I Told a Chemistry Joke...There Was No Reaction

This afternoon I'm feeling a bit like this:

I worked hard all morning folding laundry, washing dishes, picking up toys, going through closets throwing things away, entertaining children, and teaching school. I turned my phone off all morning because I didn't want to be bothered or distracted. I was in the zone this morning. I'm trying to make a real effort to get myself back on track and out of survival mode. I have this burning desire to finish my spring cleaning before Oliver comes out of the sleep-all-day baby stage. Because once he's out, I won't be able to get much done. My energy is returning, and my body is finally willing to try cooperating with my racing mind. It feels good to work hard again. Unfortunately, I'm out of practice, and have lost the stamina for it. So this afternoon, Oliver and I snuggled in the Papa San chair, and sat in the quiet for 20 minutes. It was lovely. And then quiet time was over and the other children were out of their rooms, and we had to move on with our day.

Oliver is changing. He's getting bigger, and his skin is starting to fill out. His legs are straightening out some, and his fingers and toes aren't wrinkly anymore. The Little Brother shirt he's wearing is a 3 month size. But he still fits into a lot of his newborn stuff. On Wednesday he was three weeks old. I never posted his two week stats. At his two week appointment he weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 21 inches long. He's in the 48th percentile for weight, and 85th for height. Doc said he looks perfect. He is perfect. :) He's still a really mild baby. I keep waiting for our easy streak to snap. It seems too good to be true. No spit up yet. Still giving us a 4 to 5 hour stretch every night.

I've noticed that he likes to be snuggly and warm. He doesn't care so much about being swaddled, he'll take it or leave it, but he calms right down, and sleeps much better, if he's wrapped in one of his fuzzy blankets, or if he's snuggled up close. He spends probably 2/3rds of the night in bed with us, right up next to me. And it's during those stretches that he's the most peaceful.

I used to have the philosophy "No kids in bed.", and was pretty strict with it. But the more kids I have the more I've shifted over to the philosophy of, "Whatever it takes to get the most sleep so I can function in the morning." So I nurse Ollie in bed, and then we sleep that way for awhile. And actually we sleep pretty well that way, I didn't think I would. It's not as soundly as I'd sleep if he weren't in there, but it's a lot more restful than it would be if I were getting up every 30 minutes to walk across the room and pick him up out of the crib. Anyways, the arrangement is working really well for everyone at the moment, and I think we're maximizing our potential sleep possibilities.

In other random occurrences:

This is our collection of tumble weeds. The picture makes it a little hard to tell, but they are piled as high as our garbage can. It's been windy the last couple of days. I love everything about living next to a field, except the tumble weed collection. I can't keep them out of my garage.

Ivan went to a birthday party yesterday. He came home with his face painted. He told me, "Mom, this is Super Bat, he just helps out Super Man when there's an emergency."

The face painting was awesome...until he woke up this morning with swollen eyes and red splotches all over his face in the shape of a bat. :( Guess his skin didn't like the face paint as much as the rest of us did.

I was able to get out of the house a couple times this week and socialize with other moms. That was awesome. It fulfilled a need, so that today I wanted to pull back and stay secluded. I find that I often go through a similar ebb and flow in my socializing. I stay in until I need to get out, and then I go out until I need to stay in. :) Today was definitely a stay in, keep to myself kind of day. It was snowy and cold for one thing. And I was occupied and accomplishing what I wanted for another. I don't think it's a negative thing that I want to keep to myself sometimes. I find that's how I rejuvenate. That's how I sort through the hustle and bustle. I don't feel sad, or depressed that I stayed home, or didn't see anyone today. And it wasn't that I was irritated or tired of seeing any certain person or group of people. It's just a cycle for me. Sometimes I need people and sometimes I need my quiet space. Call it the introvert in me. :) And I don't think there's anything wrong with it.