8.09.2005

Back in the Saddle

After a week of utter craziness, I'm back at the full time mom gig. I have to say as much fun as the play was, I missed seeing Alex during the day. I would drop him off at 9:15 a.m. and pick him up after 5 p.m. most days. I now know what the daycare scenario feels like. Call me selfish, but I'm glad it's me who gets to spend the days with him. I know that he was in good hands (and much more experienced hands) at Grandma's house, but I couldn't bear the thought of missing out on milestone events (i.e., rolling over) or just seeing that smile every time I go in to get him out of the crib from a nap.

So, I guess it's time for some life updates:

1) Operation Pacifier Boycott worked like a charm. Alex still isn't sleeping through the night, but he has stopped waking up every hour wanting me to run in and replace the plug. He didn't even fight me on going to sleep without it. We've had a week of consistent sleep without the "paci." Hooray!

2) Operation Solid Food is still in the works. Let me tell you, this kid has taken to eating. He opens his mouth like a little bird every time I get the spoon near his face. He even grunts and gasps a little as if to say, "Please keep it coming. You keep shoveling and I'll keep eating." Solid food is definitely not the key to sleeping through the night, although he does seem less hungry than the ravenous periods we were having last week. So far Alex has mastered rice cereal and pureed carrots. In an effort to be a good mom, I'm sampling all solid foods that I'm feeding my child. Rice cereal? Not bad. Nothing I'd want to pay money for, but it's a little bit sweet when made with breast milk. Pureed carrots? I know that only ingredients are carrots and water, but I swear it tastes like someone is slipping coffee grounds into the mix. And it gives Alex breath like he just waltzed out of Starbucks with his latte. And don't even get me started on the fire poop. I don't think carrots actually digest. They go in one end in all their fluorescent glory and come out the other end exactly the same way.

3) Rumplestiltskin was a big hit. The theater seats 168, and we had an average attendance of 115 for all six shows. I'll admit, I caught a little bit of the bug being back on stage. I even peeked at the upcoming audition list. But, I think that theater needs to become part of the activity rotation and not dominate the agenda. I still have a lot of other things to accomplish.

4) Speaking of other things to accomplish. My current goal is to have my novel finished by New Year's. This is going to take some serious buckling down, but I think it's possible. I need to stop putzing around with character studies and start cranking out more pages of story. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on this.

5) I went for a run yesterday. Took my new MP3 player, laced up my shoes and hit the road. I only lasted about 20 minutes, but it's a start. It was great to get outside and feel like I'd exerted a different set of muscles. I've also been looking into a bikram yoga class. Meditation and sweat. What better combination for achieving a zen-like state.

6) The kitchen is well on its way. All of the cabinets are in and it's starting to look like a kitchen again. I can't wait for the countertops to arrive. It'll be 3-4 weeks, but I think the granite we picked out will be beautiful. I've discovered a new shopping obsesssion since I've been reloading the cabinets. I love to buy canned pineapple. But obviously, I rarely eat it after purchase since we had 4 cans buried in our pantry. I also have a weakness for spices that start with the letter "C". For some reason I can't get it through my head that we already have cayenne, cumin and coriander by the bottlefuls at home.

Tune in this week for more blogging now that I'm not on stage during every spare minute.

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