must...not...lose...steam

i don't really have tons to report here on the homefront, but i figured since i haven't posted in a few weeks i didn't want to lose my 2 readers i have built since starting this thing. :)

i guess the major things are these (in the vernacular of that show "Pushing Up Daisies"):

1. I had a severe case of strep throat around New Year's Eve. we still had people over, and i went to bed at 10:30 while everyone else stayed up to celebrate. i have always felt like the magic of "midnight" isn't all that magical anyway.

2. i started and finished editing a book about transportation systems (don't even ask what it was really about--i have no idea) in a matter of a few days. i had gotten the project well before christmas, but i decided to take a few weeks over the holidays and just relax, since i am usually working like crazy. i thought by taking the time off it would sort of rejuvenate me to start back at the computer, but unfortunately after getting a taste of what it's like to *really* be a stay-at-home mom (actually spend time with your kids, plan meals, clean on occasion, go to TARGET...) i am more opposed than ever now to keep working at this crazy pace, which brings me to the next point...

3. rick's "summer" job at the church where he was filling in is now officially over, and though we have ideas about what may be next, we are not sure. so the major stress begins. keep your fingers crossed that we will have a more solidified direction within the next couple of weeks. if not you may be writing to me at an infirmary. :)

4. the kids were out of school for a full *two* weeks for the holidays. they managed to completely destroy any sense of organization i had accomplished prior to this time, so yesterday i spent the better part of the morning getting sorted out in the playroom and their bedroom (which they share). i think it always feels so nice just to purge, and since these toys (using that term loosely, because i tend to think of most of what the kids collect as junk) are not mine, it's even easier to throw or give things away. i'm so glad i'm not a pack rat, because i am beginning to think that everyone else in my family is (still holding out for rhys...don't let me down!).

5. it does not feel like winter here in florida. i know those of you who are living in very cold climates right now may feel envious, but it should seriously not be 80 degrees when it's january. i remember loving these days when we would visit rick's parents while we lived in boston, but it's a completely different feeling when you have to put up with it every day. so i wish it would be just a little cooler. please?

6. rhys had his 5-month birthday yesterday. it's really difficult to believe that he has already been alive for 5 months. heck, it's still hard to believe we have 3 kids (that is, until we have to cram them 3 across in the backseat of our old volvo wagon--then it's very much a reality). he seems less active and less talkative on the whole than gillian and aedan were at his age. he's still in a bassinet in our bedroom. every time i put him in his crib to take a nap, he won't sleep for more than a few minutes before expressing his dislike. it makes me wonder if i should have been putting him in there little by little to get him used to the space. it's sort of a nook in our office--cool curtains, great stuff on the walls to look at...but he looks around and his eyes get really big and then he starts complaining. he's not trying to roll over yet either. i would worry that he's developmentally delayed, but honestly i can tell he's not, and he just seems like he isn't in a rush to do all that stuff. he does know how to roll over, because i've seen him do it. but i wonder if it's the 3rd child syndrome--he doesn't need to compete, be the first--he has gillian to fill those shoes. so he just hangs out. this could be g r e a t!! :)

well that's all i can think of for now. guess i had more news than i thought. i'll try to post some pictures soon. i think blog postings with just words are boring! happy new year everyone.