It feels chilly for this time of year. I just opened the window in front of me while a mountain stream recording plays on the tablet. I could almost pretend I am somewhere else. The rain and storms over the past few days have knocked down trees along the roads that lead to Scooter's Mother's Day Out program. We look at the large branches and the big trees on the wires and in the yards. It is funny how they call it Mother's Day Out, when really I just come home and put the baby down for a nap. I pay for it so Scooter can go play with new kids for a few hours. He really enjoys it and I feel better about his socialization because of it. The baby has been sick. Yesterday they sent me to the hospital to get a urine sample to see if her high fever is a UTI. I just thought she was teething. Three tries later, still no sample. They sent us home. I eventually was able to get maybe a tablespoon and Honey dropped it off at the lab on the way to work.
Honey isn't actually working today, but rather attending some sort of teleconference with an exceptionally slow and dull trainer. I told him that the guy he is filling in for at the training owes him lunch. And also to enjoy the simultaneous atrophy of his glutes and grey matter.
Mother's Day is coming up and I secretly want a musical instrument. However, we spent a ton of money on new shrubs and mulch and I did say that should be my Mother's Day present. And the handyfella is coming this evening to give us a quote on wall repair and paint. Plus, I have no time to scratch or do dishes nor pee without holding the baby (THIS is the stage we are currently enjoying.) So what makes me think I would be able to play a noisy instrument? I couldn't even wait until the kids were asleep because: noise. However, I read the other day that you shouldn't put off your dreams until 'later.' Something like the later doesn't always come. I have said this to my parents before. Don't put off all your traveling and vacations until retirement. Spend some money now making memories. They don't listen, of course.
And I should be using the time and effort to fit into my pre-baby wardrobe instead of struggle with a new skill. (I do guess getting into my old wardrobe would be struggling with a new skill. Or at least a skill I have never mastered.) When
we go to Ohio this summer, I am going to have to stand next to my
beautiful cousins. Really not looking forward to that. I have made a countdown calendar to motivate myself, but either still nursing or the mid-thirties metabolism slow down is thwarting me. I am so much happier as a person when I am not dieting. Literally, I was in such a vicious mood on Saturday that I sat down and had a piece of cake. I was better after that. The calming effect of carbs. I guess I just need reprogrammed or something.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Weekend Warriors
Last weekend we tackled some chores around the house. I love getting stuff done, but finding the inclination to do so is sometimes just as hard as the actual work. I did get my mom to come and watch kids and Honey and I spent a whopping 3 hours at the Lowes. We bought paint and shrubs and hardware and priced garden pavers and all kinds of fun stuff.
The next day, I took my giant 8x10 living room rug outside and washed it with oxyclean, Dawn, and a water hose. The kids helped! I found this idea on Pinterest when I had been agonizing about how to get the stupid thing cleaned. I *could* have hired someone, but that would require me to call people and ugggg. Plus, I always wonder if I am getting screwed over. Am I paying too much? Should I get more price quotes? Additionally, I kind of hate having strangers in my house. Scary. So! Pinterest told me to just take the dadgum thing outside and wash it. I decided to just do it. It worked beautifully! We washed and rinsed it, then rolled it up and laid it horizontally on top of our giant trash can so water dripped (poured) out of both ends. A few hours later when it stopped dripping, we hung it over the porch railing in the sun. When I do this again, I will wear rubber gloves. In my enthusiasm, I got rug burn on my hands. Ouch!
The next day we turned it so the other side could dry properly. After I moved all the furniture and cleaned the hard floors, we put the rug back in. I was a little worried because I felt like the rug was softer than before. I was concerned we washed some of the stiffness-that-keeps-the-rug-flat out. But after a day or so of walking on it, I can't tell the difference from before. Other than it is CLEAN. Yay!
We also painted an old dresser white and spray painted the hardware. It needed two new knobs at the top, so we just bought a couple cheap ones that were the exact wrong color because we were going to paint all the hardware anyway. We ended up spray painting our lamps as well. I think it all came out dandy.
Additionally, we put up some shelving that I had pulled from other parts of the house in the Baby's room to put her pretties on. She has pretties! Knick knacks and such. One of the shelves was a bathroom shelf that had a towel bar on the bottom. So I took some long ribbon and safety pins and made it into a bow holder. It looks great! I put a picture on Twitter.
