appointments and such

I don't really have much to blog about today, but it's been over a week since I last posted, and I'm trying to post at least once a week, so I feel like I need to write something.

I guess it's been fairly uneventful around here lately. I'm settling in to work nicely, now I just need to make the effort to squeeze in a Mary Kay class once a week and I'll have accomplished my career goals for the year. I work out twice a week, am involved in church elder/leadership stuff a couple times a week, see my one set of grandparents every other week and the other set once a month and try to see my friends in six month rotations. Sounds kind of pathetic when you write it out, but it works for me.

We have had a lot of appointments in the last couple of weeks. Kai had his one-year appointment with his pediatrician and got his measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox shots. He wasn't a fan of the needles, naturally, but recovered well and hasn't had any ill effects yet. He also sees his eye doctor tomorrow. You might think it a little early for an eye doctor already, but I was wearing glasses by 18 months, so it's actually not as ridiculous as it may seem.

I went to my dentist yesterday and had a pre-op appointment with my obstetrician for my ovarian cyst removal which will happen next week Monday. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you may remember how just before I went under anesthetic for my D&C after my miscarriage, the obstetrician mentioned I had a cyst in my left ovary. It's a dermoid cyst and while it's not very big (only about 3cm in diameter), my doctor and I agreed we should probably deal with it while I'm between pregnancies and while it's still small enough to have removed laparoscopically.

Anyway, that's about all the news I have for you today, I guess. Kai's molars are coming along nicely. The bottom two are all the way out, but the top ones seem to be taking their sweet time. It's not pleasant, but the sleeping has got a little better again, so that's good.

And as always, a closing shot of Kai for your enjoyment.

totally jinxed it

'This isn't as bad as the first round of teething'. Famous last words. Sleep this week has been a precious commodity and we are not getting enough. Kai's been waking up screaming several hours into the night and trying to comfort him is all but useless because as soon as we go into his room, he refuses to go back to sleep in his own crib. And even if we do take him to bed with us, he tosses and turns and can't get comfortable and ends up sleeping horizontally between us with Verge and I perched precariously on either edge of the bed.

I feel bad for him because he looks like he's gone a couple rounds in a boxing ring and lost the fight. His poor face is all puffy and red and he's got big dark circles under his eyes. He's drooling again and his nose is so runny I can hardly keep it clean, which, of course, makes his nose and upper lip crazy raw. He's definitely got four molars that have cut through the gum, but I'm thinking there are more on their way out. He doesn't like me touching his gums much, though, so I can't be sure aside from all the other symptoms he's presenting.

I really will be glad when this whole teething thing is done with. I know it's part and parcel of having a baby and Kai's not the only one to ever have gone through this, but it pretty much sucks all the same. Especially because I don't deal really well with sleep deprivation. And I only realize how poorly I deal with it after I've been totally frustrated and ticked off at Kai three out of five nights this week. I know it's not his fault that he's in pain and can't sleep, but sleep deprivation is definitely a kind of torture for me and I do tend to blame the person inflicting it on me.

Ah well, as with everything, this too shall pass. I'm just praying I don't snap before the end!

reorganization

Of my time, to be precise. I'm officially back at work and I lucked out in that I only actually have to go in to my workplace one day a week. The rest of my hours I get to do from home, which is quite the blessing, I have to say. Now, however, I'm trying to figure out what the new balance of my routine is going to be. It wouldn't be so difficult except that we (the elders) are in the middle of making some biggish decisions at church, so that has been consuming a lot of hours lately. We have some really amazing things coming up in the near future, but also some big decisions to make, so it's exciting and slightly anxiety producing at the same time.

Anyway, I've only be at this a week, so I'm still trying to figure out how it will all play out. I'm not too concerned yet, but we'll see how it goes.

Vergil is also back at work in a new location, and it seems to be going really well so far. We would still really like to get him out of retail this year, but for now, his situation is much more tolerable. Even enjoyable, I think. He's also joining a gym, at both my and his doctor's recommendation, so that'll help improve his overall outlook too.

Malakai has already accomplished his 2009 goal of walking - he's a regular pro at it already and it's definitely his preferred mode of transportation. Unfortunately, he's also cutting molars so that's made him a little on the irritable side of late. Strangely enough, I thought molars would be worse than his first set of teeth, but so far it's been a lot easier. I'm not sure if I'm jinxing the whole thing, but his sleep, while not as good as it had been, has not been affected to the extent it was the first time around. He still sleeps 8 to 10 hour stretches before waking up briefly for some food and a diaper change and then usually sleeps at least two or three hours more after that. So that's good news, anyway.

I don't have much more to say for now. Here's a picture of Kai with a little faux-hawk I managed to give him after his bath. It makes me smile that he's slowly acquiring more and more hair!