random thoughts

All day I think of things I would like to write down. Most of them are about Noah; things that I don't want to ever forget, because he's so darn cute. But by the end of the day, all I want to do is crawl in bed.

Speaking of which, it seems that I'm the only one in our family that wants/needs sleep. It's getting ridiculous. Noah isn't too bad, but he's been going to bed much later than normal. All of our visitors and late nights have screwed up his sleeping habits. His bedtime now is around 10:30pm. This wouldn't be all that bad, but because Brad has to go to bed much earlier than this, I can't really bring Noah in the bathroom and take a shower. Noah likes to hear his voice echo... which isn't really conducive for someone trying to sleep.

Except...

Brad's not sleeping either.
He's so ridiculously stressed out. I have a weird love/hate relationship with Target. I love shopping there. It makes me happy. I love the fact that I can buy some milk and go browse seasonal decorating stuff under one roof. And it's different from Walmart. I don't think I need to explain how. Walmart makes me feel squeamish most of the time. I'm very aware that there are "nice" Walmarts... but I'm sorry, they just don't make me as happy as Target.
Then there's the hate side. I hate them for making my husband into a stressed out, overworked, underpaid zombie of a man. He works like a dog, and he keeps getting chewed out over a process that isn't working and that he isn't really in charge of. It's so dumb.
But yeah. He has slept a total of 6 hours in the last 2 days. Hopefully, as I type this, he's fallen asleep and gets some rest. Because he has a truck to unload in the morning, without adequate manpower, and has 2700 boxes in it.
Dear Lord, please send an angel my husband's way and give him a new job...

I went for a walk tonight with my mom and little sister in their neighborhood (my old neighborhood). It really is the best place ever to walk. Lots of big. shady trees lining the roads, friendly neighbors stopping to update us on their kids (my old friends). It has the perfect combination of hills and flat road. It's nice to go back "home" sometimes.

Noah is the cutest thing ever. I have his favorite books memorized now, so instead of actually reading the words, I watch his face as I turn the pages. His little eyes scan all of the pictures, and you can tell he's really thinking about what all of this means.

He likes cats. Unfortunately, cats don't always love him back. You know how cats are... finicky, independent. My mom has three cats in her house, all female, all with different personalities. There's Pickle (originally my cat, but now she hangs out with Madison), Kitten (Madison couldn't decide on a name, so we all kept calling her "kitten" until she picked one... and it stuck), and Lily (the one we rescued from our back yard).
Pickle is older and will let him pet her, but she doesn't quite enjoy it. She looks like she's bracing herself for the worst, all clenched up and stuff. She acts as if he's about to pull her fur out any minute. He really likes Kitten, and she likes him too. The problem? He holds his arms out, expecting her to be like the dogs and come running to him, but his sudden movements and loud squeals make her nervous.
We took him to PetSmart over the weekend to let him see the different animals. He thinks birds are funny. And then we made the mistake of going to look at the cats. Specifically, the cutest, tiniest kittens you've ever seen.
I found a little guy named Cooper. He was about the size of my hand. He shares a cage with two other babies. The other two were running around, tackling eachother, playing with their tails... and Cooper sat next to the front, very calmly, and let Noah and I pet him. He licked our fingers and purred. When we walked away, he let out the sweetest, "Mew?" as if he was saying, "Where are you going?" Ugh. This is why I don't visit these places. Because I have a scary possibility of turning into one of those women living with 20 cats. And I just can't be that lady.

I have somehow, miraculously, lost a pound or two. I'm not really sure, because I haven't weighed myself in a couple of weeks until tonight. And everyone knows you can't trust the scale at the end of the day. That's not your real weight. We shall see tomorrow morning.

The laundry soap I made is awesome. Our clothes are clean, they still smell nice, and I feel like I've contributed.

I've also realized how different life is once you're married with a baby. (I know. Duh.)
But really, it's hit me that before, I could easily spend my day walking miles, doing aerobics, lifting weights. There was no one to miss me. Nobody really needed me that badly. If I wanted to spend a whole night scrapbooking, while watching Friends and eating ice cream, I could. No problem.
Girls night? Sure! Name the time and place.

But now? Now I have to make sure Brad will be home or I have my mom around to watch Noah. I can't spend my day working out. I have laundry. And dishes. And toys randomly strewn about the house. There are weeds that are taking over my flower bed and veggie garden. Then there's the hour I get to spend with my hubby after work, before he *attempts* to go to bed. The baby needs to be fed, multiple times a day. He wants my attention. It's too hot to go for a walk during the day. Plus, he takes a nap; which means I can either go do P90x in front of the tv, or I can spend the hour or two updating my blog, making his baby food, making phone calls, etc. See what I mean? Not quite the same as before.
But it's so worth it. I'd gladly take the extra pounds for the rest of my life just to be with Noah and see his silly self grow up. He's the funniest, cutest little guy. He makes me laugh, and he's got the sweetest temperament.

We're going to the beach in October with my family. Thank God. You know why that's so awesome? It won't be too hot. There will be multiple people to watch Noah if I want to go for a swim or read a book. I can't wait. The last time I went to the beach was when I was 4 months pregnant, and it was too cold to swim.
I'm in for a much needed vacation.