The Queen's Rambles

I found something to do. I just got a big box of baby girl clothes in the mail, so off to the wash they went. They are so cute! I am so happy! My old college friend and I reconnected on FB and are both having babies in April. Her due date is April 13, the day I want to have Elsa. We’re trading clothes since we both expect this to be the last baby.

Do you know how bad it would suck to give away all the baby things and have an unexpected pregnancy? I guess there are worse things in life, but it would be pretty brutal. I am still trying to decide what to do about BC after the baby comes. I want to get my tubes tied eventually, but that just feels so. . . permanent. Not sure I want to do it until Elsa is around for a few years. I guess that sounds kind of morbid, but you never know what will happen.

Hormones are out.

IUD? I don’t know. It kind of scares me, but maybe that would be the best option.

Natural family planning? It is easy, for the most part, but also a pain in the butt. I get tired of checking temps every day and feeling up my hoo-haw. This will probably be the method I lean towards anyway.

Condoms. Ugh.

So much for the sexual revolution! I’m really glad I have options and am educated on all of them. I just want better options.

I was thinking about the things left to buy, other than clothes, diapers, wipes, creams and so forth. I think I need:

1) A snap and go stroller. No way am I doing a freakin’ travel system again. Hated that bastard.

2) A swing that goes sideways and back and forth. They plug in these days instead of running solely on batteries. Awesome!

3) A baby book. I have sorta-kinda kept up with Erik’s. I need to find it and do some updating. I am sure he will appreciate it, but I think a little girl will appreciate it even more. I do have Birthday Books for both the kids, which are way more awesome than Baby Books, but I want both.

I am always amazed when I read the stupid babycenter.com posts where people are whiny that no one bought them their stroller/car seat/swing/big fancy item off their registry. What kind of friends do they have that they expect them to spend that much on their baby?! That is just not the way my world works. Some of those women are so entitled and whiny. “I don’t have the money to buy all this stuff myself! Isn’t that what my shower is for?” Uh. NO! If you didn’t have the money, why’d you get pregnant? Scour craigslist and consignment shops. That’s my plan even though I am not in dire financial straits. Your shower is for cute little outfits and some of the smaller baby items, unless your work or a group of friends all chip in for a big ticket item. Maybe I am just a bad, ungenerous friend.

You know what? I am starving. Who wants to go to Taco Bell and get me my daily burrito. Prior to this pregnancy I had never been to the Germantown Taco Bell. A few minutes ago Erik said something about “we haven’t been to Taco Bell in daaaaaaays. I just want a steak soft taco!” Maybe we’ve been a little excessive with the Taco Bell.

Can you believe when I was his age my Granddad would sit in his truck, give me a dollar and send me in to the Bell to place my own order. I suppose Erik could handle doing that, but it would never occur to me to let him. I don’t think it would have occurred to my mom, either. Granddads are different creatures. When I was a little girl I didn’t know that dads and granddads were allowed to go into stores or restaurants, except the pizza parlor. I’m sure I saw other men in the stores, but I think I was a teenager before I realized my dad sometimes went into the store in the gas station to buy things. I was also a teenager when I realized that all boys don’t drive trucks and all girls don’t drive cars. Yes, I lived in Hilly Billy Junction.

Be prepared, people. I might make lots of updates today. I am bored. BORED. BORED!!! It’s only 9:38 and I already can’t stand the day.

Erik is really sick now. He showed up in our room around 11:30 pm with a horrible cough. Thankfully a rub down with Vicks stopped most of the coughing, but he was still a pain in the ass to sleep with. Why don’t we just take him back to his own room? That would be the smart thing to do, but I feel bad for my poor, sick child. As Heather once said, you don’t stop being a parent just because you prefer to sleep.

Anyway, he woke up again around 5:30 complaining that his “whore was long.” I don’t know how to pronounce hair in Swedish very well, but Erik pronounces it as “whore.” I wasn’t thinking very clearly and it took me awhile to realize he meant hair, not his own personal prostitute. He kept crying and crying about his whore and wouldn’t sleep until I put my hand on his head and pressed down fairly hard. When he was a baby he wouldn’t sleep unless he had pressure on his head. I guess he’s reverting.

