Archives for October 2007

It Was Nice While It Lasted

Yeah. My victory in my spotless kitchen was short-lived yesterday. Started making dinner. Hubby came home. Life exploded all over the counter tops, the sink refilled with dishes. Ugh. Today, it makes me sick looking at it, though I’ve picked it up and the stove is still spotless. It’s tremendously frustrating that by and large, I’m the only one who cares what it looks like – and everyone else seems to be used to it making me so crazy that I’ll just clean it up again. And again. And again. (Do I sound bitter? I kinda sorta am).

Today, I have already washed and folded five loads of laundry. A sixth is in the dryer. The seventh (and final) load is in the washing machine. Gotta love laundry day. It makes Tuesdays a big pain in the butt -but I don’t have to deal with laundry for the rest of the week, which is a plus. It’s a personal preference, but if I was doing laundry every day, I think I’d go out of my mind.

This morning, I had to take Pumpkin to get her flu shot. Because The Princess didn’t do so well with hers (she started sobbing when they swabbed her leg with the alcohol wipe), I wasn’t optimistic that Pumpkin would do better. Happily, I was proven wrong. Poor kiddo tensed when the needle went in, but beyond that, not a peep. I treated her to a donut afterwards, and because she told me to, I got a cappuccino. Seriously, she told me, “Donut and coffee.” Since I was all about making it up to her for getting a shot, I had to oblige her request. That’s what mothers have to do sometimes.

My Floor Is So Clean You Can Eat Off Of It…

…but don’t because that’s just gross.

I admit, as far as being productive goes, this weekend wasn’t it for me. Hit hard by the crud on Friday, I decided to camp out on the couch most of Saturday doing nada but watching more productive people than I whip up snazzy looking meals on the Food Network. The weather was chilly, grey and drizzly (for the most part) and it was the kind of day that begs to be wasted. And I did. Fantastically. The day ended with a big bowl of Edy’s French Silk ice cream and re-watching “Knocked Up” (which is hilariously funny in a really gross sort of way).

Yesterday, I headed to Ikea with my good friend and her sister-in-law. All told, I’m sure we spent more time in the car than we actually did shopping, but that’s okay by me. I’m not a huge shopper. We got the things we were wanting from Ikea (some cool storage bins for the kiddos, especially. Ikea is great for storage bins), then dashed over to a shoe store for a sale. I got a fun pair of shoes and a pair of snow boots for The Princess – as goodness only knows when the snow will start flying here… and her boots from last year are two sizes too small.

I came home feeling pretty rejuvenated, but the house was a wreck. Hubby had been hanging with the kids (all three of them, as Stepson was here this weekend), and when you’re so far outnumbered, it IS sometimes hard to stay “on top” of things. Unfortunately, their big project yesterday was carving pumpkins and then doing something with pumpkin seeds. I’m not entirely sure what they did with the seeds – I just know that I had pumpkin seeds all over the stove, counter, floor and there were several bowls with pumpkin seeds in them… It was a mess! I hate Halloween, I hate pumpkins, I hate the SMELL of pumpkins – so the pumpkin seeds infesting my kitchen? Ick.

On top of that, the sink was over flowing with dishes, the counter was stacked with mail and paper, and the toys managed to migrate from the playroom to the living room.

Ugh.

While I really hate cleaning, I love having a clean house so I’m really busting my butt to try to restore some sense of order to the house: I’ve scrubbed the stove, washed all the dishes, swept and mopped the floor, sorted and recycled most of the paper. The kitchen smells clean and lemon-scented… and I should probably move onward and tackle the rest of the house next. I’m sure by the time I finish, it will be time to start in the kitchen again.

Well, The Kids Are Recovering

I’ve resisted catching the cooties my kids have been coughing up or have been dripping from their noses for nearly a month now. I didn’t get bronchitis. I didn’t get the “upper respiratory infection”. My nose was not runny. My throat was not sore.

Was is the operative word.

Last night, after sitting outside at the soccer game, I came home, thawed out and realized that I feel like complete and total hooey, and that yes, I’ve finally caught the cooties.

