And the Beat Goes On...

Drums keep pounding rhythm to the brain. La da da da dee...la da da da dah...

We reached several big milestones this week - Sydney is now in a larger sized diaper. Yeah, I know. Big deal. But it is a big deal. He'd been in size 3 for the longest time and the move up coincides perfectly with his new status as a 'big boy.'

About 2 weeks after his first birthday, we purchased his big boy car seats. The 12 mos check up ensured us he was old enough and heavy enough to face forward. We simply hadn't gotten them installed until this weekend.

So, in the same weekend, we're wearing larger diapers and facing forward. We're signing 'banana' all of a sudden, after only working on it for 2 days. We're walking up the tiny hill in the backyard without falling down. We're (gulp) climbing. It happened so quickly, my mind is reeling. I'm thankful I didn't even try to bring work home this weekend, so I could spend more time not feeling guilty about not touching it and with my baby...I mean, my big boy. Sigh.

On another note, Steve and I also reached another milestone. We've talked about getting a stand-alone freezer for years - either upright or chest freezer. Especially since I prefer to take my summers off, as much as possible; we purchased one this weekend - and now we can plan ahead - freeze extra food (my sister gave me the excellent idea of freezing baked goods so I don't have to turn the oven on during the summer), and even accept the wonderful gifts of venison from friends and family when they have too much for their own freezer. We don't hunt, and we love how healthy venison is - just as easy to cook as other forms of protein, as well. I know it's ridiculous, but I feel like we've taken another step towards providing for our family - especially during the lean months of summer when we technically only have one income.

And so, it has been a productive weekend - I went to school for the entire day on Friday, even though I was allowed to take the day off if I wanted to - I had a babysitter already lined up, so I took advantage of a day with absolutely no interruptions, save pumping, and finished my grades for the first quarter, planned for the next, made copies, and even jumped in over my head. I'll be lucky if I can keep treading water until the 2nd week of December.

If I become scarce over the next 6 weeks, forgive me. I know I KNOW everyone is in the same boat in one shape or another, but allow me to outline what I'm attempting to do until December 2nd...

1. I still have my 6 classes at school - no biggie, as most teachers do this year. Just reminding you that with that is planning, grading, chasing down and sitting on the lazy students (figuratively...most of the time...), calling parents, etc.
2. I am desperately attempting to at least skim through the last Harry Potter novel before the movie is released - I don't remember the date, but I know it's mid-November.
3. I am supposed to be training online for my CPR re-certification - haven't had it since college and I figured...with a toddler... I have the skills test mid-November.
4. I purchased the book Three Cups of Tea 2 years ago and only got through the first chapter, right after I purchased it. Meant to read it every summer, meant to read it during maternity leave. Now I have a reason to - for continuing education credits towards my re-certification, someone in the school system is offering a book study in regards to Indian and Pakistani culture by reading the book, writing 3 in depth questions, and responding to said questions all before convening for a group discussion of said questions on December 2nd. I jumped at the chance before I had the opportunity to really think things through...
5. And...here's the kicker...I know I've mentioned before my struggle to maintain some semblance of a personal writing life. HA HAH HAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah. So, November is National Novel Writing Month. I decided - brilliant me and with Rafe's encouragement (his idea originally, but when he texted me, I couldn't resist), to assign my freshmen the task of writing a novel in a month. His Pre-AP 10 kids are writing a 25,000 word document by November 30th. My Pre-AP 9 kids will be writing a 17,000 word document by November 30th. They find out tomorrow. The kicker is, I cannot ask them to do something I'm not willing to try. So, I'm going to attempt to do the same. We need to write 4250 words a week, and that breaks down to a little over 600 a day. Whew. I think I'll need a glass of wine after its all said and done.

So, that's my outlook for the next few weeks. Oh, and I have ...a husband? Oh, yeah! And...a toddler?? A house?? I think I am certifiable. Let's see how long I can make it before I break down and cry.

But in the meantime, I made a loaf of banana bread this morning - our family's favorite recipe that I've made for years. And a pot of homemade potato soup is bubbling away on the stove as I type. I make a mean pot of soup. I just need to know how to make a double batch now that I can freeze it...