The Past Week

Some things that have been keeping me from the blog over the past week, and other various and sundry thoughts:

• I had a stomach bug (or something like one) this weekend. Unluckily, Nathan was out of town. Luckily, I was at my parents' house, so they took care of the kids.
• Jane was a little sick last week, which made her start waking up in the middle of the night again, and that plus the sheer constancy of parenting is wearing me out.
• However, just this morning, a friend's Facebook status was that she cried on her way to work because it was her first day back after having her baby. I don't take it for granted that I get to be a stay at home mom.
  
• Nathan was in the Texas Hill Country this weekend on a field trip, and he had a really great time. Geology field trips are very outdoorsy; this one included a full day of kayaking. He came back talking about how he wants to take us all up to that area, and he even found a cabin for us to rent. It pleases me that he is in a profession that allows him to do outdoorsy things, which are invigorating to him.
• I am really tired, and I did not really want to go work out today, but I'm glad I went. It was relaxing to exercise quietly on my own.
• Jane still won't take a bottle. We haven't really worked on it much, though. I think I'm going to start trying again to get her to take it, because I'd really like to be able to have a day or two away from her before she is weaned at a year old. Five more months seems like a long time to only have a couple hours at a time away from babies. It'd be fantastic if Nathan and I could take a weekend away for our anniversary in December. In addition to working on her to take the bottle, I'm also going to simultaneously work on getting her to take a sippy cup and a straw--whichever one she takes to first wins! *Update* She did drink a couple of ounces from a bottle today and a few sips from a sippy cup. Progress, people, progress!!!
  
• Last week, we went with the Fuseliers to a Rice alumni architectural tour around campus, led by an architecture professor. The campus is so beautiful, especially at dusk. I wished I had brought my camera, but at the same time, I really would need more than a point and shoot to get the shots I'd want and to do the place justice. In any case, the lecture was interesting (though we were cracking up at how very professorial the prof was--bow tie, dishevelled hair, etc.), and it was gratifying to hear that he thought the same buildings were ugly that we thought were ugly, too. Nathan and I really appreciated knowing some of the little details about the main buildings on campus, about how the campus was originally envisioned and how its layout has changed, about how different buildings represented different architectural periods, and so on. Although we were enjoying the tour, we skipped out a little early to go have margaritas with our friends. :) I have to say that it was really nice to go on a date that did not involve dinner or a movie. It seems like that's all we can think of to do when we get the chance to go out, so it was great to start exploring the other ways we can spend time together.
• The most thirst-quenching beverage in my world right now is light chocolate soy milk. Isn't that weird? I don't really think of milk as something that really hits the spot when I'm thirsty, but for some reason light chocolate soy milk does.
  
• Noah has started saying some funny things. Like "I need," as in "I need to watch Curious George," and "I need a cookie." The other one, which is really great, is "I love," except that his "L" comes out sounding like a "Y." He also puts a lot of emphasis on the "yuv," so that he says things like, "I YUV this bread, Mommy! I YUV it!" (That was about a large soft pretzel, something he hadn't had before.) Or "This shirt red. I YUV it!" The best thing is that he says it about the most mundane stuff.
  
• It has taken me twelve hours to write this post. It is now the end of the day, and the kids have gone to bed, which means that Mommy's brain has switched off for a while. G'night.