Why people need to stop abusing antibiotics

I have caught a penicillin-resistant strain of strep bacteria. My throat feels like it's been attacked with razor blades. The swelling is so bad that it is affecting my eardrums. It's like someone is stabbing me in the ear with an icepick. I'm taking 1600mg of ibuprofen every three hours to keep the pain manageable. I'm hoping now that they have started me on a second course of antibiotics that I'll start feeling better soon. As it is, I can't even have chocolate to console me, because it's like rubbing sandpaper on my throat for some reason.

As it is, I have nothing left in my Hulu queue to watch, and I've worked through the backlogs of several different websites (cakewrecks, passive agressive notes, you suck at craigslist, etc.) I'm too tired to hyperlink. Anyone have other fun websites that don't require thought?

I didn't teach him that

We have been working with Cooper on not hitting. Sometimes he hits, and sometimes he just gets overly enthusiastic in expressing himself. When he is hitting, we say, "Only happy hands!" When he gets carried away I remind him that he needs to do gentle touches. We were playing today, and he started poking me in the face. I reminded him, "Only gentle touches." So he started holding his finger half an inch from my face and laughing. He doesn't actually say, "I'm not touching you," but I can hear him thinking it.

Where do they learn these things?

No, it is not that easy.

*yawn*

No sleep for the mommies

Cooper has decided that sleep is for suckers. About every other night for the last week he's been coming into our room around three o'clock in the morning, wide awake and wanting to play. Trying to get him back to sleep two nights ago resulted in me finally giving up at five am and just bringing him to bed with me. I spent the next hour and a half with GeekBoy pressed up against my back, and Cooper patting me on the face every few minutes and asking if we could go upstairs and play. I hate being touched while I'm sleeping, so between the two men in my life pushed up against me, a little hand patting me face, and my cat taking advantage of the bedroom door being left open to come stake out a place on my feet, that was a long night.

Early this morning, Cooper walked into our room. "Hi, Daddy!" I have to admit I was glad he wanted his dad. About 40 minutes later, GeekBoy returned from finally getting Cooper to go back to sleep. His fervent prayer that it would take was unanswered when Cooper walked back into our room a few minutes later. "Hi, Mommy! Time to go upstairs?" I opened bleary eyes. "No, Cooper, it's time to sleep." He wordlessly turned around and walked out of the room. I thought I was going to have to go get him off the staircase when I heard him walk down the hall, go into his room, and shut the door behind him. He slept the rest of the night.

Can it really be that easy?

Low hanging fruit

One of the things I am trying to do this year is become more environmentally friendly. I used to be much more granola crunchy than I am now, and miss that part of me. I'm trying to start easily and make simple changes first. Here's what I've done so far:

• Got a reusable lunch bag and sandwich wrap for my office lunches. I have a stack of cloth napkins that I use as well that just get tossed in the laundry.
• Set up a recycling station in the back entry to collect recyclables.
• Purchased cloth shopping bags.
• Started using stainless steel water bottles rather than plastic.
• Buying organic and local produce at the grocery store.

What are some other easy suggestions to re-green my life? I figure I'll pick off the low hanging fruit first, and then work my way up from there.

It's a new year

All the cool kids are doing decade retrospectives, so I guess I will too, though the nitpicky part of me wants to say that this is actually the end of this decade, rather than the start of the new one, but oh well, I'll give in to peer pressure.

2000: Met the man who would become my husband, turned down law school and got married just under six months later. Pick up and move to a new state.
2001: Newlywed bliss. Perfected my salsa recipe. Dated my husband without having to use an airplane.
2002: Buy house. Get driver's license. Miscarry twins.
2003: Miscarry twins. Hate my job. Apply late acceptance to grad school. Quit my job, take out loans, go to graduate school. Promise myself I am going to work my butt off and get funded next year.
2004: Get fellowship for next four years of graduate school. Get pregnant, find out the baby has a fatal genetic disorder, decide to carry the baby as long as possible.
2005: Give birth. Say goodbye to my son. Speak at his funeral.
2006: Graduate with master's degree.
2007: Sit for my doctoral comps. Go in to labor 24 hours later (a month early.) Give birth to Cooper. Rejoice.
2008: Deal with health problems from Cooper's prematurity. Start the physical therapy routine. Watch him blossom.
2009: Get job teaching college full time. Love my life.

This has been an amazing decade. A year ago right now I was waiting for law school acceptance letters, had never heard of GeekBoy, and lived in a different state. Now I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world (who is currently alternating between playing trains with Cooper, and giving him horsey rides around the living room) and writing a dissertation in political science. I never would have predicted this life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I can hardly wait to see what the next ten years bring.