Getting some time back

Bucket is sleeping! In semi-regular intervals!

These days he sleeps through the night on occasion, but more frequently sleeps in 5-7 hour shifts. It means I generally get up once at night and that he sleeps until or 10 in the morning, giving me both quality sleep and some time to myself. He's also started going down for naps, even if there is no uniform length.

What does this mean for me? I get a little bit more time to myself. So what am I working on these days?

Starting in Feb. I'm going to be leading a knitting group at my temple. They have a sisterhood organization with a match in Israel and we are going to try to knit 100 kippot. Currently I'm working on knitting samples for the class. Hopefully we'll get a nice group going and can quickly move on from kippot to more fun knit a longs.


Starting in April I'm teaching a class (also at the temple) on Jewish Women's History. We are reading excerpts from the memoirs of 4 German Jewish women and using them as a way to discuss Jewish history, Women's history, and identity in 4 historical periods.

I've also mastered breastfeeding and reading - woo hoo! I've read a few long epics - Stevenson's Quicksilver from the Baroque Cycle (1/3 was boring, 2/3 were great, I quickly learned to skim over his attempts to recreate Restoration drama), Follett's Century Trilogy (love it, can't wait to read book 2) and now Follett's The Word Without End. In my post about "baby must haves" I missed one: an ereader. I read on nook and kindle apps between my iphone and my nook color. An ereader is easy to read on one-handed, you can synch between devices, and the small size and weight makes it perfect for propping up on a breastfeeding pillow. Not having to hold a physical book open, and being able to turn pages with a finger touch, makes reading fast and easy. This is my first big foray back into fiction since grad school and I'm loving every minute of it. I also think it's funny that every book I've read is historical fiction, generally set in England, and in periods I've studied. I guess old habits die hard. Next up: the final book in the World of Time series as soon as it's available as an ebook.

For now, I'm enjoying being able to be a mom full-time. I may never have this opportunity again and I want to make the most of it. But I do see a day when I can get little chunks of work done while Bucket is down for naps. It's a nice light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, I'm also cooking again. I haven't had the chance to snap many pictures, but I'll start posting about food and recipes to give a break from baby-related posts. But to close, I will include two simply adorable pictures of Bucket, who has become decidedly less fussy as of late.