Soon to be solo - ACK!

John is leaving this week for a conference and to do some research in Toronto. This means I will, for the first time, be completely on my own for one week with Emily. Emily and I have a great relationship - it's not that. However, having John share the burden is so important that I think this may be a burnout week for me. I see this happening because of two factors: having to do all the cooking and having to do all the putting-to-beds. Not to mention that we'll really miss him. And the fact that he and I have been watching Alias on DVD every night and now I have to wait until he gets back. Poor me.

John totally rules at the putting-to-beds (not to mention cooking). He and Emily do the bath, read books (clearly having a great time as evidenced by the squeals of laughter coming from her room - Emily's squeals, not John's), and then John plops her in her crib and walks out and we don't hear from her again until morning (which in her world lately is 5:45 a.m.).

If I put her to bed, it all goes the same way until the "plop her in the crib" part which is a total no-go. There is rocking in the chair, hugging, finally coaxing her into the crib, playing with "baby," finally laying down while I hold her hand and put my head against the crib pretending to sleep with her. John gets it all done by 7:30 (sometimes sooner). For me it is 8:20 or so by the time I get downstairs. And no, leaving her to cry doesn't work. She doesn't go to sleep for me that way - she just screams. And I'm not into that method of parenting anyway.

So, we'll see how it all goes. I'm sure there will be frequent but groggy updates through the week.

The visit of my dad and Donna has left me feeling very industrious and wanting to get jobs done around the house. This grew from the fact that Donna's work resulted in crossing many things off of our list of jobs to be done. So, I'm finally sewing the big drapes for the living room (almost half-way done now) and they look amazing so far. Also, while at Fabricland, I found some fabric on sale that will be perfect for sheer curtains in the kitchen as well as some more that was dirt cheap for the new baby's room. One more trip to Fabricland should do it for the last bits I'll need to finish all these curtains. Finally, our living room won't be sweltering in the summer!

Here is something from John's blog that made me laugh:

Today's Helpful Hint: if you get a chance to vote for the Conservative
Party of Canada, and thus the northern variant of the American Republican Party,
please do all Canadians a favour and simply take your unregistered gun and
shoot yourself in the foot. At least you will save the gas money in driving
your Hummer down to the polling station.