The start of my day

4:58am

Patrick is crying. I go to his room to pick him up.

In the night, he has figured out how to take off his diaper.

There were consequences for this choice.

We both got new pajamas. His sheets went into the wash. He screamed while I wiped him down.

My day did not get better from there.

Except for that ice cream bar he and I shared in the park. That was pretty good.

Oh, it's you

Damn it, it's been a while! Sorry about that.

We had to buy a new computer. The old one just rolled over and died on us, without any polite warning. Kevin had an inkling, and therefore backed up all our pictures of our BABY. Very scary, to think about losing those. Not what I wanted to spend $500 on right now, as we are so very flush with cash...never, but it had to be done. We've learned the kind-of-hard way that we can live without lots of things, but the internet is not one of them.

So in the next few days, I'll write Patrick's 11 month letter (how crazy is that?) and post some new pictures. I can totally see how women start thinking about wanting another baby, as my baby is soon to be a toddler. His growth is amazing, but those baby days are terribly sweet and precious. I just wish I could have enjoyed them without being sleep deprived.

And to all my girls, thanks so much for your love and support over the last few weeks. Kevin and I have really appreciated it. As I think about all my girls, bloggers and beyond, it seems that we've all been hit by the mack-truck of Life. Family troubles, kid difficulties, money crunches, job insecurity, unexpected illness and surgeries, and marriage issues. It's a challenge, all this stuff. But I am blessed to have you....so thanks (again).

The computer has been down for a few days, leaving Kevin and I in DT's until we (OK, he) could get it up and running again. It's working, but slow. At some point, I will have to Spend Money. Wants vs. Needs is always a bit of a challenge with the computer. I want things to run fast and nice, but I'm not into spending money so the husband can make his computer games extra-special. He explains that our stuff is "old," and that breakdown is inevitable.

Then he walks away, muttering something...."just like your mo...."

But I didn't quite catch all of that.

It's been a rough week, worthy of the highest quality of Spanish soap opera. Without the girl-on-girl fistfights (although the temptation...). Honestly, we both had a bit of a breakdown. But the silver lining was seen yesterday, thanks to some wonderful friends and advisers. We now have our focus back. Some direction. Some perspective. And most importantly, some faith.

Church of Brunch

The only thing missing was our sweet Emily, who has too many irons in the fire to drive up here. So we missed her terribly and drank all the wine without her.

Patrick actually fell asleep for Daddy! so I got to head over sans baby. Most of my favorite girls were there, plus loads of fantastic food. I made Strawberry Pavolva and Pig Candy, both of which I mostly ate all by myself. We also had fruit and chocolate, chocolate Swedish balls (hee hee, yes we made of lots of nasty jokes about them), this amazing chicken salad that Lisa threw together and it was perfection. Baked apples, and a yummy fritata with more bacon.

Oh, and the three bottles of wine.

Kevin dropped of Patrick, and my folks took him out to lunch at Paddy Coyne's. The man's had a Rough Week, and needed some love. Kindly, my Mom provided him her favorite kind of meal: the kind that somebody else has made. He hung out with Mom and the Grandparents while I had my girlfriend time, then he was off to work and I entertained the family.

Speaking of family, a new member has been recruited! My newest "nephew," courtesy of David and Beth.


Meet Bug! He's a 13 week old mini schnauzer and as cute as....a bug in a rug.

I guess crabby baby is a contagious syndrome, as Miss M has caught it. Just what I wanted: my child is the typhoid mary of the girlfriends.

But Patrick has been napping for over an hour. He slept in until 6am, woke up happy, and has been quite a fun child. We've cut our to-do list to the two essential activities (Parenting group at church, TAM 5 year party) and everything else is cake. The puppies have been behaving this morning, and Kevin is taking advantage of the Nap to do chores.

Excuse me while I get out my mittens. Hell just might be freezing over.

Stay-Cation, day two

Mild improvements noted in Patrick's mood.

Grumpy, but with greater moments of smiles. He worked very hard today to stay awake during a long stroller walk with Raissa and her two munchkins. He lasted close to an hour.

He must have a big change coming. When Patrick is hitting a growth spurt or a developmental milestone, his demeanor is less than compelling. Actually, he's free to a good home. He's clingy, demanding, unsure of what he wants, but what he does want he wants Right Now. Meal patterns are unpredictable--sometimes a big appetite, then he'll refuse everything after one bite. It requires me to slow down, pay attention, and ignore any to-do list I thought of compiling. It also require lots of creativity. The old entertainments aren't working, what do I do next?

No, really, what do I do next? Ladies....I'm needing some love here!

Perhaps this is a good stretch of time to be home, even if it's not as "fun" as I'd originally planned. I have the luxury of time for the next nine days to learn who Patrick is becoming.

I just wish he could become in a better mood.

Well, it's been an interesting start

And a big ol' shout out to Barb, 'nuther grandmother (in the fine tradition of Stan, the 'nuther brother) for her sweet phone call the other night. At the very least, it's always interesting....

Patrick's been a punk today. He started off grumpy and thought, "Hey, why ruin a good thing?" He always seems to spike a temp during a teething run. Not too many smiles today for my poor man. We had lots of drugs today; unfortunately they went to the baby. Only a glass of wine for Mommy as she and Daddy debriefed about the last 24 hours.

Hey, at least the sun shines!

While DRAMA DRAMA reigns (and yes, it's capitalized on purpose), Kevin and I are focusing on taking very good care of each other. We are having the pleasure of talking about Mother's Day and Father's Day with Patrick outside instead of in. I told Kevin that he could not buy his own Father's Day present. Usually the man picks out his own goody, buys it while I'm at work, and is wearing it while cooking me a post-work dinner. I want to get him something that reflects my love for him as Patrick's Daddy. Now I just have to figure out what that is. Damn. We are also planning Patrick's first birthday party! We'll send out a save-the-date email this week. Of course, if a one-year-old's birthday sounds like a Fab Saturday afternoon and you desperately want to come, give us a call. We're thinking a Margaritaville theme, as the party is more for the grown-ups. We might as well have a Fine Time.

My baby will be One. Oh Sweet Lord, I can hardly believe it.

Carrie, my darling girl, I would cut off my arm (or at least eat a non-organic strawberry from Mexico) to have a playdate with you in Idaho. Are you sure you and John don't want to move to Tacoma? We have Wal-Marts!

So for my first day of "Stay-cation," I've handled DRAMA DRAMA, medicated my punky son, walked my puppies in the sunshine, had fun at MOPS, debriefed with Kevin, drank lots of coffee, played at Trader Joe's, and made some plans with the lovely women who I'm lucky enough to have as friends. My goals are to see some friends, toss chore lists away, love on my husband, and play with my son and puppies. Ten days to go.