Another School Year About to Start

As long as everything goes at it should and I keep my shit together, this will be my last year as an undergrad. I am excited about school because it means interacting with adults again and getting out of the house on a regular basis, having a schedule. It also means Cole is going back to school and playing with other kids, someone else gets to do diaper duty and clean up after him. Good stuff. We had a lot of fun this summer, but I didn't get out and take him to playgrounds as much as I wanted to. I am so bad at creating a schedule for myself when I don't have something to go and do. I have learned this summer that I am NOT cut out to be a stay at home mom and homemaker. Some women are good at that. I am not one of them. While I did love having that time with Cole, I feel like it is better for both of us when I am in responsible mode for school. I just allow myself to relax and slip back into bad habits over the summer. Cole's bed time was ridiculously late most of the summer. I am ready to initiate a nice regular bedtime so I can make sure he gets enough sleep. We'll see how that works out. *smirk*

I thought I was going to get more babysitting jobs over the summer. I applied for a few and only got a couple of responses. The problem is that I can't just drop what I am doing and meet with the parents for an interview whenever it's convenient for them. I have a kid too. Parents don't want to have to care about their babysitter's kids. So I ended up up getting a LOT less work than I imagined for the summer. Oh well. My former neighbor was (is?) interested in having me bring Cole to watch her LO (who is only 5 days younger than Cole) at her house a couple of days a week. At first she was talking about the end of August/Beginning of September. Now she is saying possibly October. She is a bit of a flake and I doubt it will happen. But it would be nice if it did happen because it bring in an extra $100 a week which would help so much. But besides the fact that she is a flake, I also have to worry about moving my car while babysitting unless I get a neighborhood parking permit. Without one, there is only 2 hour parking allowed in the neighborhood (almost all neighborhoods in SF have this) or I get a ticket. So, like I said, chances are this isn't going to happen. But a girl can hope, right?

Well, better get to bed. Big day tomorrow!

Too Much Bad Luck

Of course it's mostly my fault. First I found out that I missed the deadline to sign up for internship in the fall. Internship is required to graduate. Then I found out I missed my early priority registration date so I can't register for any classes until one month before classes start. Now I find out I have maxed out my student loans and have to scramble to find a way to pay for my last year at SFSU. As if we're not struggling as it is. There is a chance this means that Cole won't be able to go to the school daycare in the fall which breaks my heart the most. He was really flourishing there, making friends. It was so fun for him. The daycare provides him with a social learning environment that I just can't duplicate at home. I know we will find a way to make this work, but I am just floored at the road blocks I'm running into. I am so close to getting my BA. I HAVE to finish!! And I desperately want Cole to keep going to the daycare. It is so good for him. I was hoping to enjoy being done with the semester but now I just have something else school-related to stress about. Gaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

ETA: Now that my last final is done and I just have my paper left, I am feeling a little less anxious. But I still have a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

2011 Here We Come!

Well, we survived the long drive to Southern California. The drive down wasn't all that bad but the drive up was not fun. Cole screamed for the last 2 hours of the 10-hour trip non-stop. It was worth it, though to be home that Sunday night rather than waiting and me driving back during the night with very little sleep and snow/ice on the Grapevine part of I-5. Cole was an absolute doll in his little suit he wore for the wedding, too.

Despite the butt-kicking of the fall semester, I got all A's! Well, one was a A- but I was thrilled with that! I thought I wouldn't get higher than a B in that class. Guess it paid off not missing any classes. Cole is going to be in daycare on campus for the spring semester. I managed to get all of my classes to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays which makes the daycare tuition very affordable. I think it will be really good for him to have more time around other people, especially other kids.

Cole's first Christmas was pretty awesome. He made out like a bandit. I still need to upload the pics from our camera from Christmas day. Of course I had to get a picture of him with Santa. I wasn't sure if he would freak out or not. He started to get a little upset, but the photographer's assistant was able to distract him long enough to get a great picture.

Cole turns a year old on Thursday. Wow. That's all I can say about that. Wow. So I think I will leave this post at that.

Funny Video - Elf Yourself!

Just Livin' Life

School is kicking my butt this semester. My grades are decent enough, from what I know, but it's a bit overwhelming. I just never have enough time for anything. I keep putting off getting Cole's hair cut even though it badly needs it because I either don't have the time or don't have the money. It's frustrating. I have a few big papers and projects coming up and I am scared to death of them.