Next weekend, we plant two azaleas and two gardenias and mulch the flower beds. I should go do measurements to see how much it would cost to do those pretty pavers as a border. We still need to do more painting, but I am getting a quote on doing the interior. (Ack, worker people! But I am hoping this handy fella works out. We need so much stuff done. Skilled labor is necessary.) We can paint the porch ourselves.
I love home improvement stuff. We just don't have the skill set to do a whole whole lot. I love it like I love a full pantry. It just makes me feel warm and squishy and all grown up.
The next day, I took my giant 8x10 living room rug outside and washed it with oxyclean, Dawn, and a water hose. The kids helped! I found this idea on Pinterest when I had been agonizing about how to get the stupid thing cleaned. I *could* have hired someone, but that would require me to call people and ugggg. Plus, I always wonder if I am getting screwed over. Am I paying too much? Should I get more price quotes? Additionally, I kind of hate having strangers in my house. Scary. So! Pinterest told me to just take the dadgum thing outside and wash it. I decided to just do it. It worked beautifully! We washed and rinsed it, then rolled it up and laid it horizontally on top of our giant trash can so water dripped (poured) out of both ends. A few hours later when it stopped dripping, we hung it over the porch railing in the sun. When I do this again, I will wear rubber gloves. In my enthusiasm, I got rug burn on my hands. Ouch!
The next day we turned it so the other side could dry properly. After I moved all the furniture and cleaned the hard floors, we put the rug back in. I was a little worried because I felt like the rug was softer than before. I was concerned we washed some of the stiffness-that-keeps-the-rug-flat out. But after a day or so of walking on it, I can't tell the difference from before. Other than it is CLEAN. Yay!
We also painted an old dresser white and spray painted the hardware. It needed two new knobs at the top, so we just bought a couple cheap ones that were the exact wrong color because we were going to paint all the hardware anyway. We ended up spray painting our lamps as well. I think it all came out dandy.
Additionally, we put up some shelving that I had pulled from other parts of the house in the Baby's room to put her pretties on. She has pretties! Knick knacks and such. One of the shelves was a bathroom shelf that had a towel bar on the bottom. So I took some long ribbon and safety pins and made it into a bow holder. It looks great! I put a picture on Twitter.
Next weekend, we plant two azaleas and two gardenias and mulch the flower beds. I should go do measurements to see how much it would cost to do those pretty pavers as a border. We still need to do more painting, but I am getting a quote on doing the interior. (Ack, worker people! But I am hoping this handy fella works out. We need so much stuff done. Skilled labor is necessary.) We can paint the porch ourselves.
I love home improvement stuff. We just don't have the skill set to do a whole whole lot. I love it like I love a full pantry. It just makes me feel warm and squishy and all grown up.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Friday Tidbits
- Went to visit a friend to give her pink baby things as she will have a pink flavored baby sometime this year. Felt sadish. Goodbye pink baby things.
- We have a new feral child in the neighborhood. I feel so sad for these kids. They are so...unparented. And I want to help them! But I also remember an old colleague of mine saying: Do not make your children the social experiment. Still, what do I do when this destructive child wants to play? Honestly, I watch him like a hawk and send him home at the first ruffle. Begone, problematic kid.
- Kids are exhausting. Honey and I are so freaking tired. Ug. So so tired. I would love to just go to bed and sleep for a million years. But the baby seems to be going through some nighttime separation anxiety. She doesn't actually want to nurse. She just wants me to hold her and rock her forever and ever and ever. Scooter wakes up and assumes the very first thing he must do is wake us. He is four! Surely he can...go play or something. Please kids, just five more minutes.
- We don't have major plans for the weekend. Or any plans, for that matter. I would really like to have a date with my husband to maybe go eat and go to the home improvement store. Saucy. Still, a date is a date.
- Brother wants to have a friend spend the night. This is a nice friend. While they will stay up all night, they will do so mostly silently. A nice kid whose mother demands he come home at 9 AM and the friend just gets up and goes. At 9 AM. I am not sure Brother would get out of bed at 9 AM if the house was on fire. So, I told Brother clean the bathroom and the friend can stay. Zing! I feel clever, but really I am sure that most folks would just say, Duh. The bathroom is nasty and he is 14. Make him clean it already.
- Honestly, the jury is still out as to whether he will actually clean the bathroom. The things I think should be carrots for this kid sometimes turn out to be something he could take or leave without a second glance.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Reread
I am a rereader. I find comfort in reading a story that I know I love and that I know what will happen next. Oh, I love discovering new books too! Just. I look for sentences and events that have stuck in my mind from previous reads. If in my haste of rereading, these events are missed, I go looking for them. I remember where they are.
