Inventory

When deciding on a new career, the first step always seems to be to make a list of what you're good at, and what you really like to do.  So here goes(this is, by no means, an exhaustive list):

• I like to do research on topics that interest me, such as:
• parenting
• technology
• popular culture
• television
• music
• the media
• I like being a resource to my friends (see previous bullet point)
• I'm good at reading people
• I can usually tell who's honest and who's full of you-know-what
• I like sharing my opinions on stuff (see first bullet point)
• I love to read
• I like to write
• I like teaching people new stuff

When I Grow Up

S will soon be a year old.  It's all flown by so quickly - that whole pregnancy-newborn-infant cycle.  Maybe not all the time, but for the most part, I really loved being pregnant.  I loved that feeling, when the baby would move or kick, that secret just between you and your baby.  It's exhausting, but I love the connection I had with my boys while nursing.  And there is hardly anything better than the feeling of a baby resting his head on your shoulder. 

As much as I will miss all of that, I am really starting to look forward to the next stage in my life.  That said, I don't know what I want to do during that next stage.  I changed careers to become an elementary school teacher, but graduated shortly before J was born and therefore have no time in the classroom.

So, what do I want to be when I grow up?

(web) Surfing to Nirvana

I have this tendency, whenever I go online, to forget about all the cool sites I wanted to check out or things I wanted to research only to end up aimlessly surfing the Internet.  I usually begin at Facebook, then check out televisionwithoutpity.com, and maybe BabyCenter or Homestar Runner.  Maybe every now and then I remember what I really wanted to do online, but usually I don't.  And so several more hours of my life are thrown into the abyss.

Brochures I'd Like to See

You've seen them at every doctor's office you've been to: those brochures that educate you on topics ranging from asthma to gingivitis to urinary tract infections. Well, here are some brochures geared towards men that every women's advocating OBGYN office should offer (and maybe some GPs, too):

• Hormones: Your Wife Isn't Psycho and No, She Can't Control Them
• PMS: It's Real, Get Over It
• Pregnancy: Yes, Your Boys Can Swim, Now Get Over Yourself and Fold Some Laundry
• Congratulations, You're a Dad Now! So Wake Up and Feed the Baby So Your Wife Can Sleep for a Few Hours
• Postpartum Depression: Like PMS, It's Real, So Don't Even Think of Telling Her to Just Get Over It

Wow, I'm really cranky today!

Anticipation Addict

I realized a couple of weeks ago that I am an anticipation addict. I have been one for my entire life.

I can give you loads of examples when I found that looking forward to an event was more enjoyable than the event itself - Christmas, rock concerts, vacations, college, dates, you name it. It saddens me when I think about how much time I spent looking forward to something that hadn't yet happened rather than enjoying the moment.

How do you break an almost forty-year-old habit? How do you teach a five-year-old not to start it?

Catching Up

So many things have happened since my last post. Here are a few:

• J started kindergarten
• T started another year of MDO
• S started music
• J played fall ball and, while showing some signs of aptitude for baseball, the experience was tarnished by a coach who ignored the players, including his older son, in favor of his three-and-a-half year old son. Neither Mom nor Dad were happy with this treatment. The other coach was good; the last time I was there he stood by J and showed him how to crouch down and field a ball. Wow - coaching! What a concept!
• J also started music class. The other four boys have been taking classes with this teacher since they were babies, so they all know the teacher and her rules, expectations, etc. J is the new kid, and acts out. I made myself crazy with worry until another mom pointed out what I just wrote about the other boys (thank you!).
• T suddenly became a chatterbox, which is pretty hysterical most of the time
• S is teething and I suspect that four more pearly whites will show up at any time

And finally, hubby and I have been on the usual marital roller coaster, but things are getting brighter. I think we're hitting a stride where the ruts are growing shorter and shallower, which is really fantastic. Yay us!

More tapping and typing to come...

He Talks!

Today was J's first day of a four-day-long music camp.

I asked him how it was when he first got home and he gave his standard answer: "fine" When I asked what he did, again, the standard answer: "I forget."

Each student in the camp received a packet containing a booklet, CD, and harmonica. J proudly showed it to me, and I helped him open everything. I started to open the booklet to see what was inside, and he immediately grabbed it from me and ran into the dining room to read it privately. At first I wasn't sure why, because there wasn't anything juicy in it, but then he returned to share some knock-knock jokes that were in the book.

When it was bedtime, I suggested we listen to the CD in the boys' room while they got ready for bed. J was very excited. With each song, he would hear the first few bars, announce that he didn't remember hearing it. But as the lyrics or the theme began, he got so excited! "Oh!" he'd exclaim, "I remember this! The teacher blew bubbles and we had to catch them with our hands but we couldn't catch them so we had to pretend that we did." And with each song, he would get excited all over again and show us what he did in class during that song. J also told me that he wants to do music camp every week.

J has never been so enthusiastic or descriptive about something he'd experienced before! I'm now seriously considering enrolling him in the yearlong class. I really enjoyed watching J so happy about and engaged by music.