Where have I been? Saturday I decided to work from home, as per the usual, but I got nothing done beyond looking over my work and jotting down a few notes. I remember now why I had such a hard time on my first draft: it deals with some of the most difficult material of the chapter. And now I am up against it again, struggling both to get a good grasp on it and to not be overcome by my fears that I cannot do it justice.

Sunday my husband and son went out for several hours with my sister-in-law, and I spent up all the time in cleaning. I had planned to clean a little and bake a little and write a little, but the cleaning swamped everything. Our apartment had become quite cluttered and dirty over the winter; it is hard to do a really good cleaning if my son is underfoot, and it has been too cold for my husband to take the child out to the park for a few hours. So I took the chance while I had it and gave the place a good shake down. And let's face it: my son is a toddler, my husband is a packrat, and I am an anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive neat freak. When I settle down to a really thorough cleaning, it takes a looooooong time. There was no writing. But the apartment is much more pleasant now.

Yesterday I had to stay home, as the babysitter was out of the country. Honestly, it was a delight to be able to stay home and play with my son all day. We had some great romps, and then he crashed for his nap--and then, rather than write, I curled up with a book. I figured I deserved it after all my work on Sunday, and I figured I'd be up and out early on Tuesday (today). What I did not figure on was a new molar growing in in my son's mouth, poor pea.

Last night he woke about once every 60 or 90 minutes--well, I say "woke" but really, he only became sort of half awake, writhing around and mewling in pain, his hair all damp with sweat. I should have got up and got him some painkillers, but I was so tired myself I just kept rolling over and nursing him some more, which he finds the nicest treatment for teething, in any case. By morning I was totally exhausted and my back was stiff and sore from all the time I'd spent nursing in a side-lie position.

For the one I've been drinking coffee, and for the other my husband gave me a good backrub, but I am still so uncomfortable I just cannot face carrying my heavy backpack out to the library to work. I'm out of Tylenol, but then, it wouldn't help much with this sort of muscle pain, anyway. I can't take NSAIDs, due to allergy concerns, and I can't have steroid, either, while I'm still breastfeeding. Our campus health center does employ a massage therapist, though, and maybe I will see if I can get a session or two, if my back isn't better tomorrow. For the meanwhile, I am trying to rest and write a little from home. And tonight I will dose the child up with painkillers prophylactically, before he goes to bed.

I spent a little time lying down, and on the up side, I had some good ideas about dealing with the next section of this chapter. Now I just need to wake up a little more and maybe stretch out some, and then I will see if I can't write at least 250 words. Time to get back to it!