...And Then There Were None

Wow, this past week has flown! Uncle Joe and Auntie Em both ventured to the Great Northwest this week to get in some quality time with the Gunniwolf and the Dragon. Most of our activities included cooking, eating what we just cooked, planning what to cook next and hanging out with the girls. Needless to say, it was a good week and we're all a little bummed that Joe and Em had to head back home. Emily was lucky enough to have a break from working on her thesis while she was here and subsequently got sick while she was on vacation. (Ain't life grand?) Lil A and I are both feeling a little yucky too and I'm thinking we all have some random passenger on a flight from the East Coast to thank for it. Yet another reason the West is best.

Uncle Joe had a pretty productive visit; John sent his resume to a few project managers at the Lab last month and one of them called Joe to come in for an interview while he was in town. It seems like it went pretty well and he's expecting a call for a second interview in the next few weeks. I'm trying not to get too excited at the prospect, but it would be so great to have Joe living in the Tri-Cities. We like him a lot. And Audrey loves shouting "Hey Joe!!" ... So, it would really work out well for all parties involved.

Next on the list for me to convert to the West Coast? Emily and Mike.

This is really just an elaborate scheme for me to have people to play Settlers of Catan with living near me.

In other news, we continue to potty train. Like everything else in my life right now, my efforts to get Audrey potty trained have been pretty half-donkeyed (that's a nice little taste of the creative profanity I've become accustomed to using) If we're home, I try to keep Audrey in undies, but change her into a diaper while she's sleeping or if we're going out. I just don't have the energy/hands to deal with pee-soaked bed sheets or car seats right now.

So Audrey is half potty trained and we're more or less at a standstill for the moment.

In Bailey news: Since I've been feeling under the weather for the past few days, it has really come to my attention how much she is attached to my person...sleep-nursing. And it's exhausting. Bailey is the epitome of a lazy nurser. It seems like she will nurse until she decides she's not starving anymore and then fall asleep for 2-15 minutes. Wake up. Nurse. Fall asleep. Repeat. I thrive when on a schedule, but not one that repeats itself randomly every 5 to 30 minutes. Needless to say, being drained from being sick all day yesterday, I finally got fed up and declared my intent to exclusively pump for Bailey.

This is a huge decision. It means I'm willingly committing to being home so I can pump every 2-3 hours. And thanks to my experience breastfeeding Audrey, I have a lot of contempt for that darn pump. Even so, I can't see myself ever getting Bailey on a real schedule unless she's eating regularly and, unfortunately, expressing milk for her is my only option if I want the best of both worlds. I would love to make it a whole year, but I think six months is optimistic as is. Here's hoping!

Other than eating delicious food, feeling sicky and lamenting my daughter's lazy attitude towards eating, we've just been taking things one day at a time. Things are really still touch and go, but we're working toward that feeling of 'normal'. If I've learned anything about parenting, it's once you think you've got something figured out, it all changes. I doubt at least that will change anytime soon.

Also, I should not have put a picture of a Swedish Fish on my blog. Every time I see it I start jonesing for one. Gah!