my head is sideways

I can NOT forget to mention that Karl hit a milestone birthday this weekend. 3-0 people. THIRTY. Thirty seems like an amazing age to me right now and, if the first day of Karl's 30th is an indicator, we should be in for a smooth ride. Ish. Smooth. Ish. Cause, you know, we still believe we are 25 sometimes. (18?)

On Saturday evening we had a celebration at the house (I made the Pioneer Woman's lasagna. ALWAYS a crowd pleaser...well, amongst the meat eaters of our crew anyway. HOT BREAKFAST SAUSAGE anyone?!!) for our inlaws and some close friends and then more friends came by for drinks and desert. Sadly, I didn't photograph much. (New goal: USE BIG EXPENSIVE CAMERA for The Blogging.)

I made these brownies too (from a box yo. don't judge. i don't like dessert.) I put one candle for every decade. And we let Nate help blow out the "hot fire hurt you" candles.
On Sunday (actual birthday day!) we took a jaunt (how jaunty!) across the Big Dam Bridge. We left our other dog Roxy at home. It's JUST Arlo is so much more MELLOW. We hit up the Pizza Cafe for lunch where Nate read us the menu:
We all came home and napped and, when Nate woke up he asked for "strawberry ice cream" (which, i should mention, he has NEVER had before but was quite specific about) so we obliged since it was "daddy's birthday" and a treat. And, maybe, quite possibly dinner for all of us. Hmmmm these photos all look eerily similar! DAMN YOU iPhone. I will carry a camera again!

Anyway, we had a great (albeit calm and boring) weekend for his birthday!

kindness of strangers

It's no secret that Nate and I spend a lot of time together. Some days it's just me and him, telling each other all our secrets and hopes and dreams. It's probably why he talks so much. I am most definitely that super-annoying mom at the grocery store that is all "those apples are red and right next to them are the green apples and on the other side are the oranges and the plums and what aisle do you think the toilet paper is in and do you think we need anything in the cheese section (the answer to that is always: yes) and i like red cars do you like red cars." The no punctuation there was, in fact, deliberate my friends. (I'm hoping you got that.) We are a run-on sentence. Daily.

Some days, certain strangers enter the mix. If you know me at all, you know THE QUIET was one of the hardest things to adjust to when it came to staying at home with Naterpants. I'm not always so good at THE QUIET. I didn't necessarily grow up with THE QUIET. Excluding the first three years of my life, I've always shared a room with either my sister, a roommate or a husband. Add a large # of cousins and neighbors and (later) teammates and roommates and sorority sisters and you have very little ALONE time in this girl's life. I like it that way. I like having people around. It makes me happy. So, sometimes when it's just the two of us and strangers stop to say hello, we talk to them too. (How very Southern of me, yes?)

Usually they are of the nice variety (expect for that strange and sweaty man who I let borrow my cell phone and who then instructed me to tell "joyce" that he was going to be running late for the "meeting" if she called back.).

Here are a few sweet chance encounters in the last two weeks:

1. Nate and I were at the Park (Merriweather Park for all you Little Rockians - it's redone!) (Additional aside: WHY ARE THE PARKS ALWAYS EMPTY!?? WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE?!!?) running around on the empty baseball diamond/field. We were pretending to play catch/bat but didn't have a ball (bad mommy?). An older couple (the man told me he was 74) were playing tennis at the court nearby (see why he told me he was 74? Cause he was BRAGGING. About the tennis. As well he should.) and they walked down to see if Nate would like a tennis ball to play with. We talked to them for a few minutes and Nate was most appreciative of the tennis ball. It was a lovely little connection.

2. I know you are all going to be SHOCKED by this but I was in The Little Caesars near our house (it's not shocking at all because I am frequently in there b/c I am a horribly unhealthy person addicted to Hot and Ready Pizza.) Anyway, we were picking up pizza and going to meet friends and the pizza was neither Hot nor Ready. They apologized and made a big deal of bringing Nate some cookies and quarters for the Bouncy Ball Machine thingey while we waited. I know it sounds silly and it's not such a big deal, but little things like that tug at my heart strings and make me remember that people CAN BE nice when they choose to do so.

