Sort of vacation

I essentially had the week off last week. I went to a conference on Monday and Tuesday. I then stayed home the rest of the week due to having my wisdom teeth taken out. So not exactly a vacation, but a break from the hospital and a break from my pager. I realized recently, after feeling particularly burned out, that I haven't taken a full week off or any real meaningful time off since maternity leave. I've been saving my days off in case Hunter got sick or something happened where I needed to provide childcare.  All of the sudden, I realized that months have swept by, I have days to use, and I need a break. So, first things first, I got those teeth taken out that I've been putting off because who wants to celebrate Christmas by going to the oral surgeon? 

In my mind, wisdom teeth extraction was worse than it really was. It wasn't pleasant by any means, but I wasn't out of it for days with no food or drink. I do have the typical swollen cheeks that would make any squirrel or chipmunk out there envious of the sheer number of acorns that I could store up for winter. However, I came up with a delightful number of calorie-laden, delicious soft foods - mashed potato mountains with butter and cheese, chic-fil-a milk shake eaten with a spoon of course, gooey macaroni and cheese - that would leave anyone satisfied on Thanksgiving. The only real challenge was that the pain medication made me extremely nauseous leading to a quick transition to tylenol. That and, of course, the lack of diet coke for three days and chewing gum for several more. 

I was accused of having "first world problems" when I complained that I had to switch to my old slippers one day because I'd worn my new ones for so many lazy hours that they were a bit sweaty. Yes, yes, it's been a terrible week. 

I've enjoyed many hours with Hunter. He is a delightful child who is developing an opinion about everything. He is happy most of the time and is certainly open to communicating his wants, needs, and thoughts about particular activities such as diaper changes and fingernail trims. 

Here is a glimpse of him looking out the window at Jared as he arrives home. Currently nothing gives him greater delight than seeing something wave at him through the window. Pure joy.