the best 18 months there ever was

Nora had her eighteen month check up today and tomorrow is the 'official' day. Its simply unbelievable. She weighed in at 22 lbs 9 oz and measured 32 7/8 inches (doc said that its something like 47 and 95 percentile, respectively.) The checks for the A word were all fine for now and the doctor was impressed with the number of words she can say. SO impressed that I'm doubting myself. So, I'm listing them, yet again:

Animals and Sounds Kitty, Meow, Duck, Quack, Cow, Moo, Sheep, Baa, Birdie, Tweet, Bee, Buzz, Hop, Roar, Snap, Dog, Ruff, Oink, Elephant Sound, Fish, Bug, Mona, Monkey
Body Eye, Teeth, Hair, Eyebrow, Cheek, Mouth
Characters Nemo, Pat Pat, Eebee, Pooh
Clothing Sock, Shoe, Coat, Boots
Food and Eating Milk, Water, Bottle, Cheerios, Spoon, Fork, Plate, Cookie, Banana, Bread, Eat
Household and Toys Light, Wall, Sink, Book, Ceiling, Block, Movie, TeeVee (BLUSH), Chair, Blanket, Bed, Bath, Shower, Swim, PeekABoo, Phone, Ball
Nature Snow, Tree, Sky
People Mom (and many variations), Dad (and many variations), Grandma, Grandpa, Johna, Joe, Baby, and Obama
Phrases and Miscellaneous Nigh Nigh, Hi, Bye, Where Go?, AhdunNo, Please, More, No, Yes, Sit, Go, Up, ThereItIs!, Pretty, Here, Change, Cold, Hot, All Gone
Transportation Car, Jet, Choo Choo

It's all good. If you can keep up.

Phew. Things are going at an alarming pace and yet when I sit back and consider them, there isn't anything that I'd realistically remove from my list. So the trick, for me, is to learn to love it all in little, fast pieces and to give myself a break when I accidently trip sometimes while running a marathon, juggling torches, with a baby on my hip.

How does everyone else do it with such grace?

maybe its february

Or maybe its all too much. Maybe its depression, winter, politics, war, pms, or work. Or maybe I'm just tired. Whatever it is, I feel so lifeless. The last couple of nights I've made sure to get to bed on time thinking that lack of sleep was the problem. But its not. Everything feels like it requires such a monumental effort. It is times like these that I hate having a history of depression because I just wonder, "doesn't everybody feel like this sometimes?" I bet they don't all sit around pondering every aspect of it. I bet they just make the monumental effort and get on with their sadsack selves. Which is what I want to do. Because I'm sure its going to be better just around the corner...

and on a completely other annoying note, i cannot remember the rules for its, it's, etc.

A State of Mind.

Being sick, that is. I was so sick yesterday. I couldn't imagine that I'd feel so much better today. It's kind of a weird thing because I have, of course, been sick in the past and each time I have gotten well. How is it that when you're in the middle of something, you just can't see your way out? When I thought of all I'd need to get done I just wanted to crawl under the covers. Today, I'm still achey and dizzy, but I look forward to the challenge. I wish knowledge like this would stay with me when I actually need it. Like yesterday. When I envisioned having to quit my job and living in squalor because I couldn't leave my bed...