3. And, finally, on our way into Arkansas Children's Hospital for Nate's ENT appointment last week, we were stopped by some members of the UCA football team on their way out the door. After much high-fiving amongst Nate and the players, one of them offered Nate a foamy-hand Bear Claw with a bunch of signatures on it (see picture). I wish I would have thought to ask the player who handed it to me his name, because it was such a sweet moment AND that little piece of purple foam was an immense help after Nate projectiled his lunch all over the walls! YUM!

Anyway, the point of my post is this: It's out there... this whole Kindness of Strangers thing...it exists. We just need to go slow enough to find it, yes? What positive STRANGER DANGER incidents have happened to you lately? (I also had some babychild Sonic carhop hit on me the other day, and, while this may not seem like Kindness to you, made me real giggley. HA.)

Nate-isms: volume 4,625

We had a recent visit to the ENT on the recommendation of our pediatrician. (Because Nate has had croup twice in the last six months.) I was hesitant to take him and I am sad that I did. I'm not going to say a lot about the whole appointment BUT there was a scope involved (through the nose) and projectile-exorcist style vomiting (from the mouth, on the wall). It only took a cotton-candy flavored sucker to make Nate feel better but me? Well, I'm still recovering! I MAY have put on Thomas the Train and locked myself in the bathroom for a few minutes when we got back home. Best news is: everything is fine.

So, what do you guys want to know about Nater-pants?

He is going to school two days a week and seems to be adjusting well. They are learning A LOT about writing letters. Like so: (ABC iPhone app... Nate did the, um, writing.) I'm thinking GENIUS CHILD, yes? He says the most entertaining things and I love them all. Most of them start with "Nate do it" or his current favorite phrase is "I NEED to do it." I try to let him do it as much as possible. He's usually the kid with marker on his legs or ice cream in his hair or cuts and scrapes on his knees and elbows because he NEEDED to do it. And I let him. I am not yet sure if this is a good or a bad thing. (Because then when I NEED him to do something, like, say not run into THE STREET he has plans of his own.)

Though I will say, it is AMAZING how much I can tell his coordination is improving (even in the last two weeks) - he can run faster, further, jump off higher objects (as nate says: "no not scary mommy").

He is into trains. And cars. And other things with "big wheels." I don't know... boys and trains... I guess they just go together?

He gives bear hugs - which include him running up to you, throwing his arms around you and say "GRRRRRRRRRRAWWWW" (or whatever sound a bear makes.)

We go to the park quite a bit to run the bases. MUST. BURN. TODDLER. ENERGY.

He says phrases like "Mommy hold you" when he needs me and uses phrase like "muffie cakes" to describe blueberry muffins. He likes to whisper when you whisper and shout when you shout.

Last week he wedged himself behind the back couch cushion and said (with force) "I CLOSE THE DOOR" and then he grabbed my camera cord and put it on his chest and said (again, with force) "I PUT THE SEATBELT ON."

When his former teacher Ms. Julie comes over, he now takes her hand and leads her into his room where he slams the door and says "Bye Bye Mommy." (Though this morning he did come back out to give me a kiss.)

He's still shy. (Both Karl and I were apparently shy as The Children.) When greeting an adult he doesn't know he hides behind my (or Karl's) legs and says "Mommy. Daddy. Mommy. Daddy." until he feels comfortable. This can be exasperating because, you know, we like to do normal things, like, you know see people, but I'm trying not to push him right now.

He loves playing with the neighbor girls, Amy and Savannah and Lily. They occasionally cart him around like a little doll and force him to play ring around the rosy. (Until they are bored with him and find their scooters.)

Things are changing a little bit with the new (and the two) jobs. It's going to be a little stressful while I finish up the maternity leave coverage and start the new job. It all feels a little SPINNY right now.

