It's incredibly rewarding to be a parent. It's thrilling at times. Other adjectives include awesome, fun, awestruck, proud, and the list goes on.
It is also the hardest and the most demanding job you will ever have.
Case in point: Today is final's day for both Damm and myself. His are all today because he's shipping out and they have to be; mine are all today by happy coincidence. So a good night's sleep is in order. BUT. The Orclette squirmed, tossed, and turned for quite a while. This didn't affect me as I already had fallen asleep but Damm had a rough time of it. Then, at 2 a.m., the Orclette fully woke up saying that it "hurts" and clutching her legs. We inspected her-absolutely nothing wrong that we could see and her legs were working perfectly-and were somewhat at a loss as to what to do. I didn't think she was actually hurting. So we took a shower. And then we all huddled together under the blankets.
Apparently this was the correct thing to do because she fell asleep without a peep after that. I think that the stress is getting to her too. I think she knows one of us is leaving. But what can one do? I've tried not to outwardly show how stressed I am but there has been a wee bit more snappishness than usual. Damm is trying to get in all the last-minute stuff and fit in spending time with the Orclette-he gets dangerously near teary-eyed whenever he thinks of leaving her. He's been told he can't focus on that. I'm not allowed to focus on that either.
I'm allowed to focus on the fact that school is over, finals are over, and I didn't do too badly this year. Both history classes I aced, although I can't promise I will get as stellar a grade seeing as how I got less than the usual amount of sleep last night. English I would've aced had it been an entire semester rather than a mini-one and, judging by how the teacher has graded/recieved the other stuff, I still think I'm getting an A. Spanish. Sigh. Both classes that our teacher is in charge of bombed the last test. I'm talking everyone. Now, going into that last class neither Damm nor I were assigning blame, other than observing that it isn't all the student's fault when two entire classes get significantly lower grades. And then she yelled at us.
And got sarcastic. And snippy. Very, very bad form for a teacher. And during the course of the class both Damm and I asked reasonable questions and were answered with sarcasm and the hint of a sneer. At that point I really wanted to say "Watch your tone there missy" and shake my finger at her because she isn't that much older than I am and I have 2 kids so that makes me older anyway :D I didn't because, though I wish to the contrary, I am not a confrontational person. And so this entire weekend it's been really hard to even care about the Spanish final. I know that's silly-I want a good grade despite the teacher. Damm did say that (he learned this in linguistics class) in order to learn a second language there must be positive attitudes toward the language. Oh well. If I do fairly well on the final I think I'll come out with a B.
And beginning tomorrow you will read of Wulfa and Orclette living la vida loca. More likely it will be what t.v. show we watched that day :D As it gets hotter this pregnant person gets more disinclined toward movement. And I upped our Netflix account to 2 DVD's at a time. Cool, huh? And there are some projects I will be working on-mostly craft stuff. I might take pictures and show them off. And I will be cooking.
(wow I am rambly today) I recommend the Hungry Girl cookbook if you are single and want to watch your calories. She uses a lot of fat-free and sugar-free stuff though, so if you're like me and can't stand most of that stuff opt for low-fat and whole grain instead. More calories but more nutritious overall. I also checked out the "Bitches in the Kitchen" book. They've got a whole series now and I was curious. Opened the front page and they told me that coffee was very bad and I shouldn't drink it. That book got returned to the library real quick (they also like to use lots of tofu and soy, neither of which I'm a proponent of). Didn't check out any other high-profile cookbooks, just some generic stuff. I'm hoping to build up a pantry and meal-list to get us through Spring 2010 with little trouble/effort on my part, since we'll both be in school again and the little one will have made its appearance. I got really tired of Hot Pockets and cereal for dinner this semester ....
Ok, I'm stopping myself. I have some last-minute studying to do.
It is also the hardest and the most demanding job you will ever have.
