soooooooooo tired

Hi! I haven't been posting much because Isaac has gone back to not sleeping again! January was so blissful. He would sleep for like 12 hours at a time at night.

Now he's been up starting at 1:00 am many nights, or 3:00 am. If I can't settle him down with his pacifier, I bring him into bed with me, hoping at least he will be quiet. But he KICKS and KICKS and squirms and makes frustrated sounds. All night. At least when he used to be in our bed, he would at least sleep. Now, no.

So--I am like a zombie. I look awake, and it looks like I'm cooking and cleaning, and playing with Isaac and walking dogs, but truly, I am sleeping while I walk and drive.

Sad.

OH--and no one believes me because Dave's mom and dad were here over the weekend and the baby slept through the night and took several long naps during the day. I managed to convince them that my house is clean and there's food and things are just rolling along like normal. So--no one is sympathetic to my pleas for REM sleep.

Must vegetate now.

raspberries and bananas

Today Isaac learned how to make the raspberry noise. He's been doing it all day. It's very cute!

And, today we also learned that he doesn't like bananas. (How could anyone NOT like bananas?!!) You should see the look on his face. It's pretty funny. He spits them out.

And, he's become quite the KICKER. He just kicks and kicks. If I set him somewhere far away from me, he finds his way back so he can kick me. No fun!

He likes to hold things in his hands. It's fascinating.

consolidations

Hi! We're feeling more and more settled. And it's a great feeling. I was performing at a high level before Isaac came along---clean house, cooked meals, house & affairs completely organized and the dogs got 4-5 mile walks every day 5 times a week. I thought, I can do this stay-at-home thing with my eyes closed! HA!

Then Isaac came along, we moved, Dave started school, and my caregiving role with my mom kicked into high gear.

Things kind of fell apart while I was recovering from childbirth and adjusting to all the changes.

So, even though I've boasted about how 'together' I've been able to be, it's been on an 'event'-type basis. Hosting guests, entertaining for Christmas, and what not.

Everything has been very ad-hoc otherwise. Sometimes I'm great at keeping the food coming, the laundry done, OR the house clean, but not all everything at the same time. This has been really annoying to me, and I'm sure it's been less than comfortable for Dave and my mom. It's like it was the same as when I worked all the time. For me to be a stay-at-home person, it's been really frustrating.

HOWEVER, I am happy to report, that since the end of the holiday season, things have gotten much much better. That happens to coincide with when Isaac started sleeping through the night...could there be a link? Possibly.

Another contributing factor is that Dave's stress level is palpable. I can just look at him and see how tired he is. I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOO bad that he's got such a heavy load. He always is reminding me that this is what he has wanted to do ever since he graduated college--to get an advanced degree and a professional career of some sort.

And that is true, it just happens to be that it was now or never for us to have a family that would be genetically related to us. And, it just happens to be the time that my mom's health is faltering. So--those were real life considerations that weren't always factors, but now they are.

None-the-less, Dave's stress is painful to witness. So--I'm uber-motivated to make life here as smooth, easy, comfortable and beautiful as possible for Dave. So--when he is home and has one minute to relax, there's food, clean laundry, and freshly clean, sweet-smelling rooms.

I've kept our 3rd floor spotless and immaculate since New Years. Like a photographer could come over and take pictures for a magazine. With, clean laundry every day and home cooked meals. This weekend I was able to get the 2nd floor to be that way! And, I know I can keep it together from my experience.

It sounds so stupid and ordinary--but just remember, I'm the only one who can work on it. Dave literally studies or works 100% of his time, and so I do EVERYTHING else. Everything. Those of you who know me well know that I struggle with consistency and following through on new habits.

I even started getting photo albums together on Facebook! I can email links to anyone who wants to see more than what we have here on the blog. You don't have to join Facebook to see them. Just let me know.

I'm not quite back to the level of pre-baby--but things are soooo much better than they were. It feels really good. Maybe we could handle a second child after all?!

