The holidays are here. I'll say this now because I have no shame. I'm ready to eat, folks, and not just at my house. I'm dreaming of all the tasty goodness that awaits me the day after at Yvonne's. I'm that much of a fat girl.

The cool thing is that last year Dorian was only 1 or 2 months old when the holidays rolled around. He wasn't aware he had hands much less presents under the tree or (Tof)urkey in the oven. But now he's going to be in that damn Christmas tree every time I turn around. This boy also loves to eat so Thanksgiving is going to wow him too.

This year seems to have just flown right by. You know, I've said this before, for such a boring and mundane life, it sure takes up a lot of time. I wonder if in my struggle to keep ahead of the dishes and the laundry and the diapers and the feeding I'm missing out on just sitting there with my son. Just being there and connecting with him. Lately it seems like I am always multi tasking. While he eats breakfast I clean the kitchen. While he's in the tub, I'm doing my makeup beside it. When he's playing, I'm sweeping or unpacking or…something. There is always SOMETHING that needs to be done. And I'm right there, ya know, but I might as well be a million miles away. I can't do that with my son. I can't sleepwalk through his most important years, the very reason I'm staying home. So, how do you find that balance? How do you keep the clutter at bay as well as you can while getting some errands done and reading the Five Little Pumpkins just one more time?

We've started doing little things. Now, instead of just throwing him in the stroller and zooming him around, I let him walk all the way to the mailbox. When you have things to get done, walking 20 feet with a one year old is EXCRUTIATINGLY slow. Grass grows faster than these kids stumble about. Then he'll hear a plane and go still to be certain before scanning overhead and pointing with a grunt. Or, and I love this one, he'll play peek-a-boo with the moon. How ridiculously friggin cute is that?

....balance….that's what I need...