What else do you wants to know!?!

these are professional counting props

Last week I had this many (paid) jobs:
This week I have this many jobs:
Next week I will have this many jobs:
Full details to follow.

It's crazy how life can change in two days, yes?

nate wasn't feeling well last weekend

He actually fell asleep in a restaurant! GASP. What did we do? We ate SUPER SLOW and with no corralling and/or spilling of beverages. It was amazing. Poor buddy. He had a bit of a rough week.

This week I started back to work (the part to the time - love it!). It was (being honest here) nice to be in the office. With The Grownups. I had forgotten how many acronyms there are in the working world (or at least my working world). As I've mentioned, I am filling in for a former team member while she is on maternity leave. Even though it's been over a year, I can't express to you how creepy it was to login in and, after - oh - about 10 seconds, remember how to do just about everything (technically speaking).

F3, /am, O, F7. Took me about 5 seconds to remember that "shortcut" in our ad tracking system. My fingers just KNEW. Sometimes I can't remember what I had for breakfast mere hours before, but, apparently, I can recall with clarity certain processes I was sure I wouldn't (want to) remember!

the proof is in the... um... bruising

See? YEOWCH.

Wait... you can see it right?

i've got a brand new pair of rollerskates

18 queued posts and several photo collages and I've deleted them all to bring you THIS BREAKING NEWS:

My friend Kristen and I decided that we wanted to try roller derby some time ago. Like, um, maybe a couple years ago? But like all Big Dreams (er, drunken conversations), we never did anything about it.

Ahem.

Until now.

We decided to at least SEE if we even COULD skate. When is the last time you've been on roller skates? 12? 13? We headed to the rink tonight for "cheap-skate" night (hahahahaha). (Additionally, check out the local skate rink website to make your EYES BLEED.) Before we could even step foot (skate?! ha.) on the rink (is it called a rink? circle? parquet flooring?) some small tall punk child (skating backwards and superfast ON THE SIDELINES collided into me and we crashed and both fell and he stomped on my bare foot with his ENORMOUS 13 year old boy feet/skates.) I'm not going to lie; it hurt. And I thought that my skating adventure might be over before it even started. SAD FACE. I would never get to live out my dream of earning a name like Tyra Spanks and/or Honey Bee-yotch. Thankfully, Kristen is a nurse so she inspected my foot and deemed it suitable for skating (read: not broken).

So we skated.

And, um, well, we need practice.

And lots of it.

And, um, I think I'm going to be REAL SORE TOMORROW.

In so many places.

Immediately after taking my skates off (relieving pressure), my foot started throbbing so I hobbled home to ice it up and take the edge off with some beer and think about my derby name.

After consulting some friends (erm, read: Twiiter)... the NOMINEES ARE:

a. Killer Kat-a-Pillar

b. The Kat-astrophe. sorta like The Situation, but more awesome. (Thank you Ryan!)
c. kat von devious. (Thank you Melissa!)
d. um, your idea in the comment section?

What about YOU? What's your derby name?

la petite roche

Hey friends! Welcome if you are stopping by from Blog Trotting, a virtual tour of, um, THE WORLD. (Dun dun dun... insert evil laughter.) (And since I enjoy all things virtual I CLEARLY adore the concept of this site and am excited to tell you some FUN FACTS about myself and my city.)

1. These are my people:That is me and the husband, we are Karl and Kat, which you have probably figured out since that is the name of our blog and I, um, assume you can read. Those are our dogs Roxy and Arlo that we totally love less now that we have a child. (STOP JINGLING YOUR COLLAR; YOU WILL WAKE THE BABY!), but were much easier to corral into this family photo shoot than our toddler, Nate. Please note the death clutch around Nate's waist.

2. I used to work in advertising (and am about to again!). After Nate was born, I went back to work for about 8 months before tearing my hair out from client requests to make their ads look blue like the color of the sky RIGHT NOW.

