Mimi, Mile-stones, and such.

Mimi was here for almost her entire Spring Break to visit and help with the kiddos while Andy was gone for the last part of this week for his annual fantasy football draft. It was a fun week and it went by incredibly quickly. I can't believe she left this morning. I feel like she just got here. In addition, I have to go back to work one week from today and I'm dreading it. And I mean dreading it in a you-have-to-have-a-root-canal-while-landing-in-a-757-during-a-thunderstorm kind of dread. I DO NOT want to go back to work. I don't want to go for several reasons: (1) I'm in love with my son. He's perfect and cute and cuddly and just starting to smile and coo and I CANNOT LEAVE HIM WITH STRANGERS FOR 8+ HOURS A DAY. How did I ever do this with Emma? Was I insane? (Although many of you have met Emma so you are probably well aware of just how I could go back to work after she was born. So far Jackson seems a little more laid back that Big Sis. Thank God.) (2) I'm not sure I can deal with 15 year old imbeciles for 8+ hours a day after having the last 2 months imbecile-free. Granted, it is just 8 weeks. And there are a few days of inservice scattered in there as well but anyone who knows the current adolescent mind-set will agree with me that perhaps some of the notions about mandatory sterilization aren't all that bad. At the very least, the Europeans know what they're doing when they send their kids to boarding school when they turn 11. (3) I have no idea what I'm going to teach. My sub has done a bang-up job. So much so, that I have not really paid attention to my classes at all while I've been gone. Monday, my 1st day back could be a "So-what-have-you-guys-been-doing while I've been gone?" day.

On a personal note, my mother is the best. She was here for an entire week when Jackson was born and spent this week with us too. I don't know how I would be sane or functioning if she hadn't come this week. She let me sleep for 3 uninterrupted hours, not once but TWICE. That's amazing in and of itself. Not to mention the countless hours of entertaining Emma, watching "Enchanted" a bazillion times and being the best baby-burper in the world. (I still have "How Does She Know?" ringing in my mind. Those Disney Alan Menken songs are just catchy and that's all there is to it.) Why is it only now that I realize how amazing she is? Mamas are awesome and aren't we all so blessed to have one and (some of us) to be one. God is so generous.

In a continuation of the cat saga, we bombed the house again for fleas while Mom was here. At least this time we didn't all contract some heinous virus afterward. We were on fire that day: we got so much done. We took E to school, then I had to go up to school to enter grades before Spring Break. Then we took a stop in the in-school daycare to take over some of Jackson's things to get him ready (sob) for when I go back to work. Next we took Zoey to the vet. She's been coughing and hacking for a little over 3 weeks now. Clearly, it's not just a kitty-cold or it would have gone away by now. (No, MK, it's not kitty cancer!) The vet says she has mild asthma and probably a bronchial infection. So, now I'm administering 3 different types of medicine to Zoey in addition to the flea-tick ointment. Yea! It's SO EASY to give cats medicine too! Mostly I think the vet just wanted to give me medicine so that I would have to pay for it. My favorite of the 3 is the antihistimine that makes her foam at the mouth if she bites it. That's great. I get to follow her around for 10 minutes after I give her the pill wiping up cat-mouth-foam. Blech. I think we're going to discontinue the antihistimine. Although, I might give her one more just so I can take a photo. Yes, I'm that mean.

On a happier note, Andy is home from the fantasy football draft and I am glad of that. Mom was really helpful while she was here and I again realized just how much Andy does for us. Not only is he a phenomenal father and husband but he helps me so much around the house. It's amazing to me also that I don't just miss him because of what he does for us but I miss his friendship too. I get lonely not having him to talk to. Sappy, yes. Deal with it. He's a pretty cool guy. God gave me the better end of the bargain, that's for sure.

I COULD NOT be a single parent. At least not living this far from my parents. If I was alone with the kids for some reason, I would move back to AR. Even though I'm not alone now, I'm still scheming about ways to move back to AR. Or at least within one day's drive.

While Mom was here, we got Emma's haircut for the 1st time. I highly recommend waiting until your kids are almost 4. It was a very pleasant experience for all of us. After hearing Katie's horror stories about Nathan's haircut experiences, I was nervous. But she did great. I guess with Jackson, we won't be able to wait until he's 4 unless we want him to look like a member of VanHalen in the early 90s. Thank goodness his Grandma can cut hair. That will be a lot easier than some stranger coming at him with what he thinks are a giant pair of shears. Speaking of the boy, he's waking up and making the cutest little grunting noises. Love to all.


Before the haircut.



Lovely blonde locks. Did I remember to grab a few for her baby book? Of course not. At least I got the picture of them. They took off 3 inches!


During
After



P.S. I finally got my diaper bag that Katie bought for me. It looks so cute. There's a photo of it too. This comes from a website called Lovely Stitches. You can design your own bags: not just diaper bags either. Take a look. Cute, huh?