I don’t think we are going to be able to go outside today. We’re both too sick. I am supposed to go to the OB for my 30 week appt on Thursday but I just called to reschedule. All the lines were busy but at least I was able to leave a message. I hope they call back soon. Sick me, sick Erik and thirty million feet of snow makes the five minute heart beat check feel a little irrelevant. I am hoping to get my 32 week ultrasound scheduled. I hope they weren’t joking with me when they said I would be having a sonogram that late in the game. I really need some confirmation that this is a girl. It is going to suuuuuuck if she turns into a he, but at least we would have some warning. Maybe I shouldn’t have given away all the clothes just yet.

Someone entertain me. Make lots of posts today. Ask me questions. Tell me a joke. Something!

This has been the most un-weekend like weekend ever. All I’ve done is sit around being sick. Mike spent hours upon hours out with the snow shovel, trying to dig us out. We didn’t get to do anything fun at all! I think we deserve a few more weekend days, but Mike doesn’t think his boss will agree.

To top it off, schools are closed through Tuesday. Not that we could go anywhere anyway because Erik and I are both sick, but still. I’m feeling trapped! It’s supposed to snow again on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully Erik will be able to go to swim class on Thursday and school on Friday. I think I’m supposed to take pink frosting to school at some point this week, but I don’t know if it is Wednesday or Friday. Guess I’ll just keep a supply of pink frosting in the car. It should be cold enough to stay refrigerated.

I’m kidding!

I wouldn’t keep it in the car. Erik would eat it all.

I’m assuming their Valentine party is going to be a little more interactive than their other parties. Someone is supposed to bring plain heart cookies and I’m bringing the frosting, so I guess the kids will get to decorate the cookies. If it ever stops snowing and they actually get to go to school before St. Patrick’s day.

Maybe I’ll try to get down to the mall tomorrow. My giant Erik shrine picture should be ready. Might as well see just how bad it is going to be. I think there’s something wrong with my maternal instinct. Should I really be making fun of a picture of my own kid? I have pictures of him all over the house, but 16″x16″ is a little much.

I bet we would be able to get down there mid-day if the weather is good. Unfortunately I don’t have any quarters left and when we go to the mall Erik expects to ride a few rides. We go there maybe once every three months, so it’s not like a regular thing. I’ve depleted our change bucket since going to Playtime at the Plex. It’s only $2 per kid so I always pay in change. At first it was always quarters, but last week we were down to a mix of dimes and nickles. I promise I won’t ever pay in all pennies. I hope I don’t drive the lady crazy, but I never carry cash. Using the change feels like using free money. Obviously it’s not free money, but it is wasted money. I’m just letting it live up to it’s potential as a productive member of society.

On a totally different subject, Erik has a lovely new habit of declaring he is never going to speak to us again. Where on earth did he hear that? I took him outside for a little while today and he decided he wasn’t going to come in. He screeched at full volume all the way home “I’m not going to talk to you ever again! Mommy, mommy, mommy! I’m never speaking to you again!” Finally I had to tell him he WAS talking to me and he needed to stop. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Turd head.

Then this evening he asked me if he made me happy all day because he was such a good boy. I think I need to see a therapist to figure out what I’m supposed to say to things like that. Is he feeling insecure? Is this just a stage? Does he really want to be a good boy? Is he having anxiety about the new baby? I don’t know! He doesn’t seem anxious. He seems quite sure that the is a good boy and he always makes me happy.

They weren’t lying when they said we were getting a shit load of snow this weekend. According to the weather reports, we currently (11:30 am) have 29.9″ and it’s still coming down heavier than ever. I think that might even make a blip on the radar in Kiruna.

Mike and Erik are out shovelling right now. Our sidewalk is even worse because we have lots of trees that Mike is shaking off, so it it is almost doubling the amount of snow in places. Poor Mikey is going to be one sore guy tomorrow. You can’t really even see the cars right now, they are buried so deep.

I’m sick as a dog. Woke up with a sore throat yesterday and it has progressed into a pretty bad cold. Nothing like last year’s flu fest (yet), but I’m still feeling pretty blah. Erik showed up in our bed with a snotty nose this morning, so I guess he’s in for it next. He’s outside right now, which probably isn’t the best idea, but oh well. Can’t keep him in the house for too long if we want him to sleep tonight.

