Friday Reflection

This kills me....no pun intended......
Just another funny picture for your Friday......
Speaking of STAR WARS........"A New Hope." Favre is going dizzzooownn.......and his little dog Mangini too (wah wah wah . . . .. the Patriots use camaras just like everyone . . . .wah . . . .my QB Pennington turned out to be a fluff piece . . . . .wah wah . . . .I'll take my Napoleonic complex out on the Patriots, and bring bad karma their way . . . .wah wah wah . . . .)
The Office's very own Todd F. Packer......

So we've been in school now for about three weeks and things are going exceptionally well; so far, I seem to have some wonderful classes (its still early) and it is good to be back into a "routine" of some type. One change I've implemented is that of working out in the mornings--by the time I get home in the afternoon, I just couldnt possibly exercise. First of all, I am too tired, and second of all, I want to spend some good quality time with Callum, since he has been starting to go to bed earlier (getting his bath around 5:30 or so). Working out in the morning, I have to say, has been one of the best things I've done in a long time--for my body, mind, and spirit. Usually, by 5:30, I am pedalling my Allez Elite down some beautiful backcountry roads of central Maine, and, it being the early fall, its an especially beautiful time: during these cool mornings, the water of the Kennebec River is warmer than the air temperature, which causes a thick bed of fog (or, as the English teacher in me would say, "effluvium") to rise off the surface of the river. That, coupled with the early morning sun trying to poke its way through the clouds, creates a canvassed sky of reds, oranges, and stark purples. Plus, the cows on the River Road in Benton (this road has some huge dairy farms) are out grazing, and they, polite as can be, always seem to stop what they are doing to look on inquisitively, perhaps trying to figure out, in their little cowbrains, jsut the the heck this idiot human is doing on a bike at 5:30 in the morning. The downside, I guess, is that the farmers are starting to fertilize their hay fields with chicken manure which, if you have never smelled it, should try in earnest to keep it that way--cow manure smells like a Yankee Candle as far as I'm concerned . . . .

On the Callum front: for now, his Grammy watches him for three days a week--she gets to our house at about 6:50 in the morning. I usually make it a point to be home by 3:30 at the latest, and then Lynne goes home. This means, that from 3:30 to 5 (5 is when Amanda gets home), I get to listen to Callum cry for an hour or so, as he is starting to get real fussy for his mommy, and he has a fervent desire to breastfeed, versus taking a bottle, like he does during the day. Ahh . . .such quality time. He is sleeping in his crib though, nightly, although we can't wait for the "mesh" bumper we ordered to arrive in the mail. We dont want to use a normal bumper, since many folks say they are dangerous and can cause suffocation. The mesh one will be great, since then he can breathe through it. And he needs it!!! He is really into saddling his little head RIGHT up against the slats of the crib--no matter how many times we try to move him BACK into the middle, he finds his way to crawl back to the "sweet spot" where his head is up against the nice hard ash wood. This morning (at around 3 or so) he had a little problem: I heard him whimpering in his room, which is very unlike him, since he is such a great sleeper. Part of this stems from the fact that he has "found" his thumb, and sucks on it to soothe himself to sleep. However, this morning, upon stretching out, he got his little pork-chop arm stuck in between the slats, or bars, of the crib . . .and didnt have the fine motor skills to remove it. He wasnt "stuck," of course, but he just couldnt finagle his arm out. This meant he couldnt find his thumb...but daddy took care of everything and he went back to sleep. He is changing so much every day!

This afternoon we are looking forward to the arrival of Nannie, Auntie Kristin, Uncle Anthony, and, of course, cousin Chelsea! More to come on this . . .