Crash

It had been a difficult evening. Munchkin was fussy for no apparent reason all afternoon.
I had just given him a warm bath and put on his jammies. It was about 1 1/2 hours before bed time. I decided to feed him dinner then begin our evening ritual of snuggles and stories.
Munchkin had other plans. Fortunately, he had eaten almost all of his dinner when he couldn't take another bite. He had fallen sound asleep between bites of sweet potatoes. No, this wasn't just a cat-nap. He had completely crashed in his high chair.
Even wiping his face clean didn't wake him. Usually he will do anything to prevent me from wiping his face.
I took him out of his high chair and gently placed him in his crib while whispering sweet words and giving him his bed time kiss.

The Humidifier

This humidifier is an attention magnet for Munchkin. He will drop any toy to play with his humidifier, especially if it is turned on. He loves standing next to it and feeling the cool air that it blows.

Sunshine

It is a beautiful, spring day. I decided to take Munchkin into the back yard for some sunshine. The warm weather made him forget about the discomfort he is in from teething. Poor boy!

The dogs always enjoy company in the back yard. A tennis ball and someone to throw it is all that a labrador desires in life.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Immediately following yesterday's post about not having enough time away from work Dr. Smith called me into his office. "Do you want more time to study for school and to spend with your baby"?

"Yes Dr. Smith, I do. It would be very helpful to have the ability to take a day off the week before a test" I replied.

"How are Tuesdays"? he barked. "Tuesdays are good, but this isn't something that I will need every week, just when I am up against a test" I said. "NO. This will be every week. Start training JoAnne to do your job". He shook my hand and dismissed me from his office.

In that very instance I realized that I was now officially a part-time employee. I will lose insurance coverage for myself and Munchkin. I think this is his way of saying "CIAO, but teach us what you know before you leave".

Oh, Snap! That is the "thanks" I get for ten years of hard work and dedicated, loyal employment.

Can You Say "Panic Attack"

I am still working full time at Dr. Smith's office, going on 10 years now. I have also taken on the task of a Physiology class and a Chemistry class. Both of these classes have labs which require attendance and account for about 30% of my total grade. It has been difficult trying to maintain a full time work schedule while attempting to obtain my required grades from these classes. Oh, not to mention, I have a little munchkin who desires just a little bit of time and attention too.

I recently spoke with Dr. Smith about taking one day per week off, in order to accomplish all that I am striving for. He was in favor of that, as he knows that I have been going to school for a long time and I want to finally accomplish some sort of degree. I also spoke with Marilyn, a co-worker of mine, the only other person who knows how to do my job, and she said that she would cover for me on the day that I was absent.

GREAT! This will actually work! I am elated that my dreams are becoming a reality.

Dr. Smith made an announcement yesterday morning to our office that Marilyn would no longer be working with us. "She has put her priorities in her daughter and family instead of in to our office. I had to let her go."

What? There must be some mistake. NO, this can't be happening.

Now I am forced to work full time and put school on the back burner. I wouldn't want Dr. Smith to think that my priorities aren't in order. I am so overwhelmed with the work load of all that needs to be done this week. I don't know how or when I will accomplish everything that is expected of me.

Suddenly my chest feels heavy and my vision is blurred. Is this attempt to better the future of myself and my family too costly. What do I do?

Hussie

I took Munchkin to Cottonwood Mall today for a little outing. Cottonwood Mall has a new play area for "half-pints" only. It is full of laytex desserts that children can crawl all over. The floor of the play area is padded and the toys are all soft too. This room is totally child proof. A mothers dream come true!

Munchkin had made his way through the cola cup and past the ice-cream sunday to the ice-cream sandwich where he was completely content. All of a sudden more children arrived, one of which was an eleven month old girl. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was up to no good. Her Grandmother took her out of her stroller and she made a B-line straight for Munchkin. She joined him at the ice-cream sandwich and was practically mauling him. He may have been slightly entertained by having another baby to play with, but I knew that she was a hussie.

Season and Series Premier

A new season of the Soprano's started this week. It was packed full of fat, greasy violence as well as love and humor. It was absolutely everything I had hoped for. The bulk of the episode contained Tony and Carmella being nice to each other and getting along then buying a new, expensive car. One of Tony's side-kicks inherited a couple mill. and wanted to be released from his vow to the life of organized crime, but Tony said no. That man hung himself in the basement of his home shortly there after. Tony's Uncle Junior had a fit of alzheimers and shot Tony, mistaking him for someone from his past. The episode ended and left my hangin'. Is Tony dead?

I give this episode of the Soprano's a rating of: 1 munchkin knee, 4 munchkin toes and a couple of strands of munchkin hair.

A new series called Big Love started upon the completion of the Soprano's. Bill Paxton plays the husband and father of a polygamist family. He lives in Sandy, Utah with his three wives, and about 10 kids (give or take). It has many Mormon refrences which has fellow Utah'ns of mine in a twitter. The show lives up to its HBO reputation by including a few racy sex scenes, which would make my mother very uncomfortable. It was fun while watching the show to point out landmarks I recognized in the back ground. I saw the strip-mall across the street from my vet's office, the Wasatch Front was featured and the Salt Lake Temple was seen too. WOW, here we go Utah! Making it big in the eyes of the world, one polygamist family at a time.

I give this episode of Big Love the rating of: 1 munchkin nail clipping and 1 munchkin giggle.

Snow Day

Today we woke up to a big, beautiful snow storm. The roads were completely covered and I didn't have to go anywhere. What a great feeling.
I dressed Munchkin in his coziest snow suit and out we went to play with Daddy and the dogs.

Mission Accomplished

After an hour in the photo studio on our second sitting Munchkin finally smiled. Ahhh, a hard days work finally payed off.

Munchkin and the Pug 

A Little Stuborn

Munchkin has reached another mile-stone. He turned nine months old on March 1st and I wanted to document this properly. There is a lot happening to him at a very fast rate. He has six teeth and is as tall as an average 14 month old. I can't allow this to slip by with out ample photography to prove it.

We went to the local "Kiddie Kandids" today, located in the Cottonwood Mall in Holladay. I had to sign in, then wait about 30 minutes for a photo session. We wandered the halls and stores of the mall, looking at junior-high age kids and scrap book stores until K.K. was ready for us. Munchkin loved every minute of the mall. He was in a great mood. I had given him lunch and a nap before attempting to complete this normally easy task.

It was finally our turn. We pulled down the back-drop of my choice and put Munchkin on the table, the photo shoot was about to begin. The girl hosting our photo shoot brought out many props to inspire Munchkin. We had a football, soccer ball, basketball, baseball and mit, even a red wagon. Munchkin was unamused! He didn't even crack a smile. We put him in the wagon and he was fascinated by the wagon handle. I'm glad that he found something he liked, but a baby with a wagon handle in his mouth isn't great photography.

I was trying so hard to get a smile from Munchkin. I was running around the photo studio making high pitched noises and loud, flamboyant body movements. I played "peek-a-boo" and "tickle monster". Neither of those games have ever failed me before.

Kiddie Kandids is like a big fish-bowl in the center of Cottonwood Mall. Everyone in the mall can see in. I heard laughter coming from each person who saw my crazy dance...each person except Munchkin.

I left empty handed and sweaty. I was soaked as though I had just completed an hour on the eliptical trainer. We will try again tomorrow, until then...