Being pregnant and sick sucks. I’m taking out my aggression on stupid people at babycenter.com. I shouldn’t even go there and read. There is rarely any information I need or want. It’s just a big drama fest, mainly. I am getting really tired of the natural birth people being rude and judgemental towards women who aren’t into natural birth. Bully for you if you want a natural birth. I wish you luck and success. I just get tired of the “women have been doing this since the dawn of time! It’s what are bodies are made for!” Why yes, women have been doing it since the dawn of time. Women have also been dying in childbirth since the dawn of time, or losing their babies due to complications. I just don’t think it is right for anyone to say you must have your baby the way I want you to have your baby or you are a terrible/stupid/irresponsible person. It’s all about choices and doing what you and your doctor or midwife thinks is best.

Off my soap box. Can you tell that is irritating? I’ve been kind of mean on the forum! Can you imagine? Get a bunch of hormonal, opinionated pregnant women together in an online setting and the fur will fly.

Erik is being cute today. He told me he is never going to make me mad again and he is going to help me do everything that I need to do. I have no idea what brought that on. He brought me a peeled banana this morning, unasked for. Uhhhh. Thanks, kid? He brought me my toothbrush with toothpaste already on it. He insisted he pour my milk. I’m glad he is wanting to be a good boy, but having a 4 year old helper is exhausting.

Currently he is trying to wrestle himself out of his snow clothes and refusing help from anyone. This could take awhile.

Can you tell I’m bored? I have a book I should be reading. I put out a plea on Facebook for a book rec and a local friend suggested The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk. It looks to be pretty strange, which is just what I’m craving (far future, low tech, feminist).

I really want to get a new bathtub that is decent for soaking in. Our bathroom is pretty tiny so I don’t know how that would work. Surely there must be tubs the same size, only deeper? I probably should ask my dad about it. He’s a former plumber. He could tell me stuff. Too bad he couldn’t come and install it, but he can’t even walk, how is he going to fix my bathroom?

Off topic (when am I ever on topic?): why do internet people spell “huge” as “hugh”? I don’t understand! Is it a typo? The H and E aren’t near each other. Do people really think that’s how it’s spelled? But why? That doesn’t make sense.

See, told you I was in a cranky mood. I think I need food. Nothing sounds good. We had fondue last night because I’ve been thinking about it non-stop for weeks, but it wasn’t even good. Mike said it was, and I believe he enjoyed it, but my non-functioning taste buds had me convinced I was eating melted rubber.

I’m so exhausted tonight. I woke up with a sore throat and the sniffle, so I guess a cold is contributing to my exhaustion. Wonderful! It’s going to be a long weekend with illness and snow.

At least we managed to get out of the house today. We went to Playtime at the Plex, which was really annoying. It was a totally different crowd today–mainly a bunch of little brats and jerky moms. Several of the kids had play swords which they were fighting with. Erik found different items to use as a sword so I was constantly telling him no hitting and getting looks from the moms who were allowing their kids to hit. I almost wouldn’t have a problem with it if it was just a group of kids who all knew each other and the moms all knew each other and there were not random little tiny kids everywhere. Things escalate too fast and get out of control in such a setting. I find play sword really inappropriate at this particular venue.

There was one little asshole kid who had it out for Erik. Everywhere Erik went, he followed. He kept hitting Erik with anything he could find, then when Erik would fight back (usually by trying to take the toy away), the mom would get really pissy at Erik and not say a word to her poor little snowflake.

I usually love Playtime at the Plex because I can sit on the bleachers and watch Erik play with minimum parental duties for two hours. Today I had to be right there with him the whole time to keep things under control. Ugh.

He had his very first swim class this afternoon and prepping him for that was also exhausting. He decided he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want to get his face wet. He kept claiming he wasn’t going to get dressed, he wasn’t going to leave the house, he wasn’t going to get in the car. So on and on and on. It took a lot of psychology, willpower and sheer stubbornness to get him out the door.

My friend has been telling me about these swim lessons for the last year, so I had an idea of how they would go. I tried to prepare him as best I could, which is why he was freaking out. They have to jump in the water, roll over onto their backs and float for 10 seconds as their first main goal. My friend has a tendency to exaggerate things, so I didn’t know how traumatic this would really be. I knew another friend pulled her kid from the class because she thought it was way too traumatic. I didn’t want it all to be a total shock.

