Beware the ideas of March

I'm too damn clever for my own good.

My university of choice has been delayed due to "unprecedented enrollments", and instead of Semester 1 starting on Feb 19th, we're still waiting for our course materials & go-go-go. I presume it's "we", and not just "me", because every time I check their website or ring their help desk I am told the same thing.

"Yes we know we're behind, but we hope to get the majority of you all sorted out within three weeks." (And yet they're still advertising on TV... go figure)

Wayne (ever the glass half empty mindset) helpfully pointed out that this is a goodly chunk of my first semester wasted on downtime. Thanks for that.. And the exam dates are set, so let's hope no one has speed cameras on how fast we're going to have to work once TOPNZ pulls their ruddy finger out!

A relative works at Canty University and she was not terribly good at hiding her disdain that I chose to enrol with (gasp!) The Open Polytechnic rather than the usual type of university. So let's not tell her they've had delays, otherwise she's going to smirk and I'm far too fond of her to kill her & hide the body.

And why did I choose TOPNZ? Well for starters, I've done other courses with them, and found their correspondence system works very well for me. This is no "phone it in" degree; you have to work just as hard as if you trotted along each day to a bricks'n'mortar type of establishment (except there's no parking hassles, no wasted time traveling, and Braeden doesn't have to go into daycare).

Actually the non-daycare thing was the clincher. If "attending" was my only option, I would not be doing this degree. No question. Brae is not a daycare kind of kid, and I am not a daycare kind of Mum. To each their own, and I don't knock the parents who have to dance with this particular devil, but as I am free to choose, I vote HELL NO.

And here I am... my kid is down for a goodly sleep (after a great morning's play), Wayne is off doing someone's hedge, it's the weekend so my bored friends & family are out doing their thing and are guaranteed NOT to ring me, and you couldn't get better studying opportunities if you asked.

So that's why I'm whining on here, instead of grinding on the books. Then again... I do happen to have all of Semester 1 & 2's books (most bought through Trade Me for a song, yehaaa!), so I could just crack one open and read. Yeah. Sounds like a plan :-) Take the baby monitor out under a tree, get comfy, get one paragraph into it and... the baby will wake up.

I guess the better plan would be to prattle on about Braeden for a bit.

He's a total gem. Today the local trail riding group are having an endurance ride that takes them down our fenceline, and I admit to several pangs of "UNNNHHHH!!!" teeth gnashing to watch them trot past. I'd started riding again just before I found out I was pregnant, and if I hadn't been preggers I'd be riding still. In fact the chances are extremely good that I would have been in that competition today.

Hmmm... Baby or Riding...

No competition :-) Gimme the baby any day. I can always get back to riding later.
(stop laughing dammit)

(And he's awake, told you didn't I! But he's happily playing or talking in his sleep so we'll leave him for a bit)

He now has 12 teeth (8 incisors & 4 molars), needs a haircut every 8 weeks, weighs 14 kilograms, is 85cm tall, and wears size 2-4 clothes. (Depending on whether the clothes were made in Asia or not. Asian kids must be teensy compared to my hulking lad!)

Brae runs, climbs, clambers, rollicks, frolicks and tumbles with the best of them. He's taken to carrying one of his chairs around, and using that to gain access to kitchen chairs, which then gets him access to computer desks, kitchen benches, yada yada yada.

Instead of "James" I think I will change his middle name to "What are you doing up there GET DOWN THIS INSTANT!". Dumb of me not to think of this sooner, don't you agree?

The huge stray cat (remember Horace aka Horse?) has taught Braeden what I could not: to be gentle. Basically, if Brae is rough, the cat leaves. But if he's even slightly gentle, the cat nuzzles up to him, purring loudly & bunting him for affection. No Liverpool Kisses allowed.

He still hates shoes, but will tolerate (um, possibly enjoys?) gumboots. I bought him a pair from The Warehouse the other day. I don't know what was more frightening; the price ($15.99) or the size (6!!!). And the sod's had a growth spurt, so these boots might be too small in another month or so. Bugger this.. I'll get all future footwear second hand until his growth slows down to lightspeed.

Another Mum told me that if you want to how how tall they will be at adulthood, measure them on or near their 2nd birthday, and double it.

Given that Braeden is now 16 months old and is 85cm, he's likely to be *at least* 170cm (around 5'10" if my memory serves, ie a fraction taller than his parents). But what are the chances he won't grow any more in the next 8 months? Zero.

So I think it's like puppies.. the ones with the biggest paws are likely to grow to be the biggest dogs. And given that my not-quite 1 1/2 year old takes the shoe size of your average school-starter, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!

And this is another reason why I lean towards musical or manipulative toys for him. He's going to have great big hands, so let's encourage them to be dexterous & usefull, right from the get-go. He loves bashing away on his toy pianos, so I'm hoping this will grow into a keenness for piano lessons when he's older.

Can't have him like his paternal grandfather. Cliff's massive hands are so big & clumsy, he's a menace to any keyboard (till, computer or otherwise), and no mobile phone has big enough numbers for him to use it.

LOL.. Like I would have trouble getting Braeden to learn to use a phone!!!! We spend half our days hiding our various cellphones & portable house phones from him.

A right little button pusher, he is, and in more ways than one :-)