Overscheduled

Wow, what a crazy week! 

Chris started his new business this week: lawn care.  He's been out every day taking care of some long-overdue-for-a-mow properties that a property management company hired him to handle.  I think in a few cases they haven't been mowed in months, multiple.  Chris is coming home telling me stories of weeds as tall as him in a side yard; 3 passes over one lawn just to get it down to a manageable height, and overgrown brambles.  So he's been working his butt off during the day, coming home to eat & nap, then going to his night job.  I'm so proud of him for being motivated enough to handle this; it will help us out so much when I'm on maternity leave with a reduced income.  It just sucks that we don't get much family time right now.

Meanwhile, Kawika has started day care.  He still goes to my mom's three days per week, but the other two he's enrolled in a local center.  He's only gone twice now, and drop off this morning was rough for us both.  I think the first day I dropped him off he didn't realize I was going to LEAVE him there.  We'd visited twice before and I was there with him while he played.  This morning, he knew I was leaving and was NOT okay with it.  I finally just had to hand him to his teacher and watch the sobbing start.  It's heartbreaking, seeing your sweet little baby's face crumple up, the tears start flowing, the chubby little hands reaching out for you... it just makes me sick remembering.  I hope he's cheered up a little.  I hope he has fun with the other kids and interacts and gets to play with new, fun things that will make him forget he was so sad.  I don't have much hope for this, though.  When I picked him up after day 1, he was tired, whiny, hungry, and his eyes were all red like he'd been crying a lot more than they said he was.  I hope this transition phase doesn't last long.  I can't handle more days of crying all the way to work.

I'm exhausted.  I'm almost 35 weeks along now, and very uncomfortable.

Taken at work after I dropped K off at day care for the first time

This baby is running out of room and doesn't seem to realize it.  He's still very active, and it's getting really painful.  He's head down, which is awesome, but that means his strong little legs are constantly pushing out on the top of my belly, and his busy little hands are usually fluttering around behind my pubic bone, which just feels... weird.  His head is usually planted firmly on my bladder, which gets a painful jolt every time he rolls or stretches his legs.

I get a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions.  I think they're doing something too, because it looks like I've been losing pieces of my plug.  I know it can and likely will regenerate at this point, but that doesn't mean it's not exciting nonetheless!  I had a dream last night that I went into labor and didn't have anything packed for the hospital.  I think my subconscious is telling me to get on the ball.

On a happier note, we are going camping this weekend.  It's Labor Day (ominous foreshadowing?) weekend, which means 3 days off work.  I can't even express how happy I am that we are going away as a family to get some quality time together.  I just wanna snuggle the crap out of my boy while I still have extra time and empty arms.

After a pretty successful attempt at feeding himself his own PB&J sandwich

And while he still wants to  =)  He's getting too big, too fast for my taste.

Day Care, Day 1

Today is Kawika's first day of real, actual day care.  I didn't really want him to go to day care but it needed to happen sooner or later.  Chris just started his own business doing landscaping-type work.  He had an opportunity (60+ properties just waiting for someone to come maintain them on a regular basis) and took it.  I'm proud of him for his initiative there.  He only needed a little help from me to get the ball rolling, but now he's out there working his butt off during the days, and still keeping the night job.  I'm not sure how long that will last before he's completely burnt out, but that's just how it's going for now.

Needless to say, he can't take Kawika with him all over town mowing lawns.  And my mom, bless her, will be taxed enough watching Kawika the 3 days per week that I pressured her into signing up for.  So Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next 6 weeks, Kawika will attend the day care center that I chose.  I did a lot of research on available options in our area, checked out their licenses and complaint histories, facilities, programs, schedules, and teachers.  I really liked the Christian option close to our house (surprising, as I am agnostic at best), but it was just too much money, and they actually were missing a few of the amenities of the other centers I toured.  The one I settled on is, I suppose, at the low-income end of things.  I don't see that as a bad thing, though.  It's affordable (barely), fairly close to home, has a good daily schedule and a USDA food program.  Their outside play area is fully contained and kid-sized.  The inside room has lots of different stations for different activities.  It may not be in the best part of town, but it's certainly not the worst.