My head hurts. My throat hurts. My nose is running. I’m sneezy. I’m coughing. I’m dizzy as all get out because I’m so congested.

This. Really. Sucks.

The kids, on the other hand, seem to be doing just fine. In fact, they have energy to spare, and have been driving me up the wall: “Mom! Look at me!” “Mom! I want chocolate milk!” “Mom! I want to watch Dora!” It’s all normal kid stuff, but right now, all I want is to curl up in bed in my warm jammies… sleep for awhile. Maybe take a nice hot bath after that. Go to sleep some more. This being sick stuff is not fun.

(No) Gooooooooooal!

Tonight was the end of the fall soccer season, and not a freezing moment too soon. It was so cold outside that I lost feeling in my fingers well before the game started and didn’t completely thaw out until we had returned home and had been in the house for a good twenty minutes.

Tonight’s game was uuuuuuuuuuuugly. The Princess’s team didn’t score at all and their opponents basically crushed them. It was hard to watch – and not just because my eyelids were freezing open.

We’ve got a few months off before it all starts again.

Makes You Stop and Think

This was the view from my deck last night. Hard to be caught up in the stuff that bogs you down when the sky looks like art. The sky became pink then as the sun set, turned purple and then faded to night. It was amazing and I felt so lucky to have seen it.

We had our first Kindergarten Parent-Teacher conferences last night. Hubby was getting visibly annoyed with the teacher: she kept handing us things to work on with The Princess at home, songs they’ve been singing, a note asking for money for their unit on baking. As he said later, “I was wondering when she’d STOP giving US stuff to do and tell us how our kid is doing!!” Turns out, our kid is doing JUST fine. The teacher really had not much to report, as The Princess is doing quite well. She recognizes all her upper and lower case letters, can identify 22 of 26 letter sounds. She can count by rote to 69. She can rhyme. She’s right handed. She has a good pencil grip. The teacher said she really digs having her in class and that she’s confident that The Princess will definitely be reading soon. Good stuff.

Helloooooooo, Drama

Do you ever have those phases where you think, “Gosh, there is just a never ending stream of drama…” and then you figure things HAVE to start calming down because, I mean, there HAS to be a limit to the drama, and then the phone rings and it’s… More drama?

Home Again, Home Again Jiggety Jig

With Hubby having plans to spend the whole weekend in Chicago for the Men’s Health Urbanathalon this weekend, I was fully anticipating to be on solo mom duty for a whole other day. That didn’t end up happening. Hubby came home a full night early last night. I woke to the sound of the garage door opening at about 11:30 – I had no idea he was coming home early and it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise (especially since Pumpkin was up four times last night and Hubby got up with her three of those four times).

While I was excited for Hubby to be doing this race (a 12.2 mile run which includes obstacles such as hurdles, jumping over taxis, and running the stairs at Soldier Field), having dealt with sick Pumpkin all week, I was not super enthused about going it alone. But, I did fine.

Friday, me and the girls went to dinner with a friend and her daughter. Bedtime was relatively painless (which is definitely a rare thing!), and after tucking them in I was able to veg in front of crap TV, play online, and then soak in a nice bubble bath before going to bed to read a book for far too long before I realized it was far too creepy of a book to be reading while I was home alone. As is typical when Hubby is gone, I slept lightly so of course I was tuckered out on Saturday when we went to The Princess’s school for Fall Fest.

Fall Fest involved getting the girls dressed up in their Halloween costumes and going through the halls at the school for activities, games, candy and socializing. Given the fact that Pumpkin was still coughing pretty badly and the halls were crowded, I carried her through the Fest. When you carry a 30-pound toddler for an hour and a half, the end result is a tremendous aching in your biceps the next day (which was actually a good thing – I hate working out my biceps – they NEVER get this sore when I lift weights, so… Guess I’ll be toting the kid more often!).

The Princess camped out with my mom last night and after a brief visit with my mom and her husband, Pumpkin came back home to me and was snoozing by 8:30. She’s been so sick that she’s been tremendously crabby. Naps have been off-kilter. Her eating schedule has been off-kilter. It’s been HARD.

But we did alright.

