Odds 'n' ends

-Ninja is wonderful. Today she learned to climb off of my bed. She does stairs. She has 12 teeth and at least 2 more on the way - she seems to get 3 or 4 at once, poor thing. She's starting to sleep better at night - we're no longer co-sleeping which makes me sad, though - and she actually has real naps at daycare (though not at home). She has the best smile in the world. She lives to tease her dad. She loves animals. We're still nursing 3 times/day. And still cloth diapering. No walking yet although she's beginning to stand alone for a few seconds at a time. She adores reading. She is a carnivore: it's all about meat and not so much (ok, not at all) about vegetables. Except for mushrooms. Huh?

-Ah, I forgot to blog her birthday. I'm a bad mom (I say this facetiously, of course - I think I'm a good mom!). It was ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it. A ridiculous cake, ridiculous party dress, ridiculous decorations. I spent an absurd amount of time on it all; the party was, of course, more about me than about my daughter. But it was her first birthday and I didn't know if I'd get to throw another party like that ever again. I'm glad I did it.

-Work is going well. The transition was not as difficult as I had envisioned. I 'feel' different, though. I'm not the young teacher anymore - the motherhood status means that things have changed. I'm okay with this but I must admit that it was fun to be the new and hot teacher. Ah, well. Everyone at work looks surprised when I say my age. A ten-years-younger guy at work started to seem interested - before I mentioned my age and marital status - and he looked disappointed. A good thing!

-Today was the first day I spent alone at home since before Ninja was born. I confess to feeling very relaxed.

-DH will kill me if he ever finds out I blogged about this, but he no longer produces ejaculate. Huh? I thought this happened to older guys, not him. Sayonara to my (vair vair) distant dream of ever having a surprise pregnancy. It's just not going to happen. I must get this through my head.

-Diva Cup. Awesome. If I must get my period, at least this is a comfortable, eco-friendly, and more convenient way to have it.

- Speaking of Miss Auntie Flo, my cycle is really different now. I'm pretty regular, for one thing, which is odd. Ovulating hurts like an SOB whereas I'm used to just twinges. And I get it on both sides (weird because the right side was anovulatory). AF herself, however, brings zero cramps. None. And no mood swings. Odd!!!

-FET is tentatively scheduled for summer. Depends on my nursing schedule (Ninja is NOT a fan of the idea of weaning and I'd have to stop by the end of May at the latest), my relationship with DH (we were not getting along for a while but now we're beginning to fix what ails us), and our financial status (my position ends in summer). We'll see how it goes.

-My jealousy of other pregnant women had started to wane. That is, until a friend (who had her first baby just before mine) announced her pregnancy. Oh, right. Other women in my life have just had babies and will continue to have more babies. I must remind myself of this so that I'm not surprised and pissed off about more pregnancy announcements. I remind myself, in particular, that my brothers' wives will continue to have more babies without issue. I don't want to be blindsided.

-Again, speaking of reminders, Ninja is great. Fabulous. She's not perfect but she is perfect for us.