unprepared for anything, it was the intensity of the emotion and the feeling of shift in self and surrender to this tiny person.
As babies go, Henry was a bit unusual. He was bursting with personality from the start. I had spent my whole pregnancy warning Bret that babies don't make eye contact or interact right away, and it might take some time for our baby not to look and seem a bit like an alien. But Henry wrecked all my conceptions of babies by making and sustaining eye contact the first day, holding his head up, smiling - honestly, it felt like he was actively bonding with us. He continued to shake my expectations throughout babyhood: he was like a clock, eating and sleeping regularly (with no prompting or "training"); he slept well, and consistently; he never got sick; he never, ever really cried; he smiled and laughed regularly at first, and constantly from about 4 or 5 weeks old. I could say that I tapped an infinite well of patience that made me love being a mommy to a baby from the beginning, but I think having Henry as that baby made it a lot easier. Trust me, I have no idea how I managed to get what might be the happiest baby I have ever heard of.
Now that I am about to have my second son, I worry about this bonding issue. If it takes me longer to bond this time around, how will I handle it? I know that as Henry has entered toddlerhood (well, really since he turned two) he has become quite a bit more unpredictable and difficult to manage. I have found myself far less patient than I was when he was a baby, and that worries me too. Will I find that well of patience that I was ready to tap into when Henry was born, or will the new baby get a much more high-strung mama? How will I negotiate dealing with the frustrations that come with a two-year-old while I also mother a newborn? How does developing a bond with another baby really impact your first baby with whom you have this incredibly strong, organic bond?
I'm also worried that because Henry was such an easy baby, I am totally uprepared for the reality of life with a baby. Maybe lighting will strike twice, and maybe my new baby will be super-mellow, engaged, and happy all the time. Maybe. Or, more likely, I will have to completely re-learn how to be a mama for this new person, and it may take a little longer to get to know him. It's nice to know that if it does take a little longer this time around, there is a posse of mamas who know how that feels.
Friday, March 27, 2009
From the archives.
An Open Letter to the Designers and Manufacturers of Clothing for Infants
November 6, 2007
Dear Designers and Manufacturers of Infant Clothing:
I know that your wacky and totally random guides to sizing are not really your fault, because babies truly come in all shapes and sizes. I have gotten over my gripes about having to remove scratchy tags and deal with weird, stretchy necklines, because these things seem inevitable aspects of clothing generally, and really seem to be inextricably tied to baby clothes specifically.
There is one thing that, no matter how much I try to rationalize it, I simply do not understand. You all need to get together and discuss this, because I think all of you are to blame on this one.
My nine month old has no need for hip pockets in his jeans, khakis, sweatpants, or any other pants. His motor skills are very advanced for his age, but not even the most advanced nine month old needs hip pockets.
I think we can all agree that pockets on baby clothes generally serve no practical purpose. Babies don’t have cell phones or wallets to tote around. I would guess that any toy that passes the toilet-paper-roll test would fail the tiny-baby-pocket-size test, and that by the time they realize that these little pouches attached to their clothes are a great place to stash a handful of Cheerios, those babies would have grown up to be toddlers. This hip pocket thing has been happening since he was born.
I concede that there are (dubious) fashion components to butt pockets, the over-sized pockets on the legs of cargo pants, the front pocket on overalls, and even the breast pockets on baby tees. In fact, I will go so far as to say that I have seen these breast pockets utilized as anchors for pacifier tethers.
I also admit that I while I think the above-referenced pockets are over-the-top on baby gear, I can see the point. Not so with the hip pocket.
In the wash, both adult and baby pockets are turned inside out. Adults can put hands in pockets to flatten them out, babies just look goofy and unkempt about half the time. These little pockets do nothing (even in theory) but make the baby pants more “adult-like,” which may on some level be "cute," but is really pure silliness.
Please, consider sewing these pockets shut and eliminating the guts of the inside pouch. I think you’ll find that this would prove to be a very small change in your operations, and might even save you money in the long run with savings on fabric for the innards.
Get it together people. All things considered, I think I have been rather patient with you all, and deserve this one thing.
Sincerely,
VCH
The above was submitted to McSweeney's Open Letters, but apparently I thought it was more clever than they did as it was ignored. My mommy message board thought it was hilarious though, so take that.
November 6, 2007
Dear Designers and Manufacturers of Infant Clothing:
I know that your wacky and totally random guides to sizing are not really your fault, because babies truly come in all shapes and sizes. I have gotten over my gripes about having to remove scratchy tags and deal with weird, stretchy necklines, because these things seem inevitable aspects of clothing generally, and really seem to be inextricably tied to baby clothes specifically.
