Steve, Ellen, and I are still sick. That makes over a month of it for us. Here at work, people are dropping like flies, and have been for the last month from what I hear. Whatever this is, its horrible. I can't remember a worse winter for colds and flus. Poor Steve - Ellen wouldn't fall asleep anywhere but upright on his chest last night so he was awake all night. At least I slept well.

We're looking to sell Will. Any takers? He's in RARE form. Yesterday we had 3 20-minute tantrums, in between random naughtiness like tossing Ellen's bottle ACROSS THE ROOM simply because I was reaching for it. I'm amazed at his cunning. The first tantrum was because we wouldn't carry him downstairs. No is no, and he's perfectly capable of going down the stairs by himself. Once he realized there was no changing our minds, he pretended the tantrum was over, assuming we'd be so relieved we'd go back on our "no" and he tried again! Fortunately, the mommy-tune-out switch works for tantrums so I can outlast the screaming and crying any day. Really. I count it as one of my two great skills as a mother. The other is my fingernail cutting prowess. I don't think daddies have the tune-out feature, though. Poor Steve.

I made dinner last night. A classic midwestern chicken casserole. I felt so domestic and proud of myself.

Last week my director's boss, the VP of Sales asked to talk to me about why I was leaving. It was a good conversation - he was very gracious and made sure to tell me that I would be welcomed back any time. I shared with him that Steve is a stay at home dad, and he shook his head in amazement, saying, "3 out of my 5 top [sales] performers are women whose husbands stay home with their children. I'm so happy society has evolved to allow this. Its wonderful."

I'm so sad. My mother has been experiencing massive back pain and the progressive numbing of her legs. After a few steroid shots and months of pain and numbness, it appears that it isn't her bulging disks causing the leg numbness. She had an MRI yesterday on her neck and head after going to the ER because the numbness has traveled up to below her chest, and she has an appointment this morning with a neurologist to see what he/she can find in the MRI. I'm so worried about her. I hope, hope, hope the neurologist can figure out it quickly and that whatever it is, its treatable.