“You get used to it. Or you suffer a psychotic episode.” This. Actually, that sums up just about exactly where I am. Except maybe - just maybe, I'm a little closer to the psychotic episode than I would care to admit.
I'm joking. A little.
So this week. This week has been hard. Chad's working nights, flight-following for his crew, I've been sick, plus I'm still exhausted from being pregnant (um. Consider this a blog announcement, I guess. I'm too tired to do it up right. we're due August 17th.), plus Brianna's going through her second (third?) section of separation anxiety... and yeah. Crazy stuff abounds. I send a fiery email to my MMO group about having no life and them wanting every second of what I have. True story. I felt a little bad afterward.
But... we are surviving. And. We are making progress.
So. I'm going to play "Not Me! Monday." Here goes:
I did not let Brianna sleep in the swing in my room pretty much all night several nights in a row because it was easier than fighting with her to stay asleep in her room by herself. Also, on Saturday night when I decided she needed to stay in her room to sleep - all night, it was not because the swing batteries were dead, and I couldn't find a screwdriver. I did not sleep in her room on the floor for over an hour, to make sure she was really asleep. And last night, I most certainly did not give in and take cold medicine, which I knew would cause me to be too drugged up to find my way out of the bed when she woke up, and I did not let her cry it out in the middle of the night because of the aforementioned lack of direction out of the bed.
In unrelated news, I had an awesome Valentine's yesterday, in spite of the fact that we had no babysitter, and Chad had to work all night (and the night before). If you have (a ton) of money to spend on dinner at some point, I highly recommend Killen's in Pearland. Don't be fooled by the outside - it's a really nice steakhouse, not a honky tonk, lol. And it was good. And Brianna behaved, so all was well.
This is the cow with the crumpled horn... So sleep has become a battle at our house. Brianna, going to sleep, at night, in her bed, at a reasonable time, is just something that hasn't been happening. Every night, we go through the same thing - culminating in a whiny, overtired infant who only goes to sleep after an hour (or more) of being held, rocked, and swung, and a mommy who gets nothing done and gets to bed late.
We've been trying to get a consistent bedtime routine. We tried reading stories, lavender lotion/bath stuff, and a ton of other things to help her wind down and sleep. But nothing seemed to help much - I had almost decided that it was a phase we would have to weather.
But then - I saw on one of my mommy boards, an idea to try. So. I tried it. Monday night, I took one of Brianna's soft fuzzy animal things (it's hard to describe, it's like a little blankie, but the center of it is gathered up and made into a little cow. Sounds odd, but it's cute, and really soft), and while i was running through our bedtime routine, I stuffed it in my shirt. Yes, I know this sounds crazy. You should have seen me walking around the hosue with a lovey stuffed in my shirt for an hour. Luckily, Chad was working late that night. He might have had me committed. When it was time to put her to sleep, I put her in the swing (I chickend out of trying the bed right away), and gave her the now-mama-scented lovey. She snuggled it, and talked to it, and was asleep within five minutes. Success!
Last night, we tried the same thing, except - the lovey was already mama-scented, so no need to walk around with a cow in my shirt. And. We actually put her straight in the crib. Gave her the lovey, and she did the same thing - snuggle, chatter, and off to sleep. Success again!
This morning, she was a little whiny getting up to go to daycare, and cried in her car seat... I gave her the lovey, and she was happy.
So that's what works for me. Hopefully, it will keep working! And hopefully, we'll never lose that cow, 'cause I'm sure that would be a meltdown, lol.
For more Works for me Wednesday tips, go to We are THAT Family. (I didn't follow this weeks theme, but I think that's still ok... I didn't have any great recipes to share, since most of my cooking lately has involved driving through a fast food joint, lol).
Still sorting out life but I'm doing alright It's 9pm, and I'm actually thinking about just going to bed. How freakin' lame is that?
It has been a crazy week, though... or couple of weeks... geez, a month? the summer? Suffice it to say, the craziness abounds.
Chad's schedule has been crazy, doing ISTs and other cool acronyms... which has given me a couple of evenings to chill, and have the house to myself. This is in theory pretty cool, but I have yet to figure out how to make it work. For instance, Monday night I reviewed a list of things that Manda suggested doing the last time she had the house to herself... and ended up doing none of the listed things, and instead watching City Confidential, followed by crappy reality TV (WifeSwap), followed by a really odd documentary type show about a family that has 13 kids and only spend $150 a week at the grocery store. I got some cleaning done in there, too, but mostly just watched crappy TV.
Tonight I watched City Confidential, and then got sucked into a documentary about a serial killer who eventually got caught and put on death row, but they never found half the people he killed... yeah. Really healthy TV habits. But I got some other cleaning stuff done, read the first couple of chapters of a book someone lent me, and now I'm ready to call it a night I guess...
