So we did it.  We decided to try Calder on cereal.  He was a bit flummoxed by the spoon at first, but he eventually caught on.  I think that making it a little thicker will help and he seems to have enjoyed it.  We’re going to keep trying just one meal in the evenings for a bit and then maybe switch to a couple of meals of oatmeal per day.  Here’s my favorite photo of his first official “meal.”

With our first official teacher workday today, and our daycare provider off to move her daughter into her dorm room, Calder was able to spend the day with Grandma.  They played, laughed, talked and read books.  I think they both had a great time!  Garth and I got home around 3:30 and were able to spend a good evening hanging out and getting things around for tomorrow.

I think that’s going to be the hardest part of this new school schedule.  I’m really used to either staying really late working on things at school or coming home and resting for a bit and then really getting to work later.  But now, I want to spend every moment with Calder, then I have to get lunches around, pump parts washed, bottles frozen, running in, and that’s not considering schoolwork or things for church or the writing project.  I’m not saying this as “woe is me” anymore, just in awe of how I’ll get it all done!  But I know I will….and I have a awesome husband who is so great at helping with these things!  What’s more, he’s a great role model for me with the way he can get so much accomplished at school in a short amount of time!

I really hope to keep writing on a daily basis, but it might take me a little bit to figure out just how to get stuff posted.  Speaking of…I just uploaded a bunch of pictures to Flickr.  There are the pics of the downed tree, our camping trip, the outlaw party in the UP from last weekend and a few random shots too!  Check ’em out!

For some odd reason I feel really poopy this morning.  No, not like little C-man, though that has been getting much better!  And in true Amanda style (over-analyze much?) I feel bad about feeling bad.  I mean, after all, we just returned from a wonderful weekend in the U.P. with family, friends and great food (lots of flowers too!).  And, we were even part of the modern society again upon our arrival at home.  Well, close.  We have power, but no cable and no phone….so it still feels like the dark ages in some ways!  We actually watched a video last night.  Not a DVD, a video!  How strange is that?

Another positive is that Calder slept for nearly 3 of the 4+ hours of the drive home yesterday.  Around hour 3 we started getting a little worried about what the night might hold.  After feverishly inhaling his dinner, playing for about an hour and watching us feverishly inhale our dinner, it was bath time.  And miraculously, he still turned in at 7:30!!!  He woke up around 8:30-9:00 as usual, and wanted a little snuggle time after his late night snack.

OK, so I think the real reason for the bad mood is a) the weird stench in my classroom and b) the fact that I have to take all my furniture into the hallway in order to have the cleaning crew re-shampoo the carpet to get rid of the weird stench.  ARRRGHH!  With today and tomorrow left as our “officially unofficial” work days I was feeling good about my progress.  I just loaded my new book shelves, have all my little “homey” touches in place, and was about to tackle posters and books.  Now, I have to empty out and start fresh again!  Give me a while and I’m sure I won’t feel so “woe is me,” but for now, I’m bummed!

OK, so I’m going to summarize as efficiently as possible the insane events that ensued yesterday.  I’ll begin with daycare….

Miss K: (with a look of uncertainty) I have a confession.

Immediately my mind slips back to the last time I heard those words from my very own mother in Colorado, where I learned that my son had been momentarily locked in the hotel room.  Alone!  Luckily he was in his pack and play and all turned out just fine

Me: Okay? (spoken calmly)

Miss K: Madey (Golden Retriever pup) ate Calder’s pacifier.

Me: (breathing a sigh of relief) Oh!  That’s no problem, we have another one at home.

Miss K: And since he didn’t have it, he hasn’t taken a good nap since this morning.

Me: No problem, he’ll be fine.  I’m just interested in how Madey will be?!

What I thought would be heart-dropping news, turned out to be rather trivial and funny.  The irony there, is that Calder’s two pacifiers have travelled to California, Colorado, the UP, Ypsilanti, Grand Rapids and countless other places, without being lost.  I wonder if the pacifier rule is like the accident rule?  You know, most accidents happen within a certain distance from home.

With our back-up binky firmly in place, Calder and I snuggled later on the couch while my darling husband went about the business of completing odd jobs around the house since we’d be leaving in the morning.  Fast forward a few hours and he and Miss Micah return home and we start watching a movie on cable.  The lightning and thunder picks up, as does the rain and wind.  About half-way through our movie, there’s a big crack of thunder and all goes dark. 

This was the kind of thunder that shook your core, the kind you could feel with a thud in your chest.  Or, was it?

“We just lost a big tree!” Garth exclaimed from the red room. 

With that, we were all peering out the window to bear witness to the monstrous portion of the tree near our property that was currently blocking the entire street, the trunk-sized branch of which was suspended above the ground courtesy of our power lines.

“Holy crap!” I breathed, fogging up the window.

The storm continued to rage for about 30 minutes longer, while we called Consumer’s and lit candles so we could play dominoes to take Micah’s mind off the craziness.  As I write, Micah, Calder and I are at school and Garth is at home, still without power, waiting for Consumer’s to arrive.  As we left town, we saw about 4-5 other trees/branches littering sidewalks, streets and yards. 

Hopefully we’ll be able to head out before too long!  And (as has become my catch-phrase) I took pics of the tree, and will post them soon!

Garth laid Calder down shortly after my fruitless trip to the Shoppe.  However, he wasn’t having any part of it.  I let him cry it out for a while, but then this wave of sadness swept over me and I had to go pick him up.  I could see he was clearly tired and I knew he needed to sleep.  I also knew, however, that he would be hungry again in about an hour, so I decided to feed him.  He promptly fell asleep.

That’s when it hit me.

These past two days have been an adventure, and I’m really excited to be back in my classroom, setting up and getting things orgainzed.  Yet, when I look at that perfectly plump face, and those sleepy little lashes and I think about how I’m going from 24 hours a day with him, to precious groggy moments in the morning and a few hours before bedtime each night, I get pretty sad.  So, I cried.  My daycare dropoff tears were delayed by a couple of days, but they did finally arrive!  After he finally gave in to sleep, I just sat here on the couch, watching him.