Saturday, October 28, 2006

Two by two

We have teeth! Avery's two bottom front teeth arrived today. I had a sneaking suspicion that they were coming due to her incessant gnawing lately. She's been "biting" at the most inopportune times and it's quite uncomfortable for me! She hasn't been droowling or fussing. She seems fairly comfortable, so we might actually survive this phase unscathed.

We've had a very busy last few days. After a weekend trip to North Carolina to visit my family, we dropped Chad off in Raleigh to meet some of his co-workers for a week-long audit in Danville, Virginia -- again (it seems like he has been there a lot lately.) So Avery and I were home alone most of the week. We managed to get nothing done around the house, too.

We went to a Halloween party at the Miller farm last night and have a dinner date with the Daniels at Don and Mary Stanford's house tonight. Big weekend. I can't post pictures yet because we left the camera cord at my parents' house and the camera battery is dead. Maybe I'll get some video on here soon. More later . . .

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Guilty


Okay, I know. It's been ages since I've posted. Believe it or not, my life is a bit hectic right now. One would think that my time would be freed up after quitting my job, but it has gotten nuttier. For one thing, my laptop -- my lifeline to the world -- had to be turned in when I left Nelson, so I have to wait until Chad is home before I can get online. Another toughie is that Avery has become a bit clingy and doesn't like me out of her site.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is that I've still been going into the office a couple of days a week for 2 or 3 hours at a time to help train my replacement. That's not the hard part. Coming up with childcare is incredibly difficult. There's this emotion that most mothers are overcome with and it's called GUILT. I feel guilty for asking a friend to keep Avery more than once -- especially if I've never kept their children (which I'm totally willing to do, by the way). But why is it that moms are tormented with this feeling for a major portion of their waking hours?

I'm determined to create a mom network to help women find others who could trade out on childcare. We would be much more productive members of society. If we didn't have to FREAK OUT every time we needed to get a sitter and worry about paying someone an absurd amount of money to simply be in the same room with a sleeping child, we could actually get a few things done (sans stomach ulcer.)

So who's with me? I'd like to regularly go to Kirkpatrick Elementary to volunteer in Mrs. Jones' kindergarten class. Does someone want to take on a classroom, too, at an alternate time while I keep your kid(s)? A regular date to grocery shop? How about getting your nails done? Maybe a regular volunteer position? And even better -- a nap? I'd love to hear comments. Maybe you have a better idea.

I know blogs are usually meant for an outlet for random ramblings, but I'm serious here. At the risk of turning my living room into a nursery, I'm offering my childcare services. It could actually be pretty rewarding to see some of you rested and refreshed from a couple of hours of freedom. Of course, don't make me feel guilty for asking the same of you once in a while. Who's in? The floor is open . . .