Of course, both girls were super happy to see Hubby home early. I was sure ready for the break!

It’s Not Just Me

To give myself a little break, I took the girls to my mom’s for a bit today. The Princess is camping out with Grandma and Grandpa tonight, Pumpkin came back home with me after I was able to go for a three mile walk (alone!) and have some quiet time.

Today was an improvement over yesterday, however Pumpkin is still crabby and difficult. Definitely very contrary and whiny. Usually, she turns on the charm for my mom, but today when I went to pick her up, Mom looked a little relieved and said, “I think she needs more sleep.”

A Little Love In the Mail, and Other Stuff…

Today’s mail brought lots of fun stuff including several magazines for me (Self, Women’s Health and Wired), a magazine for Hubby, AND a birthday card from one of my dearest friends. I’m somewhat of a card-whore. I love to find just the “right card” that says just the right thing. I may not always succeed, but I love shopping for cards and finding something that says just the thing I want to tell the recipient. And the card I got today was so sweet. It made me feel very happy, very loved, and so grateful for this friendship. She had given me the heads up earlier in the week that a card was coming – and she told me that what was in it would hopefully bring me a smile as well. It sure did – a Starbucks gift card. I’m definitely keeping the card though – it brought a huge smile to my face when I really needed one.

***

This morning, I did indeed leave Hubby on Daddy Duty while I got out of the house. After making a lovely breakfast of french toast and getting all the rugrats on the bus, I hopped on the treadmill, jumped in the shower, and then got the heck outta the house. I went to Starbucks for a cap, then off to Barnes & Noble, where I did indeed treat myself to “The Abstinence Teacher” by Tom Perotta. I haven’t started reading it yet, though – because the library called and I had a book on hold to pick up.

Hubby is now gearing up to run a 12 mile race tomorrow and I’m holding down the fort with the kids. I took the girls out to dinner with my friend and her daughter tonight, and PUMPKIN FINALLY ATE! She sat in the high chair saying, “I want a hot dog, mommy!” She ate about half the hot dog and a handful of french fries. That was the most she’s eaten in DAYS and I’m over the moon happy about it. She perked up noticeably since then, and once we got home she was almost back to normal. Here’s hoping she sleeps alright tonight. Later, as I was getting her changed into her pj’s she told me, “I have pee!” though her diaper was dry. I sat her on the potty seat and… voila… tinkle. Very very happy.

This week has taken its toll and I’m definitely exhausted (so exhausted I should be getting ready for bed instead of blogging).

Another Update Y’all Didn’t Ask For

Another day much like yesterday with a brief tiny itty bitty bit of a nap thrown in there just to get me hopeful for a few hours of peace, only to have my bubble burst within 40 minutes (which is better than nothing, I realize, but when you are used to 2+ hour naps, this is quite a slap in the face). I was up with Pumpkin at about 5 this morning. I don’t DO five a.m. I certainly don’t do 5 a.m. with the expectation of being in any kind of human mood for the rest of the day.

Pumpkin is still coughing like crazy. She is still not eating much (a point of victory was her eating half a banana and Flat Earth “veggie” chips for dinner). She doesn’t want to drink water or juice, only bits of milk (and I know that milk makes phlegm which is going to make her cough worse – but when my choices are nasty cough and dehydration, I take the phlegm…). I’m on notice by the doctor to keep an eye out for the signs of dehydration, which include – “decreased urinary output” and “no tears when crying”. When you find yourself cheered by a soggy Pamper, you know it’s a rough week.

Of course, both of my daughters have inherited my tendency towards total crabbiness when hungry. When you think that Pumpkin has barely eaten the equivalent of a full meal in the past three days – well, you do the math. She’s tired (but won’t sleep), hungry (but won’t eat), and crabby (and there ain’t no pleasing her). Wish you were me, don’t you?

Hubby told me this afternoon that he has tomorrow off, and I told him as soon as all the girls get on the school bus tomorrow (though not The Princess), I’m taking off! I told him that I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going, but by golly, I was gonna get the heck out of the house… ALONE. Let him deal with the madness for a few hours while I try to get a tiny piece of my sanity back.