Kawika and I had gone there twice before so he could get a little acclimated.  I talked to the teachers while he wandered and played.  He seemed to enjoy it.  But still... Dropping him off this morning was hard.  I managed to keep it together until I got out the front door, thank goodness, but I've been a mess ever since.  Seriously, I'm tearing up right now just writing this.  But I just called to check in and he seems fine.  He cried for about 10 minutes after I left (saw that coming; the look on his face when he realized I was leaving and he was staying was devastating).  But after the crying he went back to playing, ate a good breakfast, ate a morning snack, and they were just getting ready to go play outside.  He loves playing outside, so I'm glad he gets the opportunity to do that every day, with other little ones his age.

I'm still worried about nap time, lunch time, and this evening.  I don't want him to hate it there, and I don't want him to throw a fit when I take him back on Thursday.  I really hope he has fun and gets used to spending time with other kids.

On another note, we dog-sat for my brother this past weekend.  He has an Australian Shepherd named Zeus.  Aptly named, as he is the god of frisbee.  Or rather, the god of fetch.  That dog will play fetch until he's falling-down exhausted, which we did a number of times.  He only stays exhausted for about half an hour.  It was a definite change, having a bigger, high-energy dog in the house.  Kawika, of course, loved him. By Saturday morning he could say "Zeus" and was snuggling him every chance he got. 

Puppy kisses!

Awwww

Apparently, we need a bigger, snugglier dog.  After Zeus went home, Kawika kept asking about him, then trying to snuggle Wonton, who just growls a little then runs away.  What a turd!  A second dog will have to wait, though.  I think the second baby will keep me more than busy enough for the next year.

Daily Horoscope

I have my home page set up with a few personal gadgets.  I like launching one page and seeing lots of different, entertaining things on it.  Incidentally, because my home page is iGoogle, it will be going away next year, but that is neither here nor there at this point.  Next year is next year and I will probably, hopefully, get around to finding a substitution for iGoogle within the next year.  Of the gadgets on my home page, one is a Lilypie ticker telling me exactly how old Kawika is, lest I forget.  I also have local movie times, NFL scores, a random funny quote, a sneak peek of my e-mail inbox, and my daily horoscope, among others. 

Today's horoscope was so inspiring, I wanted to keep it.  So here it is:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012

 By Rick Levine

This is your special time of year to be reinvigorated by the radiant Sun's life force. Although you may start off in a bad mood, your attitude improves throughout the day. Look back over your previous year to take stock in what you've accomplished, re-evaluate your present path, and visualize the year ahead. Blow out the candles in your imagination and make your wishes come true.

 

My horoscopes lately have been eerily accurate.  Most of them have been reminding me to focus on the now while keeping my future plans alive.  Planning for changes to come, looking for opportunity, and seizing openings for growth or personal development.  Perhaps it's true what some people say, that horoscopes will always apply to you if you look for the connection hard enough.  For me, that's not been the case.  Sometimes they're right on and sometimes they're not.  I certainly don't make huge life changing choices based on some guy's interpretation of my astrological chart, but I find horoscopes entertaining, and I like to use the accurate ones as validation that I'm moving in the right direction.

I liked today's horoscope mainly because it was so optimistic.  I've been feeling very optimistic lately; the choices I'm making that are leading to big changes in my personal and professional lives are scary, but they're more exciting than anything else.  I am EXCITED about what's coming.  New baby, new business, new directions.  I have lined up 7 of 10 puzzle pieces to ensure that the next few years of my life are happy, productive, and fulfilling.  Those 7 pieces were the biggest ones; piece 8 is in the works and hopefully will fall in the right way so that I can officially make a decision. The last 2 pieces are just details.  Important details, but details nonetheless. I'm so close!! 

Sorry to be so vague, but until I've got ALL my ducks in a row, I'm hesitant to shout things from the rooftops.  In the meanwhile, though, chew on this:

 

Ooh, a tiny, cryptic picture!!  What do you suppose it means??

Not Bad For A Thursday

We're in the middle of a real PNW heat wave.  The temperatures have been over 85 degrees MULTIPLE DAYS in a row, with yesterday's temperature nearing 100 degrees, and a forecast for the same (if not hotter) today.  UGH.

