merlinofchaos | A non-weightloss non-recipe update?!

Yes, it seems like, ultimately, I only actually post about food.

May first was Sprout's 4th birthday. FOUR. FOUR YEARS OLD.

Am I old enough to have a 4 year old? Physically, sure. At least one person I know my age has a kid whose about done with high school.

But mentally? I dunno. Kids sure do make a person feel older.

esmerel has picked up a part time gig for a local Drupal shop, and will be working 2-3 days a week, more or less, so we're looking to pay someone to come in and nanny the kids while she gets some work done. It's kind of crazy, we'll ultimately pay about 75% of what Lynette makes for this, so when you subtract everything out she'll be working for a bit more than minimum wage. But this will make a difference in terms of catching up on finances and hopefully replenising the savings account. Taxes this year just killed it.

I look forward to this with both a little excitement and a little trepidation. On one hand, having someone to help out with the kids will be a great boon for Charlotte, who will, theoretically, get a lot more interaction. Right now I'm worried she doesn't get enough structured time, but I have to work and mommy has to take care of Reuben and she also has her class and some other work stuff she does. She's just as busy as I am, and that's only going to get worse.

Charlotte has also taken a bit of a mental and physical leap in the last month, too. Her speech, already very advanced for her age, seems to have improved again. She can put together pretty complex sentences. She has also reached that point of childhood where I think it's difficult for her to distinguish between reality and the things she imagines. Sometimes this makes basic activities difficult, as she assigns more personal importance to something that isn't real than something that is. All we can do is try to be patient and reinforce the reality where we can.

Reuben has reached the point where he is able to pick up and hold objects reliably and stuff them in his mouth with great alacrity. We seem to be drooling slightly less already, though we're not through the drool phase yet. He has also become very chatty, willing ot just make noise for an hour at a time, practicing with those lungs and vocal chords. That can be a bit of a challenge when I'm trying to focus.

Also, there's gaming today and I need to shower but

esmerel needed sleep more than I need to shower, so I've got a very playful 4.5 month old while she catches some more zzz's. He woke her up pretty early this morning and has been very active today.