Rutabaga Dreams

Has anyone else noticed that sometimes what bugs us most about our children is a fault that we ourselves have?  I suppose this is probably true in many different types of relationships, but I think parents are less silent on these things with our kids than our friends and spouses.

For example, I give Emma a hard time frequently for not following directions on a project or changing various pieces of it depending on current whims.  I also bug her about having way more ideas than stick-to-it-ness.  

As I sit here surrounded by cut out Jesse Tree ornament patterns (because of course, nothing I’ve found quite suits me, of course not) and planning on how to make them in my own particular way (because again, I have to do it MY OWN WAY!) and I reflect on the fact that the reading schedule I chose a week and a half ago started on the 28th (at least I didn’t have to come up with my own reading schedule, but choosing something that started the day after Thanksgiving when that whole weekend was going to be really busy was not a particularly bright idea) I’ve come to the uncomfortable realization that not only am I making more work for myself and biting off more than I can chew (as usual) I’m the pot calling the kettle black.  Humph.

I really could have used a week between Thanksgiving and the start of Advent.  But really, that’s besides the point.  But I think I do need think a bit more about how I approach this issue with myself and with Emma.  It would be nice if she could at least learn how to handle this stuff better.  Or maybe I could even learn a thing or two.  

I had a conversation with someone after church that has caused me to think a bit.  She’s currently attending community college, and is in the midsts of finals.  She commented that she has another week and a half to go, then they’ll be off for four weeks with nothing to worry about.  I said, “well, except for Advent and Christmas!”  and she responded, “Yeah, but that’s the fun stuff!”  And while I agree with her in theory, Advent and Christmas have not seemed particularly fun to me today.  I think I need an attitude change.  And a better connection between my aspirations and my abilities.  And an editor.  :-P

Oh well, enough complaining, back to my paper and felt.  

Did you ever think that drywall could be exciting?

Yeah, me neither.

But then when  you see drywall being installed in the house you’ve been planning and building for the last two years…  wow.  Drywall is exciting.  

Drywall makes the house look like a place that might actually get lived in someday - and perhaps sooner rather than later!  

We’re getting a lot closer to move-in, a lot closer.  All we need now is a basic kitchen (think sealed plywood counter, stove, fridge, and sink), one working bathroom, sealed floors in the kitchen and bathroom, a very small deck off the sliding glass door, all the finish electrical and smoke detectors, propane & water pulled into the house, a water heater, and railing around the open area upstairs and stairs.  Hmm…  I’m sure I’m forgetting some things and this probably looks like a lot.  But still, the list is dwindling rapidly!

My dearest Nathan,

My apologies for accidently introducing you as Gregory this morning, and not realizing my mistake until I saw the look of confusion on the person’s face and blearly found myself thinking, “hmm…  too many syllables”.  I’m sure it won’t be the last time this will happen, and I hope you will not take offense.  It isn’t that I don’t love you and know you for the wonderful little person you are, I promise.  

But, you know, if  you would stop waking me up every one and a half to two hours, I think I could be much more on the ball about this sort of thing.  And I might even remember to bring my purchases with me when I leave the store.  No guarantees, of course, but I think it could be a big help.

Lots of love,

Your rather tired and absent-minded mother

I’ve hardly been spending any time on the computer these days (thanks to my wrists) but I’ve been doing a little catch-up this evening and it has made me realize how much I miss the computer world!  And I’ve also started feeling a little panicky about Christmas.  You see, as Karen Edmisten kindly reminded her readers, it is only 2 WEEKS!!! until Advent.  Probably less, as I’m sure she didn’t write the post today.  I think I will refrain from looking at my calendar to see just how little time there is until Advent begins.  

And here I was, thinking I was on top of things because I figured out the Thanksgiving menu with my mother-in-law this morning.  

