Another Patrol

Dropped Mike off this morning for another patrol. I hate this. Shannon has decided to stop napping, too, and I'm about to kill several things that have been waking her just as she drifts off to sleep: Dargan, the mailman, the woodpecker drilling into the power pole outside the house, the helicopters that think that just because they're 500 feet over the freeway means they're also 500 feet above my house, the moron with the jackhammer around the corner, the other moron with the table saw across the canyon..... And I'm about to duct tape this kid to her crib.

Tickah, tickah, tickah!!

That's all I hear lately. It's nothing but "Mama, dada, baba, tickahtickahtickah!" It cracks me up!! Did I already mention that she's crawling? I forget. If not, I'll inform you. Shannon started officially crawling (not just army crawling, though that is still her modus operandi when she's in a hurry) at the beginning of the week. Monday, was it? She hates the tile floors, so she only does it if she's on the rug or is wearing the thick woolen pants I knitted her. I swear these tile floors are going to destroy all of our knees before we move out of here! As my friend, Kim, put it: "So S is now 10 months, has teeth to bite you with, and can crawl after you while chanting. That should make your household interesting." Well put, Kim, well put.

Mike is on duty today, so I took Shannon and Dargan for a walk on Coronado. So many tourists!! And so many people camping out in the park! Oy vey!!

Panic Attack, Part Deux

Oh, God, it's back! I'm freaking out again! This is the last week of relative calm. Everything is over after this week. I'm scared out of my mind.
I have another interview today. I had 2 last Thurs, and didn't get either jobs (one for sure, the other, I never heard back from, so I assume they didn't hire me). I'm going into this interview with the mindset that I just don't care. Because I really don't. i don't really want this job. It's for a reading intervention teacher, and I just am not that interested in it. Just watch. I'll end up getting it just because I don't care. I applied for more positions, so I'm hoping to hear from those today or tomorrow. I've got to be more qualified to teach elementary school than SOMEONE in the greater San Diego area, right? RIGHT???

Tomorrow, I have an all-day (as in 8am to 6pm) CPR training. Yay. I have to have it done by the time school starts, though, since my card expired at the end of September. Dang.

Saturday, Mike has duty and won't be home until Sunday morning. Of course, if I do get hired, he won't be able to help me set up that day.

School starts again on July 27, in one week. Crap. I don't have a job, or daycare lined up (if I get a job), or any clue what I would do on the first day of school if anyone hired me.

Mike leaves the day after school starts. Super. I hate that he'll miss the next 2 months of Shannon's life. By the time he gets back, she may be walking and saying more. And of course, he'll miss her first birthday. I still haven't decided if we'll throw a party while he's gone AND one when he gets back, or just a small celebration like lunch, then a party when he's home. Poor guy.

Kristen's wedding is Aug. 1, the first Staruday of the school year. I missed her bridal shower because I was having a nervous breakdown and Shannon had a fever and rash. Yea. I'm probably going to have to take Fri off (at least Fri afternoon) to drive to Bakersfield with Shannon (Dear Lord, let us get through it!), then to Cambria from there. I'll probably have to miss the rehearsal. Whatever, I know how to stand in a wedding. And even if I mess up, I'm sure everyone will be completely distracted by the apparent ginormity of our boobs in that dress. No one will notice when I stand with the groomsmen by mistake. Well, my dad might.

Ok, so I just need to make it through August 3rd, when I get home from work after a LONG, LONG weekend of miserable driving. Wait, no, I need to make it through September when Mike gets home. Dang. That sounds much more intimidating. Panic attack resuming.

Top Teefers

Shannon now has her right front tooth, and it was a total surprise! Looking back, there were a few signs that it was coming in: a slight rash on her shoulders (though MUCH less noticeable than with the first teething episode), and..... well..... that's all I can think of. I looked at her top gum on Wednesday because it looked like the tooth was just about to pop through,n so I felt it. I told my dad "wow, it looks like it's almost out. Oh. It is out!" Looks like the eye tooth just next to it is about to pop through any day now, too. I am loving this "no pain teething" thing!

Operation "Give Katie A Job"

Ah yes, Operation "Give Katie a Job" is underway. I have 3 interviews so far: 2 tomorrow morning, and one Monday afternoon. I also just applied for 3 more jobs, so hopefully, something will come of all this! I will gladly accept any prayers, well-wishes, good thoughts, good karma, sprinklings of job dust, etc. you may want to give.

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On a random tangent, I think the word "that" is probably one of the most useless words ever. I could have said "I think that the word..." but I didn't. Because it's useless and unnessary.

The Bear Wrastler

For Kristen's bachelorette party, five of us went camping in Sequoia Natl. Park this past weekend. mike, Shannon, and I drove up to Bakersfield, and met Kristen, Erin, Janeatte, and Liz there. I left Mike & Shannon with his dad, excited for the two nights of sleep I might get. Sleep was slightly elusive with all of the bear sightings in our campground (Dorst Creek is the most active campground in the park, as far as bears go), and a sleeping pad that wouldn't seal and leaked air every time I moved. But we still had a great time, of course!

