Where to begin?

So many things on my mind and on my plate right now I don't even know where to begin.  I have all these great blog ideas in my mind and by the time I get through my work day, or find the time to do it, I have completely forgotten what I was going to write about!

Cole is now 10 months old.  I can hardly believe it!  He is HUGE and loves to eat, but is very picky about what foods he eats with his fingers.  Elizabeth was much better at eating toast or macaroni or peas and carrots as finger food at this age, but Cole sticks to the cheerios, puffs, graham crackers, and the chicken, sweet potatoes, avocado, broccoli, etc to me spoon feeding.  I don't mind it, but I guess it's also a reminder that he didn't start his solids until 2 months later than Ellie (close to 6 months).  He has 3 teeth now and working on two more, it's crazy to watch him morph before my eyes into this little toothy-grinned little boy instead of my gummy-smile baby.  He doesn't yet crawl, but has some curiously creative ways to get what he wants and where he wants.  I love watching his little mind working out how to get there!

We are, unfortunately, working on ear infection #3 in the past 2 months.  Mark took him in about 3 weeks ago and he had a double ear infection.  10 days of meds and a re-check on Friday and he had another ear infection in one ear and fluid behind the other.  We are on drug #3 right now, but noticed him STILL poking at his ear a little today (he is following after mommy and doesn't show many signs that he is uncomfortable or fighting anything until it's really bad).  We go back next week to discuss possibly seeing an ENT and having tubes put in as well as possibly discussing the removal of his adenoids.  None of that scares me as I had tubes as a child and would rather have a healthy boy who can develop his verbal skills properly than to put it off and push him back due to hearing issues.

Elizabeth is such an independent little girl, loves playing with her dolls (Barbie, Ariel, Rapunzel & Flynn Rider) in her bedroom, and I love the moments I can just stand in her doorway, without her knowledge, and watch her play.  Along with the independence though is quite the little attitude, and it's amazing how quickly it morphed.  We have good days and bad, and it's all about how I have been able to creatively attack the situations without 1) getting upset at her, 2) not putting her in timeout too many times, and 3) saying something I won't follow through on.

She will be 3 in just a matter of weeks and it's crazy to look back at pictures and bring myself back to the day she was born.  She is now reading letters (no words yet, but points out letters on signs, on our shirts, in magazines ...), counts, loves puzzles and has an amazing memory for books and songs!

Mark is currently awaiting the ballot casting time.  SPEEA will be sending out the ballots on Feb 4 and they have 10 days to respond.  We should know middle of the month what is going on with the strike, but it's going to be close no matter which way it goes.  He is also talking with another group about taking a position elsewhere that would give him more work and more constant work to do which would be nice, so we will see how that goes.  If Cole DOES have surgery though, the strike won't matter so much because he will pretty much HAVE to work for medical insurance.  The kids are on his policy as I am on my own here at Precor and it doesn't make sense to move Cole to my policy and have to deal with the off and on and possible issues with moving him from one to the other, and we also can't afford to pay for Cobra.  So, secretly, I am praying Cole needs to have the procedures done, so the crossing of the picket lines won't be an option.

Life is crazy, but it's my life, and in a few years I'll look back and wonder how I got through it all!