Anyway, I shouldn’t have worried. They did make him jump in the water, but it was not traumatic in the least. I have a feeling the friend who pulled her kid out of the class didn’t like the fact that they discipline the kids. Her child is pretty obnoxious and she never has a clue what to do about it. They have some very specific rules and are not afraid to hold the children’s feet or hands if they are kicking or splashing when they aren’t supposed to be. They sat one boy in time out because he was goofing off. Basically, they act like teachers and authority figures and expect the kids to behave. I’m all for that!

Erik decided the swim class was the most fun thing he’s ever done in his whole life and he wants to do it every day. As you can imagine, I was very relieved. I didn’t know what I was going to do if he was screaming and throwing a tantrum with his teacher and refusing to get in the water. He actually did really well and will probably be able to do the first goal in just a couple of sessions. Once he figures out to stick his legs straight out and relax I think he’ll be able to float.

I did make a major mistake. My friend showed me where to put our bags down, but I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the surroundings. I ended up putting my bag down right next to the shower drain, so when class was over I pulled out Erik’s clothes and found his pants, underwear and socks were soaked. At least it was in the mid-40s instead of the mid-20s, but I still felt pretty bad. Obviously I left the socks and underwear off, but he had to have pants on.

The class is held at a gym with a swimming pool. For awhile I was considering switching to the gym just for the pool, but now I’m glad I didn’t. It costs waaaaaaay more than my current gym. It looks a lot nicer and feels a lot fancier, but they don’t have much in the way of equipment. I was looking at their group exercise schedule and was shocked. I’m used to choosing between 3 or 4 different classes each morning–usually yoga or pilates, a cardio class, a weight lifting class and maybe an abs class. That’s not counting the spin classes. This gym had one class at 9:30 every day. That’s it! Well, they had early morning and evening classes, but again just one per day. So would I really want to pay triple my current monthly fee and have less options just because the building is prettier?

Now it’s time to hunker down and expect to be home for the next three days. I hate being home bound. At least Mike might possibly maybe be able to work from home tomorrow, but I’m not betting on it. I don’t think the snow is supposed to start until 10 am.

It snowed a few inches last night, which meant we had a snow day today. No reason for it. It was warm. The roads were clear. But oh noes! Snow! Must not send the children to be educated!

Our county has totally run out of money for snow removal. They are still removing it, but the budget it empty. This was the third snow storm of the season. I suppose that tells you how much snow this place usually gets. This weekend we are supposed to have a storm that tops the Blizzard of ’09–the 21″ we had just after Christmas. Bah.

Since the county schools were closed, the gym daycare was closed, our MOMS Club meeting was cancelled and Erik’s preschool was cancelled.

We were both going stir crazy. I hate being stuck at home all day.

I did take the boy out to the little hill at the end of the cul-de-sac. Thankfully there was a nice group of tween boys who were really kind and sweet with Erik. They let him ride on their sleds and build their ramp and such. I am so glad I didn’t have to trudge up the hill and help him push off. We have a really stupid plastic sled that doesn’t work all that great. It was free since I never saw the point of buying a sled for a once per winter storm. Ha! What do I know? This afternoon we even went to the stores looking for sleds since we are supposed to have several more storms in the next few weeks, but they are long gone. I looked online for some clearance sleds and about choked. Who in the bleepity-bleeping hell spends $50-$200 on a kid’s sled? I couldn’t believe it! His bike and scooter combined didn’t cost that much! I couldn’t find anything other than what we already have in a reasonable price range so gave up on that idea.

I’m really glad I decided to outfit him for winter. The idea was that he would be able to play outside in Sweden. It never crossed my mind that winter pants and boots would be necessary here. Guess what? He didn’t need them in Sweden, but they’ve seen good use.

Anyway, Mike is home! He got home in time to give Erik a bath and do the bedtime routine, so I was very happy. I feel like I’ve been working my ass off cleaning the house all day, but for some reason it is still a horrible pig sty. Erik was on my last nerve. I was very, very defeated and just wanted to sit in a corner and cry. I am so glad he made it home before bedtime so he could take some of the pressure off.