In other news, starting September 1 I'll be a real full time employee at Landmark, doing usability and like, getting paid and stuff. And benefits. Like a real person. Isn't that amazing?
In other other news, apparently my brother tore his rotator cuff at work... so now instead of stocking produce, he's greeting people at the door. So if you happne through the Sparkman Drive Wal-mart between 4am and noon (no clue what days), you should wave at him and stuff.
And for the record, I'm not terribly fond of hurricanes. Phenomenal cosmic (destructive) power aside, the build up is annoying. And people freak out, and panic, thus causing other people to panic, and it's not fun. I like tornadoes better. They destroy smaller areas, they don't tend to come with floods, and you only have a few minutes to panic and freak out.
That being said, we have an evacuation plan, and I have now put my finger on everything we would need to take with us (a surprisingly small list, really, which makes me wonder... why do we have so much other stuff?).
Anyway. I'm falling asleep whilst typing, which is always bad. I'm going to quit fighting it, and go to bed, which is pretty sad, actually).
Have-to's and need-to's and get-to's by three Sleep. Is good. But now that I have tiem for sleep... yeah, I'm not really taking advantage of it. LotRO has somewhat cut into my sleep (something about never getting off the computer until 10:15 or 10:30, and then having to do all the stuff you should have done before gaming...), and I've be trying to get out of the house early(ish) to beat traffic. This morning, didn't work so good. I left at like, 6:45, but I had to run by the school on the way to work (the words "on the way to work" here mean "before I could go to work", not that the school is actually "on the way" anywhere from my house). So I didn't get to work until 8:30.
And all day I've been drawing little pictures. that are not icons (not that small). And trying my hand at interaction design.
Who can decide what they dream? / And dream I do... Blah. Stayed in bed until like, 2pm today, with the exception of getting up around 8:15ish to take a shower... still don't really feel like I slept. I feel more like I wasted like, 5 hours that I could have been doing something productive.
Work is becomeing a wild and crazy game of politics that I would really rather not play, but am somehow stuck in. But at least I don't have to deal with it (in person) until January 3rd... I'm working remotely from now until i get back from Memphis/Huntsville.
And speaking of the Hammon's Great American Christmas Tour 2006... We'll be in Memphis at some point (late) on the 21st, leaving (early) on the 26th for Huntsville, leaving Huntsvile for Memphis (early) on the 31st, and leaving Memphis to come back to Houston on the 2nd. So yeah, if you want to see us sometime in there, call me, or e-mail me, or something. We'll work it out.
Back to the doing productive things. I htink I'm oging to go arange icons and work on Stats stuff, whilst blasting my eardrums out with some combination of Eve6, Evanesence, and Indigo Girls (and maybe some other stuff thrown in there somewhere).
Oh Chrimma tree... Oh chrimma tree... So yesterday I:
Went Christmas shopping (for real this time).
Finally bought Chad's big present. Yay!
Ironically, hid Chad's presents in the same closet where he was hiding mine. Managed to do this (somehow) without seeing my presents, and to figure this out before he went in there and saw his presents. They are now safe in one of the other mostly unused closets in our house.
Dragged Chad to the departmental Christmas party. Suddenly, he understands what I've been talking about for like, an entire semester. All in all, it wasn't too bad, but I realized (more than ever) that I have very little in common with my classmates. Except, you know, shcool.
Finally, finally, finally decorated the tree. But I think somehow we're short a couple of ornaments... I'm not sure where they got off to. They might be in the same box as the creche for my nativity set (which is also hiding).
Slept for a glorious 10 or 11 hours... straight. Which is awesome. Now all i want to do s curl up and read a book... all day. But I have to go to work for a ocuple of hours, and get some studying and stuff done, so I don't have to skip karate on Tuesday night.
So yeah. Productive day, I suppose. I only have a little more shopping to do, and a whole lot of wrapping. *sigh*.
Ran to Huntsville for like, 30-something hours. Saw my sister graduate. And came home. (Also saw David and Nichole for like, 20 minutes... the only thing we chose to do all weekend) :)
Then spent a Saturday at Sixflags (while trying not to die of the worst head cold evar). Had an ok time, ate a corn dog (yay for corn dogs), and some cotton candy (but not as much as I wanted).
Friday, I'm going to a conference on Human Factors at Rice. The nSaturday we're going to Memphis, and we'll be ther until sometime Monday.
Rediscovered facebook. it is teh awesome. Found lots of old high school friends (and middle school friends, and elementary school friends)... having a good time messaging back and forth with them. Also re-connected with some college friends (or at least let them know I was still alive). Peer pressured Chad into being on facebook... working on some other people. :-)
I need more sleep, as usual, and more hours in the day.
Apparently, my body has decided that we cannot survive on less than like, 12 hours of sleep a night. Which is annoying, not to mention impossible to maintain.