Case in point: Today is final's day for both Damm and myself. His are all today because he's shipping out and they have to be; mine are all today by happy coincidence. So a good night's sleep is in order. BUT. The Orclette squirmed, tossed, and turned for quite a while. This didn't affect me as I already had fallen asleep but Damm had a rough time of it. Then, at 2 a.m., the Orclette fully woke up saying that it "hurts" and clutching her legs. We inspected her-absolutely nothing wrong that we could see and her legs were working perfectly-and were somewhat at a loss as to what to do. I didn't think she was actually hurting. So we took a shower. And then we all huddled together under the blankets.
Apparently this was the correct thing to do because she fell asleep without a peep after that. I think that the stress is getting to her too. I think she knows one of us is leaving. But what can one do? I've tried not to outwardly show how stressed I am but there has been a wee bit more snappishness than usual. Damm is trying to get in all the last-minute stuff and fit in spending time with the Orclette-he gets dangerously near teary-eyed whenever he thinks of leaving her. He's been told he can't focus on that. I'm not allowed to focus on that either.
I'm allowed to focus on the fact that school is over, finals are over, and I didn't do too badly this year. Both history classes I aced, although I can't promise I will get as stellar a grade seeing as how I got less than the usual amount of sleep last night. English I would've aced had it been an entire semester rather than a mini-one and, judging by how the teacher has graded/recieved the other stuff, I still think I'm getting an A. Spanish. Sigh. Both classes that our teacher is in charge of bombed the last test. I'm talking everyone. Now, going into that last class neither Damm nor I were assigning blame, other than observing that it isn't all the student's fault when two entire classes get significantly lower grades. And then she yelled at us.
And got sarcastic. And snippy. Very, very bad form for a teacher. And during the course of the class both Damm and I asked reasonable questions and were answered with sarcasm and the hint of a sneer. At that point I really wanted to say "Watch your tone there missy" and shake my finger at her because she isn't that much older than I am and I have 2 kids so that makes me older anyway :D I didn't because, though I wish to the contrary, I am not a confrontational person. And so this entire weekend it's been really hard to even care about the Spanish final. I know that's silly-I want a good grade despite the teacher. Damm did say that (he learned this in linguistics class) in order to learn a second language there must be positive attitudes toward the language. Oh well. If I do fairly well on the final I think I'll come out with a B.
And beginning tomorrow you will read of Wulfa and Orclette living la vida loca. More likely it will be what t.v. show we watched that day :D As it gets hotter this pregnant person gets more disinclined toward movement. And I upped our Netflix account to 2 DVD's at a time. Cool, huh? And there are some projects I will be working on-mostly craft stuff. I might take pictures and show them off. And I will be cooking.
(wow I am rambly today) I recommend the Hungry Girl cookbook if you are single and want to watch your calories. She uses a lot of fat-free and sugar-free stuff though, so if you're like me and can't stand most of that stuff opt for low-fat and whole grain instead. More calories but more nutritious overall. I also checked out the "Bitches in the Kitchen" book. They've got a whole series now and I was curious. Opened the front page and they told me that coffee was very bad and I shouldn't drink it. That book got returned to the library real quick (they also like to use lots of tofu and soy, neither of which I'm a proponent of). Didn't check out any other high-profile cookbooks, just some generic stuff. I'm hoping to build up a pantry and meal-list to get us through Spring 2010 with little trouble/effort on my part, since we'll both be in school again and the little one will have made its appearance. I got really tired of Hot Pockets and cereal for dinner this semester ....
Ok, I'm stopping myself. I have some last-minute studying to do.
Comments
As for Cookbooks, I have no idea how accomplished you are already, but we love Alton Brown's "I"m just here for the Food". It has a lot of technique in it along with recipes. He's the guy who does the "Good Eats" show on the Food Network, and he's very good at explaining HOW to do something and why you want to do it that way. He's also extremely funny and entertaining. :)
I'm sure the world will feel as though its standing still while he is gone. If there is anything from cold country Canada we can do to brighten a day for you, just let us know:)
All the best