Coldest yet....

This morning when I left my house the radio said it was 18 degrees outside, making this my coldest morning biking. I did not feel well this afternoon so I took the bus home, so it was not a round trip. (Chicago buses conveniently have racks on front for bikes, so I was able to bring my bike home with me.) I have decided though, that biking on a cold morning is much better than standing in the cold waiting for a bus. I have also decided that I will not bike if snow is expected or if snow is still on the roads.

Access-less at home, for now.

So, some of you had heard that I would finally be getting actual paid for Internet in my apartment on Monday. You had heard correctly; however, do to the complete incompetence of AT&T, I am still without Internet. While I would have found it helpful to have, I am not the kind of person who feels the need to be attached to my laptop. Also, my main desire for setting it up was for my roommate's convenience. She was gracious enough to use part of her time in Chicago these past few days to be available for AT&T to come and install a phone jack and thus, allow for our Internet days to begin. AT&T apparently changed the appointment time and did not feel the need to inform me of this. So my dear roommate waited for 3 hours before I called them (They had a four hour window to arrive) and found out about the time change. Along with this, only one person that I spoke to (out of six) on Monday was really able to give me the assistance and understanding that I needed. I have decided to cancel my service and will let my roommate deal with them when she moves in.

How am I posting this? I am currently sitting at a local pub using their free wireless. I am at times able to "borrow" one of my neighbor's unsecured wireless networks, but that is a very weak signal and not reliable or useful when I am trying to do multiple things at the same time quickly. The library also has free Internet, but it is too cold to be biking late at night just for a few hours of Internet access. ALSO, I do have access at work, but I prefer to use my time there actually working (or napping). I feel I am a better nanny when I am not thinking about checking email or trying to cram everything I need to get done during the little man's naps.

Also, it has hit me recently that Christmas is going to come sooner than I expected. I am now in full Christmas prep mode. I am not sure how the month of November passed so quickly, but it is almost over and am not sure why I am not more ready for Christmas than I am.

Southern-midestern Thanksgiving....

I had deep fried turkey for Thanksgiving! It was very, very delicious.

I have spent the whole day helping decorate for my friend's sister's wedding. We are now getting ready for the rehersal and then tomorrow is the big day. My friend and I are planning on driving back to Chicago on Sunday.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I thought winter days were shorter... why is this one lasting forever?

My marvelous little man has a fever. Today was a very long day of me holding the moaning munchkin and singing soothing songs. One positive thing was that he was very snugly, a negative was that he wanted to snuggle standing up, preferably walking. This may sound as if I were indulging him quite a bit, which is true, but admit it, when you are sick don't you just want to be held and loved? It was remarkable this morning to watch him trying to play by himself. He would get himself stuck in situations (between bar stools and such) that he normally would figure his way out of, only this time in frustration he would just start to cry.

Also his passive attitude towards his afternoon snack was another sign of his feeling out of sorts. This child usually grabs up the food as quickly as possible. I typically give him small helpings so that he doesn't over stuff his mouth. Today he would look at the food in front of him and then look at me and then reach out and take one piece of tofu, chew on it for a while, look at me and then maybe grab the second one.

His parents are taking him to the doctors tomorrow to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection or anything of that sort. I doubt it is an ear infection because he has not been grabbing at his ears or any of the other usual symptoms. But I do think it is still a good idea to have him checked out.

This very long work day corresponds with a pre-planned date night, so after a brief outing to get dinner, I am back at work until late tonight. His parents are enjoying a movie and a much needed night to themselves out of the house. Even though I am just sitting here using the Internet and hanging out, (the little man is a sleep) it would still be nice to go home and go to bed early. I am weary.

Side note: I have enjoyed my brisk cold morning bike rides. I noticed this morning while stopped at a red light that my breath was coming out through my mask like a morning mist. I didn't realize it was that cold. I am hoping tonight that Nathan will pile my bike in the back of their car and give me a ride home. I don't mind biking late (less traffic), but I am very tired and don't want to muster the energy required to bike the 3+ miles home.

Oh, Side side note: Many of you have asked about my Thanksgiving plans. I will be traveling to a small town south of St. Louis to spend the holiday with my future roommate and her family. Her sister is getting married and my roommate asked if I would mind keep her sane for the weekend. From what I hear her mother is already putting me to work on the pre-wedding/reception setting up. That is fine by me.

Also, my roommate and I will be driving her car and some of her belongings back to Chicago on Sunday. I am looking forward to having access to a car. I dislike having to ask friends for rides when I want to buy larger/heavier items and I am tired of taking the bus out to the suburbs for my Saturday swim lessons.

