Rowan is 5 years old...

Rowan is officially not a baby any more. Sigh. Over the last few weeks I have been reflecting a lot about the last 5 years. And it all seems a blur. I always tell people that when they ask me how we have gotten through all this, but really I think its just sleep deprivation, killing brain cells that is preventing me from remembering some of the really difficult times.

I remember a theory that was popular when I was in physiological psycology in college about how when women are giving birth, we release a lot of endorphins, you know those crazy hormones in our brains that make us feel good after working out. Anyway, the theory was that during childbirth we release this happy hormone, which also interferes with our ability to remember things. It can prevent you from making a long term memory. The idea was that if we remembered all these painfull/difficult times, we would never dare repeat them (on purpose). And then the population would decrease dramatically. I think there is something to this theory...

Anyway, the reality is that Rowan has given us so much, that we can easily forget the YEARS of sleepless nights, and serious illinesses. It's just a blurr now. Time/poor memory heals everything.

We have been working hard to get ready for the birthday party on Saturday. Yesterday at school, we had a small party with her class. And then we went out for dinner. But home early for bedtime, because it's a school night. We find ourselves paying more and more attention to things like school nights, and bedtimes than ever before. Parenthood comes in wierd doses to us.

The weather has finally given us a break here. The grass is really brown, and all the communities around us have water usage restrictions. We did finally get some rain this morning, but it was the first in over 2 weeks. The weather has been 95+ for nearly as long.

I've taken some time off of work this week, and have been doing lots of odd jobs around the house. Bryan is going to take off on Friday. He really needs some time off. His job has been very stressful for the last 2 weeks, and he has put in extra hours to keep up. We both will go back after the 4th.

I'll write more after Rowan's birthday party. So look for pictures and the play-by-play. I know your all dying to hear about the 5 year old party (AKA social event of the season).

'Til then,
Colleen