holders, goers, this is the way the world turns...

As I'm writing this I'm fighting the great and terrible desire to PEE. I have a theory that the world can be divided into two groups of people: Holders and Goers. I, my friends, am a devout HOLDER, which was severely tested when I was pregnant with Bean. For nine months I wondered how all those Goers do it all the time - all those trips to the bathroom, all that time spent trouncing up and back when they could just as easily (so say the Holders) group four trips into one. As any good mother will tell you, however (and listen up to this one, my never-been-pregnant-readers), it's not like the Holding Muscle returns immediately after you give birth. Nope. I wondered for a while if I was going to have to start listening more closely to those Depends commercials. But like so many things, the Holding Muscle returned in due time (cue rising Angelic Choir) and I'm firmly back in the Holding Camp.

Yes, still holding.

Today was a Good Day. A Good Day that should be capitalized because it was so Good. I love those, by the way: the Good Days, when things seem to be exactly as they should be (or at least close enough). Alice and I didn't do a ton of errands, which was nice, and we stayed home and baked cupcakes for the delightful Angela (birthday). We were supposed to go out and deliver the cupcakes after Miss Alice's afternoon nap, but guess who slept a marathon TWO HOURS??? (And to show proper gratitude for this blessed event, I won't be expecting it again for about 53 days.) I've trained myself to get absolutely everything that I can get done in thirty minutes because that's the Magic Window for Alice's naps: if we pass by the Magic Window and sleeping is still occurring, we quietly approach the Hour Magic Window. If we somehow (miracle, miracle) pass by the Hour Magic Window, I know we're in for a very long and restful nap. So. After I put Bean's sleeping self in her crib, I usually RUN: to the bathroom (holder!), to the kitchen (eat!), to the living room (clean up!), to the dishwasher (load!/unload!), to the computer (check! email!/check! blogs!), to some task (laundry! cleaning! cooking! working!).... and then... I don't know what to do with myself. Well, that's not exactly accurate. I am NEVER bored. I always have something to do: I can just spend a half-hour figuring out WHAT I want to do. Like I think: knitting? sewing? reading? brushing the cats? writing a blog entry? contemplate world peace?... and then it's been 30 minutes and I haven't done any of those things. Today, however, was magic because I not only got all my stuff done in the 30-minute-window, but I also knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with any time left over, which was to do some serious knitting. Yes, I'm making another hat. It's an addiction, I tell you.

There is usually a time during an Exceptionally Long Nap when I start to wonder if Bean is actually still breathing - and then I'll contemplate for a few moments, thinking OH MY GOODNESS WHAT IF SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED AND I LOOK BACK AND THINK HOW I WAS JUST SITTING ON THE COUCH KNITTING WHEN MY BABY WAS HANGING BY HER ANKLES OUT THE SECOND STORY WINDOW? and then I go check on the baby. I went through this cycle twice today, and both times her little body was crammed up against the side of the crib with her face buried into the crib bumper. My, that little girl likes to have her face buried, let me tell you. We usually end up bringing her into bed with us in the wee hours of the morning and nine times out of ten she rolls over to Chip and buries her face in his pillow. Or his armpit. Whatever's handy. I've also caught her sleeping ON HER FACE, which, meh-- I'm not so new of a parent anymore to worry about it. She is usually chugging away at her paci during those faceplant times, and that gives me some comfort, like--if she needs to breathe she'll roll herself back to a more breath-friendly position.

When Chip came home tonight we were STILL having a Good Day, which turned into a Good Night and all is right with the world, let me tell you! Laughs were had, baths were given, bottles were consumed, and now Chip and I are doing our nightly ritual of computer laptop stuff until we both turn them off and have Us Time. And can I tell you how much I love Us Time?

Good night, dearies-- please tell me: Are you a Holder or a Goer?

(Yes, still holding - but not for much longer!)