Half a year already?

Today Benjamin is 6-months-old. How can that be? It still feels like spring, like he is brand new. Of course, with 77 degree weather, it really *does* feel like spring today. Is this Iowa? We went outside today to enjoy the last of the warm days of autumn:





I was actually excited to get some work done today while Jack was at daycare, and then 20 minutes before we left, Jack vomited all over. That's probably the worst of all childhood illnesses. He won't eat, and he freaks out when he throws up so I have to balance taking off his clothes and mine, calming him down while cleaning him off, and carpet clean-up. Poor kid. I even pulled out one of his Christmas gifts early-- Thomas the wooden train (for the set he'll be getting later), and it only cheered him up for 2 minutes before he said "all done" all tearfully. The only thing that has kept him calm is watching Thomas and Friends on t.v. He's seen 3 episodes already today, and we've exhausted the episodes on our DVR. Oh, how the days of "no t.v., period" have ended.

I am boiling over with anticipation for the election tomorrow. This will be first one I will literally stay up to see every minute of. Our nation will either be on the brink of one of the most momentous strides and changes for good in its history, or it will be a huge let-down and slippery slope into even more intense cynicism on the part of more than half of its citizens. I'm hoping for the former, if you can't tell. Go Obama!!!

Bloggin 'Bout Barack

So I made it to the rally this morning, but about 2 minutes late. Which meant I got to hear Obama in person, but I couldn't see a damn thing. People around me managed to jump up high enough to let me know he was wearing a white shirt. Fantastic. Kenda, however, got in line at 8:30am, knitted her way through the 3 hr. wait, and was front and center for the rally. She shook hands with the man and got fanfreakintastic photos. She promises to post them on her blog. The speech was essentially the same one I've heard time and again on CNN, but it was nice to hear in person. It made him a bit more real. Nice to be amongst like-minded people, too. Benj was happy to be there, too.

Here's a photo of Kenda's camera, showing one of the awesome photos *she* got (catch that?)


Kenda and Benjamin at lunch after the rally, at Court Avenue Brewing Company:


I got a few hours with Kenda after the rally to chat and catch up about fieldwork, dissertations undone, and life in general. It was so good to talk with someone (in person) who really "gets" it when it comes to grad school, anthropology, dissertation fodder and such. We have the same adviser so that is extremely relatable. I've missed her! It got me a bit revamped on the scholarly front, as well. Good times.

Firefighting Team

Happy Halloween! Tonight was Beggar's Night in Des Moines, so our little firefighter and his dalmation puppy went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We only hit about 10 houses but still came back with way too much candy. Jack, of course, threw a fit when I tried to take his photo with Benj, so I only have one of them together. But you will get the gist from what I have:




Jaxson was a fire *truck*, so with him doing the driving, Jack aiming the fire hose, and Ben just looking cute as the mascot, fire prevention was at large in the neighborhood (believe it or not, we have 2 *real life* firefighters that live in our culdesac, so we really do feel safe in that respect)


A not-so-great photo of some of the neighbor kids...


We stopped by the home of one of Mike's co-workers and got together for a group photo. Caleb is a sock monkey--isn't that creative?


Tomorrow I hope to catch a glimpse of our future president (please god) at a rally downtown. Even if I arrive too late to get close enough to see him, Kenda and I will be doing some catching up (and dissertation venting) after the Obama lovefest. Maybe I'll have photos to post.

feelin zonked

i just feel totally wiped lately. probably due to 2 weeks at home with a vivacious toddler. jack started his new part-time daycare yesterday and seems to like it. i'm mostly happy with it, but it's not ideal. damn, i just have to finish this gd-dissertation. i'm trying but it's slow. guess we'll see how it goes as it goes. i have been saying that for so long, huh?

due to his father's colon cancer 3 yrs ago, mike got to begin his colonoscopy regimen. he'll be 31 in a few weeks, so the clock was ticking for his first run. all went well and i'm delighted to report he had no polyps or anything to worry the dr. next appt.-- 5 yrs from now. good thing, since he didn't much enjoy the experience. i, however, enjoyed that we had a very boring but memorable conversation in recovery following his procedure, none of which he remembered 5 hrs later. those drugs are fantastic. and like father like son, when he got out of the appt., the first food he wanted to enjoy again was a burger.

mike has also discovered facebook (thanks, carmen) and now spends loads of time on the computer. more than usual. i'm a little miffed but dealing. i'm just so dang tired lately that i'd love more family time to ease the stress, but he's been enjoying his personal time in the office. humph. i'm just a little bitchy lately. hope that goes away at some point.

