Keeping It Real

Wigga-Whaaaat??

Life is so deliciously unpredictable and indiscriminately character building, isn't it? For some reason, you can't say, "Hey big man upstairs thanks for all of the character building lessons lately. Personally, I think my character is built up quite nicely. Let's lighten up on the learning experiences and let life flow easy like a breezy for awhile."

Really, things are going pretty well considering I just started a new job and Alexa just started spending her days with a new person and a new play friend. Emotionally things are going splendidly. Physically, I feel like someone ran me over with their Hummer more times than a rap song repeats its hook.

It's not just me. Alexa fell asleep in her toy box today.

Alexa got a cold my first week at work. Of course, I caught that cold my second week of work. How is it that I stayed home with this child for six months and never got sick once even when she sneezed directly in my face, yet I go to work one week and come down with the plague? I was so sick on Tuesday I actually drove around looking for a parking lot I could sleep in for a few minutes. (You can't take a sick day your second week of work.) I didn't find one.

Taffi and Bugs Bunny bond over a carrot.

I thought I was getting better, so I had my darling friend Taffi visit this weekend. I hope she's still my friend after I sneezed 14 times into the french toast and bacon I was trying to make. Then I told her I had to go to bed for a bit because I didn't have the energy to pretend I had energy.

Yes. I can sit up by myself now.

But I made it through my week at work and I found the energy to enjoy my time with Taffi by summoning divinity directly. Then last night at 10 p.m. Alexa woke up crying. A few minutes of snuggling and a flip through the Rolodex of Mommy intuition and I realized she's teething. For real this time. She's had a red rash on her cheeks and had been pulling at her face for a week now. I gave her a teether and she chomped into that bad boy like it was her personal gum savior. Poor thing. She's got the cranks in full effect.

Can I stop the monkey tricks and go to bed now please?

We'll live. We always do. But if anyone has any tips on how to manage a new job, an energy sucking illness, keeping a household clean, doing good at work and carving out quality time for the ones you love, please let me know. I'm over the character building experiences but I'm all ears for life balancing suggestions.