At least Erik did one sweet thing today. When we were at Target he spontaneously decided he wanted to buy Elsa a present. He asked if we could go down the baby toy aisle (I didn’t know he knew such an aisle existed) and he picked out a little pink teddy bear all by himself. Awwwwww! He says he is going to surprise Elsa with it when she pops out of my tummy. I am so relieved he is on board with having a sister. He talks to my belly all the time and tells everyone we meet that he’s going to be a big brother. I know the adjustment will still be hard, but it is really a joy to see him so excited, especially after his total meltdown and denial the first few months.

Anyone watch Lost? No spoilers, I promise, but what the hell? Talk about a mind trip. I guess I’ll spend all day tomorrow obsessing over the forums and blogs.

We’re supposed to be getting a big storm tonight. Ugh. That probably means there won’t be school tomorrow, which is not ideal. Erik was just about on my last nerve tonight, even with him going to a babysitter and his exercise class today. I am just not a good night mommy.

Ok, now I’m even more confused. Is there another episode? I guess so.

How am I supposed to write an entry and watch another Lost episode at the same time?

Anyway, I signed Erik up for swim classes through the British Swim School today. It’s a lot cheaper and more effective than the county classes, but Erik is already freaking out because he doesn’t want to get his face wet. The first class is going to be a disaster. They basically throw them in and try to get them to come up, roll over and float. They start with survival swimming before moving up to real swimming. I know other people in the program and it is supposed to be very good, if scary at first. I hope I am able to stand watching Erik be tortured. It is all for the greater good, I know. He wants to swim without his jacket this summer so he is going to have to know how to handle himself in water.

Remember how I told you I got the major up sell when I was trying to re-order my 10X10 picture of Erik? I thought I had just ordered a framed 10X10 print. I was looking at the receipt and I ordered a 16×16 framed print. Holy shit! That’s going to be huge! Where am I going to put it? The shrine of Erik? I love pictures of him, of course, but that seems more than a wee bit excessive. It is a beautiful picture of him and will look great, I’m sure, but man. Big! And, of course, that means that in a few years I’m going to have to order a giant picture of Elsa so she’s not sad. At least I’ll know to order it in January after the Christmas rush. It was certainly not the price I would expect to pay for a huge ass framed picture.

I spent a lot of the day quilting! Whoo-hoo! I’ve totally lost my quilting mojo. My LJ friend, Ofenjen, is collecting orphan blocks and log cabin blocks that she’ll turn into charity quilts. I went through and found several blocks I can send, but then decided to try my hand at making a couple of log cabin blocks. Ha! I read the directions, but sort of skipped over the part where they were for 10″ blocks instead of 12″ blocks. My brain was not functioning. I was not thinking about seam allowances at all, so eventually I realized I wasn’t going to get the right sized block. I started slicing stuff from the edges and using different sized strips and eventually ended up with the right sized blocks, but they sure don’t look good! Plus, I was making them really scrappy and boy oh boy are they scrappy. The overly bright, scrappy look combined with the ever blinking CFL bulb in my lamp just about gave me a seizure. Kids like bright things, right?

I’m excited to be back into the quilting game. I finished a quilt top for Elsa and just ordered some batting from overstock.com. It’s annoying to spend a bunch on batting when I know they sell it for half the price at a little shop up in Lancaster County. I was ready to hop in the car and drive up there on Sunday, except it was snowing and the Amish shops are closed on Sunday. I suppose a five hour round trip wouldn’t save me money in the long run, especially with Erik in the back seat.

It’s a Monday! It could have been worse. Mike left town yesterday afternoon and won’t be back for a few days. I hate single parenting. It’s not as bad now, with a four year old, but I still hate it.

Erik has a bit of a cough and runny nose, so I couldn’t take him to the gym. They will kick your ass out faster than you can say “gesundheit” if they even suspect your kid is sick. And they won’t do it nicely. They’ll thrust papers in your face and make a big stink about it. I don’t need that. Of course, this is all for the good of the kids and I don’t blame them. Erik has only been kicked out once, and he wasn’t even sick. They said he had pink eye, but he had a bruised eye because some other kid poked him in the eye AT THE GYM the day before. But I’ve seen other kids kicked out and I don’t want to be that mom.