Photo update from the CH household

Benj is working on sitting up alone. He likes to play with Jack. Notice how he multitasks by chewing on the teether AND helping to build a block tower.


This is how he spends most evenings post-8pm


Daddy makes him giggle *almost* as well as big brother


Still not up on the knees, but rolling from one side of the room to the other


This is one of the consquences of mommy's multitasking (in this case, trying to eat ice cream while nursing)


Jack is pushing physical limits every day. He jumps off of absolutely everything, and today at the play area in the mall I was almost sure he broke his ankle. He was limping and screaming, and of course I had missed the fall as I was trying to feed Benj (Mike is working, so you can imagine how much fun it was packing both up in a single stroller to get home).


Jack had lots of fun last Saturday when his friend Caleb came to spend the whole day with us. Both boys were angels since they were occupied with one another. Today is not so much fun, since he's only got plain old mom. But we went to the mall-- AGAIN-- and he got to play with other kids. It's not even the really cold weather yet and I'm already sick of the mall. But thank god for the play area.

Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

That quote is just fabulous.

Just when you think you are starting to get into a groove, life gets a little twisty and turny. Our daycare closed unexpectedly at the end of last week, and starting immediately Jack is home with me again. It's only been a day and a half, but I'm quickly getting the idea that this dissertation will never be finished if he's home full-time again. Not only that, but I'm worried that I'm becoming one of those parents who can't take being with their children all the time. I've forgotten how HARD it is to be with a "me, me, ME" two-year-old all day and night. It was fine when it was just Benj and I, and it would be okay (or, at least, more okay) if Jack was my only responsibility. But both of them together, and a dissertation hanging over my head, is a recipe for a nervous breakdown. While it's the last thing I want to do, I'm considering finding another daycare for Jack to attend part-time so I can have work time. He's too young for preschool, so I think daycare is my only option. I would like to find a good drop-off one, where I could pay for just a few mornings a week as we were doing before. I may check out some of the montessoris around here with hopes that they would have an edge on the educational portion of childcare. It's not something I was hoping to have to do, but I think it may be necessary. My only other options are 1) get up at 5:00 and work for 2 hrs (there is a MAJOR failure rate factored into that plan), 2) start when jack goes to bed at 8:00 and stay up late to get work done (more likely, though also involves fatigue and having to be energized late at night after a day full of toddler and baby care), or 3) work when mike gets home (4:30-6ish) (not likely since dinner prep, errands, and general exhaustion will interfere). I could try a combination of the above 3 options, but playing it by "ear" usually goes sour and ends up with little work done. I need a schedule with definite times for working. Ahhhhhh, so much to look forward to in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I'm trying to fill our days so that we don't kill each other. I've discovered that the key to making the mornings pass quickly and easily is to get out and do something. If we aren't out of the house by 9am, his boredom and my frustration start rearing their ugly heads. We've gone on walks, gone to new parks, went to the bookstore (where I got to talking with a nice mom who also has 2 kids the same age and it turns out she lives on our block--crazy small world!), played at the mall play area, and have a trip to the library planned for tomorrow. I fear we'll run out of things to do when the weather gets colder, so I hope to have secured a good carespot by then. Jack really misses the social aspect of daycare, too. He is much happier at the park with other kids than alone at home with me for hours on end.

Good news--it sounds as if Hawkeye is beginning to adjust well to farm life and his new owner is liking his presence. I hope this trend continues! We find that our lives sans Hawkeye are much less stressful on a daily basis. Hopefully it turns out to be a good decision for all.

Weekend Notes

It was the best of weekends, it was the worst of weekends. Sigh.

Friday evening wasn't so great. We left Jack with his best friend down the street and took off for Hubbard to deliver Hawkeye to his new home. Unfortunately there was some road construction when we got there and our directions didn't pan out. Neither did our cell phones work, and Benjamin was screaming at the top of his lungs to get OUT of that car seat. We got lost a time or two, but eventually found our way and rescued Benj from himself. But poor Brandon had been waiting for us before leaving to check his cattle before sundown, so when we got there late, we had little time but to deliver Hawkeye into the back of his trailer so he could go off to chore. We sat in his driveway for 10 minutes while I fed Ben and listened to Hawkeye bark confusedly in the back of the trailer. I felt guilty and strange about it, for his sake. The way back was equally lousy, with Ben crying nearly the ENTIRE drive (1 hr 15 min.) Upon arriving back, Mike left to go fetch Jack and I walked into the house, saw that Hawkeye's food bowls were missing, and it hit me that it was final. So I bawled for awhile. Needless to say, I've had better Friday nights.