And MySQL is giving me fits. Says I can't login as root, or set up an anonymous account, even after I've reinstalled it a million times. So I downloaded the other installer... or, am trying to download, I guess. For some reason, my super spiffy business class line... is only supporting 1KB down at the moment. Weird.
Yeah... today's not gong to be a good day. I woke up feeling like crap (kinda like all of yesterday), and gave up the chance at a close parking space so as to be able to sleep for 15 more minutes... didn't really sleep for about 14 of those minutes, and fell back asleep literally one minnute before my alarm went off again (sleeping in... not a good idea). And, when I got to Butler hall.... no Mello Yello. Only Coke. *sigh*
However... unlike Monique, I will not blame God for my whiney problems. Today, anyway.
Yeah. That about sums it up today. Not enough sleep last night. And apparently, I scared Chad out of his mind last night by screaming bloody murder because I was dreaming about spiders (I remember very little of this, but he swears it's true).
So I need to pick a concentration. Torn between AI and Software Engineering.
AI: awesome topic, would have no problem coming up with a thesis and/or project, very excited about it... but not so marketable on the Masters level. Most jobs in AI are research, and require a PhD.
Software Engineering: Boring topic. I like the testing and the documentation and stuff, but the project management aspect is killing me. No idea for any kind of thesis/project topic... but very very marketable.
I'm really leaning towards AI, with a certificate in SE... but I'm trying to figure out where I want to go with it. If I want to chase a PhD, I really need to do so before Chad and I decide to have kids... ie, while Chad is still in school.
I don't know... but I can't pick a major professor until I pick a concentration (works like that for some reason).
Why is it, in a house full of Atkin's dieters, I can't find any protien type foods worth eating? I wonder what my family does eat... as the only things I've found to eat today are Froot Loops, oatmeal, and pasta. None of which they can eat... hm.
So. Yeah. I'm fixin' to finish my patsa... enjoy a glass of high class wine... or, well, malt likka, anyway, and head to bed... not sure if one glass of Boones will be enough to make me sleep... but the thought of getting drunk in order to get a "good night's sleep" isn't terribly appealing. Eh. Maybe it will help some, anyway. Or something.
Long weekend. Got stuff done. But now I'm tired. *sigh*
The wedding was nice... nice drive up there, nice to see friends again, nice to see Sam and Loraine married... nice to be back home :-)
So for the next couple of days, I'm gonna sit back and relax... and play with my cool B-5 action figures (a graduation present from David and Nicole) :-)
Yeah. Might post more later. Need to go to bed now. *sigh* I need sleep. Sleep is evading me again...
Yay for the rediscovery of information on old hard drives :-)
Not yay for people who change White Wolf schedules at the last possible minute, thereby throwing chaos into any plans people might have made on the weird assumption that these things were somewhat static.
Yay for sleep. I don't often get much of it, but I've slept for basically three or four days now, and I think it might be kind of addictive. I dunno... maybe I should break the habit before it gets worse :-)
Not yay for doctor's appointments. Because they suck.
Yay for good grades, and a good class schedule (tenatively) for next semester.
Not yay for having to deal with stupid people. That has to be like, my biggest pet peeve ever... stupid people really really get to me. I don't think I can stress this one enough...
Ok. All I can think of for the moment.
Thinking about going to sleep. Somewhat hyper, but not the fun kind of hyper that makes you jump around and do things... more the edgy kind of hyper you get from lack of sleep... or too much sleep, I guess. That's prolly it. I've slept too much. I should boycott sleep tonight... heh heh heh.
Computer no longer in shop, but needs OS reinstall. It'll be the weekend before I have time to fool with it.
no longer going to Boston in the fall, staying here to get a master's degree and possibly teach labs or somehting (we are no longer "the Pirates who don't do anything", apparently we are "the pirates who go to grad school") Good and bad qualities to that one...
midterms are upon us... therefore, I am insanely busy, and thus also have recontracted my sinus infection (I think). But... after Thursday, it will be much (more) better(er). And I might have time to sleep. Or not.
Spring break is coming. This is what we are all holding out for. *sigh* A week of rest and relaxation and... wedding planning.
I think that's about it for the moment... life is generally ok... I'm looking forward to not having to drag all my stuff home over the summer break... books and stuff are a pain to move.
Hope to be online again soon... like I said, let me get past Thursday, and i can look at the computer.
So I survived the first week of school... and Elisa's wedding.
And I have decided that Chad and i are going to run away. Weddings are a pain in the butt.
Other than that... not much has happened lately. I've written and turned in two papers, done two seperate sets of homework problems, and turned in a cool security lab thingy. Other than that, mostly I've just gone to class. Blah.
Classes look good this semster, though... lots of fun stuff, lots of good instructors. Yay for me.
