Giving Thanks

Helllooooo? Anybody in here? Is this thing on? *blows dust off the keyboard*

Well, I am just appalled. One of my NY's resolutions was to blog more. Yeah, well, that didn't happen. Last post was in April. April! Avril! And it wasn't even a very long one! If you're reading this and still have interest in my mundane posts, thank you. I had lunch with a very good friend today and she said "why aren't you blogging?" and, uh, um... Good question. So here I am!

Let's see....

I am back to work full time. Our baby is almost 5 months old now- more on that in a minute. And I just signed up to resume my long, drawn out journey toward finishing my Master's degree-- one.class.at.a.time. Sigh. Hey, it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you enjoy the journey, right Mom?

Being a working mom works for me. I would be lying if I said I never dream of days of packing up my boy and heading to the coffee shop to read the paper and lounge around every day with him. But I like being at work. I like being around people, learning. (that whole paycheck thing is nice, too). But I couldn't do it without, and I am so very, very, (one more time with a nod to the big man above) VERY grateful that I have it, a job that has flexible hours. And flexible locations. Oh heck, let's just throw in flexible dress code, too, because some days I am too tired to worry about ironing slacks or even matching, for that matter. We're also lucky that my husband has a schedule that puts him home more than not, so our baby is only in day care a couple of days a week. Did I mention how thankful I am?

Ok, so that's a good segue into babyland. Being my son's mommy is awesome. 4-5 months is a really fun age. He's smiling and giggling and well, just being a baby. We just got professional pics done last weekend (I know, I know, it only took me 4 months) and I was one proud Mama. I wanted to buy every single picture they snapped. He didn't smile one single time, hahahaha.

I can't remember what life was like without him. He is part of my every thought and every move. My favorite part of the day is the hour before his bedtime. Uninterrupted baby coos, giggles, hugs, snuggles- what is better than that? I have been reading him bedtime stories since the beginning and am pleasantly surprised at how philosophical some of them are. (uh, what is she talking about?) My current favorite is the Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton. There's a line in there: "We don't do much thoughout the day. That's how we like it best. We nibble grapes, we watch the waves. We take a little rest". I read this page over and over. Take a little rest. Maybe if we all read children's books every day we'd all be a little nicer and a lot wiser. But I digress.

Back to mommyhood: I recently went on my first overnight business trip since he was born, and I did very well. That's another thing I'm thankful for-- my parents are excellent babysitters. I was able to miss him, but not worry about him, because I knew he was just fine. I didn't mind two whole nights of uninterrupted sleep since March either.......

Sleep. Too much to say about that-- it's a whole 'nother blog.I........so.....tir- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

*snore*





w-huh? What? I'm awake!

Where was I?

Oh yes. So I'm getting by. I remember Dr Phil a long time ago (back when his show was good-- a lonnnnng time ago) said something like "you bring a child into your life, you don't change your life around a child" and it stuck with me. My husband and I wondered it aloud many times while I was pregnant-- "are we gonna change completely after this baby comes until we don't recognize ourselves? Because we kinda like who we are and how life is and that would just be weird." Maybe not those exact words but I think we both try very hard to balance parenthood and stay true to who we were as a family for the first 11 years before we had a baby. (If you're reading this and thinking "uh, yeah, I haven't seen you since that baby came along" it's me, not you. Call me, write, send a homing pigeon, I will be there.

I'm rambling.

So, to summarize: I'm loving every second of being with my baby, I'm working, I signed back up for classes, and I really need to blog more so my posts aren't as unorganized as this one.

All things Olive today:
My teams (work and home)
Coupons (a future post!)
Cranberry Cherry Malibu Rum (I told ya I didn't change too much)