Saturday was a fiery mix of fun and misery. The morning was GREAT. We went to Howell's Farm in Cumming, IA for their fall days. We went with friends, the Cathcarts (you know, Jack's BFF), and had a nice day of wagon riding, pumpkin picking, picnicking, feeding goats, and all sorts of other fun fall activities. That place is a gold mine. Here are the photos to prove it:


Running through the pumpkin patch (wearing Samantha's beautiful knitted sweater, that Jack received as a baby gift, and which he wore for the first time on this morning!)



Hawkeye fans descend on pumpkin patch (corn maze in background)


Err, anatomically correct gourd.


He's totally getting a pink shovel for the holidays


tire swings


Hay bale (I love this photo. He just went into a stupor when I put him up there)


Isn't this the biggest rabbit ever?


Thanks to Steph, there are actually some photos of ME with my child--gasp.


Jack's mom-away-from-mom:


This was one persisent (and flexible) goat...


They had some beautiful mums, and I came back with this beauty (now planted in this spot, and I'm hoping it does not die as do all plants in my care)


After that wonderful morning, we drove home for a nap and then rushed off to my parent's house for the family meeting my brother called a few days before. He is going through some tough times in his professional life and wanted to share his challenges with us. Unfortunately, as often happens with my parents and us, it turned into a blow up/yelling/crying match that ended in Adam and my mother storming away in different directions and us being politely thrown out by my father. Real healthy stuff for Jack to witness. I'll spare everyone the details but those of you who know my past with my parents know that this isn't uncharacteristic and one of these days it will be the last time. I'm deciding now where to go from here, but once again, needless to say, it was a crappy evening. The upside to it, however, is that Adam came back to our house and ended up spending the night. We had pizza (and rum) and went from hashing out our family frustrations to sitting around chatting till nearly midnight. It's nice to have a relationship with him now; I missed most of his life till just a couple years ago.

Today was a productive day for Mike and I, as we started cleaning (a.k.a, de-Hawkeye-ing) the house and rearranging the furniture. First thing first, we took down the baby gate and opened our family room back up to...well, the family. The house feels so different now, and we've been spending a lot more time down there.


We're now working on finding some area rugs for the tiled floor since we'll be down there more now and don't have to worry about our dog chewing/peeing on them.
It was a quick weekend of definite ups and downs, but all in all I'm at peace.

Ode to Hawkeye

We are taking Hawkeye up to his new home in Hubbard in a couple hours, and I'm just using naptime to look back at all our photos with him from the last 3 years. There have been lots of good times, and I just hope he has many, many more from here on out in a home where he's more central than he is here. Here are some of the good ones:










We'll miss you, buddy.

Happy 5 Months, Benj!

He's starting to grow in new hair to replace the fallen baby hair. It's a much lighter shade of brown, with a slightly red tint.

the highlight of my day

My mother-in-law stopped by to see the boys yesterday and, as always, brought many gifts and treats for them. This time, though, I couldn't hold it against her because she brought me a very special treat that I couldn't turn down: cinnamon rolls from the Iowa Machine Shed. These babies are H U G E, and after the breakfast hour, any leftover rolls are sold for a buck fifty. You gotta see these (Note: I put the fork in the photo for perspective; it's hard to tell the size without the fork there for scale)


The frosted is my favorite, by the caramel was ooey-gooey and the chocolate chip cookie was just plain too big.

Just in case you can't tell how MUCH frosting is on there, here's another look


Ahhhhhh...I can feel my teeth rotting in my head as I type. But they are totally worth it...I am in heaven with my roll and coffee.

Other fun shots

Babies are fascinating creatures. This new trick of his makes diaper changes long and complicated.


Obama fans dressed to the tee for the first debate last week. We showed up like this to a household filled with 3 McCain supporters and one undecided democrat.

Last weekend Jack, Ben and I went down to the farmer's market with Colleen, Caleb, Abby, and Jackson. The (older) boys got to ride the train


Abby and Jackson led the bunch, followed by an oh-so-thrilled Jack, and Colleen and Caleb held up the rear. Ben and I took photos.