Back to work, etc.

Comments and Observations:

1 - Pumping is MUCH less stressful when you're getting more milk than you need on a daily basis. It's a combination of having a stronger supply this time and Todd taking less at daycare than Heather did. I'm very thankful and I hope it lasts. I pumped almost as much as I need for all of tomorrow in today's first session. Of course, I hesitate to say that for fear that Todd will suddenly want a lot more at school...but given the way he's been cluster feeding with me I'm not too worried.

2 - We will not speak of Todd's sleeping habits for fear that the good will end. I'm still tired because I can't get to bed as early as I would like and his bedtime is still adjusting, but I'm not complaining. And as we approach 4 months all of my fingers and toes are crossed...


3 - My knitting mojo is back in full force. It's almost debilitating since my desire to knit far outpaces my available time. It's great to have bus knitting time back and to be getting caught up on podcasts, but I know that having lots of projects in the works right now would be too much for my overwhelmed brain. So I'm not casting on until I do some finishing, and the daydreaming about new projects is almost more than I can handle. I also don't want to stop knitting once I start. (Just one factor in not going to bed as early as I should - although knitting helps to calm my brain and fall asleep faster once I turn off the light, so that part is positive.)
I managed to upload some knitting photos this weekend. So those of you on ravelry can go check them out and my next post solely about knitting will probably have pictures. Probably.

4 - I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince this weekend. I enjoyed it quite a bit, although I don't think it will be my favorite movie in the end. It's a little difficult to judge since I spent quite a bit of the movie mentally comparing it to the book. Once I get a few more viewings under my belt it will be a little easier to judge it as a movie in its own right. But overall, I think it got the general feeling and important points of the book right. I know that others were unhappy with the ending, but I wasn't. I found that in the book I needed a mental rest between the major death and the battle that follows, the kind of rest that one can't get while watching the movie. So I liked that the movie minimized the battle and allowed the end of the movie to be about mourning and preparing for the battles to come.

The only change in the movie that I noted that I didn't like was that Dumbledore and Harry never discussed what the other horcruxes might be or the importance of Voldemort picking objects that were his "trophies" or otherwise valuable to him. I think that's a critical piece that Dumbledore figures out and shares. I assume that we'll be shown how Harry figures that out on his own in the next movie, but that was the one missing scene that bothered me while watching the movie.

Now is not the time, but I am feeling the urge to re-read HP7 soon.

5 - I'm on Season 7 of The West Wing. I started rewatching the series soon after Todd was born and borrowed all but the first season from Mom and Dad. I finished with Season 5 when I returned to work and am making more progress during Todd's cluster feeding. Also, the oppressive heat and humidity this weekend helped because I didn't feel like doing anything...even when he wasn't nursing.

I've really enjoyed rewatching the series. There were a lot of small moments that I had forgotten and a lot of minor players rediscovered. I now know why John Locke looked familiar when we started watching lost (military advisor to President Bartlett in later seasons) and it was fascinating to see Sun's "boyfriend" and father play a North Korean pianist and his handler, respectively. I should have kept a running list of interesting actor sightings, but didn't think of it at the time. I had also forgotten before I started Season 7 that a CMU alum I "knew" was a member of the Santos campaign team. Those darn CMU alums are everywhere!

6 - I think the only thing to report about Heather is just how big she looks. There are moments when you just see little girl and there is absolutely no baby or toddler to be found. R captured one of those moments at the playground this weekend. I think part of it is how long and lean she's getting and part is just from all that she can do. It's really fabulous to watch.


Despite her older appearance, she's totally refusing to sit on the potty and is still clinging to the pacifier as a strong comfort object. (We had a little success with PT, but she's reverted to refusal since Todd started at daycare.) For right now we are reminding ourselves that she won't be using diapers and pacifiers forever and the transition of "sharing" daycare with Todd has definitely affected her, so we won't be forcing any changes right now.

I think the hardest moments are when we are on a "schedule". Trying to balance some happy, relaxed minutes together or letting Heathr do things "all by myself" with the need to keep things moving on our busy weekdays. There is little leeway in our Monday through Friday routine, but allowing for a little flexibility helps keep everyone happy. There is always a happy balance we are trying to acheive...and the needs will just change again when Todd gets older and more mobile.

7 - My family has experienced a few losses in the past four months. I'm finding it very difficult to write the condolence cards. I stared at the blank cards for a bit this weekend. I've been told that its better to say something that's not quite right than nothing at all, but it still feels pretty impossible. It's much easier to get caught up on thank you notes, but of course I didn't do that either...

8 - Thanks to everyone who has inquired about the past two weeks. The return to work has gone pretty well for me. Enough work to keep the days from moving too slowly. But not so much work that I'm feeling totally stressed or overwhelmed. Things are kind of slow right now, but we're short listed for a large project that would really help the firm out financially. So if you could all keep your fingers crossed that we get this big job, it would really improve the job security for all of us.

I'm still not totally on track with the meal planning thing. But there are meals in the freezer and I'm 10 times better at it than I was before maternity leave...so I'm happy with my progress and that I've added a few recipes to my repertoire. In the past couple of months I've made meatballs, banana bread, pot roast, lasagna and pancakes (not on the same night!) for the first time and my confidence in the kitchen is up. I am a happier cook when I don't have to look at a recipe every five minutes, and even happier when I can improvise with the ingredients I have. So I expect that meal planning and nightly cooking will get even better as my skills and experience improves.

Of course, all three of us still love easy things like mac'n'cheese and frozen ravioli...so its not like I need to turn into a nightly gourmet. ;-)