Well, I spoke too soon. Seamus was NOT past the pain when I made that delighted post. No, he still had another 30 hours of fever left in him. That got to the point of crazy-making, as neither Patrick nor I were sleeping except in two hour shifts with the baby. When he returned to health and good humor though, it was well worth it. Sarah came over so we could get a run in. (I know, who runs after all that mess, but sometimes running is better than resting for restoring the sanity. Furthermore, we were able to go to Winnings coffee house after our run and have their huge deluxe breakfast burrito.)
Teaching is done for the semester! One set of grades is already posted, and the other class is turning in final papers today. Between 9-9:30. I can see the emails already. But folks, my flight out of here is at 11:30. So do not mess with my plans to get to Kentucky. Seamus’s grandparents are sane-making right now (Isn’t it a shift from high school where parents are the problem?).
Speaking of our travel schedule, I love to maximize the amount of travel/fun possible in the time off available. This leads to awkward conversations with Patrick when I start to tell him about the travel schedule. And he’s probably a little bit right; there is fun to be had in not jampacking a schedule so that you’re always already almost late. (I’m never actually late because that freaks me out more than a tight schedule.) However, HE’s the one who asked whether we’d be taking a trip to Louisville while we’re in Kentucky. This time, I called his good sense into question. Don’t get me wrong. I love Louisville and would gladly take a job teaching nothing but freshman composition at Louisville, but it’s just TOO MUCH to think about getting in the car and driving another four hours round trip when we’re already going to Philadelphia while we’re visiting DC. So no, we’re not going to Louisville this time around. I suppose though, it would be fun, especially since Patrick does love it too, and he doesn’t get to go to the Louisville Conference in a couple of months.
This baby, who used to sleep like a champ, is now having a party in his crib from 3-43:0 every morning. And by party, I mean rattling the bars of the crib, blah bleh bleeing to himself, and generally living it up (loudly) until the point at which he decides that a one man party is not just the thing and starts calling for us to join him. But he handled his vaccine very well yesterday, thanks to my friend G’s trick: I held his arms and wave a jingly toy in his face. There was only a minor whimper at the needle prick. And this from a kid who drama queened it up the last few times. So thanks, G!
Have you stuck with this sleep-deprived post so far? Thanks. I’ll try to blog while I’m away, especially if there are funny stories to dig up, but since I’ll be with family, and they are a source of many funny stories, and they read this blog, some of those stories might have to stay in the vault. YES I DO have a vault. contrary to popular opinion.
Here’s a picture of Seamus: (I would say it’s a present, but well, I feel weird about giving pictures of your baby to people as a present. That’s why we have the Seamus calendar for the grandparents this year, but no one else. It is self-indulgent. But I certainly see the temptation. I feel it myself. So that is why this is not a present for you, but rather one for me.)
Academic Leigh Speaking 
I think you should keep the helmet on that kid ALL THE TIME. It’s cute, and, heck, surely a little extra protection never hurt anybody.