There is one thing that, no matter how much I try to rationalize it, I simply do not understand. You all need to get together and discuss this, because I think all of you are to blame on this one.
My nine month old has no need for hip pockets in his jeans, khakis, sweatpants, or any other pants. His motor skills are very advanced for his age, but not even the most advanced nine month old needs hip pockets.
I think we can all agree that pockets on baby clothes generally serve no practical purpose. Babies don’t have cell phones or wallets to tote around. I would guess that any toy that passes the toilet-paper-roll test would fail the tiny-baby-pocket-size test, and that by the time they realize that these little pouches attached to their clothes are a great place to stash a handful of Cheerios, those babies would have grown up to be toddlers. This hip pocket thing has been happening since he was born.
I concede that there are (dubious) fashion components to butt pockets, the over-sized pockets on the legs of cargo pants, the front pocket on overalls, and even the breast pockets on baby tees. In fact, I will go so far as to say that I have seen these breast pockets utilized as anchors for pacifier tethers.
I also admit that I while I think the above-referenced pockets are over-the-top on baby gear, I can see the point. Not so with the hip pocket.
In the wash, both adult and baby pockets are turned inside out. Adults can put hands in pockets to flatten them out, babies just look goofy and unkempt about half the time. These little pockets do nothing (even in theory) but make the baby pants more “adult-like,” which may on some level be "cute," but is really pure silliness.
Please, consider sewing these pockets shut and eliminating the guts of the inside pouch. I think you’ll find that this would prove to be a very small change in your operations, and might even save you money in the long run with savings on fabric for the innards.
Get it together people. All things considered, I think I have been rather patient with you all, and deserve this one thing.
Sincerely,
VCH
The above was submitted to McSweeney's Open Letters, but apparently I thought it was more clever than they did as it was ignored. My mommy message board thought it was hilarious though, so take that.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Henry loves Muno - A Knitting Project
So Muno is a dancing red cyclops (who is "tall and friendly") on the show Yo Gabba Gabba! - Henry loves to dance and sing with the show, and I wanted to get crazy with a knitting project, so I designed a Muno doll for him. It took kind of a long time - double-pointed needles for knitting in the round are great, but much harder to use with such little yarn, and when making such a little guy. (Hats are infinitely easier, I think). In the end, it was worth it. Henry loves his Muno doll, I got to feel pretty kick ass about making something for him, and now I get to share (I hope it's right - I'm a few months out from the original design...) You can see more pics of Muno in the post below, or on our Flickr page here.
I learned to use double-point needles (dpn) after reading this, and this, which were very helpful. They really aren't that scary when you give them a chance.
I used Lily Cotton yarn (Sugar 'n Cream) in some reddish color - eyeball the color, really the best idea. I only used one regular skein for the project. I used an ivory Sugar 'n Cream for the eyes, and whatever black yarn was on hand for the mouth and middle of the eyeball. You'll need size 5 dpns, size 5 needles, and a good embroidery needle. Oh, and polyfill to stuff it (but not a lot).
The "Pattern" (in my crazy little way)
The body:
Cast on 35s to three or four size 5 dpns. Knitting in the round will give you stockinette, so just go for about 4 inches (about 37 times around, give or take). Knit 10s, then knit 2 together 2x, then knit 9 then 2 together - for a total of one time around. You should now have 32s on. Knit in the round for about an inch and a half (about 10 times around). Now, start decreasing fast - I can't remember my exact math, but it was fast, like knit 2, knit 2 together, for a couple of rounds, then knit 1, knit 2 together. When you are down to about 10-7 stitches on, bind off by using the tail to scoop up the loops from the remaining stitches and pulling together. Leave the tail SUPER long (a couple feet), you'll need it later.
The legs:
(repeat this two times)
Cast on 18s on a regular size 5 straight needle. Knit in stockinette for about 30 rows (about 3.5 inches). Increase by one or two stitches, then continue knitting for another half inch (about 5 or so rows). Cast off as you usually do, and leave a good tail for sewing later.
The arms:
Cast on 10s as for legs above. Knit stockinette for 26 rows, then begin the decrease by knitting three, knitting 2 together for one row. Purl across one row. Then knit 2, knit 2 together. Purl across one row. Knit one, knit 2 together. Scoop up remaining loops and pull together, leaving bit of a tail.
Stick it all together:
Sew up one end of each of the legs with the tails, using the needle. And sew up the seams, also, so you have two sock-like things. Fill with a bit of polyfill (not too much, you want Muno to wiggle and dance).
