Exhaustion and a Weekly Date

I have been pretty exhausted lately. In this picture, it looks like Greg is pretty beat, too. He was supervising Nick while he perused the travel books. Before having a child, I didn't often lay on the floor because I was tired. Now, I do it all the time. I actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch for about 15 minutes this afternoon. I think something about the cold weather and the dark skies makes me just want to hibernate and eat chocolate chip cookies.

It's funny how when you like a job, it can completely sap all of your energy. I feel like I've done some of my best lessons lately. I prepare PowerPoints, I use cooperative structures, I plan alternative assessments. But I've been doing way more work at home than I'd like. Thus the involvement of caffeine, which is one of my dearest friends. This Tuesday and Thursday, I had to work very late and then pick up Nick from my mom and stepdad's house. The only way I made it through both days was with a 4 p.m. latte. My latte order is pretty crazy, too. Only Starbucks will do, and it is a "tall, sugar-free caramel skim latte, extra hot, with 5 Splendas, an extra pump of the sugar free syrup, and in a grande cup with whipped cream up to the top." Yup, I'm nuts. Today, however, I didn't have my latte and I've been ready to crash since 5:30. I'm hoping once the elliptical trainer we ordered gets here, I'll be able to start working out every night, and maybe that'll give me some energy. Natural energy, perhaps, rather than my $3.75 cup of joy and sanity.

Now Nicholas has absolutely no shortage of energy. Today, I put him on the floor for literally 20 seconds while I laid my purse and keys on the counter, and he had crawled around the corner and up three stairs before I got to him. It's like every fiber of his being is focused on movement, whether it's crawling or cruising.

Above you can see Nick on his new toy. It's not actually new; I bought it last summer for $2 at a garage sale. Yes, I cleaned it with a 10:1 bleach solution and let it air dry before letting my child play with it. This is definitely a little boy. He loves to play with toy cars, motorcycles, and the remote control. He also is mesmerized by bright colors on the TV screen, although we try to keep him from watching too much of that. But he still picks up books to flip through over other toys, and he will sit and listen to between 2 and 5 books every night, depending on his mood.

This afternoon Nick and I had our weekly date. Nearly every Friday, we go to Costco to buy greek yogurt, milk, fruit, wine, and frozen pizza. I do buy other things, but those are the necessary staples of life. You'd be surprised how many yogurts (24) and gallons of milk (3) we go through in a week. Nicholas loves the Costco because of the samples. That, and he also loves flirting with the ladies. Today we sampled garlic bread, smoothies, turkey sausage, mango juice (delicious), and turkey breast. I almost bought him some new board books today, but I held off because his birthday is next week. He also has a bad habit. You see, every week when the cashier hands me the receipt, I hold it in my hand because they check receipts at the door. Nick always grabs it out of my hand and stuffs it in his mouth. Costco receipts must be tastier than most; he grins hugely as he stuffs the long receipt in and chews.