Photo source

We love our city! My husband grew up here and I have lived here in Little Rock for almost 7 years. My first impressions were not so favorable (If you've ever moved TO the south, you feel the outsider vibe for a long time. Even if you are from the Midwest.).

But, now, I love it and for so many reasons! I see no less than 3 people I know everywhere I go.

Who couldn't love a place that has pedestrian bridges with views like this in the middle of the city?Image from our Run Like Robot Virtual 5K

Seriously, the "Natural State" is the most gorgeous place I have ever lived and I try to appreciate views like these on a daily basis. Check it:

Source: littlerock.com

To combat all the lovely calories burned from all the gorgeous outdoor scenery/activities, Little Rock must introduce many, many meals with CHEESE DIP. I fully support this.

There are even DOCUMENTARIES about this stuff, friends.

I'm still getting used to saying hey y'all and ye haw. You know you are a TRUE Arkansan when you can insert y'all THREE TIMES into one sentence like so: "Y'all better say y'alls prayers, y'all here me now?" (Say it out loud. It's real fun.)

DUUUUUUUUUUUDE. I have so much to tell you guys.

My BIG OLE brain has been so scattered (and slightly sleep-deprived) lately. (Example: I have six posts in draft form and just started this one from scratch.) I can't FOCUS to say the least.

So, let's just talk about some HAPPENINGS.

One: Nate had his first day of preschool last week. I bought him this:
It was (admittedly) way too expensive but ITS HIS FIRST BACKPACK and there were robots and, well, resistance was futile.

Two: We are moving Nate to a twin bed in his room. So I bought his these:
I know you all are SHOCKED.

To say it's going TERRIBLY would be an understatement! There are serious sleep disruptions and little to no napping! It's dreamy! When I tell you that his sleep is disrupted I mean this: He went to bed last night at 10:30 after an hour of popping out/putting in. Every excuse in the book was given - "I need water. I need milk. I watch TV. I need new diaper. I need read book. I need Mommy's bed." Then I (or Karl) will leave the room and thirty seconds later: thwack of feet on floor. Pitter Patter. Pitter Patter. Door open. "Mommy? Why Nate out of bed?" (Yes, that is what HE says. It would be HILARIOUS if it weren't my child. Okay, it's still pretty hilarious.) Anyway, then he rises (for the day) at 5:45 in the AM. His normal rising time is 6:30 so you'd think 5:45 wouldn't be terrible but IT IS!

I think part of it is my fault. We've kind of have a chaotic environment going on.

Exhibit A:

There was a lot of "You're going to have to sleep in your crib if you don't stay in bed" talk which was NOT working. So, we took the plunge and just got rid of the crib. I think we were just holding on to that crib for ourselves. We are offering one option for sleeping and a clean, calm room. Surely that will do it, right? HA.

No, really, I'm sure it will calm down (ish) in the next couple of weeks. I alternate between laughing about it and wanting to cry into my tenth coffee cup of the day.

the grand finale: she sticks the landing

Ok, well today is, officially, anniversary day! Thank you all for bearing with the wedding pictures and stories this week. This final photo is of The First Dance. I have to say that I semi-regret that we didn't dance to my original selection (Stickshifts and Safetybelts by Cake). Instead, we moved to some Norah Jones ballad-ey type song. Which is beautiful music. But, um, I still kind of wish Cake had been The Song. Ah, well, DETAILS. They make no difference; the end result remains the same! We are headed to dinner shortly to celebrate.

have your cake and eat it too.

This will be Post #4 in my 5 Days of Wedding Pics to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (which is TOMORROW!).

I think it's important to note I'm against most traditional cake toppers. Like AGAINST. I feel strongly about this subject. Ahem:

So, we (I) decided to make our (my) own. My original concept was to have Karl and my photo/cutout on the top of the cake and all of our bridesmaid and groomspeople (in photo cutout) hanging out randomly on the other levels of the cake in various entertaining poses. HOWEVER, the cake wasn't big enough and the photos were all different sizes. Not to mention it takes FOREVER to cut out background on images and mount them on illustrator board (which is also not easy to cut.) So I scaled back my dream of a cake full of friends and decided Karl and I would have a photoshoot of ourselves in the most obvious "cake topper" poses. (To be honest, our good friend Audra did most of the work!)

