Yesterday we had the baby's 1 year photos done. I was a little worried, considering what a disaster it was trying to get the holiday ones done, but he was great and I'm really happy with the way they turned out. We ordered a whole bunch of prints and will be mailing them out to everyone once they come in.

In other photo news, Weebly was having issues last night so I wasn't able to post yesterday's photo until this morning. You can see it here. Now that I've gotten past feeling like the photo-of-the-day is a chore (ok, I sometimes still feel like this), I am really enjoying this project. It's nice to touch the camera everyday, and I feel like I'm getting better. The lack of obvious subjects around the house forces me to be more creative. I do look forward to the end, though - we'll have a great collection of photos that tell the story of 2012.

Ok, have to jump in the shower and get to work. Did I mention that this week is spring break and we don't have any classes?? Theseus and I are going on a date tonight while Austin is with the babysitter. Magical.

- Antiope

 
Because I've been too sick/busy/apathetic to shave them.

It's true.
     

Zen

1/28/2012

1 Comment

 
We survived the first complete week of school. The baby is finally feeling better and loves his Monday night babysitter. I have worked out my place in my new unit. Theseus received a job inquiry from a firehouse near our school. T came to visit for the weekend. I've lost 8 lbs since the New Year. The Patriots are going to the Super Bowl.

I have found my happy place. :)

- Antiope

 
The wind today was incredible! I heard it trying to tear the roof off while we were in the attic, and later it howled down the chimney and startled the cats. It was too windy to go outside and work on the yard (I think the wind would have sliced my face off) so Theseus and I stayed inside and puttered around the house.

We lowered the platform on the baby's crib and I washed all his bedding in both of his beds. Then we sorted all his toys and packed up the ones he won't be able to use for awhile - up in the attic they went. We also put all the boxes of clothes he's outgrown up there, too (don't look at me like that!).

Once we got rolling, made a good dent in the storage area that used to be our spare bedroom. You can see the bed again! Apologies to anyone who has had the misfortune of sleeping in there. It's almost habitable again. Sorry! I want to eventually get some stuff up on the walls and some curtains on the windows. You know. Make it look like it's a part of the house.

So now we have a mountain of stuff to take to Goodwill. It makes me happy to clear out all the junk we don't need anymore... I just have a hard time getting started sometimes; I get overwhelmed easily. And if Theseus isn't also in the mood to clean - forget it. There is nothing as demotivating as a husband with his butt parked on the couch.

Oh! While you're here: check out today's photo! Don't forget, you can click the photo to see a larger size.

That's it. Good night!

- Antiope

 
It all blew away.

So this afternoon Theseus and I bundled up and went out again, collecting all the cardboard and stacking it behind the house. We'll have to wait to spread it out until we get all the hay delivered, I guess. We called a guy that is offering mulch hay for $1/bale; hopefully he'll give us a call back tomorrow and let us know if he will deliver.

I also ordered all the seeds today. We are using two different companies this year: Victory Seeds, which supplied all our seeds last year, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, which is a little more expensive but offered a few varieties we wanted that were sold out of Victory. Now that we have a year of serious gardening under our belts, we were able to select seeds with a bit more knowledge for the coming spring. As a result, we scaled back the different types of vegetables and focused on variety of the ones we had success with. Our potatoes, which we haven't ordered yet, will again come from Wood Prairie Farm, an organic family farm in Bridgewater, Maine. Always happy to do business with New Englanders! :)

After dinner (salad and a cup of hot soup) we gave the baby a bath - he's so funny in the tub. My grandmother bought him a little whale that floats in the bath and shoots water through its spout. He loves it! I can't wait for him to get a little older so he can spend more time playing in the water. I always loved baths when I was young. After he was rinsed off, I lotioned him up and Theseus put him down for bed. He's such an agreeable little guy.

So now we've settled into the couch by the fire. I'm so glad we got the chimney inspected/repaired this year - having a fire in the evenings is the best!! I've also attracted a lonely cat who has made himself at home in my lap. Not a bad night.

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Today's photo is up!

- Antiope

 
A little white ridge has appeared on the baby's lower gum - explains the recent fever/crankiness/excessive (!!!) drool. Poor little thing. Growing teeth is serious business! :D

- Antiope

 
This week Austin discovered he can get places by rolling. Suddenly, the sweet little baby who would fall asleep in my arms has boundless energy and wants to roll and squirm his way across the world. So far we have been keeping him somewhat contained in a section of the family room we call "Baby Land," but I can see this won't last much longer. Items on the outer edges of Baby Land - a box of cat toys, our book shelves, the rocking chair - will have to be relocated once he realizes he's capable of the next stage of locomotion: crawling.

Where does the time go? He's 7 months and 1 week, 18 lbs with a growing mop of blonde hair, chunky thighs and a giant, crazy smile. I look at him and I can actually see him learning things. Seems like, seriously, yesterday that I was counting down days until my next ultrasound and waiting for Theseus to get home.

Crazy, right?

- Antiope

 
But first, a photo: I took this one last week. The focus is a little soft, but I like it. :)
So NY was great. Mer fed me lots of tea and fancy cookies, apples with cinnamon, homemade guacamole and more tea. I could drink a whole gallon of tea every day, I think. Peppermint, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Lemon Ginger. We sat at her little table with the elephant on it and chatted and chatted and chatted. We spotted some deer, and on the last night, three raccoons.

On Saturday we took Austin to a little outdoor reenactment village (very much like Old Sturbridge Village) and he met some surly chickens and a few uninterested goats. The ladies there cooed at him, and he enjoyed being outdoors in such fine weather. Later we went to a Goodwill and found some treasures - a scientific beaker I'm going to use as a bathroom drinking glass, some nice mismatched plates for holding jewelry (I'm going to keep one by the bed and one by the sink), a lion costume for the baby, some weird ugly silk flowers I'm going to spray paint black and turn into spooky Halloween decorations. Treasures! On Sunday we attempted to go to a flea market - we got there, but it turned out to be far too hot and sunny for fair baby skin. We pushed him around for awhile, bought some lemonade and went back. Monday I collected all his items and drove back home to NJ.

Like I said in my last post, it was nice to be away for a few days to recharge. Austin was a bit out of sorts, though. He's been fighting a head/chest cold for a little while now, and is on medication for the beginnings of an ear infection (poor thing - the medication smells wretched). And I think he really missed Theseus while we were away; he's normally a really great traveller, very adaptive and agreeable, but he was a bit of a beast in the evenings in NY. He tossed all night and slept fitfully. I barely slept, trying to console him and keep him from waking the entire house. It made the trip - you guessed it - stressful and tiring. Still, I'm glad we did it, the little guy and I. The look on Theseus' face when we pulled into the driveway on Monday made it worth it. :)

Ok, the husband is pestering me to go to bed. Taking the Earl with me.

- Antiope

 
We are not out of the woods yet, but we are getting there. Today I cleared another hurdle. Theseus has been clearing hurdles of his own as well. Continue to keep your fingers crossed for us, please.

Somewhat related: poison ivy is no longer itchy/terrible, now just a small group of discolored blotches on my forearm. Unless you are looking closely, you might not even notice them. Hopefully they will vanish completely in the coming week - we have a wedding to go to next weekend! (Which is also our 5 year anniversary.) I have nothing to wear. Jeans are probably out of the question, right?

Additional, somewhat related: vicious cold is going away, albiet s--l--o--w--l--y. I'm now weaning myself off the NyQuil addiction I developed. (kidding)
    

 
...just me and the baby!