Normal

The Boy's bloodwork was perfectly normal. Platelets in the 300's, white count of 11.1 with an ANC of 6660, hemoglobin 11.4.

We're darned close to having an ordinary almost-3-year-old!

We have him in underpants (or no pants) full time during the day. Diaper at night, still. We won't rush that one. He's doing pretty well with it, still having occasional accidents, but we figure, it's better at this point to get him further accustomed to being an underpants-wearer and a toilet-user than to keep him in diapers and not build the habits.

We still have another year before we're going to put him in any sort of preschool or daycare. We figure, he needs another year of learning how to socialize. Then, he'll be 4 and Meatball will be 2.

But then again, who knows where Musical Daddy and I will be with our careers? We still have no jobs and not much in the way of prospects. We are still hoping that there will be some people who just won't show up to work this year and then they'll give us a call.

If I don't get a teaching job this year, I'm really thinking that I'll start the prerequisites for a nursing degree. The program at the University of Pittsburgh for people who already have a Bachelor's degree would require 30-something prerequisites, some of which I could probably do online or at the community college (and most of which I don't have, since I didn't major in science), and three semesters of nursing classes.

The main reason why I'm thinking about this is, I've spent a LOT more time reading about medicine than I have about music over the past 2 years. Although that's a by-product of my family situation, it also might be a pretty good indicator that I shouldn't fight the change of career path if that's what is revealed to me. Getting back in the game teaching will likely renew my passion and interest for music and teaching, but if it doesn't work out that way, I'll just keep playing recreationally and/or singing, and spend the rest of my time trying to reinvent myself.