Friday Photos!

The Small Things

Today was a long day.  Productive.  But long.  So long, in fact, that I didn't make it home until 7:00 pm.  And because it was such a long day, my back (which had been feeling much better due to suitable application of muscle relaxers) became ridiculously sore around the time I finally got to leave the office.

Needless to say, I was pretty wiped out by then.  Tired.  Done with the day.  Not really in a terrible mood, but definitely not happy, either.

Now, however, I am blissfully content, thanks to a myriad of small things, reminding me how very blessed I am.  Such as:

• The sheer joy of a performer realizing that the terms of his contract were better than he expected.
• The hugs and love from the whirlwind of Romani that invaded my office just before I left.
• The excitement of a co-worker thinking he had heard Miles, and his disappointment to find that he was mistaken.  (While I am not happy about his disappointment, I am happy that he loves Miles enough to feel that way)
• A thank you at the right moment.
• Silence in the car and a highway free of traffic.
• A lucky glimpse of a rainbow, unbelievable brilliant, for less than a moment before it faded.
• The joyous sound of "Mom-mom!" as I walked in the door, and the loving embrace of my wonderful husband.

In the end, it has been a good day.

Bad Mommy Mondays

Instead of a list today, I have a story for you.

The setting: the Festival office, after hours; completely empty save for:

The cast: Maestro, Tobar, Karla, Miles, Me

As our story opens, Mommy is leaving the bathroom.  Miles tries to re-direct her outside, but she returns to her office to finish up a few things.


Miles throws himself dramatically on the floor, and begins a temper tantrum of Epic Proportions.  Mommy walks back to her office anyway, leaving the screaming child in the hall.


Maestro: What's wrong?
Mommy: Nothing, he just wants to go outside, and I said no.

Work-related conversation continues for several minutes, while screaming continues in the background.  Occasionally, conversation pauses long enough for everyone to listen and giggle quietly at the fact that this ridiculously dramatic child just won't let up.


Maestro: [putting his finger to his lips] Shhh. [He picks up a chair] No, no!  Don't do it!  Don't hurt the Mommy! [slams chair on floor, then grins, waiting for a reaction]

Miles: [continues screaming and crying, seeming to not even notice the theatrics]

A few more moments pass, with the screaming beginning to fade slightly as Miles winds down.  Just when it seems to be over, the screaming intensifies ten-fold, now worse than before.


Maestro: [whispering] Tobar, go slam the back door. [grinning mischievously]

Tobar stomps across the floor toward the back door.  Screaming begins to fade a little.


Maestro: Bye!  See you tomorrow!
Mommy: Bye!  Have a great evening!

Right on cue, the door slams.  A moment of utter silence, then


Miles: Mom-mom-mom-mom-mom-mom-mom!!!!! [He rounds the corner to find everyone - including Mommy - laughing hysterically.  He looks around, momentarily confused, then smiles uncertainly.] Ha?  Ha ha ha? Ha ha?

The laughter increases exponentially, and Miles joins in wholeheartedly, still not fully understanding.


End Scene

Battles & Blessings

Battles:

• Crazy-busy schedule that left me stressed.
• Having to come to terms with the idea of going through physical therapy again. Blargh.
• The heat.  I have tried so hard not to complain about the heat, but it has been oppressive for more than two weeks straight.  It is starting to wear on me.
• Teething + Growth Spurt = Cranky Toddler
• Temper tantrums.  
• Exhaustion.  Partly from the heat, partly from back pain, partly from simply being Miles' mother.

Blessings:

• Job-sharing with a friend to ease the scheduling crazies.  I will work 2-3 days a week, and she will take the rest.  Even better?  On my working days, she will watch Miles, and on her working days, I will get to have her amazingly sweet 6-year-old daughter.
• Modern medication, physical therapy, and decent medical insurance to cover it all.  Sometimes, I forget what a huge blessing insurance really is.
• Air conditioning so cold that I actually like going out into the heat.  For about two minutes.  Then, I get to return to the suddenly-refreshing icy-cold air conditioning. :)
• A toddler who is absolutely delightful 95% of the time.  It makes the other 5% worth it. 
• Cuddles, hugs, and kisses from Miles, because he needs the comfort.  I hate that he hurts, but I love the affection.
• Dominic.  I love that goofy little mutt.  Especially when he curls up next to me to love on me.
• Time to spend with dear friends, especially Portia, and Pren, and Tracy, none of whom I see often enough.
• The anticipation of the birth of my nephew, who could come any day now.  It's so exciting! Eeee!
• The beautiful, loving, supportive family that I am blessed with, and the beautiful, loving, supportive friends who have become family.

I am so thankful to be living this life.

Friday Photos! - Nostalgia Edition

I'm realizing more and more how far we've come in the past 22 months, and it has left me feeling a bit sentimental.  In honor of that, here's a little stroll down memory lane.

Dear Miles,

In nine days, you will be 22 months old.  Two months from being 2 years old.

I can no longer pretend that you're still my baby.  You are a toddler, with goals, and opinions, and desires all your own.  And you are beginning to be able to communicate those to us (sometimes slow-witted) adults.  And when we correctly interpret your latest word, you smile and wrinkle your nose, and bounce up and down, and clap for us, celebrating our success.

