Roundup Time!

1. I have been remiss in updating about the diet. Oh, that pesky diet. Well, the week after I regained 2 pounds, I neither gained nor lost. That was frustrating in the extreme. But, I suspect it was the result of certain womanly cycles because this past week I lost 1.5 lbs. So, yay me! With the weather warming up I've gotten out to walk a few times - not as much as I need or want to but it's better than nothing. Also, I am eating a lot more salads for lunch since it's not cold and I'm not craving an entire pot of macaroni and cheese. ("Thy Mac and Thy Cheese, they comfort me." Hibernation, Chapter 2, Verse 3.)

I've also recently discovered an obsession with pickles, of all things. Did you know they're only 5 calories a spear? Holy hell - crunchy and salty and zingy all at once plus a snack that is almost good for me! Bring on the pickles.

So, if I can keep myself on track, I'm hoping to crack off another pound or so this week. Keep on chugging, Cari.

2. My son informed me the other day that he had a dream about me. This didn't seem so unusual given that he sees me every day. Then he told me that in the dream I was dressed as Slave Leia from Return of the Jedi. I'm fairly certain that no 5 year old boy is going to see that costume in the same way that every other adult sees that costume so I think I'm safe from the whole Oedipal thing for now. Plus, it's kind of a compliment that he thinks I could wear such a get up.

Although the thought of me actually donning it and what I would look like wearing it makes me want to go screaming into the night. That is NOT a good mental picture.

3. A week or so ago, I took Liam to see "How To Train Your Dragon." He had seen a preview of it when we went to see another movie and he had been talking about wanting to go so I got a sitter for Jamie and he and I went as a date. I wasn't expecting much figuring that it was just another kids movie that I would find vaguely amusing and think was just OK. I was wrong.

If you have not yet seen this movie, stop reading this and go look up the nearest theatre and soonest showtime. Then get your ass there and see it. It was FABULOUS. I actually sat on the edge of my seat during the climax of the film with my hands clasped hoping it would all turn out OK. (and of course it does - it's a KID movie!) I still can't decide if I like it better than I liked "Up" and that's saying something because I loved "Up." It was just wonderful. Seriously, go see it.

Also, Liam and I had great fun on our date. :)

4. Jamie is cutting two more teeth. He is making life burdensome on the rest of us. I'm pretty sure that even though he can't talk his thought process goes something like this: "Bitch! Fulfill my needs! NOT FAST ENOUGH, BITCH!"

Yeah. I need a sea of margaritas.

But, it seems as though one might actually be breaking through. *fingers crossed* We'll see what tomorrow brings.

5. I have one more post to write: The Great Retaining Wall Project of 2010. I promise it's coming soon!

Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun?

There's a Christmas carol that says something to the effect of wanting your days to be merry and bright. Wonderful sentiment, that. It is so far from my reality that I don't even know where to begin.

Life has largely overwhelmed me over the last few days. Jamie finally broke the tooth he's been working on for four solid months and I thought I was due for a break. But, oh no, it was not to be. No sooner did we get that out of the way than I started to have a major heart attack over Christmas.

It seems like we go through this every year - so much to get done in just a few weeks and now that we have a second child I feel like I'm going to hyperventilate every time I let myself think about how much is involved in Christmas. There's the shopping and the wrapping and the baking and the decorating and the Christmas card sending and oh it just goes on and on.

So, we got to spend our weekend feverishly trying to tackle a to-do list that was completely unruly. We manged to get it finished and we now live in something resembling a lovely home that is decorated for the holidays. Now I just have to wrap all the gifts, bake all the cookies, host a visit with my sister, make Christmas dinner, and keep up with the housework so that all our labor over the weekend is not for naught.

In the midst of all that toil we were also dealing with Jamie who was being a total crank and refusing to sleep. We thought that once the tooth broke he'd be fine and out of pain so we stopped giving him pain meds. That was a GIANT mistake. He barely slept last night - which meant that I barely slept - and we fought him for every minute of nap we could get out of him today. I was a zombie this morning and still I don't think I sat down for most of the day. By 5:30 I was sitting on the floor with the baby practically crying from exhaustion and thinking I still had to bathe him, put him to bed, and then go do the grocery shopping.

I know it will all be worth it on Christmas morning when Liam starts opening presents. Jamie's too little to understand or care, but these are the magic years with Liam. The past two Christmases with him have been full of all the joy and wonder of a child at Christmas as anyone could ask for. I know he'll be as excited this year as well. If I can survive the next 10 days, that will be my reward.

In the meantime I'll keep reminding myself that this is supposed to be fun and maybe I'll trick myself into believing it.