I'm a big fan of Carter's just because their clothes are so darn cute. Put me in a Carter's outlet store during next-size-up wardrobe time and I enjoy myself without breaking the bank. I am particularly appreciative, though, that they acknowledge the fact that even 2-year-olds (or at least children wearing 24-month clothing) also wear diapers. Liam has overalls and pants from stores here and there, so you can imagine what a pain it is to have to take the entire ensemble off, including shoes, several times a day to get to the diaper. I am eternally grateful to Carter's for crotch snaps.

Today I went to pick him up from school. You get to his classroom via the common area and also pass the room for the kids one level down. I saw that the door to his room was open, so I wasn't quite sure why but figured they must have been outside. Then I hear crying coming from the other classroom, and I look back to see my poor little guy right up against the glass crying his little heart out because he thought I was passing him right by. Melted my heart.

He's still a bit hesitant to try to say words, but I will say "say I love you!" and he goes "ahh yoo!!" If you say "hello" to him, he'll say "hah-yohhh!" So sweet. This is a fun time in his life.

Work seems to have become a bit more challenging for me lately, in a good way. It's a challenge that I'm really enjoying (especially at the moment that it all culminates in a nice evening martini). It's not challenging in a technical sense, but more from the interpersonal side of things. Maybe it's because I have had to deal with more personnel issues in the recent months. I've gotten quite a bit of practice in it, which is a difficult road for someone who's not very confrontational.

Really, I would love to be in HR if it were not for the fact that you could not have friends at work. It's hard to deal with issues without striking a blow to morale. I think I could say exactly what's on my mind and what needs to be said sometimes if I didn't have to take that into account. It's just that so many conversations and dealt with so many issues that have left me saying "did that really just happen?"

I mean, it's exhausting. Having an eventful day from the people side makes me far more drained than when I've got a lot of stuff to do from the comfort of my own desk. But it's entertaining, and no matter how rough it is, I have a couple people who I can share the madness with. Obviously I can only scratch the surface in a blog here, which is disappointing because I could have a lot of fun with that.

Instead, for entertainment, I just stick to my hopeless addiction to "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant." I mean, I know, I hear the rationalizations at the end of every segment that start "so how could she not have known she was pregnant?..." I'm sorry, but really...How.can.you.not.know? Also fun was the "Twins By Surprise" special, where they knew they were pregnant, but not with twins.

Our doggie Dewey (who resides with my parents) had a rough week. He's 10 years old now...a little touched in the head as always. He started having trouble staying on his feet till the point where he just couldn't get up any more, pretty much over the course of a couple days. My mom took him up to UGA for some testing, and they found he had some slipped discs. He had surgery on Tuesday, which went pretty well. I guess they fixed him up at three different levels. He should be alright if he can get over his little case of pneumonia.

I think that the fact that EVERYTHING (MRI, surgery, and a four-night hospital stay) cost a total of $3500 is amazing. My mom had a very similar surgery on her neck a couple years ago, and I am sure it cost about $100,000 to the insurance company. I just think that the less insurance and the more self-pay is involved, the more affordable health care will be. I know malpractice is a big cost driver, but when doctors are paid by insurance companies, the whole process just lacks any accountability and the effects of the free market go by the wayside.

I didn't really mean to get on the health care topic here, but I'll go with it. The bottom line is that I am not willing to give my health care over to the government, especially when the answer to all questions is "well, we don't really know how it's going to play out yet, but we do know that we need universal health care." I think we need to have a system where we pay for our own medical care and coverage for catastrophic conditions. If we can bring responsibility back down to the individual, then the free market will self-regulate cost. Health care is not exempt from these principles.

There. A VERY broad and impromptu overview of my opinion on the matter, but I don't feel like delving into it at the moment. I feel more like getting me a small drink as a reward for making it through today!