I've been scarce lately, and I'm going to be scarce for a few more days! We're going camping in Yellowstone this weekend. :) I'm taking my sketchbook.

Lately, my only computer time has been when I only have one hand free -- so I can browse, but typing one-handed is challenging, so I've been reading, but I haven't done much commenting. Hence my lack of web presence recently. I have some major web development going on, and hopefully will have something to show for it soon. :)

Peanut's eating/sleeping/awake schedule seems to be starting to normalize. Every now and then, I get 5 hours of actual sleep at night, which is refreshing! And now and then, in the late evening, I have an hour or two to do my own thing!

That's it for today... off to shop for car-friendly foods, pull sleeping bags out of the basement, and finish getting ready to go! When Bean gets home from school, I'll have him pack his car "stuff-to-do" bag, get everything packed in the car, then pick brozinski up from work, meet his parents for dinner, and head out of town!

I should have a website ready for testing by the weekend!

I worked on graphics for it tonight, and while working on a banner, I pounded out this:



This will *not* appear on my banner, as it has little to do with "Puffbird Studio", but I liked how it turned out. About 30 minutes with a Wacom tablet in Photoshop.

I just registered Bean for school, which starts in a week and a half. Where did my summer go?

Health
Slowly getting better, day by day. I've started taking walks with my family, because I finally can. We go a little farther every day, and every day it gets easier. Some evenings I still curl up on the bed, feeling stretched thin and exhausted, like I've done too much. I try not to do too much, but sometimes it's hard to realize exactly when I reach "too much".

I've had to turn a blind eye to the house and garden. My tomatoes are overgrown with weeds, my mizuna has long since bolted and gone to seed. Here and there a bunch of chard is growing vigorously among the tall grass.

Getting better was much easier after Sprout. What happened in the last four years??

Baby at 8 Weeks
When he "talks" at me, he puts his whole body into the effort. It makes me wonder what he is trying to communicate. What does a smiling baby think about?

Art
At last! Progress is being made on "Nameless", my graphic novel project. :) Last night I toned one page and laid out another... and I would have started sketching it out, but the pen tool wasn't working right. I need to reinstall some drivers and re-set preferences and see if that fixes it. Manga Studio is a great program, but it seems to be a bit fussy about working with my Wacom.

My, this whole thing has been a learning experience. This first chapter is going to be a catalog of techniques tried and discarded, and I fear will be very disjointed-looking as I try things, because I'm not going back to re-do pages to make them all look uniform. I'm treating this as a learning project. It's going to take 1,000 pages before I feel confident in my abilities with this.

I will be talking to my brother-in-law about setting up my WordPress/ComicPress-based site, so I can start posting pages and more information. :)

Writing
Working on art has proven difficult, so when I haven't been able to work on art, I've been writing. I'm now 10,800 words into a story. More on that later!

Laundry is going. Yes, I can do laundry again! :D

Health
Doing much better. Peanut is starting to sleep for longer stretches at night. Last night, he fell asleep shortly before 11 pm and didn't wake until 3:30. That's a record so far! During the day, feedings are still approximately 2 hrs apart, which complicates planning anything.

Family
We are starting to form a more regular routine, thankfully. My goal now is to learn how to give quality attention to all three kids. Three changes the family dynamics in interesting ways, and we're all still trying to get used to it.

Art
I can tell I'm feeling better, because I desire to work on things. I haven't been able to act on that desire much, yet. When I'm not caring for Peanut, I need to pay attention to Bean and Sprout. When they're in bed, and Peanut is asleep, I need to be sleeping myself. I'm looking forward to school starting, and a regular schedule. Sprout starts preschool this year, so I might get some time in the mornings, when Peanut is napping.

I did manage to pull my sketchbook out for 15 minutes yesterday. :)

* * *

Now dinner, and hopefully the library.

Did I mention that my recovery was slow?

A week and a round of antibiotics later, I'm doing much better. I didn't realize how terrible I was feeling until I'd been on the antibiotics for a couple days and realized how good I felt compared to how I *had* been feeling. I'm doing much better now. Ah, recovery. In a couple more weeks, I should be feeling even more like myself. :)

Now if I could only fit into my old jeans... It's tough when nothing you own fits you.

I can tell I'm feeling better, because I'm starting to take stock of where I am in all my projects and think about what I want to work on next.

Family
We're adjusting to our new addition. It's interesting how sibling dynamics change when you add one. So far, Sprout is adjusting by showing extraordinary affection to Peanut and being extra helpful when I ask him for help -- but when I don't keep him busy, he sure manages to find trouble.

Bean is reveling in the "oldest child" glory, and mostly ignoring the baby. He's not a baby kid, and that's okay.

Peanut has gained two pounds in the last three weeks, so he's definitely thriving. He's starting to show signs of growing out of his "newborn" stage and into the begining of socializing/smiling stage. He's starting to make more noises than just crying.

