Stunning...

I have poached this from another blog I read, but thought that the painting was so beautiful I just had to bring your attention to it. Great article talks about the paintings history.

The GayClic Collab Against Homophobia (from France)

okay - this one has a language advisory...but I LOVE it!

Flyin' Solo - Well, Duo...

We are on our own for the next couple of days. The Boy is away in rural Victoria for a work conference. We would have gone, but the words rural and Victoria are never a pleasant reality when used in combination.

So far so good. Jacob slept thru until 05:00, which while not the ideal, is better that a disrupted night. Contiguous hours beat scattered ones.

It's been a rough last week or so. Jacob has been teething, and now has two razor sharp teeth to show for it on his lower gum line. But the process is quite an eye opener. Fussy, irritable, not wanting to eat, not wanting to drink, just "off" in general.

We have kept the Tylenol coming and he wears his amber necklace. We have also been giving his an homeopathic remedy and chilled chew toys (I know, that sounds so much like dog talk - but trust me, it works).

But on the up and up front; I have accepted a job! I interviewed at a number of places, and received two offers of part-time PACU work. I thought it all thru and have accepted the position at the National Childrens Hospital, Starship - which is here in Auckland. I plan on starting June 2nd, and am currently working thru the pre-employment health screening and the necessary paperwork. I'm looking at two days a week, and looking at it longingly. I've missed the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that paid employment gives. I've missed adult company, too.

Jacob will spend one day at home with the Boy (Tuesday), and then two days at day care (Wednesday & Thursday). We called around, asked around, and ran around, and found a spot at one of the nationwide chain places which is close by the Boys work. It'll make drop-off and pick-up easier for all concerned. You may notice that we have an extra day in there; I decided that I wanted a complete day off, and the day care has a two-day minimum requirement. The plan is that I'll use the extra day to get back into potting or some other pursuit that has vanished since Jacob came along. It'll be good to see what is out there and do something creative again, and feel like I have a life of my own again.

Rolling in it...

Anyone would wonder what the hell happened to me. You wouldn't be alone, I've been thinking it myself. I can say is that I have been well and truly swallowed up in the day-to-day that goes along with a small child. They are pretty damned busy little creatures. More of a time trap than Facebook, I tell ya.

We have had a crazy last week or so. He turned 5 months old and of course had to have the appropriate vaccinations. He'd sailed thru his 8 week & 3 month set without batting an eye, so you can imagine our complete and total shock when we were confronted by the fussy, screaming, feverish, loose stooled, alien who we found in his cot that same night. Yikes! No wonder people live in terror of having their kids stuck.

We are a week out now, and he seems to be back to his usual pleasant little self. He is currently chilling in his cot, no doubt talking to the animals on his wall, as he chomps on his entire left hand. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we are pretty sure he has started teething, too. Either that or his salivary glad "tap" got left on. We thought we saw a bud (of the teething variety) for a day or so there, but it seems to have gone. Never fear, the amber necklace arrived this morning and I have flown in the face of the Plunket Nurse and placed it about his neck. Everyone I have spoken to (even our landlord) swears by the things, so we'll see.

He has also taken a keen interest in television. In general we try to avoid exposure, but there are those moments when he does get to catch a glimpse. Last week in the midst of the hellion child's visit I relented and let him watch while we were waiting post-feed for a suitably impressive burp. We flipped thru the channels (which doesn't take long here as there are only something like 9 - and one of those is the horse racing channel) and landed on an episode of Zack & Cody. It's one of those shows that must be listed in Revelations as a sign of the impending arrival of the horsemen. I was all set to flip on when I noticed the wide eyes of the small boy on my lap. Jacob was gazing at the screen with the same look I give Hugh Jackman.

I then found myself hesitating, feeling bad that I was wanting to change channels. But I had to, Zack & Cody is crap. But how to exit gracefully? I came up with a plan; wait until the commercials to make my move. It took me a minute to realize that it would be just fine if I flipped on as Jacob has yet to put together the fact that there even are channels, let alone that we can change them.

I'll have years of fighting over control of the clicker, so I took this small victory, knowing full well that Zack &Cody are gonna win in the end.