Yesterday, my friend Kate invited Kawika and me over to her sister in law's house.  Kate and her husband Andrew are house-sitting this week, and Andrew's sister's house has a pool.  A heated, in-ground pool.  This is a rarity here in Vancouver.  At least, I think it's a rarity.  I didn't have any friends growing up who had pools, let alone heated, in-ground pools.  As an adult I know a handful of other adults who have pools.  But who needs a pool here?  It rains 9 months a year and the other 3 we rarely get above 85 degrees, which is totally bearable.  Anyway.  They have a pool.  It is too hot outside. We get to use the pool.  Heck yes!

We went swimming!  After I got home from work, I packed up some swim gear and the kiddo and we drove to Kate's SIL's house for some Popeye's on the back porch, followed by much gleeful splashing, floating, and general watery fun.

Sharky trunks!

 Also, watermelon.  Lots of watermelon, in Kawika's case.  What can he say?  It was good!  I'm not usually a fan of watermelon.  The texture weirds me out and the flavor is underwhelming.  Kate apparently knows the secret to picking a fantastic watermelon though, for this one was tasty, not mealy, and juicy.  I guess the secret for the extra pop of flavor is a sprinkling of lime juice.  Who knew??  I ate two pieces myself.

Nom nom nom

Nom nom nom nom nom

I only wish I'd gotten some photos of Kawika actually IN the pool, but I was too busy trying to keep him from drowning himself.  The boy has no caution!  He literally jumped off the edge of the pool into the water with zero regard for what comes AFTER the oh-so-fun jump.  Hint: mouthful of water, coughing.  Followed by accusing glares at momma "WHY DID YOU LET ME DO THAT, MOM?" 

After swimming we had snacks, drank some Gatorade, and packed up to go home.  Good thing he was already in cozy, dry jammies, because he zonked out in the car.  It was only about 8 pm, but he didn't wake up when I got him out of his car seat, when Wonton barked hello, or when I transferred him to his crib and smooched his fuzzy head.  Aahhh, the deep sleep of an exhausted waterbaby! 

Cleaning Out

Gosh, I need some kind of reminder to come update more regularly.  Not that you care.  Not that you're reading this or anything.  See, I've made up a fake audience in my head; people who read my blog and get upset when I don't update regularly enough. 

"Shame on you," they say accusingly.  "Why start a blog if you don't intend to keep it up to date?"  My bad.  Truth in fact; I'd like to keep it more updated just for ME.  I don't journal anymore and as a result I find that I'm missing large gaps of time in my mind.  I've always had a poor memory, and writing helps me relive my past, even if I temporarily forget it.  Letting all one of you share in the memory-recording is just a bonus. 

Speaking of journals, Chris and I got on a nesting kick last weekend and reorganized the 3rd bedroom.  The one that was going to be a nursery but was doubling as storage/Kawika's play room.  We decided not to turn it into a nursery just yet.  Frankly, we need the storage/office/play space away from the living and family rooms, and Little Dude is going to be in our room for the first few months anyway, so... why not just keep it as-is?  With a healthy dose of reorganization, of course.  Well, we finally went in and just did the damn thing.  Moved the book shelf in, put the books on the shelf and out of the closet, consolidated all of the holiday decorations and gift wrap supplies in a clear tub, stored some of the bigger baby things in the attic that Kawika has outgrown and Little Dude won't need right away, ... We did a lot.  We also went through the last few boxes of "office" type stuff we'd had in the closet, sorting everything into keep/shred/recycle piles, and separating the keepsakes from the important papers we need to keep on hand.

During this process, I came across my old journals and photo albums.  I spent a few minutes reminiscing, then packed them away safely in an airtight tub that will go in the attic. I enjoy reading my old journals (usually, when they're not unbearably vapid) but it felt good to stick them away somewhere knowing they wouldn't be bothered for a while.  It also felt really good to get that closet organized!

I'm still trying to find a solution for Little Dude's clothes, now that he won't have his own room.  I suppose I could still use the closet for his clothes, I just need to get a lot more baby hangers.  A lot.

Making room for the new and getting rid of the old, reorganizing the important and letting go of the insignificant.  It feels good!  Perhaps my nesting fit has manifested in more than one area of my life, since I find myself wanting to go in a new direction professionally, as well as with home closet organization.  Maybe I'm just so frustrated with the aspects I cannot control that I feel the need to change my surroundings so that they're easier to manage.  Whatever the case may be, the thought of the possibilities in front me is thrilling.  I hope to update you all with some very good news in the coming months, but if you could just keep me in your thoughts, I'd appreciate it.  A little good karma goes a long way.