I also have a very long drive to southern California coming up the weekend after Thanksgiving that scares the shit out of me. 10-month-olds don't do very well on long car trips in general and Cole doesn't do well in cars. It's a month away and I am so, so nervous about this. I'm going to be in a wedding and I am also really nervous about how Cole will do during the wedding. I may end up having to hold him during the ceremony. Boy I hope it's a short one! The only other person Cole knows really well that will be there is also in the wedding. He's generally OK when it comes to strangers, but I am usually right there so he can go back to me if he gets nervous. Gah!!! I'm going to have to do most of the driving, too, so it's going to be an exhausting trip. The worst part is that I have to go to school the next day after we get back. Waaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!! I want so badly to be able to look forward to this wedding but I am absolutely dreading it. I can't say I am not able to go because that means my friend who is also in the wedding won't be able to go either unless she flies which she can't afford to do (neither can I, which is why we're driving). I hate, hate, hate that I am dreading one of my best friend's wedding and I feel like such a bad friend for it. Leaving Cole at home really isn't a good option because he won't sleep without me there which means G won't either. Plus I would have to pump like crazy to make sure there was enough milk for him and I would have to pump while I was in So Cal and I don't have any good way to store that milk. So it would basically end up being even more work to not bring Cole and just as stressful. We'll get through it and then it will be over with. *sigh*

Back to School

School started last week. but this week was my first full week of school. Mondays are the hardest because I'm in school for 8 hours and I really hate being away from Cole for so long. I have been so spoiled being able to be with him so much. I don't know how working mothers do it 5 days a week. My friend K is taking care of him which makes me feel tons better, but on Monday afternoon he was crying when I called to check in on them and it made me cry. I just wanted to leave school and go to him. I'm so glad I have this Monday off for Labor Day! It will get better, though, I'm sure. It is nice to be back on campus. Taking on-line classes is actually a lot harder in some ways. Plus, being on campus around other adults is good for me. I am taking an aerobics class which I love even though it's been kicking my butt so far. I sure hope it helps me lose some more of this baby weight!

I have finally started to be able to get Cole to soothe himself asleep again. It was hit and miss for awhile but he has been increasingly difficult to rock or nurse to sleep so I had little choice but to find another way. He actually just fell asleep for his morning nap. I have him on a slightly more consistent routine than I had been doing before which I think helps immensely. I was not consistent enough with our routine before and I know that made it harder for him to be able to get to sleep. Having a school schedule already in place helps me a lot with that.

Cole turns 8 months in a couple of weeks. He can do an army crawl really well. His movements are becoming a lot more organized into a cross-crawl patter even though he isn't up on his hands and knees yet. When he first started the army or belly crawl he would push mostly with one leg while the other dragged behind a little bit. Now he uses both legs and arms equally. I have heard about babies staying with the belly crawl and never moving to a standard crawl. I don't know if that's what Cole will do or not but it seems to me like he is progressing to a standard crawl. I have a feeling that in the next month he will start to get up on his hands and knees.

He has had his bottom 2 teeth since the first week of July. He actually got his first tooth on our wedding anniversary - June 29th. He got his 2nd tooth exactly a week later. Now his top right tooth is trying to come through. I believe the bottom right was the first one to come through. So it is happening in a very orderly fashion. It feels like his tooth is right there ready to pop through the gums any minute, but it could also still have another week to go. Poor bubs. Between teething and the recent hot weather we've been getting it has been hard for him to sleep. Which means I haven't been getting very good sleep either. The weather is cooling down a bit which hopefully means better sleep for all. This warm weather is our summer, actually. Too bad summer starts when school starts back. :o( Oh well, at least we get some semblance of warm weather, right?

Anyway, some pics of Cole from August:




Here are a couple from the 6-month photo shoot we did at home:

I Suck at Blogging

Again it has been way too long since I last did a blog post.Blogging is really hard with a baby! Cole's naps are usually so short and when he is sleeping I usually just want to veg on the computer and not do anything that requires thinking. At the moment he is fussing in his crib while I am sitting here hoping he will fall asleep on his own. In June I had him successfully falling asleep on his own for naps. But in the last weekend of June I went to San Diego for my uncle's wedding and that totally threw the nap routine out the window. He started rolling over regularly both ways while in San Diego and I think that new found ability has a big effect on his ability to fall asleep. We caught a cold from my dad and I think that also had an effect. Cole turned 6 months on Tuesday. I cannot believe that it has already been half a year. With turning 6 months he now is developing separation anxiety which is also making nap time more difficult. Just had to go in and soothe him because he was getting too upset. I hate how easy it is to disrupt a good routine. The rest of the month is probably a lost cause as far as naps go. Next week Cole has his 6 month well baby check and shots. So that will probably make him extra fussy and cranky. There is a very small chance that the shots will make him a little sleepier and will help but I am not counting on it. Then the following week We will be staying at my friend's house while some other friends come in to town to stay there too. Chances are we will not have any decent nap routine during that week. It almost makes me want to shut myself up in my home and never go anywhere because I have to deal with the consequences of it for weeks afterward. I know that there is the possibility that his nap routine would have gotten screwed up anyway. But it still sucks. How can I ever get him to learn to soothe himself? He needs more sleep and I need that extra time to myself. Oh well, enough about that for now.

Here is a fairly recent pic. I need to upload more pics from the camera.