Fill the body with polyfill (again, not too much, make it fun and floppy a little bit).
Sew the open ends of the legs onto the open end of the body, making sure the "crotch" is all sewn together. Put the seams of the legs in toward the center and you won't even see them. Oh, and it makes the feet look good too.
Sew up the seams of the arms, use no fill. Sew them onto the body about 2/3 of the way up the body (below the decrease you knitted, but not too low - about 1/3 down from the closed portion - the head). Of course, line them up with the legs, and put the seams on the BACK of the arms. They'll get floppy enough - no fill works really well. It's OK if they are flattish - it looks good anyway.
Use whatever long tails you have left to make the bumps. With the head, go in through the top and pull it down (you don't want a pointy head!) it's a good start. Pull the needle through the fill and make the bumps with basic sewing stitches - randomly all over. About 3 or 4 stitches make a good bump. Go all over - legs, arms, all over. Just pull through the fill - it may poke out a little, but it will be ok and settle.
For the eye and the mouth, start with the base color (white for the eye, black for the mouth) and sew on the feature. No real proper way to do it - just sew it on. Make a big tail and pull the needle through leaving a long tail inside the fill. This will anchor it without making it look bad. Oh, and don't forget the teeth (white) and the inside of the eyeball (black).
If this makes no sense, call me or something. And enjoy!
I will add some more patterns soon - I have bunches I have tried out, although many are totally boring and invented or have been stolen from great knitting blogs!
I learned to use double-point needles (dpn) after reading this, and this, which were very helpful. They really aren't that scary when you give them a chance.
I used Lily Cotton yarn (Sugar 'n Cream) in some reddish color - eyeball the color, really the best idea. I only used one regular skein for the project. I used an ivory Sugar 'n Cream for the eyes, and whatever black yarn was on hand for the mouth and middle of the eyeball. You'll need size 5 dpns, size 5 needles, and a good embroidery needle. Oh, and polyfill to stuff it (but not a lot).
The "Pattern" (in my crazy little way)
The body:
Cast on 35s to three or four size 5 dpns. Knitting in the round will give you stockinette, so just go for about 4 inches (about 37 times around, give or take). Knit 10s, then knit 2 together 2x, then knit 9 then 2 together - for a total of one time around. You should now have 32s on. Knit in the round for about an inch and a half (about 10 times around). Now, start decreasing fast - I can't remember my exact math, but it was fast, like knit 2, knit 2 together, for a couple of rounds, then knit 1, knit 2 together. When you are down to about 10-7 stitches on, bind off by using the tail to scoop up the loops from the remaining stitches and pulling together. Leave the tail SUPER long (a couple feet), you'll need it later.
The legs:
(repeat this two times)
Cast on 18s on a regular size 5 straight needle. Knit in stockinette for about 30 rows (about 3.5 inches). Increase by one or two stitches, then continue knitting for another half inch (about 5 or so rows). Cast off as you usually do, and leave a good tail for sewing later.
The arms:
Cast on 10s as for legs above. Knit stockinette for 26 rows, then begin the decrease by knitting three, knitting 2 together for one row. Purl across one row. Then knit 2, knit 2 together. Purl across one row. Knit one, knit 2 together. Scoop up remaining loops and pull together, leaving bit of a tail.
Stick it all together:
Sew up one end of each of the legs with the tails, using the needle. And sew up the seams, also, so you have two sock-like things. Fill with a bit of polyfill (not too much, you want Muno to wiggle and dance).
Fill the body with polyfill (again, not too much, make it fun and floppy a little bit).
Sew the open ends of the legs onto the open end of the body, making sure the "crotch" is all sewn together. Put the seams of the legs in toward the center and you won't even see them. Oh, and it makes the feet look good too.
Sew up the seams of the arms, use no fill. Sew them onto the body about 2/3 of the way up the body (below the decrease you knitted, but not too low - about 1/3 down from the closed portion - the head). Of course, line them up with the legs, and put the seams on the BACK of the arms. They'll get floppy enough - no fill works really well. It's OK if they are flattish - it looks good anyway.
Use whatever long tails you have left to make the bumps. With the head, go in through the top and pull it down (you don't want a pointy head!) it's a good start. Pull the needle through the fill and make the bumps with basic sewing stitches - randomly all over. About 3 or 4 stitches make a good bump. Go all over - legs, arms, all over. Just pull through the fill - it may poke out a little, but it will be ok and settle.
For the eye and the mouth, start with the base color (white for the eye, black for the mouth) and sew on the feature. No real proper way to do it - just sew it on. Make a big tail and pull the needle through leaving a long tail inside the fill. This will anchor it without making it look bad. Oh, and don't forget the teeth (white) and the inside of the eyeball (black).
