Trying for two

My son just turned two and a half. While we do have challenges, for the most part he is a fairly easy baby (well, toddler). Since my husband is an only child and knows how lonely it can be, and I have a brother, we are working on having a second child. And as I say to my son, and that's it.

Of course, as you spend most of your 20s trying not to get pregnant, you find it isn't so easy to actively try to get pregnant. We try and no success. One thing's for sure, though: No fertility treatments. If God meant for us to only have one child, so be it.

So we keep trying, and we keep telling the Boo about how wonderful it would be to have a brother or sister. My SIL is pregnant with her first child, so he will soon have a cousin to try out what it would be like. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my one. He's a wonderful child, and I am so blessed.

The long silence

I am sorry. Really sorry. Every single day, I think, I need to write in my blog. But I just can't get motivated. I've learned, though, the best way to plow through writer's block is to barrel right through it.

What's been going on:

Had a great Fourth of July. Very quiet and low-key -- we're not huge celebrators of this holiday -- but nice and family-oriented. M took some time off this week and we had some family excursions, including a trip to IKEA. Boo couldn't believe his eyes. This was his favorite thing -- he kept spinning it and had a fit when we took him away.

Still unemployed, and as of Tuesday, it will have been a year. Yikes. On a happier note, Boo turned two and a half on Tuesday as well. It sucks that these two events are forever intertwined. I am trying to get some freelance work and continue to look for a part-time, preferable work-at-home job. I continue to work for M in his new office.

My little brother is going to be a dad. His wife is due in October. I am thrilled for them as well as for the fact Boo will have a cousin. He is very excited too.

Boo continues to be a love interspersed with acting like a 2-year-old. Bedtime and naptime have become major battles. I'm not really sure what we're going to do when we put him in a bed and I can't just pull up the bedrail and let him wear himself out.

Summer is going by wayyyyy too fast.

Help for the terrible twos

My son is beautiful, brilliant, sweet, funny and just a wonderful kid. But he's another thing, too: Almost 2 and a half. And you know what that means. Lying on the floor when he doesn't want to do something. No his favorite word. Tantrums, tantrums, tantrums. Sobbing his eyes out because I took away the toy he was just standing on (and I told him not to). And so on. You moms know what I mean. I love him so much, but it's exhausting.

Any moms and/or dads who've been through it have any advice? I don't want to crush his spirit, but I need some coping skills. Comments are welcomed. In the meantime, I'm going to take a nap.

Stuck

I feel stuck.

I constantly have blog posts rattling around in my head, but I can't seem to commit them to this blog.

I've been unemployed for almost a year, and I still have no idea what I want to do next -- although I am not crazy about the idea of going to work for someone else again.

I have probably applied for more than 50 jobs, and I'm not getting any bites, despite revising my resume and following up with phone calls.

I want to freelance more, but I'm not sure how to get it going.

Stuck.

Maybe just admitting it out loud will help me get unstuck.

Random thoughts from the play area

On crappy weather days, we sometimes head over to the local mall's play area. Boo loves it muchly, and I enjoy watching him love it muchly. But I find a lot of thoughts go through my head as I stand there watching him and the other kids:

• Get away from that toy, kiddo. You only want to play with it because my son does.
• I wonder how many germs are in here? Better grab the antibacterial wipes and hose the boy down before we go.
• Umm, mother chatting with her friends and not paying attention to her kid? I know you need some downtime, but you might want to get him to stop smacking everyone in the face. He comes near my kid, it's on.
• Wow, my kid is well-behaved compared to some of them in here.
• I hope this is teaching him a bit how to play with other kids.
• I love seeing Boo so happy. How much longer do we have to stay?
• I hope he takes a good nap after this.
• They really ought to get a gate. That's the third kid I've seen try to make a break for it out into the mall.
• That mom looks nice. Hope she doesn't think I'm hitting on her if I make small talk.
• Is that a sale I see?

Proxy wars

(RANT MODE ON)

I tend to be a pretty nonconfrontational person. I mostly hate fighting, and I don't like to be in explosive emotional situations. So you can imagine how I feel about how people talk to each other (or about each other) on the Internet. (Of course, the nonconfrontational tendencies are exactly why people talk smack on the 'net.)

The writer of one of my favorite blogs, Waiterrant, said it best:

The idea of the “chattering classes” isn’t the sole provenance of political pundits anymore. It’s a big part of the Internet as well, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, My Space, forums on topics big and small or the comments section on blogs like mine. Most people leave thoughtful, well written messages that make sense and contribute to the spirit of civil debate. But for a segment of the population the Internet provides them with an opportunity to finger-paint with their psychological feces.

In the past few days, I've become aware of some serious trash-talking on the Internet. I'm not going to go into more detail, because I don't want to start a proxy war of my own, but seriously? You can't say it to my face (or you don't even know me), you're going to post it online? As Rodney King said, can't we all just get along?

(RANT MODE OFF)

Like Pink said, I'm not dead

Yes, I have been away -- so long that BlogHer disabled my ads. Can't blame them. But here's what's been going on:

• M bought a new building for his business. It's a great property, but it needs work. So we've been busting butt coordinating repairs and decor for a grand opening in the middle of May. I am very excited for him. Time to take the law firm to the next level.
  
• The Boo continues to grow like a weed and talk up a storm. He is a wonderful child but is starting to get willful in ways only a 2-year-old can, e.g., lying on the floor and screaming, hitting, biting. That behavior is infrequent, but it still pisses me off when it happens.
  
• Between taking care of a toddler and helping M with his business, I have picked up some freelance writing gigs. The thought of going to work for someone else again really doesn't appeal to me, so I'm thinking of starting my own freelance business, since M's new office building includes office space for me.
  
• I am spreading mulch and cleaning up the yard. It's a bitch and a half, but it's great exercise, and the yard looks great.
  
• We continue to work on trying to have Baby No. 2.

So you see why I've been away. What's up with you?