I haven’t seen anyone kicked out of preschool, so I sent him with the sniffles. Bad mommy! He went at 12 and I only heard him cough a couple of times prior, so I think he was well enough to attend.

Anyway! Boring! All that to say I didn’t get to take full advantage of all my child care opportunities. If he’s feeling well tomorrow he’s going over to the babysitters for a play date for a few hours. Whoo-hoo! It makes SUCH a difference in both our attitudes if we are able to spend a little time apart.

Did I mention that I finally got him a pillow pet? Who’s the best mama ever? And possibly the most guilt riddled mama ever? I can’t help myself. I hated having a sibling and I feel a tremendous amount of guilt for putting him in the same situation. If a pillow pet makes him happy, he can damn well have a pillow pet. And believe me, it makes him happy. See that smiling face? That’s about how happy it is every time he plays with Fluffy.

Also, I swear I’m not feeding him coke. Why would I feed a very active, non-stop talker an upper? Powdered sugar donuts are bad enough. If I wanted to give him drugs I’d go straight for the barbiturates. I can’t remember what they are, but they’re downers, right? Maybe alcohol? Valium? Opium? It’s been a long time since fourth grade drug education.

I’m a little worried for Fluffy. Erik thinks his hair is too long and wants to give him a hair cut. The scissors are put away, but it is just a matter of time before he finds them and destroys his pillow pet. There will be much gnashing of teeth and wailing.

I’m having a bit of a conundrum and quite possibly need extensive therapy to get to the root of my mental health hang-ups. My friend wants to throw me a baby shower. Very sweet, yes? I threw her a baby shower and it was ok. Personally, I am not into baby showers. It mainly comes from feeling really guilty about asking people for gifts and feeling unworthy of their money–like they are all hating me for forcing them to come to a shower and buy me a present. I had a lot of anxiety about my bridal showers and Erik’s baby shower for the same reason. Also, most of my friends are all moms and most of them have had second or third children while I’ve known them. In my peer group we rarely give baby gifts because we’d all be flat broke in about three months. We’re a bunch of breeders and no one can be expected to keep up with all of that. I don’t have any family here or long time gal pals. I think I would puke if I had to submit a list of people to come and bring me gifts.

So I’m trying to tell her no without hurting her feelings. A) Because it is really sweet of her to want to throw a shower. B) I don’t want her to think I didn’t approve of her baby shower.

If I have a boy I might have to change my mind and invite every person I’ve ever met or even thought about meeting to the shower. I have officially given away all baby clothes up through size 3T. I have a few gender neutral leftovers, but not enough to fill a whole wardrobe. I’m trying to tell myself it’s ok. Elsa will be an Elsa, not an Olaf. Not that we would ever name an American child Olaf. No offense to the Swedes. Even if she is a he, saving Erik’s clothes wouldn’t have done any good. I don’t think a baby needs fleece footie pajamas and warm little sweaters in middle of July in Washington, D. C.

Actually, I guess I don’t have much for a girl past the newborn stage either. I have a lot of people telling me they have baby clothes for me, but I haven’t seen it yet. I know I will. I just won’t know what it is and how usable it will be until I have it in my hands. I’m not getting anxious about it or anything. So far my nesting has been more of the “get this crap OUT OF HERE” variety.

I guess I better get to sleep so I can be ready for the day tomorrow. Maybe Erik will sleep in. That would be too much to ask, wouldn’t it?

I’m in a rotten mood. Have been since I got up. I wish my hormones would settle so I could be happy. Bah!

I was having a really intense anxiety dream about an intruder in the house. I felt someone grab my face and about had a heart attack. It was Erik, waking me up.

From that moment on he could do nothing right today, poor kid. I feel bad for being so grumpy, but sometimes I just want to knock some sense into him. Why can’t he act like a grown up? So what if he is only 4!

Yes, I’m joking. I know I have no right to be so irritable with him. He’s just a kid. But that doesn’t make my emotions any easier to handle.

