Busy Times at the Lee House - Conferences Galore

Life has been really busy this week. After returning from South Bend things did not slow down at all. Matt has been working like crazy, and I've had a ton going on. We got a new front door and screen door installed on Tuesday. It's a major improvement. I took before photos, so I just need to get the after, and you can see for yourself.

On Wenesday, I spent the entire day at the World Dairy Expo. It is a huge event held in Madison each year. I think there are about 1,000 vendors and 65,000 attendees there. I have been talking to about 10 of the vendors over the past year about my community manure digester, so it was great to get to meet so many of them in person. The nanny brought Daniel out for lunch. I thought he would enjoy the outing and seeing the cows. He was ok with the situation, but he was not having his best day. By the end of the day I was talked out. It happens occasionally. Too bad it was really chilly and overcast that day. I know Daniel will love it when he gets older. There are tons of cows and tractors, and some of the vendors have full milking parlors set up. As a bonus, you get chocolate milk when you leave :)

Thursday was the big day this week. I had a presentation to do at our state operators conference in Stevens Point (about 2 hours away) that I needed to be there at 8 am for. I was a little worried about doing the drive in the morning, so Matt agreed to watch Daniel overnight while I drove up to Portage and stayed with his grandmother. Great idea, right? Feed the baby, put him to bed, drive to Portage, Matt gets him in the morning. Well, Daniel woke up and cried for 45 minutes right after I shut the garage door. Being alone with a crying baby for 45 minutes is rough. Daniel was just not having a great day. I'm not sure if it's teeth or growing or what, but some days he is just generally out of sorts. I mean it's not like he's tripling his body weight and learning new things daily this year? Why can't he just be happy all the time ;) Anyway, Matt called Peggy in for backup, and they made it through just fine. My talk went great, and I had a wonderful time at the conference. Many of the people that I have worked with and for in the state were there yesterday.

****Warning, mommy stuff coming****

The most awkward part of the day was pumping. I ended up pumping in the handicap stall of the ladies room three or four times. They all blend together after a while. So I had my backpack pump with me most of the day. The guys I work with were quite curious, making comments like, "So, are you going for a hike?," "Headed to class today?," etc. All pretty friendly stuff, I just knew that they did not want the real answer. But after a few questions, you just answer. Whatever, it's part of the deal these days. Thankfully there were a few new dads in the group who were up to speed on things. It is such a huge part of my life now, I don't really care that they know, but I don't think they will ask many more questions :)

****Ok, done with the mommy stuff******

So Wednesday night to Thursday evening was the longest time I've been away from Daniel yet. Non, Matt's grandmother, asked me how I felt about everything. I was ok, but I really missed him. The only way to describe it was that it was kind of like I was missing a limb or a critical accessory like a wedding ring or watch. You know, something that you are constantly aware that you are not wearing.

The next couple weeks are busy, but nothing far out of town. I get to visit some farms next week, but they are all close by. The next big trip is the WEFTEC conference in Chicago. That is going to be big. Potentially, I could have things to do from 7:30 am until 10 pm. That will be rough. We will see how things play out.

Have a great weekend and Go Irish!