It is an honor.

Today is one of those days where I feel honored to part of the little H man's life. He's just such a treasure. Sure, he's especially adorable today, but I thought this when he first woke up this morning. I was changing his diaper and he just looked up at me and smiled. It's truly amazing to have someone look at you like that, for them to be so glad that you are there. I am privileged to be able to watch his daily discoveries and experience his random quirky moments. He spent a good half an hour after lunch crawling around with his sock in his mouth. He was murmuring along while he investigated the world.

Hodge Podge Update

Biking: I was reading my usual list of blogs today and noticed this particular update that might interest those of you who are concerned with my winter biking. At this point the only thing I am lacking is the wind-resistant outer layer. I also do not intend to bike to work if there is a chance of ice and snow until I am able to practice on side streets AND can be sure that my route has enough room between the parked cars, moving cars and whatever snow bank is going accumulate next to the parked cars so that I will be able to ride safely.

Internet: Today I finally called to have Internet set up at my apartment. I prefer to not bring my computer to work and while I am somewhat indifferent to having it at home, my roommate will need it when she moves in AND it is convenient to be able to pay bills online and so forth, so as a result I am getting Internet.

Cleaning: I have a theory that one of the reasons I don't like cleaning my apartment is because I spend much of my day cleaning up after the little H man. I wash bottles and small plastic bowls throughout the day and I do laundry for the little man at least once a week, twice if he's had to change clothes often. A second theory I have is that throughout the summer it was simply too hot for people to come over so I was less inclined to keep it as clean as I prefer and without a roommate I don't feel the continue the need to be considerate of my roommates space and so forth. So, despite all of these excuses, I still try to keep my house somewhat clean. I feel better when it's clean. But when winter cold came about I unpacked my winter clothes and realized that I did not have anywhere to put them. This has caused huge amounts of frustration as I try to keep my clothing in order. In my dream world I would have a closet designed to serve my organizational needs, however, I live in the real world of awkwardly shaped closets and not enough shelving space. I think as a result of all of this, I will go out and buy another set of shelves for my bedroom. Oh, and thankfully my future roommate enjoys cleaning. So, if I only have to clean the bathroom every other week I'll be less likely to hate the process.

Playdates/Job: So, I have become friends with a girl down the street is a nanny for a year old little girl. I thought this would be grand, having a playmate for the H man and someone for me to talk to. However, she is not nearly as happy with her job as I am and her charge is not a very enjoyable child. In combination with all of that, our charges' napping schedule are completely opposite, making the times we can meet a rare thing. Even so, when I am around them I feel bad that I like my job. Sure I have a few complaints here and there, nothing is ever truly perfect, but when it comes down to the bottom line I have nothing to complain about. So while I may not always enjoy the play dates, at least they help me appreciate how wonderful my job situation truly is.

Pet Peeves: This is sort of continuation of my job paragraph, but in a variation. People often ask me what I plan to do after nannying or why I cannot go for lunch dates during the week. Basically they are asking why I don't have a "real" job. Okay, so I play with a baby all day long and I get to take naps on the clock. That does not make my job any less real. I enjoy what I do, I enjoy going to work, I enjoy the freedom I have to do things such as update my blog while the H man is napping. I also think this is the perfect job to possibly get me through graduate school. I don't enjoy offices. I don't like anything to do with numbers. And I am not sure how working retail is more "real" than working with a live human being each day. But this, right now, is the job for me. I would love to challenge some of these people who are annoyed that I can't to lunch dates to trade with me for a week, or even a day. I don't think they could do it. Those of you with children understand how hard it can be to stay at home every day. Also, this is not a rant at anyone in particular but more of an over all frustration of how society views my profession.

Social happenings: I have had many wonderful chances in the past month to attend art showings around Chicago. The art scene here is very lively and interesting. I am very excited to dive more deeply into it to see where it leads. I also was able to attend the Chicago Civic Symphony last Sunday evening. It was a very enjoyable experience although I do not consider myself a huge concert person, I was able to appreciate the experience.

I believe I am verbally spent for the time being.

ps. Last but not least. Thank you all for you cards on my birthday and for being so encouraging and uplifting.

It's cold...

Yesterday, within blocks of leaving work I began to feel as though an ice cream headache was forming from the outside in. I was biking into the wind, so this combined with the general coldness was making for unpleasantness. So, instead of riding directly home I stopped by my favorite bike shop and picked up a hood with a face mask.

Today my rides were much more pleasant.