No pun intended

Ooohh! I just caught the pun in the last posting. Ransacking his drawers! Get it?!?

Nyuk, Nyuk!

He finally did it

After months of playing on the stairs Mizz finally fell down them and frankly, all I felt was relief. First of all, from the moment he landed, I could tell he was okay and just upset. And now one of my fears has been realized and not ended horribly AND maybe, just maybe, he will start listening to my warnings. I am not holding my breath about the second part of that thought though.

On the bright side, Mizz while ransacking his drawers today announced that he would like to start wearing his underwear which is generally a good sign. He is making more and more strides in that direction and now I just have to get up the energy and scheduling necessary to make it happen.

Check out Mr. Busy Body

Mizz regularly feels the need to rearrange items. This is his latest project.

Awww...

Today Mizz told me that he "wanted to be like the baby in mama's tummy". Earlier in the day he had been repeating "you're my first baby" over and over again. My little sweet pea seems to be processing this whole baby thing. He has also begun to crawl "like a baby" up the stairs. Needless to say, asking him to try to do something "like a big kid" isn't exactly motivating for him right now. So we'll see what happens in May.

Zootastic!

Mizz and I had our best zoo adventure yet today. The weather was fantastic and since putting him in the backpack isn't an option for me anymore, Mizz walked and rode on the back part of his stroller this time. This was a way better arrangement than hauling him in and out of the stroller all the time and it gave us tons of room to stash our picnic and coats that we had to shed. Mizz turned his nose up at the sandbox and was once again most captivated by the waterfalls and ducks. Actually the trail with the waterfalls is my favorite part of the zoo too because it is very Northwesty and feels as natural as you can in a zoo environment. And now I am going to make use of Mizz's naptime and go soak up some more Vitamin D accompanied by el monitor or MiniMizz as I like to call it and an anthology of humorous writings from the New Yorker. Sun and laughter have been in short supply as of late.

Somewhat morose musings

I feel compelled to write even though I am not sure what I want to write about. I've had a lot on my mind lately but I'm not sure that my writing skills are up to the task of trying to explain them.

I have been really down about recent events in the news including my missing boss, the school shooting in DeKalb, and the attacks on two psychiatrists in NY. Throw in two fairly depressing movies (The Weatherman and Sherrybaby) and you get one wigged out lapsed social worker. One on hand, all the talk about mental health makes me miss working terribly and induces feelings of guilt about not doing more and then, on the other hand, there are still all the reasons that I quit working in the first place.

Fortunately, Mizz doesn't give me much of a chance to dwell on things. Between running errands and spending lots of time outside the days are flying by. The early morning and evening hours are the killers. Mizz's main source of indoor entertainment seems to be the "make mama mad" game, which mark my words is not as fun as you might think. He is seriously testing me constantly and in some cases retesting me about things I though we had already covered and moved on from. Deep breaths are essential and both Mizz and I do them at least twice a day. To make myself crazier, I am reading Alfie Kohn's book "Unconditional Parenting" which pretty much challenges all conventional wisdom about behavior modification and discipline. I will admit that I haven't read very much yet, but already have some serious challenges to his philosophy. Still, I suppose it may be an interesting exercise in getting me to examine some of my assumptions and beliefs.

Hump day

It's been a long week already. In addition to intentionally not scheduling anything, I found out that the director of Max's school has been missing since this weekend. I am really concerned about her and hoping that she will be found soon and safely.

I do have a doctor's appointment today and as usual am looking forward to hearing his heartbeat. He is a very active guy, that almost also kicks back when I put my hands on my belly. Weirdly, whenever, anyone else does he goes still. I suppose I know the right amount of pressure and am probably more relaxed when it is my own hands.

Yesterday it was so beautiful we spent two hours outside, walking for an hour, and then playing at the park. Mizz and I both took solid naps afterward. I am milking these times for all they are worth.

We're back!

And as good as it was to get away, it's even better to be back. Since we didn't get back until late Thursday evening, we didn't get to see the Mizz until Friday morning. He was really happy to see us and has been extra affectionate all weekend. And after having some time away, I am refreshed and have more energy and patience for some of his behavior that well, I wasn't so patient with just a week ago. This only confirms what everyone, including myself, preaches. Time away from your child is a good and healthy thing. While it may seem counterintuitive in this age of if you ain't wearing your baby or teaching your toddler classical violin, you are screwing them for life period, time away really does a parent's body and soul good. And if mama and daddy are happy, from everything that I have seen in my work and life, there is a good chance that your kid will be too.

Aloha from Starbucks, Hilo, HI

Just a quick note to say that Dave and I found each other in Honolulu two days ago and winged our way over to the very wet big island. They have had some massive rains (17 inches one day). So we have gotten to check out our very own tropical storm. I have yet to try out my borrowed tankini but am having a glorious time nonetheless listening to Hawaiian music, looking at crazy Banyan trees, overflowing waterfalls :), and most importantly, spending uninterrupted time with my man. Today we are going to trek to Kona to see some coffee beans, traffic, and hopefully some sun and sand and then tomorrow it's off to the volcanoes. At least that's the plan as of now. Thinking of everyone back on the mainland and congrats Dad to you and your Superbowl team. I just found out.