Guilty as Charged

Some people have recently implied that I haven't updated my blog in a while. Well, okay, true enough.

Things are good. Dee and Buddy are thriving. Dee turned 4 in September and is just a smart little cookie. She reads fluently (!!) and is a nonstop source of questions and curiosity about how the world works. (It's exhausting.) Buddy is going through the tantrums associated with not quite being able to express himself the way he wants, but his language is developing, and my parenting skills regarding tantrums are quite well-developed, seeing as this is the second time around for this for me. (See, "It's exhausting," above.) So he is also good. He'll be 2 in January (?!?)

I am a little bit past the age with Buddy where I was with Dee when I got pregnant again. I am NOT going to get pregnant again, but the number of people around me who are pregnant with, or have recently had, child #3 are causing twinges. Mostly, though, I have mourned the loss of my future fertility. And my hands are pretty full as it is.

I am teaching three different classes this semester, and it is kicking my ass. A few more weeks, though, and I have a month off, and then in January I'll be teaching just one upper-division lecture/lab combo class (for 8 units!) so that is going to help out a lot. I'm hoping to have time to breathe.

My Dad just turned 60, so I flew up to Washington for the party. My sister just got engaged. My Mom is dealing with some medical issues. And the kids have recently brought home 2 separate upper respiratory viruses and shared them around the house. I have 16 people coming for Thanksgiving dinner. Life is full. I am well, and grateful.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

DD's Meme:

All we need is a little LOVE! This award is about sisters uniting together and giving others some love because life is hard and who couldn’t use a little love? The rules for this award is simple. 
I LOVE YOU = 8 letters which gives you 8 rules:

Here are the rules:


1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and write a little bit about why you love them. That would be DD from Mama Said Knock You Out. She is never afraid to be who she is. It is so wonderfully refreshing!
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Nominate no more than 17 people who you love or you think could use some love.

5. Write one word (you can only use a word once) about what you love about their blog.
6. You cannot nominate someone who has already been nominated-the love has to spread to all.
7. Post links to the blogs you nominate.

8. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.

I have a giant pile of lab reports currently eying me from my desk, so I'm going to have to punt here, and say if you're still reading this, and you want to participate, consider yourself nominated!