*sigh*

As an aside, does anyone else find that whenever you start to feel like you’re on top of things, it just means that there are things that are very important that you’re completely forgetting?  Yeah, I hate that.  It is good for building humility though I suppose…

For some reason, none of my children (so far, at least) have been able to tolerate the least bit of milk in my diet until they are about 10-11 months old.  Even the slightest bit of milk (with the exception of super-aged cheeses like parmesan and asiago) makes them have horrible stomach pains and projectile spit-ups.  Really, the results are not pretty, and I’ve managed to put all dairy products aside during this period in order to spare us the agony and the messes.  

However, I really miss cheese.  I miss yogurt too, but cheese most of all.  I just got our first buying club order in and I got to try almond cheese for the first time.  I ordered the garlic and herb flavor, and while I haven’t had cheese for five months, it is at least very reminiscent of cheese.  The taste is good, the smell is good, it looks good, and while the texture is perhaps a wee bit rubbery, it is an extremely acceptable substitute.  It is supposed to shred and melt like cheese too, but I haven’t tried that yet.  I am quite pleased, and I think I’ll have to try some of the other flavors next month!

And if you’re interested in the whole buying club idea, take a look at Azure Standard.  They run a much better operation for buying clubs than UNFI.  They allow each member to order separately through their user-friendly website and they don’t charge a freight fee so long as your group meets a (very reasonable) order minimum.  They have quite a few routes on the West Coast and Rockies too.  And the best part is that there is no sorting involved!  They package each order, label it, and then put it on the truck.  The driver calls out the names on the boxes and each person gets his boxes and off you go.  This is ever so much better than UNFI, where you have to weigh out and sort out everything - a process that can take hours.

And while I was gone picking up my order, Nathan woke up screaming.  He was completely inconsolable and miserable until Matt thought to look in our home medical book for information about ear aches.  Matt warmed some garlic in oil and put that in his ear (a remedy we’ve tried with Emma and had great success) and then he crashed.  Everything was quiet when I got home, but it sounds like  I missed an eventful evening!  I’m hoping that did the trick and he’ll sleep well…  but if not, I saved the rest of the oil and we can always try another dose!

My wrists are doing better for the most part, so long as I stay off the computer and am careful how I hold my gigantic (18 lbs!) five month old.  

Staying off the computer is hard though, when I need it to plan for school, keep track of finances, look stuff up, and keep in touch with family and friends.  

I miss blogging, even though I don’t do much of it.  I miss the feeling of conversing with everyone out there - even though there really is very little conversation.  Blogging sometimes feels like a conversation where we’re all just talking past one another about whatever strikes our fancy at the moment.  There’s  very little actual interaction, but yet there’s a sense of connection because at least you have some idea of what that person is thinking about in that moment.

Nathan has figured out how to suck his thumb and has also discovered he can make a variety of noises.  His favorite noise is a screech, which is always delivered with a joyful smile.  The kids still adore him, but sometimes a little too  much.  It is a fine line sometimes between allowing them to show their affection and keeping him from getting squished.  Nathan has also decided that waking up every 90 minutes or so at night to nurse is the way to go.  Funny, I wake up feeling extremely thirsty, hungry, and tired.  There are a lot of things I’d like to be working on in the evenings, but I’m finding it very hard to stay up to do so.  Either Nathan wakes up just as I start something, or I’m really, really tired.  I wish there was  a way to train myself to need less sleep, but I’m not sure that’s possible.  I suppose there’s coffee, but I hate getting addicted to the stuff!

OK, that’s more than enough typing for right now!

I developed carpal tunnel syndrome in college and I’ve struggled with it off and on in the past 12 years or so.  I’m having a bad bout of it right now - worse than I’ve had for years - so I’m trying to stay off the computer as much as I can.  I’m not sure if it is my workstation set-up, the change of season, too  much typing (not that I’ve been doing much at all - I hardly have time!) or what, but I’ve gotten to the point where even folding the laundry causes pain, which means I need to back way off.  So, don’t expect much from me for awhile - blog posts, emails, whatever.  Sorry!