And, TADA, this was born (created?):
I'M RUNNING AWAY WITHOUT FEET!!! AHHHHH! WATCH OUT!!

After the wedding, we hung up these toppers on the fridge door until one day our DEAR DARLING DOG Roxy decided to lick the tinsiest of tinsy remaining frosting from the bottom and tore them to shreds. Oops.

bated breath? is that the correct expression?

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath for Day 3 of my 5 day for 5 years wedding/anniversary posts. RIGHT?!?! Of course.

I thought it would be fun to share the bridesmaids getups. Why yes we did all wear the same dress, thank you for noticing. I've talked to all six of these girls within the last week.

black and white

In case you missed it yesterday, I am posting a picture every weekday (5 days) in celebration of our 5 year anniversary this Friday!

I'm not normally a fan of black and white, but I've always loved this image. (Again, image courtesy of our photographer, Alisha Clark.)

Meet Kelly and Joe, our flower girl and ring bearer. When Kelly started down the aisle and realized that she had the whole crowd's attention, she stopped and started Ms. America waving to her adoring fans.

The realization: And the waving:
Little show stealer! How was I to follow that? Doing his duty, Joe went back for her after a few minutes of waving and they held hands the rest of the way down. I was adamant about NO VIDEO at our wedding but I sometimes wish I had this moment on the movie film.

anniversary week of pictures

Since this Friday marks Karl and my 5 (yep FIVE) year wedding anniversary, I'm going to post 5 (yep 5) wedding pics this week... One for MTWThF.

So, here's Monday's pic:

And, why yes we did get married outside in August, thank you for asking. This one's from our photographer, Alisha.

verge

We're on the verge of change (next week) but right now (at this very moment while I type this) it feels like we're stuck in the house. Mostly because Nate has croup again and is just getting past the contagious part so we are stuck in the house watching Dora and Diego (kill me now) and trying not to out-whine one another (I'm mature like that.).

In the past few days, we've had a trip to Urgent Care and the pediatrician office, which, let me assure you, NATE LOVES and is not AT ALL traumatized by. She (the pedi) gave us a referral to an ENT since he's had The Croup twice in the last 6 months. (And his only other doctor-related illnesses were respiratory as well.) She said the ENT appointment is more of a precaution and she doesn't expect them to find anything and he will probably outgrow this, but she wants to make sure there are no blockages in his little ears, nose, or throat and that his airways are not in any way obstructed. ITS FINE, right? RIGHT.

ANYWAY you don't want to hear about all that. The point is we are stuck at home this week and weekend (and Karl will be out of town all weekend so CALL ME IF YOU ARE CLOSE BY SO I DON'T GO CRAZY!), but next week.... oh... next week I'm already feeling the apprehension (and, admittedly, the excitement) because change is in the air.

Next week (barring further illnesses or ailments) Nate goes to school two days a week and I go to work two days a week. (At my old workhome. I'm covering for a girl on my former ad team for 12 weeks while she has a baby and maternity leave of her own.) After more than a year of retirement, I'm pretty pumped and I love that it's a familiar place with some familiar faces.) Nate is going to school through the same program he did Mother's Day Out so I'm feeling comfortable with that.

Now to scour my closet. Do I even own suitable work attire anymore?

In parting, I leave you with this creepy Diego getup (Maybe I can wear this my first day back?):


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! THE HAIR!!!! RUNAWAY!!!

(Photo Source.)

Yesterday, we got in the car and I asked Nate: "Where do you want to go?"

