Back to work

Today, I'm sad to say, is my last day of maternity leave.  I've had 4 and half months, 3 and a half of which have been with my wee one.  I've got a new job that I'm excited for, but my heart is breaking.  I don't have much to say other than that.  I'm going to make the most of today.

Miscellania

My maternity leave is winding down.  I have two weeks left.  How fast it has gone...and I took a relatively long leave of 4 and a half months (and by relatively long I mean by US standards, not by the standards of the clearly more enlightened European countries where maternity leave is a year).

So what's a girl to do with such little time left?  The LO is getting more agreeable by the day (most days that is) and naps a bit here and there and plays a bit here and there.  I find in the evenings his long nap between 7:30pm and my bedtime is almost strange...my hands feel awkwardly free.  I am sorely tempted to pick up the evil Warcraft addiction during that time.  But what I *should* do is pick up some crocheting.  Or some quilting.  Or some learning to make fascinators.  Or...or...or??  It's amazing how 2 hours of free time seems like so much now.

What I have been doing is cleaning, one room at a time.  The bedroom was first...I've cleared out all clothes that no longer fit and either packed them away for post-baby-weight-loss time or sent off to goodwill.  And I took down the celtic and asian hodgepodge of artwork that has adorned my bedroom walls for a dozen years.  I searched high and low for replacements until it became an obsession.  But finally I opted to frame some old botanicals and such that were sitting unused in the back of my closet.  They look nice, though DH describes them as "granny".

I also replaced the curtains.  I had a lovely batik fabric, which never pleased me as curtains.  I bought some simple charcoal colored linen curtains at Ikea and altered them to fit as dummy panels.  Charcoal will match better with any artwork and any bed linens.  This change DH is pleased with.

So...off to another room and another item on my to-do list.  Cheerio, bloglings.

Another project completed!

If there's one thing I've learned by being a new mom, its that free time is a precious commodity.  Before the LO arrived, I had oodles of free time and I'd fritter it away watching TV, surfing the net and doing generally nothing worthwhile.  Now I value that time so much that I make good use of every moment.  I'm actually...get this...*finishing* projects.  Um...wow.

My latest completion is a quilt for my wee nephew.  Well considering he's already almost as big as my 3 month old son I suppose "wee" isn't the most fitting description.  But the quilt is wee, and so I felt compelled to finish it ASAP before the munchkin outgrows it!  Now that my own LO has finally consented to nap during the day on his own, I've been piecing the top together bit by bit.  And then my darling husband agreed to tend to him for a few hours the last couple of Saturdays so I could really crank it out.  And at last its done, just in time for our visit to my brother's house today.

I love the way it turned out and I must give a shout out to Gypsy Junk for her input when I selected fabric.  She discovered the monkey head fabric, which really makes it.

Welcome 2011

Another year, come and gone...and what a doozy 2010 was!  "The year of pregnancy" I believe I called it in an earlier post.  And the last part of it has been what some baby books lovingly call the 4th trimester.  It's been a bit of a rough go, I can't say my little one is an easy baby.  But he's so perfect and wonderful that I'm sure we'll get through it and be no worse for the wear.

Every year I make resolutions and every year by the time February comes around I have forgotten them. I don't even remember my new years resolution for 2010.  And I only remember 2009 because it was captured here on my little blog.  So why do I continue to make resolutions?  I don't know...the new year can't come without me pondering my life and where I want to be...who I want to be.

What shall it be this year then?  Usually I over-commit...maybe that's why I don't remember my resolutions.  This year I only have one...inspired by my wee bairn:

BE PATIENT

That's it.  Patience.  Not a virtue I have in abundance, to say the least.  More of it would benefit me in all aspects of my life, especially in my fumbling attempts at new motherhood. 

So there you have it.  For 2011 I resolve to say to myself:  "patience young padawan, for you have much to learn".

Happy new year.

Welcome to Motherhood

Well, at long last the little one has arrived.  He's a month old now, and at the risk of sounding cliche, motherhood is infinitely more rewarding and challenging than I had ever expected.  He's adorable...bright-eyed, cuddly, already smiling and extraordinarily gifted at exhausting me...as babies tend to be.  I'm totally in love.

I know it won't be long before he's squirming away when I try to hold him, but oh!  If only the little devil would let us put him down for a moment!  He came out with the natural ability to manipulate mommy and daddy into just about anything.  When he is 2, 12, 22...boy will we be screwed!  :)

In the meantime, I will rock my baby as much as he wants and gaze at his perfect little face.  Any day that includes three square meals, a shower and enough time to check my email and take a nap...that day is a success.  We'll worry about everything else later.