If this makes no sense, call me or something. And enjoy!
I will add some more patterns soon - I have bunches I have tried out, although many are totally boring and invented or have been stolen from great knitting blogs!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Coming soon...
Kitting patterns (or my interpretation of how to write a knitting pattern - including the favorite toy seen here), clarifications on past posts, eating crow, and my thoughts on some of the reasons becoming a mama of two makes me terribly nervous.
I'm just crazy busy this weekend. You have to wait.
I'm just crazy busy this weekend. You have to wait.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Oh, by the way...
Henry's 2. I'm still kind of amazed it's been more than 2 years, and he never fails to amaze me. Looking back, he's always been kind of incredible. But then, I'm his mommy, so of course I'm a little biased.
Sleepless, and thinking about it.
I can't sleep, again. Pregnancy mucks up sleeping habits, I know, but it's getting quite ridiculous. When I was pregnant with Henry, I would be up from about 3-7 every morning, and then sleep until about 10 when I could. That worked pretty well. Now that Henry is a 2 year old maniac, there is no sleeping unless he's asleep. This means afternoon naptime, which would normally be reserved for things like cleaning and whatnot, has been devoted to power-napping for both of us. Which is fine, but my house is falling down around me. I'm also kind of nesting, so this lack of order is making me a little bit crazy. There is this tension between desperately wanting to reorganize, clean, prepare, etc. and exhaustion coupled with the desire to turn off my brain entirely. Evenings after Henry's asleep could, theoretically, be productive. But by then I want to sit around and watch bad TV or read a book, or anything but clean. It takes hours to wind down for elusive sleep, and starting projects at 8pm just seems problematic.
Only ten weeks to go - things need to happen! But then, the belly is getting more and more intrusive in my ability to move around, breathe, not pee every three minutes... How did I manage last time? No 2 year old...
And then as I was typing that, that little maniac sat up in bed and, in the midst of singing to himself, said (clear as can be) "Baby Toby" which makes all the bitching totally irrelevant.
Only ten weeks to go - things need to happen! But then, the belly is getting more and more intrusive in my ability to move around, breathe, not pee every three minutes... How did I manage last time? No 2 year old...
And then as I was typing that, that little maniac sat up in bed and, in the midst of singing to himself, said (clear as can be) "Baby Toby" which makes all the bitching totally irrelevant.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mama Law: We all have our own ways of doing things, and we can't help but share them with anyone who will listen.
With all of the magazines, blogs, listservs, community groups, classes, friends and family we have bombarding us parents with helpful advice on the "best" or "right" way of doing things, the Mama Law is that really, we all have our own way of working things out. Kids have different needs, parents have different lives, families have different dynamics, and communities interact differently. Mash it all up, and I don't think you'll find any two families doing things just the same way, or even one family doing the same thing with 2 kids.
That said, there have been a few gifts of knowledge that have been passed along to me by friends and family, random tidbits I have stumbled upon while feeling my way through the unknown parts of parenting, and tips that I have tried after reading them someplace that have turned out to be golden. Since I am prepping myself for another little one, I'm finding myself reliving the search for products (which kind of grosses me out, but seems to be a necessary evil of parenting these days). I am revisiting my favorites from when Henry was a very wee one, so here a few (they worked for us!):
1. Find a gentle, baby-friendly detergent you love, and switch to it for all your clothes, etc. Cuddling won't cause rashes for the wee one, and your skin will thank you too. A good friend committed to cloth diapering passed along the recommendation of Charlie's Soap, which has become a staple in our house. We started using it before Henry was born, and still use it every load, every time. It is amazing - no scent, super clean clothes, and incredibly affordable! We bought a 5 gallon container for about $120 two years ago, and still have more than half of it left. It's good to the earth, and good to our skin.
2. One good stroller is really all you need. Barring lots of plane travel (there are special demands and needs for that kind of trek!), one seriously good stroller is very much worth it. Again on the recommendation of a friend, we managed to convince someone to buy us the BOB Revolution. It's a bit heavy, but it's perfect for just about everything. No, you can't open it with one hand, and maybe I'd love that if I ever had a stroller with that feature, but I lived without it without a problem. It handles like a dream, Henry is super comfy, and even at age 2 (and over 30 pounds) he is not even halfway to the weight max. The shocks make for a smooth ride for him no matter where we go, and the sunshade is a serious plus in Florida! The extra infant seat attachment and the cup holder for mommy and papa are completely worthwhile investments as well.
