16 August 2009

Outdoor Paradise

Nate and I were driving home from the grocery store yesterday and happened upon a garage sale about a block from our house. We did one of those slow motion double takes when we saw a patio set for sale. We've been talking about getting something for our patio so we could eat outside and enjoy the lovely Colorado summer. We didn't want to buy something new (see my goal to buy 80 percent used) and we weren't having any luck on craigslist.

I ran down to the garage sale to check the set out. It was well worn, but a nice teak-ish looking set with lovely chairs. The table top is really worn out, but we can cover that up. We're going to try to restore some of the wood's previous beauty with some teak oil later this week.

Some neighbors came over to BBQ last night and we had a fantastic night on the patio. Nate and I are kicking ourselves for not finding something earlier this summer. We ate breakfast out there this morning and read the newspaper while Benny napped. One of the biggest perks is that it doesn't matter what Benny spills - I don't have to clean it up!

Otherwise we had a lovely weekend. We were in the mountains for a late afternoon picnic on Friday night. My new boss hosted it at her mountain cabin. Very nice. On Saturday we ran errands and cleaned. Today I ran 6.5 miles because I'm training for another half-marathon then Nate, Benny, and I headed to the zoo for a quick visit with the monkeys, elephants, zebras, and more. All in all, a fantastic, productive weekend. Mostly spent in an outdoor paradise!

10 August 2009

Working from Home

It was bound to happen. We made it a full four weeks before Benny had to stay home from daycare. Nate volunteered to stay at home with the fever-ridden, coughing Bear. I relieved him at 3. Benny slept. I worked. Then Benny woke up, felt better, and proceeded to make me laugh until Nate returned home. We went to Duck Park. On the way I was instructed that "Benny ride duck, Mommy ride seahorse." When I protested that I wanted to ride the duck, Benny informed me that, under NO circumstances, was I allowed to ride the duck. OK.

Although I am grateful that Nate stayed home for most of the day, the whole experience reminds me that I am still very much the primary caregiver. That's not to say that Nate didn't pull his weight today. However, I volunteered to call the daycare, make an appointment for Benny at the doctor, and offered to come home early. Why? Because that sort of thing is second nature to me now. Nate seemed really apprehensive about calling the pediatrician's office. What were Benny's symptoms, how long had he been experiencing them, etc.? In the end, it was easier for me to call than coach Nate through the conversation.

I'm wondering if this will change as we adjust to this new schedule. Benny did wonder where his daddy was this afternoon when he woke up from his nap. That doesn't normally happen. Perhaps change is coming after all.

The good news is that Benny's fever is gone and he'll be back at daycare tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have too many sick days in the next few months!

07 August 2009

What the @$**...

I have many thoughts about the state of the world, country, and my life right now.

1) I'll start with the world/country. As I've made it clear in previous posts, I consider myself a progressive person. I supported Barack Obama in the election. I realize that that does not inherently make me a progressive person, but he was better than the alternative (remember my rant about Palin?).

Right now I'm having a hard time understanding why people are SO resistant to health care reform. People, seriously. The system we have is not working. Admittedly, I don't know much about the current proposals, but I do think that something needs to be done!

2) I'm happy that Sotomayor was confirmed. No one really thought she wouldn't make it. I did enjoy listening to middle aged white men go off about Sotomayor's "record" of ruling in favor of Latinos. Irony anyone?

3) After a full four weeks of working, I'm happy with how things are shaking out for me professionally. I'm getting accustomed to the schedule and the workplace. Benny is doing great at daycare. Better than I ever could have imagined, in fact. I'm so impressed and proud of him.

4) Although I've been saying this for the past two years, I really do have to make an effort to stop cursing now. Benny repeated "oh shit" at the park yesterday when he couldn't get up on one of the platforms. Oops.

Finally, in my biggest what the hell moment, how is it already August 8? How, how, how???