Cold

It's cold today and I like that. I like that a lot. In fact, a little too cold to take my evening jog with Elyse. The past two days it was too rainy, now it's too chilly.....maybe I'm just too lazy. I love the first true cold day we get down here because I get excited over which winter clothes I'll wear. I don't have many and the ones I do have are several years old because they just don't get worn like my other clothes. It was also fun to dress Elyse in some warmer clothes as well....she just looks so snugly and huggable all bundled like that. I'll have to add a picture when I get the chance, but she's taking a late, extra, much needed nap right now. We have had such a groove the past several days. Her routine was like clock-work, almost to the minute. Her naps were consistent and restorative for her. We did all of our busyness in between them and it helped me feel so competent as her mother. I could read her cues, respond to her cries because I was absolutely sure what she needed, more so than that, I could confidently anticipate exactly what would be needed and when so there was seldom even a reason for her to cry, everything was just flowing so nicely and I felt like we were finally in our niche......then came today. It's amazing how one day can rock my assurance as a mother, and it did. I'm not sure what caused it, but the only thing certain was that it was certainly different. Everything that would be her "norm" went out the window and I found myself trying so many different things this evening to figure out what was wrong. Her naps were short and random which threw off her eating as well. She took a mini-nap in the car while running a lengthy errand (which I try to avoid) which further threw the day out of wack. By the time this afternoon rolled around she didn't know what she needed and neither did I. I tired feeding her, putting her to bed, playing with her, rocking her.....nothing seemed to work. I felt like I was a babysitter for someone else's child trying to calm this upset baby while anxiously waiting for her mother to walk in the door and fix it all. She finally settled and played happily for awhile but then got pretty tired, so a late nap it is. Hopefully all will be well tomorrow because I don't like feeling like that, but I'm learning over and over that it just comes with the job.

Oh, I almost forgot, here's a story for you. Yesterday evening I was checking the mail after dark. I stuck my hand in the mailbox to retrieve the mail and I felt something that didn't belong. I wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like the carcass of a lizard or frog or something. Because it was so dark I couldn't see in the mailbox to confirm the suspicion so I did what all loving wives do. I called Matt who was on his way home from work and asked him to check the mail. I told him my story and said use your cell phone as a light or something before you go in blind. Shortly after he walked in the door holding the mail and I asked, "So, was there anything in there?". He snickered and said, "Yeah, the mail." Weird, I thought, I was sure I felt something. That was the last of that.

Today I went to check the mail during the day while it was light out and I stuck my hand in to grab it and ran my hand smack into a frog skeleton! Yuck! I'm not sure if a neighborhood kid is playing a trick, if Matt just somehow missed it yesterday, or if my mailbox somehow became a frog cemetery, but either way I was totally grossed out. I'm SURE it was there last night, and it's still there as I type. I'm not touching that thing. I'll just ask Matt to get the mail again tonight ;).