I must admit, I am not a baby person. That type -- as soon as someone brings a baby in the room, they immediately gravitate towards it, "ooh" and "ahh" and ask "Can I hold the baby?" -- is NOT me. I would much rather not hold a baby. But when it's mine, it all changes.

And that's okay, too.

Art
...is in a holding pattern. Last night was the first night in weeks that I actually had two hours of sleep together... and Peanut only woke up two times in the night for feedings. Until his schedule "normalizes", and I have enough brain cells functioning to focus on anything, I will be more than usually unproductive. My apologies, especially to my sponsors. I'm disappointing myself, and I'm sure I'm disappointing you, too.

I'll get there, though.

I was able to get some work done on crafts before Peanut was born, which felt pretty good. I haven't had the fortitude to pull out the needles since he was born, though... but I'll get that back on track, too.

Links
Full-body dinosaur costume puppets! -- I always wanted a Halloween costume like these...

The baby is doing great! My recovery has not been so great. I'm taking it easy -- mostly (my husband can vouch, I'm terrible at not doing anything) -- and hopefully will be completely on the mend soon.

Kids Will Be Kids
Sprout the 4-year-old to Bean the 7-year-old, while they play checkers this afternoon: "I have to potty! Don't vanquish me while I'm gone!"

I'm reading, but I'm not commenting much. It's easy to browse, but hard to type with my current computer set-up. I may have to look into making adjustments.

I'm re-learning a lot of things about having a newborn around the house.

1. Babies sleep a lot.
2. But they don't sleep for long stretches of time.
3. Carrying babies for long periods of time makes my shoulders ache.
4. If I hold a sleeping baby while sitting in a comfortable chair, especially if I'm already short on sleep, I end up asleep, too.
5. Nursing babies get pretty fussy when their moms eat chocolate. D:


I'm learning a lot of new things about having three kids.

1. My oldest has been through this before and couldn't care less about the baby. His opinion? "Babies don't do much." (But I did catch him making cute faces at the baby last night.)
2. My now-middle son is extraordinarily affectionate with the baby, because he gets attention for being nice to the baby. But sometimes he's a little too affectionate. He wants to kiss and hug the baby all the time, even when the baby is asleep. I have had to set limits, but he tests them ALL THE TIME.

I'm also learning some things about having babies in general...

1. Recovering from a c-section is different at age 27 than it is at age 35.
2. Having a child with jaundice makes you appreciate technology.
3. It's kind of nice not having to worry about going back to work when my sick/vacation leave time is all used up. :)
4. I still have to remind myself not to overdo things, even though I've been through this twice before.

Short on sleep, but that comes with the territory.

To complicate things, Peanut was born with a condition that made his biliruben levels skyrocket (classic jaundice!) so he had to be under a bili light the whole time he was in the hospital, and more once he got home. We think Peanut is in the clear now; his levels look like they're stabilized, and he's not quite so yellow. He has an appointment on Monday, at which we'll make sure.

I'm glad not to have to be taking him in for a blood draw every other day. His poor feet look like pincushions.

And now I go sleep.

Thank you all for your well-wishes. :) I will answer when I can, but my computer time right now is very limited. I'm supposed to rest when the baby sleeps, which -- with two other boys to look after and give attention to at the same time -- doesn't happen as much as it should. Plus, my laptop in its docking station is too heavy for me to lift right now, and it's a little uncomfortable to type on it for any length of time.

Today is the day my son was scheduled to be born. Clearly he wanted to prove to us that you just don't schedule things like childbirth... ( More About Baby's Arrival )

Bean has been through this before, and while he's kind and gentle with the baby, he's largely uninterested. Sprout, on the other hand, is extremely affectionate and looking for praise at how sweet he's being to Peanut. Sometimes he's a little excessive, to the point of smothering. I'm doing my best to be patient with him, because I know why he's doing it. He's a mama's boy, and this little new being has usurped his territory. It doesn't help that with my healing incision, I can't pick Sprout up or let him sit in my lap like he always used to. That will change in time, but he doesn't know that.

We've made a lot of adjustments to our space in order to accommodate a new baby... but when I had to go to the hospital, we still hadn't moved the dresser into place, pulled the baby clothes out of the basement, or set up a crib... and our whole living area was a complete mess. But we have everything mostly arranged now. There's still a lot left to do, to make our space more comfortable.

My only problem now is that I'm not allowed to pick up anything heavier than Peanut, and I am not to do even basic household chores for another three weeks. Cue me anxiously chewing my nails as I try to ignore the bathroom and the boys' bedroom and just about every mess I look at.

New baby at the puffbird house! Welcome Peanut, our third boy. :) He decided to come early. Still recovering, but home now. More later, when I feel less dead.