3. Find a good diaper (or more than one) that works for you and your baby. I love Huggies Supreme newborn diapers. I have the utmost respect for parents who are committed to cloth diapering, and fully respect that this (or other alternatives like Gdiapers) is way better for the environment, cheaper, and better for baby's skin, but it turned out that these were not for us. Convenience won out. I admit, I'm with Ariel Gore on the cloth diapering thing: I find it suspicious that new moms somehow have to be the first to shoulder saving the environment. Similarly, I have issues with Greenpeace asking me to sacrifice my butt and my nose, but I digress. I'm all about the Huggies Supremes. They have no scent (scent makes me crazy), they are super-absorbent, and they are very soft. You have to find the diapers that work for your baby - some will get rashes from chlorinated diapers, some will need super-stretchy sides of one brand or another, and some can just use the cheapest ones around, no sweat (oh how I envy you). For us, the Huggies Supremes were perfection.
I also love Nature Baby Care (available only at Target as far as I know) for overnight diapers. They have worked better for our big-time pee-er as a toddler than any of the diapers designed as overnights, or even overnights with doublers. And these lovely things, while still disposable and problematic in all the usual ways, are more natural and a little healthier for the environment. They're pricey, so we only use them at night when they are really needed. We didn't try them until H was older, but I will probably give them a try this time around.
4. Buttpaste. It's fantastic stuff.
I'm feeling a bit like a product whore, so I have to stop. I'm sure I will think of more, maybe even things that aren't products. And I just had to ask Henry where his pants are, so clearly it's time to get off the computer.
That said, there have been a few gifts of knowledge that have been passed along to me by friends and family, random tidbits I have stumbled upon while feeling my way through the unknown parts of parenting, and tips that I have tried after reading them someplace that have turned out to be golden. Since I am prepping myself for another little one, I'm finding myself reliving the search for products (which kind of grosses me out, but seems to be a necessary evil of parenting these days). I am revisiting my favorites from when Henry was a very wee one, so here a few (they worked for us!):
1. Find a gentle, baby-friendly detergent you love, and switch to it for all your clothes, etc. Cuddling won't cause rashes for the wee one, and your skin will thank you too. A good friend committed to cloth diapering passed along the recommendation of Charlie's Soap, which has become a staple in our house. We started using it before Henry was born, and still use it every load, every time. It is amazing - no scent, super clean clothes, and incredibly affordable! We bought a 5 gallon container for about $120 two years ago, and still have more than half of it left. It's good to the earth, and good to our skin.
2. One good stroller is really all you need. Barring lots of plane travel (there are special demands and needs for that kind of trek!), one seriously good stroller is very much worth it. Again on the recommendation of a friend, we managed to convince someone to buy us the BOB Revolution. It's a bit heavy, but it's perfect for just about everything. No, you can't open it with one hand, and maybe I'd love that if I ever had a stroller with that feature, but I lived without it without a problem. It handles like a dream, Henry is super comfy, and even at age 2 (and over 30 pounds) he is not even halfway to the weight max. The shocks make for a smooth ride for him no matter where we go, and the sunshade is a serious plus in Florida! The extra infant seat attachment and the cup holder for mommy and papa are completely worthwhile investments as well.
3. Find a good diaper (or more than one) that works for you and your baby. I love Huggies Supreme newborn diapers. I have the utmost respect for parents who are committed to cloth diapering, and fully respect that this (or other alternatives like Gdiapers) is way better for the environment, cheaper, and better for baby's skin, but it turned out that these were not for us. Convenience won out. I admit, I'm with Ariel Gore on the cloth diapering thing: I find it suspicious that new moms somehow have to be the first to shoulder saving the environment. Similarly, I have issues with Greenpeace asking me to sacrifice my butt and my nose, but I digress. I'm all about the Huggies Supremes. They have no scent (scent makes me crazy), they are super-absorbent, and they are very soft. You have to find the diapers that work for your baby - some will get rashes from chlorinated diapers, some will need super-stretchy sides of one brand or another, and some can just use the cheapest ones around, no sweat (oh how I envy you). For us, the Huggies Supremes were perfection.
I also love Nature Baby Care (available only at Target as far as I know) for overnight diapers. They have worked better for our big-time pee-er as a toddler than any of the diapers designed as overnights, or even overnights with doublers. And these lovely things, while still disposable and problematic in all the usual ways, are more natural and a little healthier for the environment. They're pricey, so we only use them at night when they are really needed. We didn't try them until H was older, but I will probably give them a try this time around.