I should be researching for several Ethics papers and an Ethics presentation in the next couple of weeks, so expect some odd philosophical/ethical dilemma links and stuff. :-)
Anyway. Now I'm going to go to bed, because I've actually slept *counting...* 5 hours in the last two days? If I go to bed right now... I can get close to 7 hours tonight. Unless my roommate decides to watch The Ring at midnight again tonight. In which case I'll wake up like, every five minutes because I'm sure something crawled out of the TV to get me. The Ring isn't a particularly good movie to try to sleep through...
I slept until like, 10am this morning. It was wonderful. When I got up, breakfast was ready... (actually.. that's probably what got me up)
S... plans for the day. Either: a) Prune trees all day long (need to find climbing shoes... don't think I can do it in boots) or b) work on my sewing/ other indoes stuff all day (I can stay in my jammies for this one!) We'll see what Daddy feels up to.
so few words in the English language with which to say them...
*sigh*
so I'll go to bed, instead of blogging. because I lack the cognative ability to translate thoughts into pixels. and because, if I did manage to write something semi-coherent, no one else would understand it anyway.
ok.... Changed link to Williams blog... you no longer need a password. Yay!!
Today has gone pretty well, considering I slept through most of it... Guess I'm storing up for Statewide this weekend. I'm spending the weekend in Oxford, actually... or right outside there.... Camp Lake Stevens. With Wesley people from all over the state... it's gonna be awesome!!
And then next weekend, I'm chillin here in Starkville.... and then the weekend after, it's down to the Coast for Mardi Gras!! Yay!!
Anyway.... must find food. Be back maybe... dunno, though. Today is belly dancing day *grin* And then i have choir... hompefully I'll have time to write more.
grrr. I will never get to sleep. But, I'm not taking Linear this summer, which should help. let me explain... no, there is to much. Let me sum up. :-)
I wil never get any sleep becasue I am to dadgum busy for my own good. I have to leave the house at 7am every morning to get to work, which means getting up around 6am... And starting the 28th, I'll be in class until 9:45pm every night except Friday, which puts me home around 10:15pm, if I get out on time. Between those times I have to work 8+ hours, eat, do homework, and clean house... and of course, visit with my family (that's why I came home, right?). My weekends will mostly be spent traveling, or Chad will be in town, so I won't want to sleep the entire weekend away. And even when I don't have class, I have enough stuff to do for three people. Take, for instance, this weeks schedule.
Yesterday: Worked (or did random crap at work) from 8am-4pm. Went to leave, car stalled, had to get pushed back into the parking lot. *funny car/guy story* I tried to tell the guys that came to help me that the engine was turing over, but it wasn't getting gas. They were like, oh, yeah, whatever, you have no clue. So after 15 minutes of fiddling with the spark plugs, they were like, you know, I think the engine is turnging over, but it's not getting any gas. *Doh* (real problem: The emergancy cut-off for the fuel pump is flakey, something Daddy *forgot* to mention). *end of story* So, after getting my car fixed, I drove to church, my parents picked me up, we ate dinner, went to church, and got home around 9pm. But then I had to eat, and put dinner away, and get ready for bed, and talk to people, and.... I finally got in bed after 10pm, but couldn't sleep.
Today: Got up at 6am, browned hamburger meat, put stuff in crockpot for spagetti sauce. Talked to Mom for a minute, left 15 minutes late to go to work. I'm here until 4pm or so, then go home and cook spagetti and stuff to go with the sauce... and I will probably end up going out with Mom to Walmart or something.
Tomorrow: Work 7am-3pm (which means leaving the house by 6:30am). Get off Work, go help Aunt Dorinne With yardwork/housework at her house, eat with her, get home sometime around 9pm. Clean *my* house until I fall into bed exausted.
Saturday: Get up at 6am to go yard saleing with Mom... Yard sale until 1pm or so, then (if Henry has found the title to the bug) go meet Dad to get my car (an all-afternoon process). If Henry has not found the title, I might go swimming, but I think it may be to cold. If I go home, I'll end up doing housework. Oh yeah, I also need to go to Cingular and price a cellphone plan... sometime Saturday. And if I get my bug, I might try and find time to go to the VW parts shop and see about a floor pan. And mirrors.
If this is my life without class... how am I going to get everything done? I think I may spend a week between work and school recovering... from life! Oh well.... I'll get ever it. Plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead, right?
On a more interesting note, I get to go to a family reunion Sunday... My Dad's Father's family, or, more specificly, my Dad's Father's Mother's family :-) The Duncans. And they are all getting together at Anne's house (not sure if she's an Aunt or a cousin... never have figured that one out). So I get to go and see lots of people that share my blood, but I have no clue how or why or even who the hell they are. And lots of them will say things like, "I knew you when youe were *this* big", or "Are you Ray's Grandaughter? My you've grown up!", or "What's your major?", or "Are you dating/engaged/married?". But I've been promised good food... One can never pass up good food :-)
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
