Things I'm Loving

I'm in a bit of a funk today.  I'm 34 weeks pregnant and Atticus was born just shy of 38 weeks.  I have so much to do.  Freezer meals to make.  Wee baby clothes to organize.  General nest readying.  The usual.    On top of that I had a wonderful 3 week vacation from work.  It was nice to spend time with my husband, hangout with Hope and I cuddled and snoozed with Atticus.  It was wonderful.  Basically I settled in at home over the holiday break and I'm really not wanting to leave.

Now I'm back at work.  It is boring.  I feel like I'm doing meaningless, dull, and repetitive work.  I've had the same insipid conversations with folks.  I can think of 9 million other things I'd rather be doing than going to work. My actual ILL work is interesting, but there just isn't much of it going on right now. 

To cheer myself, I thought I'd think of non-human things I'm loving.  I say non-human because my husband, friends, and kids kinda goes without saying.  So with out further ado, I present current Ten Things I'm Loving:

1. My "cuddle" chair.  My new and over-large reading/nursing/napping seat.  It is big enough for Atticus to sit beside me and this will help when I'm trying to nurse Persy Jane and cuddle Atticus at the the same time. 
2. Baking.  As you can tell from yesterday's post, I've been in a baking mood.  I've decided my next baking adventure will be to bake homemade oatmeal cream pies.  
3. Milk.  My heartburn is pretty bad, but I've coped with a combination of heartburn medication, small and frequent meals, and gobs of fat free skim milk.  I cannot get enough milk.  My favorite way to drink it is warmed with a touch of nutmeg, vanilla, and sugar. 
4. My Kindle!  My parents gave me a Kindle for Christmas and I'm really loving it.  I have no intentions of curbing my book collecting and monograph reading, but the Kindle is very handy for doctor visits, my lunch break, and it will be very helpful during long nursing stretches.  
5. A Handmade Journal.  One of the art professors at the university makes her own journals.  Sam surprised me with one for Christmas.  The paper -- charcoal paper -- is lovely and thick and my hand simply glides across it.  I believe I write for longer when I have a quality journal.
6. Paper planners -- yes, I use Google Calendar to some extent.  Yes, I have a smart phone.  No, I don't like using either one for my calendaring.  I purchased this calendar because it has a month view and I write all my appointments down in that area.  I use the expanded week view to write down a brief synopsis of my day.  I did this when Atticus was an infant and I was able to keep track of every milestone easily.  It takes no more than 5 minutes at night and it frees up my journal time. When I've journaled in the past I've felt pressure to chronicle the day.  Truly my journal is for working through feelings, dreaming, planning, and writing snapshots of my family life.  My calendar has been wonderful writing out little things that I don't want to forget: things the kids do, what I've been reading, the name and cookbook page number of the soup I made, etc....  
7. My quilt -- a friend made me this beautiful quilt and I've loved cocooning myself in it when I'm cuddling with the kids, reading, or going to bed.  I also don't share my quilt.  Sam has his own blanket so I can make my cocoon of cozy handmadeness.
8. Wee thrifted baby cardigans -- most of these cardigans I purchased for less than a dollar.  Persephone will make Barbara Pym proud.
9. Couch time -- I've unofficially instituted an after dinner past time.  After dinner, before dishes and bathes and prepping for the next day I sit on the couch -- or the cuddle chair -- and hang out with Sam.  We just sit and talk and sometimes I even get a foot rub.  Atticus will be running around and Hope is doing homework and sometimes it is really chaotic, but it doesn't matter.  Even if it is just 15 minutes I'm happy.
10. Books -- duh.  I'm reading two fantastic books right now.  I have other bookish plans brewing and I must say I think that despite the life changes I will have a marvelous reading year.  Hooray for a nerdy 2013.

Okay, now I feel a bit better and I may even pretend to be a nice human.