4. Buttpaste. It's fantastic stuff.
I'm feeling a bit like a product whore, so I have to stop. I'm sure I will think of more, maybe even things that aren't products. And I just had to ask Henry where his pants are, so clearly it's time to get off the computer.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Mama Law: Multitasking is a myth.
Stop, you say! No, no. Mamas are the queens of multitasking! How else would we get done all that we do?
Ah, but how I wish it were so. We get all these things done by sheer force of will, and we expend great amounts of mental, physical, and emotional energy to make everything happen.
Studies (like the ones here, here, and here) have tried to demonstrate really, multitasking is a myth. Your brain (my brain, her brain, his brain...) can't actually focus on more than one thing at a time, and this means swiftly shifting concentration really slows you down in the long run. Now, while I tend to raise the eyebrow of disbelief when I hear that "they" say anything, I have to agree with them here. Only after bouts with denial, my own real world testing, and even a bit of therapy have I concluded that no, not even mamas can do it all, and really not all at once.
Ah, but how I wish it were so. We get all these things done by sheer force of will, and we expend great amounts of mental, physical, and emotional energy to make everything happen.
Studies (like the ones here, here, and here) have tried to demonstrate really, multitasking is a myth. Your brain (my brain, her brain, his brain...) can't actually focus on more than one thing at a time, and this means swiftly shifting concentration really slows you down in the long run. Now, while I tend to raise the eyebrow of disbelief when I hear that "they" say anything, I have to agree with them here. Only after bouts with denial, my own real world testing, and even a bit of therapy have I concluded that no, not even mamas can do it all, and really not all at once.
And then these darn commercials screw with my head. What!?!
Ack!
Has anyone else seen these Electrolux commercials with Kelly Rippa running around being super-mom to music from a 50's TV show? I can't watch them without feeling like I have a split personality - on the one hand, I am completely offended and appalled, and on the other, I totally want to buy those darn appliances she's hawking.
I would love a washer and dryer that are that fancy. Seriously, it would indeed change my life to be able to do a load in half an hour and steam wrinkles out of Bret's nice shirts and pants. (I would still prefer a gas range to the fanciest flat top, even if you can supposedly boil water in 90 seconds...) We don't have a microwave, so I have gotten used to things taking time, but I would be a liar if I said that our beautiful new dishwasher wasn't my favorite inanimate thing in the house because of it's quiet efficiency.
As a life-long feminist (and a big old nerd with a Masters degree in Women's Studies), I can't help but be totally appalled with myself for wanting stuff openly utilizing such arcane stereotypes and reviving the cult of true womanhood to get me to want the products. No joke, I have taken whole classes on this crap (for an amazing look at the intersections of marketing, technology, and feminist theory in the US, check out this book), and it's still working on me. Ack!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Confessions
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to come clean. I have changed positions on a few things recently - I have been vocally and vehemently opposed to a few things, and I have to admit, they have won me over.
1. I love LATCH.
I refused to believe that it could be at all easy. I refused to believe those straps could even feel a little bit tough. Seat belt installation is no biggie, why mess with it? Um, rock-solid car seat installation in no time (and I had to figure out how to get the things out of storage under the car seat, switch the sides of the straps, and learn how to take the headrest off the backseat of the car.) I am officially a convert. Congress, excellent move.
2. HDTV is, in fact, better than regular TV.
It looks way better. It really and truly makes a difference. (Sorry honey, this does not mean that I think we need to buy one, but you win the debate in the abstract.)
3. Minivans are really nice.
I've been driving my mother's while in Vero. Other than the fact that I keep hitting the curb with the back wheels when I turn right in a parking lot (this would be driver error, I believe), I love it. So roomy, so comfy, and oh Honda Odyssey you don't kill the planet like you somehow ought to at that size (and you have a cute little "eco" light to tell me when my driving is very efficient!). Talk to me in six months when we have two car sets in the back, I may even want to trade in the Outback - scary, huh?
1. I love LATCH.
I refused to believe that it could be at all easy. I refused to believe those straps could even feel a little bit tough. Seat belt installation is no biggie, why mess with it? Um, rock-solid car seat installation in no time (and I had to figure out how to get the things out of storage under the car seat, switch the sides of the straps, and learn how to take the headrest off the backseat of the car.) I am officially a convert. Congress, excellent move.
2. HDTV is, in fact, better than regular TV.
It looks way better. It really and truly makes a difference. (Sorry honey, this does not mean that I think we need to buy one, but you win the debate in the abstract.)
