Feeling needed

I want to point out that my commitment to NaBloPoMo is so great, I'm pecking this entry out on my iPhone while lying in the dark because our power went out about 30 minutes ago. I still have half my battery left but I'll type fast. The weather here is awful as we are beaten down by a nor'easter that will run til tomorrow evening or so. We've had to drain the pool many times and several streets around us are flooded. In many ways this is worse than hurricane Isabel back in 2003, because at least that only lasted about 12 hours versus three days!

My big accomplishment today has been to talk to my brother about all his frustrations for an hour or so and to install anti-virus software on my father's ancient and infected computer. Oh and I've showered, brushed my teeth, put on clean clothes and fed the baby.

I told my mother that I took maternity leave thinking it would be a break from so many people needing me, but it seems I've just changed which people need me so badly. But no matter how many computer woes my father and brother have, Ian will always trump them with his whole "I need my mother's milk to survive" routine.

And with no power this evening, I'm particularly grateful to be breastfeeding. If anyone else needs me I'll be lying in the dark with my husband and son.

It's the little things that make my day

Yesterday was so very hard that today has seemed like a gift. Yesterday all I wanted to do was take a nap, but Ian was either eating or fussing all day long. He doesn't really cry, but would squirm and grunt and frown and be super restless. We had already had a rough night and I lkept telling him I just needed one hour to recharge. But it wasn't going to happen. He never slept for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Finally at 3:30 yesterday afternoon he fell asleep on my chest and we napped on the couch for two hours or so. I felt like a new person. And then last night he and I learned how to nurse while I stayed lying in bed which is its own special gift of relaxation at 3am. And then this morning he woke up, ate and then slept in the Boppy from 8:30 until almost noon! I got so much done! It was like he wrapped up that nap and put a bow on it for me.

And THEN! He woke up, ate, watched eat my sandwich in peace and we both went upstairs for a two hour nap this afternoon. Best. Baby. Ever!

He's currently asleep on my desk between me and the keyboard. And if I'm lucky, he'll sleep for good chunks of time tonight.

He has been such an exceptionally good baby thus far but him having a hard time yesterday was tough on us both. And it made me appreciate when you're trying to console someone else you can't get anything done yourself. So I'm just happy we're both feeling better today.

I even had time this evening to scan some old photos I managed to con from my aunt for the week. This one is my mother's favorite family portrait of theirs. Maybe I'll make a family portrait for us like this.

Living Out Loud volume 11: Tis the gift to be simple

Did you know that there are some people who have already finished their Christmas shopping? If you are one of those people, I don't know if you can hear me frowning at you, but I'm doing it as hard as I can right now. I've actually wondered how the economy will affect what people buy for the holidays and how they celebrate. I watch a fair amount of daytime TV these days (also having discovered there is nothing good on at 4am, no matter how many channels you get) and there are a ton of Wal-Mart commercials talking about how your holiday spending dollars go further there. It's made me think a lot too about what kinds of gifts we give and receive and their significance.

In that vein, I'm curious what gifts have made an impression on you in your life. What is the best or worst present you've given or received? How important do you think gift giving is for holidays or birthdays? Have some of you stopped giving anniversary, birthday or holiday gifts and has that worked well? My husband bought me a lawn edger for my birthday one year and it remains one of my favorite birthday gifts to date. I still have and use the anniversary gifts Jeremy gave me all those years ago. Unfortunately, I also have a container of about half of my Christmas gifts from last year that has gone untouched for nearly 12 months, which makes me wonder if that was the best use of those funds or if something else would have been better. So for this month's Living Out Loud project, I'd like you to tell us how you stand on gifts and which ones have really stood out for you.

Details include:

• Write something personal about yourself using the previous paragraphs as a guideline. Do not feel that you have to address each question above. The spirit of this project is to share something about yourself; I'm just throwing out ideas.

• Once you have completed your entry and posted it, please email me the link at genie [at] inabottle [dot] org.

• If you do not have a blog to host your story, you can email me the story directly and I will add it here as a guest post giving you credit. The more the merrier!

• The due date for entries is Sunday, December 6th (the first Sunday of the month) at 5pm Eastern.

• Once I have collected all the entries, I will post a wrap-up to list them all and announce a winner. The winner will receive some sort of prize to be determined but all participants will receive fame and glory and a link on our Living Out Loud blogroll.

As far as I'm concerned, your participation in these projects is all the present I need. It makes me ridiculously happy more than any themed sweater could. Can't wait to hear what you have to say!