A Little Update

Well, things have been pretty busy here in the woods. Curmudgeon is in the midst of student teaching but he's still working full-time (nights) as well as trying to apply and interview for prospective jobs this fall. He's incredibly busy but still finds time to play with his babies, write music--including a new arrangement for our upcoming Easter Program at church as well as an orchestral arrangement for the high school he's student-teaching at, teach a few lessons and do the shopping when I just can't face it (the grocery store with two babies is my own little private hell). We are fortunate enough to have some paternity leave time left over so that he can take a couple days of (unpaid) leave each week which gives him a couple of extra nights at home with us.
I've been measuring my life by deadlines lately...tax day, easter, art show submission dates. I am the music chairman and choir director at church so I've been planning for the Easter Program for several months and am now in the last few days of pulling it all together. The choir has been just wonderful and very willing to step out on a limb with the very difficult music I've thrown at them. Now I've just got to finish writing the narration (haven't I ever heard of delegation? sheesh) and we'll be all set. C and I are both premiering new pieces in the program too. I already mentioned his, it's another men's quartet, this time of the hymn "He is Risen". Mine is a ladies trio (hmm, it kind of looks like we're trying to segregate the genders. I'm not sure what that means) of "Abide With Me". We'll record them both--actually, I'm hoping to record the whole program as I'd really like you to hear the choir too.

We mentioned before that Happy has graduated to a big-boy bed. I wish that bedtime really was as idyllic as this photo implies. The reality is more than a little frustrating to this mama. Sometimes I'm ready to pull all my hair out. Today was one of those days. A giant dent in the wall (from a flying dump truck thrown down the stairs), the coat-rack knocked over and a dozen coats all over the floor, an upturned and broken file box with all our personal documents, tax files for the past 3 years, receipts and notes from teaching and gigging, my business documents and receipts scattered all over the floor. And a small happy person who doesn't take naps or eat vegetables or follow directions behind it all. We're lucky babies are so cute...evolutionary protection? I think so.

But it has been a pretty good week for girly. She's been a bit happier, a bit cuter and a bit less fussy than usual. She's learned to clap her hands, she's getting to be an impressively mobile wiggler, and she is already trying to climb out of the crib. Her brother still hadn't gotten to that point by the time we took the crib away! She continues to rake in the compliments about her mohawk and has added to the praise with oohs and ahhs about her big beautiful blue eyes.

all in all, though it's busy and frustrating and stressful and tiring, I think life for us is pretty good and there's not a whole lot we would change.