Sometimes when he's in a "mood," Z won't sit in his high chair to eat, but wants to sit in my lap and be fed. I know I should encourage independence and regular meal habits and all that, but I also know he won't fit on my lap forever, and someday I'll miss this. I don't want to look back and think, "I wish I'd held him more." Some mornings we bring Z into bed with us for his morning bottle. I know...

Z discovers a new food and art medium. Hilarity ensues. (Click for full photo set.)

You who have been with me lo these many moons may recall that, shortly after Z was born, my doctor put me on Zoloft for post-partum depression. I took it for several months, and it was very helpful. So at some point I decided I had adjusted to motherhood, and carefully weaned myself off the Zoloft, happy to think I could go back to unmedicated normal. This state of affairs held for a few months,...

I found him! The creepy Facebook ad guy offering Pell grants to moms! Now we know what retired immortal Russian Tsarist mystics do to pay the bills. Oh...and this is why I love Wikipedia.

It's Dec. 10. See Nov. 13 . On the bright side, our pediatrician's office *finally* has a stock of both seasonal and swine flu vaccines, and we have an appointment Saturday morning to get Z a shot of both. I'm just hoping the irony gods haven't caught up with us, and that he hasn't *already* gotten one form of flu while waiting for the vaccine. :P

Today I went down to a local salon that does free charity haircuts, and donated 10" of my hair to Locks of Love. I had 10" to spare, really. My hair was so long it was like having an extra person in bed with us--and not in a fun way, either. I hadn't cut it in almost 12 years, so I figured it was about time. On the other hand, it had become something of a trademark, and giving it up felt pretty momentous...

Or at least extremely weird. Because I just got the following ad in my sidebar: Who is this guy, and what does he have to do with Pell grants? Or moms?

Just sent off my final project for the semester to my professor, and got back confirmation that she received it. Woo-hoo, all done!!! This was a fun project: we had to submit a proposal for a textbook, along with a table of contents and a sample chapter. I opted for a content-based course package with the theme of American cultural art forms. Content-based instruction (or CBI, as my acronym-happy...

We had our annual tree-trimming party this past weekend. Between cooking, hostessing, toddler-wrangling, and tree-trimming, I was too busy to take pictures, but luckily spambrian came to the rescue! His pictures are posted on Flickr for your amusement and perusement. His choice of subjects was a bit whimsical, though--did anyone else who was there get pictures of Z in his reindeer sweater...

Today I am grateful to have had several hours of uninterrupted schoolwork time, thanks to Aaron taking Z most of the day. Time to get started on dinner. I am cooking tonight, but not the traditional Feast of the Consumption.