He said: "Paradise Falls, Mommy."
Uh... clearly we've been watching too much TV in this weather. Posts like this make me feel a little less guilty. 17 days of 100 plus temps and counting...I think for the first time ever I might be ready for fall.

things that are wrong

THIS: Our friend @meliss_a was in town from LA this Wednesday. We used to have regular girlie friend nights on Wednesdays (in order to watch America's Next Top Model and drink beer and eat pizza whilst yelling at the modeling contestants to EAT A HAMBURGER ALREADY!). Lately, well, ANTM hasn't been on and this little thing called Life got in our way. So, with Melissa in town, we decided to GATHER. I sent out an email that said 'let's do it up old school' and made a joke about bringing a cheese-related product. We all took this statement LITERALLY:
I present THE MENU:

Cheese pizza, Little Caesars (1), Italian Cheese Bread, Little Caesars (2), Cheese Dip and Salsa, Mexico Chiquito (1), Pimento Cheese Dip, Taziki's (1), Bacon Cheese Dip, Kat's kitchen (1), Shells and Cheese, Katie's Kitchen (1), oh, and CHEEZITS for good measure!

Oh, and, clearly we complimented this fine cuisine with some booze of the beer and stinky gringo variety.

We. Are. Classy.

(I promise sometimes we do plan amazing events.)

(Just not on Wednesdays.)

After dinner, we clearly gathered in the kitchen (cause that's how you do) and spent some chatting about work and play and friends and family (cause that's how you do).
Don't worry. The party favors were little cellophane sacks all tied up with ribbon, cute little cheese-flavored laxatives within.

I think we need to REINSTATE.

Maybe with less cheese.

archival issues: I LOVE DETAILS

So, as most of you know, I'm not so much a traditional scrapbooker kind of girl. Sometimes I wish I were but I haven't the passion for it. Instead, I'm obsessed with archiving our lives in a different sort of way. Like, you know, ONLINE.

I also have a five year journal where you write a snippet from your day everyday. I wrote a post about my calendar obsession and this five year journal here.

I love the blogging. LOVE IT. Clearly. Attend parties around it.

But, sometimes, I think the day to day gets lost. Even on twitter. Which I also love dearly. (But which I often censor myself.) Like sometimes I don't actually NEED to share with you that Karl and I got into a fight about macaroni and cheese or that I took a package to the post office or did a FOUR HOUR DEEP CLEAN (Who are we kidding? That never happens! Nap time is for blogging and reading books, right?! And a four hour nap? That's just bonkers.). Plus, let's face it, not everything about my life and, more specifically, the people in it is shared on this blog.

But, I think, sometimes the little details are the ones I might like to remember later when Nate's childhood seems a blur and I can't remember who was over at the house sharing a bottle of wine on Friday nights and when I'VE FALLEN AND I CANT GET UP. So that's why I love my little 5 year journal.

I'm currently in a state of conflict about it b/c I found (OKAY FINE Karl found) this site, ohlife, and it appeals to EVERY BONE IN MY BODY. Basically, it sends you an email every night and you reply with a few short sentences about what you did that day. Then, it's archived and with every daily email you receive, it sends you a note about one of your archived posts.

It's free and I want to do it real bad, but I'm afraid I'll give up on my little journal guy and I, believe it or not, do actually like using pen and paper occasionally! What do you think? Would you use it? Is it TOO MUCH? Either way, I thought it was worth THE SHARE.

Nate-isms: Volume 4,006

Nate has been TONS OF FUN this summer. He's definitely at a challenging age and nothing is more challenging than teaching your child, well, EVERYTHING.

Let me share with you a little bit about this child of mine. His hair. It's BLONDE. People always ask where it came from. Karl and I were both blonde-ish as babes but THIS? People pay for this, yes?

It's straight as a pin and impossible to cut. Plus, Nate REALLY hates haircuts. I want to enjoy the blonde as long as possible so I'm not too worried about keeping it short.

Nate has been into sharing his food with his toys and the characters in his books. Here he is feeding Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the 'horsie neigggggghh' (Sarge?) some of his peach.

