Define: Reboot

My last post was in 2013, which seems weird, but also sounds about right.  Life has gotten much busier since then, but oh so much fuller and wonderful.

Beckett, who hadn't even been born yet, is almost three!  I was thinking about that today, and I don't know if that seems like a really short time, or a really long time.  Three years doesn't sound that long, but I can't imagine life without him, either.
Beckett, at almost three, is a busy boy.  He has so. much. energy.  He was sick a few weeks ago, and I kept saying I was worried about how lethargic he was, until my mother-in-law mentioned that what I was calling extreme lethargy was just normal sick kid.
Being a big brother has really suited Beckett.  We never had any problems with him being jealous, or acting out after Jericho was born.  He says, "Aww!" or "Sweet!" in this super high pitched voice, and gives her a hug about 20 times a day.  We did worry at the beginning that he'd accidentally smother her when trying to cover her with a blanket, but she did survive.  The worry now is just being gentle in general, which he's still working on.
His words have made leaps and bounds in the last couple months, but sometimes I like it more when he doesn't quite know how to say what he means.  Whenever I say, "I love you, Beckett," he says right back, "Love you, Beckett."  I just say I'm glad he has so much self-esteem at this age.
Particular is a good word for describing Beckett.  He likes things to be done just so, and will have a nice almost-three-years-old meltdown if they aren't.  Some of the things we have done horribly wrong include: the wrong person buckling him into the car, the wrong person unbuckling him from the car, opening the fruit snacks, not opening the fruit snacks, and so on.  I don't know how we managed to get anything done without him, since everything we have ever done is wrong.

Jericho, who is almost one, is such a mama's girl.  I have always been so upset whenever Beckett wants Jamin instead of me, and this is my punishment reward.  Today while Jamin was in the shower, Beckett told me he needed to use the potty.  I set Jericho down to help him, and she screamed so loud and for so long that Jamin asked what had happened to her when he got out of the shower.  I had to reassure him that she had not been hurt.  He tried to take her from me, at which point she began to sob hysterically (she didn't even leave my arms, she just lost it when he reached for her).  It's a real love/hate relationship with the attachment.  I do enjoy feeling needed, and I love all the snuggles and spending time with her, but I really struggle to get things done.
Jericho loves Beckett.  She's been watching him for as long as she could see him, and her face lights up when she sees him.  She does, however, screech like a banshee when Beckett takes something away from her now.  For a while she just let it happen, but now she lets him (and everyone in the neighborhood) know that she's not happy.
She already says something that sounds like "bye bye" and waves when prompted, and loves to say "uh oh."  She's been pulling herself up for a while now, and is able to take steps holding onto hands (even though she looks a little drunk).  She wants to do what Beckett does so badly that I wouldn't be surprised if she gets walking down before her birthday.

Recently I've really gotten back into knitting.  As a result, I now have a yarn addiction.  My sister sent me a picture of her "huge stash" and I just laughed.  A co-worker got her daughter a loom-type thing for Christmas and I told her not to buy yarn, but to just take some of mine.  I gave her 3 plastic bags full, and I am ashamed to say it didn't really even make a dent.  Some of the yarn I pick up I'm too scared to use.  It's so pretty, and I'm afraid I'll waste it by making something terrible, so it just sits and waits while I buy more.  I vaguely remember saying I wouldn't buy any more until I used up some of my stash about a year ago.  I think Jamin knew it wouldn't happen, but he pretended to believe in me (while also letting me buy more yarn).
Between work and the kids, I don't get as much time to do it as I'd like, but I usually get in at least a couple rows a day.  It's something I've really grown to love doing, and it's a good way to wind down at the end of the day.

And that brings me to why I'm writing.  I need to take some time for myself, time to be by myself, to gather my thoughts, to remember what's going on at this busy stage of our lives, and to write it down because heaven knows that between the potty accidents, the food on the floor, the screeching, the tears, the skinned knees, the diaper changes, and the bumped heads, I need to take the time to savor the hugs, the giggles, the story times, the kisses, the snuggles, the new words, the walks, the games, the tickles, the "Love you, Beckett"s.

