For the Love of...

Mother Nature: this weather has been ridonkulous. Sunshine, warm winds, temperatures in the 70s. Amazing. The kids are loving it. Brady has been riding his bike (which he is entirely too big for...), but at least he's excited to wear his helmet now that he sees the big kids wearing theirs.

Music: I have learned that the secret to Brady and Ella catching more Zs is music. Brady requests WDVE or 3WS and I can hear him name the artist and song title over his monitor. He recognized Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" which just about brought a tear to my eye ;-) Ella Faith prefers instrumental lullabies. At any rate, both kids are sleeping better and sounder and I give all the credit to music.  And spring. And swings:

Separation anxiety: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, why oh why is Ella so attached to me? I get that I'm her mother; however, I blame (again) nursing. This child screams as if she's on fire when I leave her side. It is very difficult to accomplish much, and it appears to be getting worse. Despite her sleeping sounder, it's more difficult to put her down. She used to just roll over and snooze, but now she FREAKS because I'm leaving. And when she does wake in the middle of the night, no doubt realizing I'm not there, she goes bananas. I've given up going in because when she sees me, it's worse. So either Zach goes in or we see if she ever shuts up. The latter rarely happens so Zach is now acutely aware of what sleep deprivation does to a person.

 Hair Cuts: Brady will never, ever, EVER go to a public salon again. N.E.V.E.R. The scene the child made during his last hair cut will go down in history as the single most embarrassing moment of my parenting career thus far. I realize this is pretty good seeing as how I have almost 3 years under my belt, but Brady almost took out the stylist's eye. He was beyond crying; he was screaming, swinging, and writhing around like he was trying to wriggle free from bondage. Needless to say, the hair cut was not complete. We left the salon with hair still grown over his right ear and a tuft of it in the front. He looks lopsided and moronic, but I had had enough. His next hair cut will take place in our driveway with me at the helm of the clippers.

How Brady passes the time when he's not beating up hair stylists.

 Sibling rivalry: While Brady loves his sister, he's not so excited about the fact that she's getting quicker and "grabbier" by the day. Among his most prized possessions are his cars and trains and Ella has learned that by snatching and throwing them, it elicits quite an amusing response from her brother. And it's only just begun...

Headlock or hug?

New job possibilities: In addition to the teaching position that might be an option, I have also applied to work in training. The interview went well and I heard from the big boss this afternoon; I was told I was a stronger candidate and should be hearing from them soon. We shall see! If it means more daytime hours for the kids, I'm game. If, however, it requires more of me, I will certainly have a mental breakdown. :-)