Baby in the Water

It's been awhile... probably because I've been so ridiculously busy that I've had no time to write. I've had a great past couple of weeks. I finally completed my February break list now that it's mid march. I even sent out the Save-the-dates for my wedding! There's no turning back now.... 75 families have marked August 7th as the day I take the plunge...

In the meantime... Avery's adjusted well back to my work schedule! My daycare provider moved into a house that's not a duplex where the people on the other side smoke, and where there's an awesome playroom and enormous yard where Avery can play... gotta love clean air and play space for my son! I'm also excited that during April break I'm going to be filling in for her while she's on vacation, meaning I get to spend a day in the life of Avery! Can't wait!

Other exciting and somewhat stressful things... I've now picked up 6 new kids onto my caseload at work- interesting, challenging, and a lot more work for me! But I'm glad to take them on! Another thing- the Praxis Exam, April 23rd. The day after my sorority's reunion celebration. I love how a fun event and a stressful event can collide so beautifully. Also, 2 months until I graduate from grad school (pending on my Praxis results)! Gotta love the end of semester crunch.

Amidst this chaos, I also took the opportunity to take Avery on for his first swimming adventure this past weekend. He loves the water, whether it's playing in the bath, pouring out mommy's glass of water, or splashing in the dog's bowl. So I figured he'd enjoy swimming and playing in a pool. I was a little nervous, however, about how he might react to being immersed in colder water. The bath is warm. The swimming pool at IROC, although heated, takes a few minutes to get used to.

So after a few minutes of fussing and minor complaints, Avery loved the water! He played with the ball, and in the fountain, and even went in the deep end with me. And I must mention, my niece Zoe also tried out the deep end for the first time! What a day....

I'm elated that he likes swimming. It makes me so excited for this summer! Water is a key element in the circle of life, as well as a key element in enjoying hot weather! Pool water is a start... 3 months from now it will be lake water... hmmm... a new adventure to write about!

You have to admit, the pictures of my little baby in the water are pretty far from a horror film... in fact they are quite cute! I love opportunities in life to capture and narrate pictures of little things that bring me such happiness and pleasure. With all the chaos and complications that come along with life in general, simple pleasures go a long, loooong way!

February not-so-break

There are two reasons I work in the school system: School breaks and summers.

Well, I guess 3. I also love the fact that when Avery starts school, I'll be on relatively the same type of schedule as him.

Whenever I have one of those mornings where I don't want to get out of bed (which is pretty much every morning), I just remind myself that there's only X amount of days until the next school break. And two weeks ago, that's exactly what I did on that very last Friday before February break started.

I couldn't wait to do all of the things that I typically can't as a working mother. I was anticipating finishing projects around my house, getting some cleaning done, and spending time with Avery. In fact, I made a long list of everything that I had been putting off for months on end. It looked a little something like this:

February Break To-Do List:

• Get caught up an Laundry for the first time since Christmas break (sigh).
• Register and study for the Praxis Exam.
• Finish my licensing portfolio for Department of Ed.
• Take a nap in the afternoon when Avery naps (sleep should actually be at the top of my list, it's near and dear to my heart these days...).
• Take Avery to Story Hour at the library.
• Take Avery to play group on Tuesdays at the local recreation center.
• Send out the Save-the-Dates for my wedding.
• Have the 3 Z's come up for a couple of nights.
• Take a trip to see my family in Waterbury.
• Go through all of Avery's clothes and get rid of the stuff that doesn't fit(never-ending process, he grows faster than I can complete this task).

Maybe it makes me a selfish mother, but I also couldn't wait to take advantage of the fact that Josh has a weekday off, and despite school being out, daycare is still open. So I could do things that I haven't done since Avery was born.

So I made another list, which I call the selfish mother list:

Selfish Mommy List:

• Go shopping for clothes that actually fit me.
• Get a haircut.
• Go to the gym (at least once).
• Go to the grocery store without a 9 month old pulling everything off the shelf and trying to climb out of the cart.
• Leave my house without a diaper bag for a minimum of 3 times.
• Get out of my car to go pay for gas without having to lug my child along with me.
• Enjoy a glass of tap water without my child throwing a screaming fit because he wants to try it himself.

Needless to say, I was excited about February break. That Friday, when the bell rang at the end of the school day, I was bursting with joy. I wanted to run, and scream, and jump up and down.

Until Avery woke up the next morning with a horrible head cold, and flu like symptoms.

My kid is not really the independent type to begin with. He loves being around me no matter what we're doing, but I guess all kids love their moms. However, when he's sick, he needs my 110%, full attention All.of.the.time. I can't set him down without him screaming and crying. Not even to use the bathroom. It's like he's a little newborn infant all over again, needing constant comfort and cuddling.

So Avery was not just sick for a few days, he was sick for the ENTIRE February break. Miserably sick, too. The same type of sick he was over Thanksgiving break. *sigh*.

And the list remained.

I needed to surrender. I needed to just say to myself, "Alice, welcome to motherhood."

But I was determined to at least complete some of what I wanted to accomplish. So I put my little helper to work, and together we checked off a few items on my list. I also managed to get a haircut, and a few new work outfits. So I suppose my 10 day break wasn't absolutely, totally wasted.

And now, here I am, back at day 1 out of 35 school days until Spring break. Yay.