A different flavor of rereading is when I forget a lot about the book. Like the old saying, I might not remember what exactly the book said, but I will remember the way it made me feel. Then! It is like an almost new story that I am guaranteed to like.
I recently read Sarah Addison Allen's new book, First Frost. I have always liked Allen's work. The language is the major pull and I have always had a soft spot for magical realism. I do, however, feel unsettled at how much gendered violence is in her novels. I keep in mind that her audience women and unfortunately, this is a part of our collective experience. It isn't graphic or gratuitous. A lot of authors use violence as a plot catalyst and I know I have a hypersensitivity towards it. Anyway, not what I was trying to say.
What I was trying to say is this: I love Allen's work. I love the language and how it is so quintessentially Southern. Poetic Southern Simile. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and she said, "I worked two jobs. Not that it could make ends meet, but at least they could wave at each other." Like that. "Coffee so sweet it could kiss you back." Lovely.
My book buying philosophy is this: Books are like dresses. To ensure a perfect fit, one should try it on before buying. So I only buy books that I love so much, I want to reread them again and again. The rest I allow my public library to house for me. I was thinking that I would like to own a few of Allen's books. I think I have read everything she has written to date. I am particularly fond of The Sugar Queen. But then I read this new book, which was a sequel to Garden Spells. It was...fine, but it did change my view of her work as a whole. It alone out of all of her books does not make the reread list. I found it dull and wanted to quit 60 pages in.
There was one particularly dissatisfying plot line that had a strange ending that my concrete brain twisted to figure out how THAT was going to work. Anyway. This is a not recommend. Or, it is a: This author decided to make this early book into a series of sorts. If you loved the first book, you will likely want to know what happens next to the characters. But as the second movie is never as good as the first, so is this book. Not nearly as good as the first or as good as any of her other work to date.
A different flavor of rereading is when I forget a lot about the book. Like the old saying, I might not remember what exactly the book said, but I will remember the way it made me feel. Then! It is like an almost new story that I am guaranteed to like.
I recently read Sarah Addison Allen's new book, First Frost. I have always liked Allen's work. The language is the major pull and I have always had a soft spot for magical realism. I do, however, feel unsettled at how much gendered violence is in her novels. I keep in mind that her audience women and unfortunately, this is a part of our collective experience. It isn't graphic or gratuitous. A lot of authors use violence as a plot catalyst and I know I have a hypersensitivity towards it. Anyway, not what I was trying to say.
What I was trying to say is this: I love Allen's work. I love the language and how it is so quintessentially Southern. Poetic Southern Simile. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and she said, "I worked two jobs. Not that it could make ends meet, but at least they could wave at each other." Like that. "Coffee so sweet it could kiss you back." Lovely.
My book buying philosophy is this: Books are like dresses. To ensure a perfect fit, one should try it on before buying. So I only buy books that I love so much, I want to reread them again and again. The rest I allow my public library to house for me. I was thinking that I would like to own a few of Allen's books. I think I have read everything she has written to date. I am particularly fond of The Sugar Queen. But then I read this new book, which was a sequel to Garden Spells. It was...fine, but it did change my view of her work as a whole. It alone out of all of her books does not make the reread list. I found it dull and wanted to quit 60 pages in.
There was one particularly dissatisfying plot line that had a strange ending that my concrete brain twisted to figure out how THAT was going to work. Anyway. This is a not recommend. Or, it is a: This author decided to make this early book into a series of sorts. If you loved the first book, you will likely want to know what happens next to the characters. But as the second movie is never as good as the first, so is this book. Not nearly as good as the first or as good as any of her other work to date.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Happy Golden Years
My teenager is not really a recluse. Sure, he spends hours upon hours holed up in his room, texting his friends or engaging in sleeping marathons. While the younger siblings basically worship the ground he walks upon, he rarely has patience for his brothers. He loves his little sister just so long as their interactions last less than five minutes. But when he and I are alone, he will not let me be. It is like he is three again with the demanding of attention.
Listen to this song I made.
Read this joke I found online.
Let me tell you the plot to this anime I have been watching.
Here is what insane thing happened at school today.
