Smorgasblog at the End of March

Oh how the mighty daily blogger has fallen. It's just too hard to do a blog entry with one hand, which is usually all I have these days (the other being occupied with nursing 90% of the time, that is when both hands aren't busy holding the baby. And I've been holding him a *lot* lately...go figure.). And on those rare occasions when I *do* have two hands free, I tend to do things like, oh, sleep. Or sometimes process pictures. Or play with Eli. Or even take a shower. Right now, for example, I am experimenting with draping little hiccupy Isaac over my shoulder and across my chest while I type on the laptop. He keeps slipping down and his feet occasionally hit the trackpad, which makes for some random typos (which I've been erasing so you don't get to see them), but it's kinda working for now. Kinda. The real problem is in also needing to have one hand constantly patting him on the back, since he's gassy and unhappy and patting seems to help (even if it doesn't bring up the desired burp). And I know that this is not exactly ergonomically good for me. Ah well. Just one of many parental sacrifices I make/made/will make in my ongoing quest for the gold in the suck-it-up Olympics.

Anyway, let's see, I have had all these things swirling around in my head that I wanted to blog about, so I think I'll go for a smorgasblog kind of entry here.

One thing I *have* been accomplishing (since it's one of the only activities that works well with the 1-handed handicap) is reading. I'm working my way through my nightstand pile at a satisfying clip. Reading is pretty much the perfect nursing activity, because a book is something you can pick up and put down (unlike watching TV or movies, which sort of need you to sit all the way through them at once, or at least not take too many breaks). Here's what I've read so far (and this list doesn't include the zillion blogs I surf every day too):
-Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year (I first read this back when Eli was born and was totally inspired by it. I got given a copy at my baby shower so I read it again, and am still inspired. I heart Anne Lamott)
-The Birth of Venus (good read, well written, very interesting historical setting)
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (quick read, fascinating main character with very original viewpoint)
-The Confessions of Max Tivoli (beautifully written, a really great read)
-Grapes of Wrath (yeah, there's a reason that this is a classic of American literature...gorgeously written, heartwrenching story, fascinating historical setting--what a tremendously great book!)
-Angels and Demons (even trashier than Da Vinci Code, IMHO--poorly written, cliched, but with a reasonably interesting and fast moving plot)
-Tales From Fish Camp (a teeny little book written by Danielle Henderson, a friend of Adrienne's, who also has a great blog you should check out. Wonderfully written, great "voice", interesting stories about a totally alien world, but alas, all too short. The kind of book where you are so disappointed when it ends--"that's IT?"--that it makes you want to hassle the author to write some more.)

Right now I'm reading Leap of Faith (Queen Noor of Jordan's memoir), but it's relatively slow going. Memoir is usually not my favorite genre, but this one does promise to teach me lots about both a culture and a set of historical figures and events I know nearly nothing about. And of course I always love reading about strong impactful women and their lives. We'll see if I actually finish it...I have a ton more books stacked up to read that are also calling to me. (I try to read books I've borrowed from others first, so that it doesn't take me a year to get books back to people, and I've had this one on loan forever.)

Time continues to stretch out and contract in weird ways. Isaac is still nursing an average of every 1.5 to two hours, although last night for some reason he went a little more than 4 hours without needing to nurse, and I finally got to sleep for more than two hours at a time. When Josh came in to wake me up, I noticed that I hadn't moved at all since I'd fallen asleep--so I was stiff but at least a little better rested than usual. Amazing what a difference having consecutive hours of sleep makes (right, Rebecca?). I have been seeing a lot of lovely sunrises (my favorite is looking at the vivid green hills in back of our house through a screen of the budding elm tree in our back yard, as they slowly come into full technicolor brightness with the ascending sunlight), but I've also spent a lot of slow, draggy middle-of-the-night hours feeling cramped and claustrophobic, trapped in the house, hunkered down with the baby, unable to move around physically or mentally, waiting, just waiting for the next thing to happen or to do.

In other news, Oreo the boo boo kitty went back for her 2nd check up and the the thyroid pills we're giving her appear to be working. (Whew.) So now we have to make the decision whether or not we want to keep giving her pills two times a day, or whether we want to spring for the insanely expensive kitty chemo. Stay tuned.

Eli continues to be super sweet and cute with Isaac. He wants to hold him and kiss him and tells him he loves him all the time. He'll even sing little lullabyes to Isaac when Isaac fusses, and seems very concerned when Isaac is crying. I'm grateful for this, especially since Eli's been coppin' a 'tude and being bratty a lot more lately. (Related to his brother or just a normal 4 year old stage? Hard to say. Like most kid related things, it will only be clear in hindsight. Meanwhile we muddle on.)

Ok on that note, time for today's cute kid pix:

^ Isaac in his froggy outfit again, but this time it fits better. They grow so fast...! (And I guess the nursing is working...cos he's really growing!)

^ Eli in his new Batman costume. It's allllll about the dressup, these days.