A tip for other moms:

If you get amoxicillin on your thumb as you prepare your child's antibiotic prescription, DO NOT LICK IT OFF.

Resist the temptation! It's a terrible idea!

A letter to my daughter:

Over the last week, you have injured yourself several times. My love, you must be careful with yourself. I worked hard to make that perfect little head.

First, I let you play with a pot and wooden spoon. You had great fun, until the pot flipped over (so it was bottom down) and you tried to stand up braced against one side. Pushing down on one side of the rim made the other rim whip up and get you right between the eyes.

Later that night, you were playing on the porch while your dad and I ate, and you grabbed the bike rack that was leaned up against the wall and brought it down on your finger.

Yesterday, you were sleeping so soundly on the couch. I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and heard a *THUMP* and then you crying. You'd rolled right off the couch and onto the floor.

Then, you were playing with a spoon and smacked yourself in the forehead so hard that it left a bruise.

Today, you tried to pull yourself up against a toy and knocked yourself into the corner of a wall. Your first goose egg.

In just a few days, you cut the bridge of your nose, cut your finger, bonked your head, bruised your forehead, and gave yourself a goose egg. Either I'm a terrible mother or you're getting to the age where you're going to start hurting yourself all the time.

Today in Alaska

Sunrise: 5:14
Sunset: 10:24

That's 17 hours and 10 minutes of daylight. We're well on our way to 24 hours of sun!

And I'm well on my way to being in shape again. If I lose 5 more pounds I'll be back to my pre-baby weight. 10-15 after that would be ideal. Friday and Saturday my husband and I CHOWED down on chocolate chip cookies, then tonight I went out and got chocolate ice cream and strawberries to make milkshakes (they were fantastic). I'm not sure I can expect to see anything good on the scale tomorrow. . .

Oh well, as long as I keep moving and feeling better I'm giving myself permission to splurge once in a while. And certain hormonal situations make self-control nearly impossible.

Coming up: SEVERAL things will be checked off the Alaskan To Do List. We're done on campus on the 14th (I think) and after that we're heading off on a whirl-wind adventure. I don't have details or solid plans yet, but I'm thinking Denali, Anchorage, and maybe Kenai. As soon as I get my class finished I'll start making plans for a month long journey around the great white north. Then, we'll head back to Fairbanks to fly to Michigan for my brother's wedding, that will be an almost 3 week vacation, and then we'll come back and be responsible adults with jobs and boring lives.

The last week has been intense. Playdates and work and homework and and and and. . . .

and now I'm watching something on the History Channel about God=alien. I generally try to keep my language clean, but wtf? I love the History Channel. So very weird sometimes.

I have the hardest time remember whether or not I decided to use my daughter's real name on this blog. Argh! [While we're on the subject, go to spokeo.com and search for yourself. Then copy the URL to your page and go to the bottom right and click privacy. From there you can use the URL you copied to remove yourself. It's an online phone book that has everything from your address to pictures to approximate credit score. Too weird.] Well, whatever I call her, she is amazing. Her third tooth is making her look super cute. She also got her first two injuries last night. She knocked herself between the eyes with a pot and pulled something down on her finger. Both spots seem to have broken the skin.

Apparently, DNA is a medium for transferring information, and has enough space to store all the information of an entire society. So we should be looking at our DNA for a message from the aliens that planted/designed/seeded us. Yeah, ok, sure. I'll get right on that.

National Poem in Your Pocket Day

Love Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

This is how I'd really love to see Denali:

Wouldn't this be the most amazing trip ever? Biking along, taking your time, stopping to camp where you wanted. Traffic would be considerably reduced (and much less dangerous) because motorists aren't allowed in the park, so shuttle buses would be your only traffic. Plus, you could pull a trailer with your camping stuff and save your back. I'll pull a trailer with the kid, hubby can pull our tent, etc. A nice, long, slow tour of the most incredible place on earth. Sounds like heaven.

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