Hello!

Thank you for all the responses on the last post – I commented there to share my decision and also the ridiculousness of our no-common-sense security here.

We had a lovely weekend – lots of closet-cleaning, laundry, a Goodwill run, playing Crazy Eights with a certain four year old who cannot get enough of Crazy Eights, and pre-cooking all the meals for the week.  I even tried my hand at making poached eggs – with mixed results.  (This was the recipe, and it was delicious – as for the eggs themselves, I basically ended up with good runny yolks yolks with a tiny bit of white on the outside, but it was a good first try).  Jack had some Boy Scout stuff and some playdates, we all did some errands together, we even played a board game one night as a family after Craig went to sleep, and had a lot of fun with the big boys.  Since this baby started sleeping 11-12 hours at night, it’s like the Hallelujah chorus is playing every day.  I feel unstoppable.  I have an awful cold and yicky cough and I still feel unstoppable.  My body doesn’t hurt so much – sleep gives it the opportunity to knit itself back together after a day of hoisting kids and their stuff around.  I’m not so irritable.  The world isn’t so black.  Our problems remain our problems but I feel a little more resilience in meeting them.  Lordy  never underestimate the amazing power of a solid 8 hours each night (or the pure torture that a non-sleeping infant can inflict!)

Last night we had the veggie enchilada quinoa bake – as good as ever – plus a chopped salad of purple cabbage, a tiny bit of romaine, bell peppers (all colors), and carrots – a bowl of fresh crunch.  I put a little feta, chopped olives, and salami in the leftover salad this morning for a tasty lunch.  Yum!  The world seems full of color and possibility these days . . . such a dramatic turn from my recent mood, and probably 90% facilitated by good sleep.

Wishing you all well.  Have a great week – and again, thanks for the input on my running-the-stairs question!