back... back.... back........ back........

It’s been close to four months since I wrote the last entry and what excuse do I have? I’ve been busy. Yes. Really busy!!! Most of my friends would just say – what else is new. But I’m sticking to my story! Besides "busy" takes on a whole other meaning, when you have a one year old at home. Really, it does!!!

At the end of September, after two weeks of missing blog entries I got short emails from family and friends inquiring when they "might see some new pictures of Kaspar", "would I be posting something soon" etc. Then, eventually, some began to worry and started calling or emailing and asking if we were ok. Thanks for caring, yes, we we’re fine! We’re kicking! We’ve been busy and I just ran out of time. Between juggling work and home and Kaspar and jewelry and laundry and dishes and the few volunteer projects I have had on the go… well, you get the picture…. Eventually all of you gave up, I think. And then, I gave up, too! I even thought about pulling the blog off the site and just calling it quits, but, then out of the blue a good friend emailed me a short note. It simply read "I miss bloggy". And it hit me – darn it, I MISS it, too! I miss writing it. I miss the comments. I miss the interaction… So, tonight, on the last day of this year 2006 the blog of Kaspar (even though, it’s mostly about me, who am I kidding?) gets resurrected. With a whole slew on new years resolutions, a whole stack of good thoughts and wishes to all my family and friends and people on the planet out there, everywhere……… I’m back.

So, what is new? I hate that question, even though, I am the first to use it on my friends and I’ll come clean - my answer is always the most predictable one – nothing…. It’s not all that true. Kaspar, for one, is bigger, taller, louder, faster, skinnier, more talkative, with more hair, more teeth, more demanding then the last time I blogged. He has leaned to pose for the camera. He has leaned to dunk things in the toilet and learned not to do that, too. He has developed a true love for books and loves to make the sound of an ambulance, as he’s reading about one, or just hearing one go by somewhere in the distance.

He has gone through a phase of love for celery, blueberries, black figs, melons, boiled carrots, apples and currently - raisins. I cannot complain. Raisins are definitely cheaper then fresh figs! It’s all transitional. I keep hoping for a meat or butter or cream kick, as I’m having a hard time making that kid gain a pound or two, but so far I’ve had no luck. He’s tough to please. He’s a picky eater. But all he eats is fruits and vegetables. Some mothers’ dream, I’m sure.
Kaspar has also gone through several colds and we’re just getting over the last. I’m amazed how true ring the experiences of other parents, who warned me that meeting other kids seems to be all about picking up another bug or two. The last cold started with the kiddy Christmas party a couple of weeks ago and got every one of us sick within 48 hours. Yeah, we spent the Christmas season recovering!

Christmas seems to have escaped me this year. Not only it’s been way too warm to feel like Christmas, but we’ve also been too busy and preoccupied with work to think about entertaining and this has lead to a total ‘lack of Christmas’ feeling for myself. Yes, Christmas has always been about having people over, cooking, baking, cleaning, decorating, sending cards, wrapping gifts... And I have managed to be too busy for all of the above!

Kaspar, however, has been spoiled silly for Christmas. Just this morning Steve and I had a little ‘discussion’ about the concerns we have regarding the piles of gifts (mostly new toys!) Kaspar has received. Being a parent is tough. You have to have a plan in place to deal with these things! And I don’t mean just the new toys… New toys simply mean having to organize and get rid of some of the old ones. Yeah. That means I HAVE more work to do! Argh… Then there are new clothes and closets and drawers to organize. These things seemed hard enough when there was just me, but now I’m doing it for all of us.

Anyhow… I’m going to stop right here, so, that you do not have too much to read the first time back. And I do hope to continue later tomorrow or the day after. Yeah, you can call me on it. I know, I do have some pending translation work, some pending jewelry work….. but….. I hope to be back for good….. later :-)