Annnnnnd eating it himself. I love how IT LOOKS PAINFUL.
We told him last night that "Food goes in your belly" so he promptly lifted up his shirt and began smashing chicken fingers into his belly button. LITERAL. (I love how that little mind works!)

We've been spending a lot of time in various pools to beat the heat. Even in the water, I get worried about being outside too long. WE ARE IN A HEATWAVE folks and it ain't pretty! But we do manage to get in lots of pool time. We have a little pool in our backyard too - it looks like THIS:And by this, I mean REAL CLASSY LIKE! I initially gave Karl a lot of flack for purchasing it but it's been great this summer! It has chemicals and a vacuum (you know about Karl and his vacuums right? THIS POOL IS CLEAN!). If you've ever owned a baby/blowup pool for more than a few uses, you know those things get pretty nasty. This, my friends, does not. The water comes up to about Nate's chest so he can walk in it comfortably. We bought him a boat (read: small water raft with sides and handles) and he jumps around in that or we play FORT by flipping it over and getting beneath it. FORT is my favorite game ever. There's something special about giggling under an inflatable flotation device with your child. It just feels like summer and childhood and happiness. Kisses, bubble blowing in the water, singing.... those FORT moments might be my summer favorites!

With the heat, we've also let him watch a little more TV than usual (it really is too hot to play outside for an extended period of time). We introduced him (cautiously) to Dora. His first impressions were "NO WATCH YOGURT NO WATCH YOGURT." This was confusing until we realized that the yogurt we occasionally buy Nate was, in fact, emblazoned with smiling Dora faces. (Branding!) We've also been watching the movie Up. I thought he might be scared but he kind of loves all the dogs and balloons.

We are on DAY THREE of paci-freedom! He was only using his pacifier at night and nap time and we were strict that it was only for those times. We told Nate "babas (what he calls them) are for babies" and he hasn't asked for it since! He went down for naps and nighttime without it and without a problem. I thought this was going to be a HUGE issue and I've been putting it off, but sometimes he surprises me. We went to celebrate with ice cream after his first day Baba Free. And, finally, we are holding on to that afternoon nap with all our might. And by we I mean me. He's been skipping days here and there already or taking a nap from like 5 p.m. to 6 and then going to bed at 8. One day we went to the Little Gym for an hour, the grocery store, the post office and the pool for an hour. That's enough activity to exhaust me! But that day? Nada on the shut eye. I'm enforcing quiet time anyway on those days. Sigh. ITS FINE. MOST TWO YEAR OLD DROP NAPS COMPLETELY, right?

Anyway, thanks for reading! He is a handful and a joy and, as always, so much harder and easier than I ever thought it would be.

let's regroup

SHHHHHHHH... I'm currently cozied up at THE LIBRARY! ALONE!!! I left Nate with a sitter for the day. I don't do this often, (mainly b/c I feel an excessive amount of irrational guilt about paying someone to do my job during the work week when I don't have a money-making gig at that time) but, seriously, I NEED TODAY. He's out of school until September. Karl started a new job... that comes with longer hours and LOTS and LOTS of new job stress. And, mostly, I just needed some time to myself so I made it happen.

It's good for him and it's good for me. I left him with Ms. Julie, who is one of his first daycare teachers from way back when. They had this bond that was crazy amazing from the first moment they met. I reconnected with Julie recently at a babyshower she hosted and she had a sweet little picture of my baby on her fridge - she missed him too and who am I to deny them time together? ;)

They haven't seen each other in about a year and I SWEAR TO GOD YA'LL when she got there today Nate (who is VERY stranger danger) went right up to her and GAVE HER A HUG. And then he grabbed her hand and they went to play. It was bizarre and, also, absolutely amazing. I may have teared up about it a little when I got in the car to drive away. (And by a little I mean I bawled my eyes out. I TOLD YOU I NEED A DAY!)

After the library, I am going to get my eyebrows waxed, drop off some dry cleaning and go to the post office...and I don't think you understand how LUXURIOUS that feels.