Random Monday

Today I was bound and determined to be productive. The alarm went off at 5:30 and I was up easily with it. And then I realized that was stupid to be up so early and so I just dozed back off and got up at 6.


Co-sleeping has its challenges. One of those is that you really can't get up unless you get the baby up because if he wakes and I'm not in the room, he'll crawl right off the bed. Not a good thing.


So, up at 6 we were. I've found Fox 4 News is a great way to wake him up in a GENERALLY good mood. Frankly, he doesn't like being stirred when he's asleep and has been rather grumpy every morning.

I nursed him and then headed to my haven -- the kitchen. I whipped up a batch of homemade biscuits and gravy with a bunch of Jimmy Dean maple infused sausage. The biscuits were made a little stickier today and it made for a much more moist biscuit. I was pleasantly pleased. I need to find some more homemade biscuit recipes to find "our" biscuit recipe.


I even went so far as to immediately clean up the mess in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, it generally gets done during the day, but not IMMEDIATELY as in -- before the kids leave for school -- done.

I tried to put Ben down in the bed and then sneak away to the chair to read the volumes of backlogged blogs I subscribe to in my iGoogle reader. He wasn't having it though. He took a 30 minute power nap and then was up. So, I gave him playpen time and I grabbed a shower.


==sidebar== Why do we say we "grab" a shower? You can't really GRAB one. I guess because you say you'll "take" and then people sometimes interchange "take" and "grab" but you really can't TAKE one either. You CAN shower or you can wash up... hmmmmmm. The English language is so perplexing.


Anyway, I washed in the shower. Hopped out, got ready and gave the little guy a snack.


Finally, he was showing signs of "tired" and so into his electric swing. (God bless the creator of the electric swing.)


While that was going on, I finally took the garland off the stairs (don't judge, it's not fun for anyone to take the stuff down!) and put it up. I couldn't stand the fact that I still had Christmas decorations up. It's almost the end of January for goodness' sake!


I bagged up the rest of the "stuff" and cleaned off the stairs. I put up books that had been accumulating both on the stairs and in front of the library shelves. I need to find a way to both catalog and organize the books. They're currently kind of organized but I think with a baby, an emerging chapter book reader and a "real" reader, I need to be sure the books they want are easy to find. I thought about labeling the spines with some colored duct tape for different genres and/or levels. See how my mind wanders. I start one project and then think of all the other things I need to do and start making mental notes and lists and then my wee little brain gets over-worked and by that time Ben wakes up and I've got little bombs going off in every room with nothing fully accomplished. Or, well, that's how it usually goes.


I cleaned and purged the rest of Drew's room and got all kinds of... well... "stuff" now just sitting at the top of the stairs waiting on me to finally bring it downstairs to sort and trash, wash, donate or put up. Because, we all know that if I want it done now, that I need to be the one to do it. I'm the only one with a sense of urgency at having a clean, neat, tidy home. However, knowing that it feels good to get things done and purged and organized, I generally have no problem doing so.


And while I thought I had previously started the beginning of the end of his nursing... Ben stopped biting me about as fast as he started. So, luckily, we have still be successfully nursing. However, now he isn't wanting to nurse much if at all. Which is odd because these little guys are still supposed to take bottles until they're about a year but he won't nurse but ... maybe two or three times a day. I'm not sure what to think about that or what to do about it to ensure he's getting adequate nutrition and fluids. Since he can only "gum" things and not really chew, what DO you feed these kids?


I do believe, however, that with all the changes he's going through... that it is time to move him to his crib. I know that I will miss the silence at night (seriously, you have no idea and I fear that I will sleep on the couch or in his room more often than not because I just can't stand snoring) and I will miss his snuggling... and his little hand searching me out to make sure that I'm right there... and I will miss his smiley little face in the morning... but I know it's time. And I guess when you know, you just know.


On yet another note, (yes, this is a random Monday), my Albertson's is closing. I'm kind of sad about that as they had a great meat department. I had to run to the store last night to grab a few things I needed to finish dinner and so I went to Kroger instead. (NOT enough cashiers!) Because of the little detour in my dinner plans, we ate QUITE late! I hate that. I feel like an epic failure when dinner isn't ready by 6:30 at the latest.


Josh left the garage door wide open and the light on in the garage. Hey world, come steal everything out of OUR garage! Grrrr!

Today's weather was quite nice... sunny but chilly. I like it like that. Unfortunately, 95% of my wardrobe is still inaccessible due to the abundance in the mammary department but that's okay. I like my comfy, stretchy t-shirts. No worries. This, too, shall pass.

Tonight's dinner conversation was extremely bizarre. So much so that I was compelled to break out the camcorder. Josh has these random thoughts and somethings will be much better in LIVING memory than being told about. It was truly exceptional. I laughed so hard I was crying. He can so be so bizarre.

Another first for Ben today -- he ate blueberries for the first time. Loved 'em.

Tonight I'm wearing my new red striped Christmas flannel jammies that Andy got me. They have pockets in the pants. I love that. Why more pajama pants don't have pockets is beyond me. Everyone likes to have a place to put their hands. I always like Seinefeld's take on the importance and necessity of pockets. He was like... that's why people feel so awkward when they're naked --there's no where to put your hands. So he thinks there should be a belt... with POCKETS... and that would make naked people feel more comfortable! What a concept (I'll pass, however.)

Andy told me his friend William's wife lost her wedding ring, too. Same scenario as us -- switched insurance companies and the extra riders didn't carry over so the ring wasn't insured. I can't even begin to imagine her pain. I still keep a photo of my ring on my desktop just to admire from time to time. Not because I'm materialistic. I mean, it's just a ring. It doesn't mean anything that I can't profess. It's just the symbol of what it means. I'm no less married without it. I just miss it, though. I'll let you admire it, too. I miss my ring.