3. Minivans are really nice.
I've been driving my mother's while in Vero. Other than the fact that I keep hitting the curb with the back wheels when I turn right in a parking lot (this would be driver error, I believe), I love it. So roomy, so comfy, and oh Honda Odyssey you don't kill the planet like you somehow ought to at that size (and you have a cute little "eco" light to tell me when my driving is very efficient!). Talk to me in six months when we have two car sets in the back, I may even want to trade in the Outback - scary, huh?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mama Law: "The question is not whether we can, but whether we should."
I'm in my last week of work as a prisoners' rights attorney, and I have been going crazy trying to get a case filed against the federal government before I go. I won't get to see it through, but I want to get it in place for my client and co-counsel, because it's an important issue, and the client really needs medical treatment.
In discussion, we've been trying to decide whether to bring a certain claim as part of the complaint. We've been debating the legal theory and the risks/rewards - we've been agonizing over it. The details of the claim aren't important here, but what a lawyer in my office said to me about the discussion really is: "The central question isn't really whether we can sue him individually, but really whether we should sue him individually." Exactly.
I can't get this out of my head.
This is kind of always the central question, outside of legal analysis anyway. So much is not about whether you can do something, but whether you should.
I'm leaving work because I don't get to spend enough time with my son. And I am too stressed out to truly enjoy my limited time with my husband. Could I keep working? Sure. I could. If there is anything that the past few weeks have shown me, it's that I can get tons done at work, make the house run, and make things run smoothly with my marriage. But is this break-neck pace what I really want? Do I really get to spend quality time with my family? Am I nurturing my relationship with my son and being the best parent I can be?
Recently, I heard a new mom talking about how she was in her "fat jeans" after six weeks, and was already back in her normal clothes eight weeks after her C-section. She's been going to the gym a lot. She's also "doing as much or more work on maternity leave as she does at the office." I hope all of that is working for her. Maybe it's my own six-months-pregnant hormones doing the emoting, but contemplating that made me unbelievably sad. It seems like yesterday that Henry was six weeks old, but actually, he turned two yesterday (happy birthday little love!). The time passes so fast, and it's pure magic. The thought of getting back into your life almost as if there is no change makes me wonder - should you do that? For me, it's clearly no. (Of course, I don't even know if I could do all that, but even for her - I wonder - she can, but should she?)
This notion of "should I" is central to my parenting style - how did I never know how to articulate it?! I am kind of a nut about making sure that we respect Henry's nap, food, and bed times. He can be a little flexible, but he thrives on routine. He has since he was six weeks old when he put himself on his own schedule. There are lots of things that we could do - events in the evening, lunches out on weekends, trips, etc. We could, but we shouldn't. It messes him up and makes him sad. I know other things work for other people, but I have to admit - I see babies being toted about at all hours, not allowed regular naps, and not allowed to thrive on being a kid, and I wonder - sure, that's fine, and parents can do whatever they want. But should they?
I sound judgmental - I am a little. But I also respect that people need to do what they feel, babies are different, and the should varies by family. It's balanced between what is possible for a family and what a family wants - life gets cobbled together where these converge.
I think it's kind of amazing that in these last weeks, these last moments of my current career, an offhand comment about case strategy would make me feel like I have a parenting center - a strategy that I feel good about (even though the reality is it's not always perfect or easy, but it feels good to feel that center). Oh, and we've decided we both can and should sue the guy, which in this case feels good too.
In discussion, we've been trying to decide whether to bring a certain claim as part of the complaint. We've been debating the legal theory and the risks/rewards - we've been agonizing over it. The details of the claim aren't important here, but what a lawyer in my office said to me about the discussion really is: "The central question isn't really whether we can sue him individually, but really whether we should sue him individually." Exactly.
I can't get this out of my head.
This is kind of always the central question, outside of legal analysis anyway. So much is not about whether you can do something, but whether you should.
I'm leaving work because I don't get to spend enough time with my son. And I am too stressed out to truly enjoy my limited time with my husband. Could I keep working? Sure. I could. If there is anything that the past few weeks have shown me, it's that I can get tons done at work, make the house run, and make things run smoothly with my marriage. But is this break-neck pace what I really want? Do I really get to spend quality time with my family? Am I nurturing my relationship with my son and being the best parent I can be?
Recently, I heard a new mom talking about how she was in her "fat jeans" after six weeks, and was already back in her normal clothes eight weeks after her C-section. She's been going to the gym a lot. She's also "doing as much or more work on maternity leave as she does at the office." I hope all of that is working for her. Maybe it's my own six-months-pregnant hormones doing the emoting, but contemplating that made me unbelievably sad. It seems like yesterday that Henry was six weeks old, but actually, he turned two yesterday (happy birthday little love!). The time passes so fast, and it's pure magic. The thought of getting back into your life almost as if there is no change makes me wonder - should you do that? For me, it's clearly no. (Of course, I don't even know if I could do all that, but even for her - I wonder - she can, but should she?)
