Days 84,85, 86 and 87

I've been a bit lazy about the blog the last couple weeks, and I'm sorry about that. I've still been tracking notes, so I'll try to catch up now. Work has been good. I think I'm starting to figure out how to let the stress drive me, but not overwhelm me. It's a very hot time right now there, with budget firms being set for next fiscal year, and our lead team of 20 VPs coming to town next week...but I'm trying to do the best I can when I'm there, let myself creatively think on the issues when I'm not, but not let it consume me. There are so many little things I can do, but I need to stay focused on the big rocks...and at least make sure the little things I do do move the big rock forward a bit. I feel like in this new role, there are many more "little" things that consume my time...I need to be careful.

The last two weeks I've also been very reclusive. I don't know if others get like this, and I don't know exactly what triggers it, but from time to time, I feel like a hermit. I just want to hole up in my home, with my family, and keep everyone close. I cancelled most of my tennis last week, same for the gym...and asked Kuba if we could just all stay together each night. We didn't do anything special, just made dinner and hung around. I actually feel pretty lazy after awhile, but I just need it from time to time. Maybe it's me mentally prepping for those VPs coming to town, and knowing I have a big week of several 6/7am to 10pm days coming up. Anyway, for whatever reason, we stayed holed up, not doing much, and I didn't even feel like blogging. Obviously I'm coming out of it now :-)

So now to the good stuff. My time with Zak has been great. When I get in these moods, I enjoy my time even more with him. He's really becoming such a sweet boy. Everytime he meets a new kid on the playground, or at the gym, he immediately walks up to them and offers them one of his cars. They don't always get what he's doing...but he offers it, and my heart melts.

We've been doing our "class work" in the mornings, and it's struck me how different he is than me in certain things. There was a matching page, where you match things on the left with things on the right...this time small things to big things. He did the first 4 or so exactly perfect, drawing lines across...then on the last one, he started drawing, then draw all the way around the page, up and down, in between other pictures, and finally landed on the right match. I don't think I would have ever done something like that as a kid...in fact, I probably would be more apt to take a ruler to draw the lines between the things versus a maze around the page. I love that he doesn't mind being a little non-traditional with his matching :-)

I again tried to get him to at least try some Polish...I asked him to at least say yes please, and thank you in Polish when Babcia made him some milk. It was so sweet to hear him say "Tak prosze" and "Dziekuje"...I think Babcia's heart melted then. She said he says it with such a sweet American accent.

A couple of funny things...on Monday, Zak was pouting because he didn't want Kuba and I to go to work. I asked him, "Don't you want to stay and play with Babcia?" He said "Babcia's not a playing kind of guy...she's more of a cleaning kind of guy." I burst out laughing! Apparently he attributes Babcia with cleaning all day! I must admit, when I come home from work, the house is prestine and I always wonder how she manages :-) I guess now I understand that she probably doesn't spend quite as much time as I do on the playing part :-P

The other funny thing was when Zak and I played a joke on Kuba. He went for tennis one night and usually gets back around 10:30 or so. Zak was up in his bed, but about 10 minutes before Kuba came home, Zak came downstairs and said he couldn't sleep. So I had him climb into bed with me. When we heard Kuba drive up, I told him, hide under the covers and when Tato gets close, we'll jump up and say "Surprise." So he got himself under the covers, and I pretended to be asleep...but I couldn't help but smile a bit. I couldn't believe we could actually play a trick together on Kuba. Kuba came into the room, and I could tell he was sensing something...at almost the same time, Kuba said "What's that goofy smile on your face" and Zak said "Is he here?" from under the covers...so I threw back the covers and said "Surprise! We're still awake!" Kuba started tickling Zak asking what he was doing in our bed and still awake. It was fun.

Last memory for the week...on Wednesday we went to Macy's again (to buy what? cosmetics for Babcia), and then to Fresh Market. When we got back into the car after Fresh Market, I realized we didn't have the toy we started the day with. I asked "Where is Rosie?" (pink train engine)...and Zak said "Oh no, I left her in the store." "Are you sure?" "Yes!"...so as I was getting back out to go look for her...Babcia says, no, no, no, she is SURE that Zak didn't have Rosie when we went into the store...she thinks he left her at Macy's. But I was pretty sure I saw him have her still at Macy's. Babcia is 100% sure though that he didn't have her at Fresh Market, so we start searching the car. Zak said calmly again..."She's in the store." So I go ahead into the store, he had been searching deligently through the Easter candy because I told him he could take one candy...so I concentrated there, couldn't find her, then in the carts, etc. It's a small store, so many of the workers helped as well...but we couldn't find her. So I came back out and said "Sorry Zak...let's go check back at Macy's" Now he started to panic.."No! She's there, in the chocolates!" He's so sure, so I take him out to have him help find her. Babcia is again saying, "No, I'm sure, he didn't have her there!" Who do I listen to? I figure Zak doesn't say much, so when he talks, I better listen. So we go back to the store, and he walks straight to the Easter chocolates, but still we can't find her. He retraces his steps through the whole store...still no Rosie, and then back to the chocolates. He's looking around really sad like "I know she is here!" Finally, I dig a bit deeper into the basket of chocolates, and she's all the way down at the bottom! Zak knew it! Babcia was certainly surprised. :-)