Today, he came into my room and laid on my bed and chatted with me. I will say, a lot of the time, he doesn't want me to actually answer him. He wants to talk AT me. The communication is very one way. I think perhaps I should be grateful he wants to talk to me and let me know what is going on with him. He jokes with me a lot. But he isn't such a fabulous listener.
I was a weird teenager who nearly never fought with my parents and spent most of my free time in church being as well behaved as I could fathom. I liked to spend time with my parents. Back then, I was still in the same role as listener. My parent's talked; I listened. Of course, my parents and I never argued on the level that Brother and I argue. Maybe that is just the way it is. We have had a contentious relationship since he was about 5 or 6. We both have strong personalities and a stubborn streak. I was telling my folks the other day that there is no way any of the other kids will be this rough as teenagers. I got looks of pity. But a girl can hope, right?
Right.
Listen to this song I made.
Read this joke I found online.
Let me tell you the plot to this anime I have been watching.
Here is what insane thing happened at school today.
Today, he came into my room and laid on my bed and chatted with me. I will say, a lot of the time, he doesn't want me to actually answer him. He wants to talk AT me. The communication is very one way. I think perhaps I should be grateful he wants to talk to me and let me know what is going on with him. He jokes with me a lot. But he isn't such a fabulous listener.
I was a weird teenager who nearly never fought with my parents and spent most of my free time in church being as well behaved as I could fathom. I liked to spend time with my parents. Back then, I was still in the same role as listener. My parent's talked; I listened. Of course, my parents and I never argued on the level that Brother and I argue. Maybe that is just the way it is. We have had a contentious relationship since he was about 5 or 6. We both have strong personalities and a stubborn streak. I was telling my folks the other day that there is no way any of the other kids will be this rough as teenagers. I got looks of pity. But a girl can hope, right?
Right.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Mental Stimulation
Well then! I guess I am starting on part two of our story, as it has been nearly two years since I have posted here. Goodness, what has happened in two years?
I signed up for an online class to take and thank goodness it is free. I am excited about it and all, but am being foiled every time I try to watch a lecture or read an article. I thought maybe I could start blogging again for some mental stimulation. The main reason for which is that Honey said he always liked reading it. Well. I guess I could try again. After all, I am in desperate need of something thinky to do. I do read all the time, but when I have a good book the dishes REALLY suffer. So.
I am looking forward to going back to work and also pretty damn scared. What if I can't do it? What if I am so cooked at the end of the day, I can barely take care of the kids? I am hoping that I got rid of the tasks that were eating my brain and that my new tasks will be energizing rather than soul sucking. Some days I feel like I am wilting here at home. I want to make the most of the time I have left. It will be over before I know it. And while I am sure I will miss parts of it, I don't ever plan on doing it again barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Everything will likely work out just fine. It always does, right? Here's hoping!
- I survived another year of public librarianship...and then quit!
- Because we decided to have another baby (FOUR KIDS!)
- It was a girl. She will be one in two months.
- She will be the last baby because STEPS were taken.
- When she was 3 months old, I was offered another library job in the same system.
- I decided to accept it with the caveat that I wouldn't start until 2016.
- Libraries are awesome.
- My house has stayed pretty messy with the exception of a few months in my third trimester where it was just me and Scooter at home.
- Then I basically lost interest. It was probably just nesting. Having time to keep a house clean does not equate to actual desire to clean the house. And I would maybe argue a bit with the 'time' thing. I don't feel like I have time. But I do sit on my tush a lot...
- I am still undesirably chunky. I would like to complain and bemoan this fact! Alas, I cannot find an appropriate forum for sympathy. Or support. Or whatever. I don't know what I want other than to not be me.
I signed up for an online class to take and thank goodness it is free. I am excited about it and all, but am being foiled every time I try to watch a lecture or read an article. I thought maybe I could start blogging again for some mental stimulation. The main reason for which is that Honey said he always liked reading it. Well. I guess I could try again. After all, I am in desperate need of something thinky to do. I do read all the time, but when I have a good book the dishes REALLY suffer. So.
I am looking forward to going back to work and also pretty damn scared. What if I can't do it? What if I am so cooked at the end of the day, I can barely take care of the kids? I am hoping that I got rid of the tasks that were eating my brain and that my new tasks will be energizing rather than soul sucking. Some days I feel like I am wilting here at home. I want to make the most of the time I have left. It will be over before I know it. And while I am sure I will miss parts of it, I don't ever plan on doing it again barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Everything will likely work out just fine. It always does, right? Here's hoping!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)