This notion of "should I" is central to my parenting style - how did I never know how to articulate it?! I am kind of a nut about making sure that we respect Henry's nap, food, and bed times. He can be a little flexible, but he thrives on routine. He has since he was six weeks old when he put himself on his own schedule. There are lots of things that we could do - events in the evening, lunches out on weekends, trips, etc. We could, but we shouldn't. It messes him up and makes him sad. I know other things work for other people, but I have to admit - I see babies being toted about at all hours, not allowed regular naps, and not allowed to thrive on being a kid, and I wonder - sure, that's fine, and parents can do whatever they want. But should they?
I sound judgmental - I am a little. But I also respect that people need to do what they feel, babies are different, and the should varies by family. It's balanced between what is possible for a family and what a family wants - life gets cobbled together where these converge.
I think it's kind of amazing that in these last weeks, these last moments of my current career, an offhand comment about case strategy would make me feel like I have a parenting center - a strategy that I feel good about (even though the reality is it's not always perfect or easy, but it feels good to feel that center). Oh, and we've decided we both can and should sue the guy, which in this case feels good too.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Hope
It's been ages since I wrote anything, but I suppose that is about right since life has kicked us around a bit recently. It's been scary and fantastic, and I think it will all work out in the end.
We're adding another little boy to our family, sometime in mid-May. Bret and I decided to find out the sex (again) and I don't think there would have been any hiding it. Henry hasn't really caught on, I don't believe. We'll have to get to all that pretty soon though.
2008 was just over the top in the end. I got pregnant. Bret had complications from his oral surgery. My grandfather died. We all got the absolutely wretched stomach flu that was going around and lost a bunch of weight. We went to NYC for a week for my brother's wedding. We all got RSV, and Henry and Bret both got terrible ear infections and lingering coughs. Bret couldn't hear much of anything for a few weeks. Bret got hired by Alachua County, and loves his new job. Henry started school at Holy Trinity (it's really daycare, I like to say school and feel less guilty). I put in notice at work.
It was exhausting, the end of 2008. Our lives got all flipped around, and things are all mixed up.
But here we are, fresh in 2009, and our family is getting ready to start fresh in so many ways. I will get to be at home with Henry for a while before the little bean is born, and then I will get to be a full time mom for a while. Bret loves his new job, and he's really excited about it. Henry loves school already, so we're already thinking about starting preschool in the fall when he's about 2.5.
Things are feeling so fresh, even though I am still working until mid-February. The prospect of getting to focus on Henry for real so soon is exciting. There is something so liberating about knowing that your stressful job, and all the added responsibilities of clients and cases, will be ending very soon. Of course, wrapping things up is no small task, but having an end point is incredibly satisfying.
I'm also very scared, for lots of reasons. But I'll focus on the excitement for now, because there is hope in all of that.
We're adding another little boy to our family, sometime in mid-May. Bret and I decided to find out the sex (again) and I don't think there would have been any hiding it. Henry hasn't really caught on, I don't believe. We'll have to get to all that pretty soon though.
2008 was just over the top in the end. I got pregnant. Bret had complications from his oral surgery. My grandfather died. We all got the absolutely wretched stomach flu that was going around and lost a bunch of weight. We went to NYC for a week for my brother's wedding. We all got RSV, and Henry and Bret both got terrible ear infections and lingering coughs. Bret couldn't hear much of anything for a few weeks. Bret got hired by Alachua County, and loves his new job. Henry started school at Holy Trinity (it's really daycare, I like to say school and feel less guilty). I put in notice at work.
It was exhausting, the end of 2008. Our lives got all flipped around, and things are all mixed up.
But here we are, fresh in 2009, and our family is getting ready to start fresh in so many ways. I will get to be at home with Henry for a while before the little bean is born, and then I will get to be a full time mom for a while. Bret loves his new job, and he's really excited about it. Henry loves school already, so we're already thinking about starting preschool in the fall when he's about 2.5.
Things are feeling so fresh, even though I am still working until mid-February. The prospect of getting to focus on Henry for real so soon is exciting. There is something so liberating about knowing that your stressful job, and all the added responsibilities of clients and cases, will be ending very soon. Of course, wrapping things up is no small task, but having an end point is incredibly satisfying.
I'm also very scared, for lots of reasons. But I'll focus on the excitement for now, because there is hope in all of that.
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