Baby Mine

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Sara

IMG_6436Ever since Charlie was born, I’ve had little pieces of a sweet lullaby tune floating around in my head. Today, I realized what it was!

For those of you who can’t wait for a Charlie update, here goes. He can now roll over both ways and do a 360. He has discovered his feet and loves to go after fingers—his or yours, it doesn’t matter. He pokes out his tongue and does raspberries.  He’s got a very strong grip, loves to stand, and giggles when he gets tossed (ever so carefully) into the air. He laughs after he sneezes.

Will and I have been trying to make sure to update his site regularly for all our friends and family around the world. It’s http://charles.sitch.org/.

On the non-baby newsfront (but related), I’ll be going out of town today through Thursday for a funder-required conference. I know it will be difficult to be away from my sweetie for that long, so I’m bringing some pictures (along with a well-used pump) to make it easier. The heart wants what the heart wants, but we still need to go to work. Boo!

On the other side, Will will get to take care of Mr. Charlie for two nights and part of today and Thursday. He’s really looking forward to it, and I think it will be a bonding moment for the two of them. I might get more than 6 hours of sleep!

Sacramento, here I come!

Posted in Charlie | 1 Comment

A Chorus of Women

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Sara

My mom drove from Spokane to Santa Rosa for the Memorial Day holiday (800 miles round trip). It was a wonderful weekend, full of time with my grandma, my aunt, my cousin, and my sister.

We had some tea (beer and wine), shared some secrets, and got a chance to reconnect. We talked about the books we’re reading, went to an interior design show in San Francisco, and ate some beautiful food. During dinner one night, I looked around at us all laughing at a family joke, and I heard myself amplified by four.

I never joined a sorority in college, but I think it might feel like that in a perfect world–a group of women rooting for each other through all of life’s ups and downs. Wedding planning, adjusting to retirement, sifting through old and new memories, negotiating work and life, and dreaming about what we’ll all do when we get together this summer.

Oh, and Mom got to babysit Charlie yesterday; I think she would have driven down just for the opportunity to spend a few hours alone with him–forget the sorority.

Posted in Family | 2 Comments

The Amazing Circus Woman Performs

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Sara

All week, I’ve had images of a circus woman playing in my mind.  I feel like a trapeze artist, tightrope walker and the woman who gets sawed in half all rolled into one.

I wake up in the morning, usually around 5, to feed my sweet boy, Charlie. I take a nap until about 6:30, get ready for work and then I’m off to perform my magic tricks at great heights until we all go to bed and wait for it to start again the next morning.

I keep thinking that it will get easier or that I’ll somehow get better at moving from responsibilities at home to work to home to work, but this past week was a toughie.

Program running and researching and letter of support getting and nursing and walking in endless circles around the neighborhood trying to get Charlie to sleep and email writing and dinner preparing and grocery shopping and baby burping and changing and writing and laundry doing…

What woman doesn’t spend her time feeling like she’s flying through the air at great heights hoping to catch the next ring and not fall into the darkness below?

That being said, as I’m writing this, I am also realizing just how fortunate I am to have this great circus of a life. I have a job I enjoy, even if I’ve spent the last few days wanting to pull the covers over my head. I have a wonderful family, which has recently expanded. I have a supportive circle of friends who cheer each other on as we all make our way.

As I face tomorrow, I know that the heights will surely become less frightening, and I’ll enjoy my tightrope walking week. Because, really, I wouldn’t want to spend my life on the ground when I can spend it in the air with all this magic.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Mother’s Day

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Sara

For Mother’s Day, Will set me up with a blog. So, for my first post, I’m going to share a few pictures of Charlie with his mom.

Here’s one of him sleeping. I’m just about to move him into the co-sleeper and am trying really hard not to wake him up.

Here we are getting ready for the day. I’m still wearing my PJ bottoms, and Charlie is wearing a great outfit that Aunt Zoe was kind enough to share (thanks Acer!).

I’ve been a mom now for 15 weeks, and am slowly improving. I’ve learned a lot about what 3 AM feels like, and about which sounds mean what. Hungry? Tired? Need some alone time? Need a hug? I’ve got them down. But yesterday, Charlie gave me a run for my money. I heard a sound that I hadn’t heard before–it was a mix of frustration and hunger and it unusually happened right after I’d nursed him.

And then I remembered the jalapenos from the night before.

Yes, momma had a few margaritas (don’t worry, I pumped before) and A LOT of hot salsa and guacamole in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. We invited a few friends over, lit up the grill and partied like it was 1999. It was the first time I’ve really been able to let loose since my little guy was born, so I pulled out all the stops. We ended the night with a 1980s dance party in our living room. Charlie was an angel and went to sleep right on time. He slept through the dance party.

I thought I had done everything right. But apparently Charlie is no fan of the jalapeno delight he was getting the next morning. Lesson learned, little man. No more spicy food for a little while.

Posted in Charlie | 3 Comments