The first night, a black bear the size of an extra-large dog wandered through our campground, and right across from our site. We happened to be about 100 yards from a small meadow, and I imagine that's a popular area for bears to hang out. At least, it was for deer. After we went to bed, Kristen, Erin, and Liz heard the bear rooting through our site. Apparently, my dad left a few nibblets of dog food in the container he loaded with firewood. Also apparent is that dog food is like Bear Crack. Kristen thought it might be me getting a midnight snack (because I breathe heavily and grunt like a black bear?), and called my name. Erin and Liz thought she was calling me to go wrangle the bear. I am now nicknamed "The Bear Wrastler."

The second night, Liz and I were in the bathroom when we heard the yelling and banging of pots and pans. We looked at eachother with terror in our eyes because we just knew that as soon as we opened the door tot he bathroom, the bear would be standing right there, ready to eat us. Its unnerving to know there's a bear somewhere nearby and to be inside a dark, windowless room with no idea where the bear might be. So, in true SWAT team fashion, we shone our flashlights at the door, counted to 3, and ran like crazy, yelling as loudly as we could back to camp. No clue where the bear was, but he was NOT directly in front of us! That night, Liz and Janeatte slept in my car, and I slept in Kristen's tent, since Janeatte was my tent buddy and I wasn't so keen on sleeping alone.... Despite being the Bear Wrastler. I'm sure Kristen & Erin felt much safer having me in the tent with them.

Earlier that day, we drove to the various sights around Sequoia: Tunnel Log, Wuksachi Village, Lodgepole Village, Moro Rock (though everyone was too tired to climb it). We also took a tour of Crystal Cave. I had not been to sequoia since Kristen and I were in Girl Scouts together, and it brought back a lot of memories.

For dinner, we had hobo packs, a la Girl Scouts and cooked hot dogs and bratwursts on skewers over the fire. Surprisingly, that was the first time I had ever cooked a hot dog over the fire! Breakfasts were breakfast burritos, and we had sandwishes for lunch. I was shocked at how much some of my friends eat! If I ate like they do, I'd weigh 800 pounds! Between the 4 of them, they polished off a large bag of marshmallows in 2 days. We stopped at the Lodgepole Visitors Center to buy Kristen candy & Flaming Hot Cheetos. I swear there was constantly food being eaten, despite the food-in-the-bear-box rule. Well, it was always within arm's reach... Technically, we weren't breaking any rules (unlike the guys across from us who got a ticket from the bear patrol for leaving their cooler out overnight!)

I was antsy to get home to my bebe. Mike said that Shannon had a great time with all of her grandparents and cousins and aunts & uncles. When I walked into Jim's house, she didn't even hear me, and seemed irritated at me when I picked her up inthe middle of her trek to the fishtank. I think she must have had a growth spurt while I was gone because when i got back, she looked HUGE! Mike said she ate much more than normal, and I'm really not surprised. I missed her a ton, but it wasn't terrible. It was a much-needed break for Mommy, and I feel a whole lot better after taking the trip.

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Last night was unbelievable. Shannon went to sleep around 7:45, and Mike & I went to bed at 9. We didn't hear a peep from her until 5:30 this morning. I left the monitor off, so I really don't know if she woke up in the meantime, but I can hear her even without the monitor when she cries. Since Mike was in teh shower when she woke this morning, I made her a bottle & she fell right back asleep while eating. Just after 6, I heard her fuss, an then nothing until 8! I feel like a million bucks! I got almost 11 hours of sleep! 8 of those were uninterrupted! Absolutely wonderful!!

Katie "Bear Wrastler" Lafferty, Erin "Plastic Bottle Wrastler" Tarjan, Shannon "Booger Buns" Lafferty, Kristen "Bachelorette" Tarjan, Janeatte "Daddy" McKee, and Liz "Bear Bait" Greer.












The awesome glasses Janeatte bought for the Bachelorette party each say "Bachelorette," "Maid of Honor," or "Bridesmaid."














Tunnel Log

















The Bear Wrastler lying in wait for a poor, unsuspecting black bear.
















We're friends with the trees, too.






















Janeatte was "comforting the dead tree's soul."
















Bears are no match for "Daddy"






















Friggin Tree Huggers!

My Body Hates Me

Caution: if you would rather not read about bodily functions related to the female body, stop reading now. Actually, if you can't stomach that, you've probably already read too much.

On the 4th of July, I started my second post-partum period since having Shannon. Finally. It took two months of wondering when it would happen. I actually took a pregnancy test early in the morning because I had been nauseous for 3 days prior. Apparently, gut-wrenching nausea is a new sign of impending woman-ness. And the sign that woman-ness had already began: paralyzing full-body pain. My hips, shins, hamstrings, back, shoulders, neck, fingers, arms, face, eyes, toes, eyebrows hurt. Even laying in bed exacerbates the pain. If this is going to be the new trend, let's just kill me now.

Keeping in mind the previous post about Shannon's "9-month sleep regression," last night, I slept on the floor in SHannon's room. She woke up 15 minutes after I went to bed, and I was in too much pain to lean over her crib for an hour while she tossed & turned & fussed to get back to sleep. So, I pulled the comforter & pillows off my bed and laid on the floor while she fell back asleep. It felt ridiculously wonderful to lay on the hard, unforgiving floor. Oddly enough, she slept until 5 am, and I never even fed her. Typically, she takes a bottle around 2 or 3. I woke up at 3, and figured that if she wasn't going to wake up I'd just go lay in my own bed. After sleeping on the floor for 4 hours, my bed felt like the softest, fluffiest, coud-like-est pillow of awesomeness ever! In fact, I think I'm going to go lay in it now. And it's not even 8:00.