So...here we go.
SaveSave

Animal Scrabble

When I was watching Jack the other day, he said he wanted to play a game. I asked him what game, and he said, "Scrabble."
First I was really confused. "Scrabble?"
"Yeah, animal Scrabble."
I was wondering why he wanted to play Scrabble (and I knew he wouldn't be like, really playing it, but still), and wondering what "animal" Scrabble was. I asked him where it was, he directed me to the closet and pointed to the box.
Animal Scramble. That made much more sense.

I think my favorite part of yesterday was when he asked for a drink after snack. He said he wanted milk or orange juice, which I was pretty sure would be okay, but wasn't positive. I said, "How about water?" And he gave me a funny look and said, "How about not water?"
I love that kid. :)


I'm currently working on my hair school application. I'm supposed to write a letter of intent. I'm not entirely sure what that's supposed to be about. "I intend to go to your school." Then what? I don't know if this is supposed to be like, what I plan to do after, or if I'm supposed to talk myself up in it, or if I'm supposed to suck up in it.
I think it's going to end up being kind of a personal mission statement thing, what I plan to do after. We'll see.


Oh yeah, the Higher One guy hasn't called. He said he would on Monday or Tuesday. :/
I've started knitting this (the one in the bottom right corner, because that's what the pattern is for, although I really like the green one above it). I'm excited to see how it turns out. I guess I'm pretending that when I get to hair school I'll be all stylish. With my hat. It's a dream, don't judge.


I'm also looking at my options for jobs. It would be great to do reception in a salon before I get to hair school, and it might be a job I could keep once I start. But I'm also thinking that once I start, I'm going to be wanting all the breaks I can get. Classes are from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Tuesday thru Saturday. That's right, Saturday. Sunday and Monday will be my weekend. I'd rather not work on Sundays, which leaves only Monday to work. I don't know if I'll be able to hold a job for one day a week. Unless I work after classes. Which at this point, sounds not fun at all. We'll see how things go, I guess.

Define: Hodgepodge

Cara ended up with just probation, which is awesome. She was kind of bummed she can't drink or do drugs while on probation, but I told her I felt that it was probably for the best that she doesn't. Ever.

I had lunch with my friend Leah yesterday, and we talked a little bit about camp, and I got to tell her the story of JD and Becca dropping a boat on me, which made me want to be out there super bad (out there being camp, not squished between boats). Lucky for me, I am going next weekend! And the one after that as well. I am super excited, and Becca is super jealous.

She told me she was going to be gone the last weekend of January, and I said I would be at camp, and she said, "Oh good, then we won't miss each other." I said, "...por quoi? We are not allowed to miss each other when we are not at school?" And she was all "You know what I meant," huff huff. And now that I am thinking about it, I think 'por' is Spanish, and 'quoi' is French. Oops. But Becca didn't make sense either, so...yeah.

That last paragraph was ridiculous. But I am leaving it anyway. Sorry. Ish.


I started knitting a sweater. I'm not sure that this was a good idea, given my history of screwing things up (badly) on the first try. My first scarf looked like a chimney because I accidentally created 10 more stitches than there were supposed to be, so when I gradually dropped them out it got a lot narrower. My next new thing was a hat, which ended up being totally conehead-esque. The one after that wasn't so good either: I was concentrating so hard on not knitting so tightly that it ended up being way too loose, and there's a bit of a hole at the top. The next type of hat I made was actually not too bad, but it was still in the hat realm, so that probably had something to do with it. We'll see how the sweater goes.

I am also paranoid that because I did not buy the 10 skeins of yarn that the pattern said I would need all at once, that when I finish the ones that I did buy, I'll go back to the store and discover they do not make that color anymore. And then my sweater will look ridiculous, because if I get 3 skeins of yarn into it I am NOT stopping just because of a color issue.

I remember having something I wanted to write about yesterday, but I can't remember what it was anymore. I bet it will come to me during class, after which I will promptly forget again. Ahwell, c'est la vie, amigos.

Oh goodness...

I don't know how I am going to make it through Mondays for the rest of the semester. I'm pretty concerned about making it through the next hour, actually. I try to sleep between my 4-8 shift and this one, but my body just won't have it, so by the time I get out of here I am a zombie. And I have a 7:45 am class.


Ergh.


At least I'm not super behind on homework right now.
And I am knitting a cool hat. Well, it will theoretically be cool. It's a bit trickier than I thought it would be. But I don't think it'll be too bad... I'm gonna wear it either way.