THIS MOUSTACHE IS NOT IRONIC

life has been pretty chaotic lately, what with me working long hours and robb training for a half ironman triathlon.

plus, henry has regressed majorly in his sleep abilities the last few weeks.

so i'm under-slept and over stressed. the house is clean-ish, the food is cooked-ish, the bills are paid-ish. but my taking any time for myself is not even ish-esh.

so i'm getting a much needed haircut at 8:30 tonight. i'll hit up the other errant hair on my head and body some other time. perhaps by 2015.

i'm also possibly going to audition for a short play this weekend and maybe even get to work out a little.

henry's 1st birthday (what?!) is next week, so i have a whole week off to celebrate and enjoy him with our families.

really looking forward to a vacation. and in the mix there is a massage and mani/pedi courtesy of my wonderful parents for my 1st mother's day present!

so that should help.

but i pity the poor people who have to work on my feet! :)

in other news, henry is awesome. he is soooo close to walking. any day now, i think. (i believe that is why he's not sleeping. he's practicing walking in his dreams).

Letting Go (A Little)

so in most situations, it seems like there's the option of stressing out and rushing around to make sure things happen just so, or relaxing and assuming it will work out.

for most of my life, i've chosen the former. it seems somehow more godly or american or feminine or something to give myself fits over everything. like a stomach ulcer is a badge of honor. i've stressed about stressing. i've pre-stressed about stuff that i wasn't even sure was going to be an issue. i've found out that something was resolved in my favor and then stressed about all the possible ways it could have turned out making my life miserable if it hadn't.  :)

eck.

and with a wee one, there is a whole new batch of concerns to be alarmed by. ( <--- the grammar police won't actually come to take me away. i'm just going to let it go).

and on bad days, i do stack my worries up and roll around in them, really working them deep into all the creases.

but i'm working on it. i swear. working on experiencing THIS moment and letting the rest go.

i started reflecting on all of this because the other day in church, the sermon was on Luke 10:38-42, the story where Jesus visits the home of martha and mary. the gist is that mary sits at jesus' feet listening to him speak and just drinking up his presence in their home, while martha rushes around, preparing a meal, hostessing for everyone. she gets irritable by this inequality and sort of complains to Jesus, who says:

^{" 41} “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 ....so i always found this story rather annoying because, obviously, i'm always the martha and am on her side. busting around trying to make sure everything is perfect, perfect, perfect. annoyed that mary would sit and enjoy, gain from a precious, treasured moment when there's work to be done, things to be fretted over. 

but fretting instead of savoring a moment like THAT? that will surely be life-changing and not repeated? trying to always do more, be more perfect...it's an unattainable, exhausting, and distracting way of living. 


and now, more than ever i want to get this right. 

i don't want to miss anything. if henry wants me to play with him on the floor, gosh darnit, i'm putting down the laundry and fake sneezing in his face while he laughs himself into vomiting. 

way too good to miss.  :) 

God is really, really good.

How Do I Love Thee, Baby Monster? Let Me Count the Ways

on this, my first mother's day,
i want to take the time,
to tell you that i love you!
now be still and listen to my rhyme.

i remember almost a year ago
when you came out with a bang.
those parts have nearly recovered
from whence that shot rang. 

and then you were a tiny squirt
all bundled and squirmy,
cuddly and sweet,
but barely more human than wormy.

now you are sooooo big!
busy, smart, sweet and smiley!
you keep on trying to off yourself,
but, alas, we are still more wily.

being your mom
is simply the BEST!
i don't even mind the rainbow of snot,
the pee in the mouth, or all the rest!

the sleeplessness and constant worry,
almost calling the pediatric urologist
for that #$$%# in your diaper
that turned out to be a blueberry.

so, what i am saying,
henry mcmonkey mcmonster mcboo,
is that i am SO thankful that you're my kid,
and that you're SUCH a wonderful YOU!



happy mother's day to all my new mom friends and all the veteran moms who have helped us to survive so far!! love you all!!!

First Swimming Lessons!

before he knew what he was in for...in his swimming skivvies.

pretty much the face he was making the whole time he was in the water. :(

                        seriously, guys? seriously??

finally finding his zen.

               
 

Eleven is ROOOOARRR!

henry turned 11 months today! he celebrated by eating huge piles of food and pooping a lot.

this is sort of how he celebrates all momentous occasions in his life. :)

he is a growing boy. i think he's in a growth spurt right now. he's weaning slowly off of breast milk and is really taking to all kinds of new foods. he eats better and better with his hands and has learned how to shovel food in his mouth if it's hanging off his lip like wounded prey.

he is up on his feet all the time and keeps toying with the idea of independently taking a step, but hasn't yet.

but he is excellent at scooting and crawling and pulling himself along on things.

he laughs and plays all the time. he seems to really like books, as he'll actually sit still for about 9 seconds to read one. something he otherwise is loath to do for anything. his favorite book right now is "i love you, stinky face" by lisa mccourt.  the story is funny, the illustration cute, the binding tastes great and its heavy stock pages make it super fun to slam shut. and then we giggle.

he is communicating a little bit. occasionally we get "mama, dada, baby, hiiiii!" directed sort of appropriately. he shakes his head to indicate he doesn't want something (or simply throws it, either ways is effective). we're working on a few signs, but so far they're not really taking.

still 7 teeth, which he allows to be brushed now and then. i'll usually get in 2 good brushes and then he's chomping down on the toothbrush and 'reluctant' to let it go. 

all in all, he's awesome. doing great. i have a hard time believing he's almost been around for a whole year. it doesn't seem like it's been that long at all. he's still a baby! and a year's a long time. on the other hand, i feel like we've always known him and loved him.

a few people have asked me recently when we plan to have a second. i laugh loudly and rudely in their faces. once i stop slapping my knees and wipe the tears from my eyes, i tell them we're good for now. i don't have the money or the staff to handle any more than we have on our plates right now.

one and one and one make three and that's a pretty good number.

at least someone's paying attention!

He is the Outbreak Monkey

once again we had to pick monkins up from daycare today because they think he's contagious.

this time, they thought he had hand-foot-and-mouth disease (not to be confused with hoof-and-mouth disease or elbow-shin-and-forehead disease). there has been a recent outbreak among the filthy monsters at his school and this morning they thought they saw a pox on henry's lip.

turns out it was just a herp (cold sore) or something equally benign. i'll blame robb.  nothing to worry about. :)

but i am just about sick of him always sick or being suspected of being sick with something from school. but i also don't want to sequester him, so i guess this is just how it goes. 
argh.

but because he was well, he had his first swimming lesson tonight! it went great. pics to follow.