Love you and miss you. Email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com. OR--better yet, JOIN FACEBOOK!

myface

OK--I am officially obsessed with Facebook. My friend Claire calls it MYFACE, which, I think is hilarious. The feeling of being able to keep tabs on all of your important relationships is pretty incredible. I even think it's more significant in some ways, than visiting on the phone or even in person. You can see photos of your friends significant others, children, their pets, their hobbies--and you don't always get to see that in real life. People post interesting things about themselves that you may not ever know about them. It really is fascinating.

My friend Pam is living in Germany right now. Despite the 3000+ geographical difference, it feels like she's right here, because there is a chat feature. Sometimes when you're juggling dogs, children, an infirm parent, there isn't time for talking on the phone, but you can always respond to an email when it's convenient.

The only DOWNSIDE is that it's not good for one's self to be on Facebook continuously. It is possible to lose your grasp on your responsibilities or your sleep schedule!

But--it sure is FUN!

my long lost friend

Hi everyone!

Facebook (aka MYFACE if you're old and crusty like me) is really cool! Today, my dear friend from 8th grade contacted me! Her family moved to a different school district when we were entering high school and we lost track of one another for various and sundry reasons.

HOWEVER, I always thought about her. And wondered how she was doing. And hoped she was OK. The move seemed traumatic for her at the time--moving when you're that age is a BIG deal, so I know it was hard for her.

ANYWHO----despite the fact that life has taken her from Pennsylvania, to Florida, Kansas, and Ohio, and my life has taken me to North Carolina and Washington state, SHE NOW LIVES 30 minutes NORTH of my house in DC.

!!!!!

What are the odds? Is that crazy or what? So--she and I are going to get together next weekend. Thank GOD because I'm going stircrazy here cooped up with my mom (bless her heart) and my dear Snuffles.

And, in Snuffles news, in addition to him being A LITTLE BOY now, no longer a baby, he is sleeping through the night most every night. He is eating SOOOOOOOOO much, all the time and he has a doctor's appointment coming up very soon. Six months. We are almost past the major SIDS risk period, and soon, we will only have to worry about Autism. It seems to strike seemingly healthy, normal toddlers, with no explanation. Hopefully life will not just be a succession of scary things to worry about.

In Dave news, he got his grades back for the first semester. He is bummed that he didn't make the top 30, but is determined to redouble his efforts and excel overall. Go Dave, more power to you! We bought some clothes for him to wear to a career fair coming up. He looks like such a grown-up in a suit and tie.

In mom news, she is enjoying corresponding with her friends and email is fascinating to her. I think she's BORED SILLY here, because I am HERE but not really HERE since I have so much work to do all the time. But, this is still vastly preferable to being in a facility.

And, in family news--Dave's parents are coming! I can't wait! We have the guest room all set up--we got some new pillows and a soft mattress cover so it's ultra-luxe and cozy in our guest room. I have been reading Dave's book called Baking with Julia and I'm excited to try to make croissants for the first time. And Dave's mom is an EXCELLENT baker. Maybe we can bake stuff together while she's here. (Could she just stay with us all the time please? We would enjoy that)

In other family news, my mom's favorite cousin of all time got some reassuring news about her health recently, so everyone is a lot more relaxed and relieved.

And, mmfc's daughter and I are getting together soon (see my earlier post about lunch with the deputy director) --THANK THE LORD--again, because, like I said, I am bored to tears, and not excited to do some of what lies ahead--clearing boxes from the garage, recaulking the bathroom shower, ya know. I need a little inspiration.

And I'm certainly not going to get it from WORKING anywhere these days. There can be no JOB outside the home for me until we restructure our lives...and that's not going to happen anytime soon.

So--that's life, in a nutshell. Love you, miss you. Email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com.

I have cooties

OK, well, maybe not.

But, maybe I do have De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. I don't know, I would need a Finklestein test to confirm. It could just be Intersection Syndrome.

i miss my baby

Where did he go? And when did this ACTIVE LITTLE BOY show up?

He is loud, he talks continuously, he jumps on his exer-saucer and all he wants to do is touch everything and put it in his mouth. When did this happen?

It seems all of the sudden.

I miss my baby.