Various Sundries

I've been going back and forth with some posts about the "vacation" but I think I'm going to just pass. It was a family reunion with lots of people and unfortunately, my introvert was deeply scarred by the whole thing. I have been quite content to bury my head in the sand of my home for the past few days and speak to no one. I literally have left the house only to trod so far as the mailbox to gather the mail. And that was only yesterday because it was the day our mail hold came off. I haven't bothered to go out today - I might send Tim before bed. Just cause it's generally a good idea to bring in th email. We did go on a llama trek and it was loads of fun and I will, as soon as I find the camera, post a picture from that, because hey, llamas are cool. (I honestly am not sure what was so cool about it - it's just a regular hike while holding onto the lead rope of a llama. But for whatever reason, it was much more fun than a normal hike. And the baby seems to adore llamas just like his daddy.)

Speaking of the baby, he was an absolute angel all last week. He took his naps and actually slept, he went to bed and basically slept the night through, everyone was amazed at what a good sleeper he was. (In fact, they commented along the lines of "He's such a good sleeper, we never get to see him." but I'm taking that as a compliment. Because I'm sure that's how it was meant.) All this sleeping was, clearly, preparation for coming home and cutting a tooth - an activity that means that no one should be sleeping because the baby? He is in pain. We're doing what we can on the pain front, but the major teething symptom we're having is clingyness - and while I will cater to that to some degree during the day, bedtime does come, and bedtime means that everyone is in their own bed. It breaks my heart to have him grab a fistful of my shirt and look up at me very clearly wondering why I am leaving him all alone in his crib that is fully twenty feet away from where I'll be, and yet, I am not a family bed person. (And amazingly, once he's asleep? He doesn't notice I'm not there.) So I am breaking some of the "rules" and am rocking him to sleep and putting him down only once he's conked. But I figure allowances must be made for people with sharp little bones sawing their way through their flesh.

Beyond that, I'm feeling only marginally overwhelmed about my PhD, the class that I'm currently teaching, and the general disorder of my home. And by marginally, I mean severely. That said, I'm enjoying this class much more than the last - new subject, and it's a subject I dearly love to boot, and it's a 200 level class so the students actually seem to have a few clues. But then, it's week 1, and I'm always optimistic during week 1.

So, now that I'm back from vacation I would dearly love to have a vacation.