To top it off, it’s a no school day which means we didn’t get a break from each other. I took him to Playtime at the Plex, so that was a pretty nice two hours even though he did get in major trouble for hitting a kid with a baton. I am so tired of talk of weapons and destroying people. Argh! And I have a feeling it is only going to get worse. He was begging to watch Spiderman today, but I refused. I don’t even know what channel that would be on. I’ve been taking him to the gym in the evenings instead of the mornings and the kids are all much older. They’ve been watching it there and it pisses me off. Not appropriate! Yes, I am finicky. If I had my way they wouldn’t have a TV at all in the childcare. They would play games and stuff. During the morning shift they usually do organize the kids and play games, but the evening staff is a lot more lazy and the kids are older and not interested in stuff like that.

I should have took him to the gym this evening, but I just wanted to have a hot meal on the table when Mike got home and getting home at 5:30 sort of makes that impossible. He hasn’t said so, but I think he’s getting tired of ham and cheese sandwiches. If only I would have known Mike wasn’t going to be home until after 9 pm I could have made my evening a little more bearable with an exercise/me time break.

At one point I decided we’d watched enough television, so turned it off and told Erik we weren’t going to watch anything until he did two puzzles, played with play-doh or played some board games with me. He laid on the couch, crying and begging and just being a general asshole about it for almost an hour. I kept telling him that I would help him and I would play with him. If he would just do it, the TV would come on sooner. I got my wish for a TV break. He managed to be a little turd for two hours before he gave in and did a couple of puzzles. And guess what? Once he started them he had fun! Duh!

Can you tell it was a long day? Erik didn’t fall asleep until 9:05, five minutes before Mike walked in the door. I would like to officially tip my hat to all you single mothers out there. I would probably be in the loony bin if I had to be alone with my kid 24/7.

Next week is going to really be fun because Mike is going to be out of town several days. I may run away from home. Anyone want to take in a four year old for a few days? He really is sweet, except he doesn’t listen very well and thinks he knows everything.

Or maybe you just want to come visit and clean out my dryer vent? It is taking two freakin’ hours to dry a load of clothes. I am ready to go buy a new dryer, but someone suggested I clean out the vents first and maybe call a repairman if that doesn’t work. What? Spending a shit load of money on something unnecessary isn’t your first line of thought? You actually problem solve?

Anyway, I found a how-to guide online, but I think my big pregnant belly shouldn’t be attempting things like unhooking gas lines (I have no idea how to do such a thing), dragging the washer and dryer out of the way and bending over to clean out the vent. Mike can do it, I’m sure. But when? He’s working his ass off at work and at home already.

Here’s hoping tomorrow sees an end to my grouchies.

*It’s a good thing I am a quilter in the time of rotary cutters. I finally started working on Elsa’s doll quilt and had to use my scissors to fussy cut the big dolls. My poor finger feels like it is about to fall off. I am fairly sure I have a mild form of arthritis and that finger did not care for the motion of cutting at all. I had a problem with the finger several years ago when I was pushing the merry-go-round at recess when I worked at an elementary school. I am not looking forward to getting old.

*I worked my ass off today and my house is in the sorriest shape ever. I took all the boxes of boy clothes out of the storage closest and started sorting through stuff. Huge mess everywhere! I put together a big box for a college friend. She’s sending me a box of girl clothes and I’m sending her a box of boy clothes. Let’s hope the payback is worth the shipping costs. I put together a box of clothes for my nephew today and about fell over dead when the guy told me how much it would be. I just hope the clothes will be put to good use. It’s hard to say with my sister. She gets such weird ideas about how her kids should be dressed.

*Did I ever tell you about the dress she sent for Elsa? I hate to be ungrateful, but it was a mess. Ink stains, worn lace, just kind of nasty all around. Dry clean only, of course, but it had been washed in the washer and ruined. It was so bad I didn’t even feel like I could donate it. If I was going to dress my daughter up in a super fancy dress, I would make sure it was clean, at least.

*Erik got a seasonal flu mist and H1N1 shot today. Talk about traumatic! The mist went ok, though he didn’t like it. He started wailing and screeching when he got the shot. Three hours later and he was still sniffling and saying his arm hurt. I felt like a horrible mom, even though I know it is for the best. He wanted me to tell him that he’ll never have to have a shot again, but I couldn’t exactly say that. He has a memory like an elephant so I’m sure when October rolls around he’d try to hold me to that promise.

*I’m sure there must have been something else that happened today, but I can’t think of anything. My finger hurts too much to keep typing.