These moments are flying by so quickly.  One day, you are grunting and pointing, and the next, you are clearly stating what you want.  You are acquiring new words so quickly that I can no longer keep up with recording them, as I have done for so long.

You are fascinated with the alphabet.  You have already begun to point out the letters and name them, and you even know the sounds that some of them make.  My heart swells with pride when you point at H and say, "Ayychh. Huh" or at X, saying "Eck!"  And you definitely know the letter M, the mmmmm that begins your name.  And speaking of your name, when someone asks, "Where's Miles?" you have started to point at yourself, grinning at the silly person who had to ask.

In the car, you have begun to recognize where we are going.  On our way to work, you say, "Mama wuk".  If we go see Daddy for lunch, you say, "Daddy!  Daddy wuk!" (You also explain to me that "Daddy wuk" when he is not at home).  When we go to Aunt Ninell's house, you get all excited and start clapping.

And you're beginning to understand humor.  This morning, as I was changing your diaper, you said, "Mama" and then a word that sounded kinda like "duck".  I said, "Mommy's a duck?" and you giggled hysterically.  And you fall over laughing when the bird explodes in Shrek.

In short, you are amazing.  You are growing and changing so quickly, and it is a true joy to watch you.

I love you, with all of my heart.
-Mommy

My Hectic Life*

I've been complaining for weeks now about my hectic life.  I thought I'd give you a little insight into our day.

• 7:15ish am - I get up, get ready, make breakfast for Miles, and do my best to down a cup of coffee before
• Anywhere between 7:00 and 8:00 am - Miles wakes up.  Sometimes he plays quietly, other times (like every day this week), he bangs on the door yelling, "Mom-mom!  Mom-mom!" at the top of his lungs until I come running in, convinced there is a crisis.  There never is.
• Wake-up time until 8:00ish - Play with Miles in his room.  Eventually get him changed, and dressed.  Usually, end up leaving his room in a state of disaster.
• 8:00 - 8:30 - Turn on the TV and give Miles his breakfast to distract him while I (finally) get to drink my coffee and maybe even get dressed for the day.
• 8:30 - 9:00 - Do some light housework - dishes, laundry, decluttering - whatever I can manage in half an hour.  Miles usually spends this time between my feet "helping" or asking for any number of things I cannot help him with while carrying a basket full of laundry.
• 9:00 am - Load Miles - and his junk - into the van, and drive to work.  If I'm not already completely brain dead, I call one of my parents, as this is my only opportunity to talk to them most days.
• 9:30 am - Arrive at work.  Unload Miles.  Try to get him interested in something, anything to distract him so I can get some work done.  By 10:00 am, I can usually begin working.
• 11:00 am - Miles begins whining because he's a) hungry, b) tired, c) bored, or d) all of the above.  I try to placate him for a few more minutes so I can finish up what I'm doing.
• 11:30ish - Miles finally wins the fight, and we zoom out the door and off to lunch to avoid a Meltdown.
• 12:30 - Drag my exhausted rear-end back into the office, carrying a suddenly-heavy Miles, who fell fast asleep in the van on the ride back.  I spend the next 15-20 minutes making sure he stays asleep.
• 12:45 - I finally get to do some work. Until:
• Anytime between 1:30 and 3:00 pm - Miles wakes screaming from his nap.  Don't ask me why.  He does it at home, too.  It's just the way he is.  I pick him up and cuddle him while finishing my latest task on the computer with the other hand.  Eventually, he wakes up completely, and goes off to play again, quite content (usually).  I generally manage to get a good chunk of work time at this point.
• 4:30ish - Miles lets me know, in no uncertain terms - that he is done being at work and is ready to go home.  I try to placate him, or send him outside with to play with one of my co-workers who is finishing up for the day.  Meanwhile, I frantically wrap up everything, amend my to-do list, cross a day off the calendar, and clean up the remnants left by my son, the Tornado.
• 5:00ish - We finally load our weary behinds into the van, and drive the 30 minutes (longer if traffic is bad) back home.  If I have any energy left, I call the other parent, to make certain they don't feel left out.
• 5:30ish - I make dinner, while Patrick plays with Miles (or vice versa).
• 6:00ish - We all fall into a heap and eat our dinner while staring mindlessly at the television.
• 7:00-8:00ish - Playtime with Miles.  Possibly a bath, if he's amiable.  Or particularly smelly. :)
• 8:00ish - Begin bedtime routine.  Play quietly in Miles' room for 10-15 minutes, then read 2-3 books (with him in bed), then 2-3 lullabies, and goodnights.  Patrick and I take turns on this.  Whoever is not doing bedtime is cleaning up supper dishes, and shoving toys out of the walkway so we don't kill ourselves in the morning.
• 9:00ish - Patrick goes to work on a project (or a work assignment, if it's been that sort of day), while I sit down to catch up on e-mails, Facebook, and maybe my blog.
• Bed for us as soon as we have finished our chores for the night.

Which is why I am going to begin splitting my Assistant job with a friend.  We will each take half of the work load, and thus, half of the days in the office.  On my working days, I will drop Miles at her house before I head to the office, and on my non-working days, she will drop off her six-year-old with me.

It sounds like Heaven.  I can't wait to start next week. <sigh>

*True story: It took me four tries to type the title to this post correctly, because I am one exhausted Mama.