So it is Friday. I really, truly believed it to be Thursday. Don't know why. Somehow in the summer the days start merging--in spite of the fact that Tuesday and Thursday have standing afternoon appointments in June and we'd clearly taken care of it the day before.
I will continue my story about my husband's arrival home. Just not now. I need to enjoy the pending weekend. Have a great one everyone!
So it's been a bit of a long week. Not bad, really. Just kinda packed in spite of staying home most of the time. Crazy is a good word for it. I believe I'll expound for a while:
THE WEEKEND
Father's Day was nice. My mom is of a school of thought that gives space to people...we're a close, close family, and I think allowing space is one reason why that is. Anyhow, she was all about just letting my hubby and I hang with our kids for Father's Day and then getting together another time (we're really good at celebrating things on the wrong day in our family). But, my husband loves--I mean LOVES--my family and really wanted them to come, so when I saw his crushed expression, I told him to call and talk to them. They came. (They LOVE him back...indeed, they swear they keep me because I married him...huh...) So w grilled out, chilled out and hung out. Just a nice visit on a lovely day. Until 10pm. Right before my parents (and brother) left, things got interesting.
To backtrack a little, this last paycheck was what I'd called really tight. And I'm doing the post-partum hair-shedding thing like crazy. My mind has been made up for over a month that a good short haircut would at limit the quantity of hair falling from my head. Friday was to be the big day since my husband had a day off. But, alas, the check didn't allow for it and my spirits were crushed...until it occurred to me that my mom cut my hair about, say, 20 years ago and it wasn't that awful. (Really, 8th grade was 20 years ago...ouch!) Besides, she's known to trim my dad's hair on desperate occasions and it never seems bad. So, I roped her in at 10pm. Outside. Under a spot light. Chin-length became barely-below-the-ear-lobes-length. But really, that wasn't the end of the world. Just less hair to shed; I'm pretty flexible.
I did trim it up some after a good hair washing and seeing what was slightly off. She handled the length, I did the fine-tune trimming. And on Tuesday someone said they liked it. I'd frankly been very nervous since it seemed a bit sharp on my features, but hey, I look like I'm 18 again, so it's kinda funny. I'll post a picture once I get them pictures transferred to my computer (I'm such a total slacker...).
MIDWEEK
Tuesday night, I managed to get to bed around 1am or a few minutes after. Oh, I guess that's really Wednesday way-early morning. Baby J woke me around 2:45am and again around 5am. We've had some long (actually, short seems a better decription!) nights recently, can you tell? However, the clincher came at 6am. Little B came running down the hall calling out, "I'm going to throw up I'm going to throw up!!!" I wanted to crawl back into bed and STAY there. I was in for a long day (definitely not seeing it as short!). I did doze while he hung around the commode as my husband got ready for work, overseeing any major needs that might arise.
But, before 7, I was facing reality and had Little B set up on the couch with a pot for puke. It seems every time he got up, he threw up. Not much each time (face it, puking is a TMI topic), and his tummy seemed mostly empty (thank goodness!) but still, I was dreading it. Somewhere in the last few years, I lost my ability to cope with vomit. I am such a chicken.
I decided this was a pj day and I didn't get dressed except to apply deodorant and make sure I had on presentable pj's since the little boy across the street was bringing over a coke to help settle Little B's tummy (we drink Dr. Pepper and that is not the same for an upset stomach). Thankfully, he felt better by afternoon and was running around and even had a huge dinner (he was starving since he'd only been allowed small amounts of food all day). By the time his energy picked up, I made HIM get dressed (something about the fact his pj's are underpants and an undershirt during warm weather...).
Miss C played in her (recently rearranged) room very quietly and happily most of the day. She'd wander out for some "tee" as she calls T.V. since sick days allow it to be on much more than usual. But then she'd vanish to her room and play some more. Me? I read almost an entire book around the puking, the dishes, one load of laundry and nursing a baby who was more content than usual. I wonder what it says that the day was so tame while Little B was sick? Hmm... Of course, by the end of the day, he was a busy boy since he felt well and I was busy with dinner prep, but still.
Then my husband came home. . .
(...to be continued...)
First, I was reading The Big Trade-Off (Karen not only has an uncanny parrallel to my life in a few ways, she has a most enviable knack for fabulous sewing projects, something I can only dream of since my limited abilities are further limited by the fact my sewing machine is currently in a non-kid-friendly spot--though I do aspire to get better). Oh, she blogs more than I do, too
In my clicking around (okay, I was reading this specific post) I found my way from Karen's blog to The Handmade Dress. Breathtaking awe is about the only thought I had. I found myself enjoying her pictures and reading some posts and looking around at her various pursuits. On her Tutorial she had a basic self-made video of how to crochet. And at last it clicked for me. I've wanted to learn for a long time. I felt I could conquer anything (well...maybe I'm exaggerating just a tiny bit).
So, my next stop was in real life--I found this book at my local library, after perusing a few different ones. She made it so simple. Far from perfect, still figuring out the concept of a "turning chain", this was my sample swatch of the different stitches.
Still not perfect, but definitely beginning to grasp the whole idea, this is my first official project. A scarf for Miss C:
You know those really large Pyrex type dishes...the kind you can put a whole roaster chicken in to cook or serve? Square but deep. With a lid. The lid is also square and deep. And thick. Well, I was rearraning my cabinet space yesterday where all such dishes live. That large, thick, deep lid crashed to the floor...I kid you not, it sounded like a gunshot in my kitchen. See the largest dish on the bottom of that stack? I'm thinking the lid belonged to that, otherwise it was similar in size. I can't see the lid anymore to verify. I'll have to see which one is missing. And yes, the door to the cabinet was open at the time of crashing, so my next task is to remove all the items on that side and wipe it clean as well as rinse/wash the dishes so no one eats fine grains of sand-like glass. I wiped my hand on the bottom of the cabinet and came away with grit all over. Prickly grit. Nice, huh?
All I can say is that if I had not swept and mopped already this week, you would not be seeing pictures of this. And that brown thing is a valentine from Little B to Miss C that fell from some cluttered spot versus being tucked away in her special drawer for little momentos. (I only remopped the area that had the casualty, since I was pretty sure I got it all.)My husband's sister had a baby last week . . . ten weeks early, thanks to Preeclampsia (ie, Toxemia). The typical baby arriving at 30 weeks and 1 day should weigh in around 3 lbs. This sweet girl was 2 lbs 2 oz.
The good news is that the worst seems to be over--she is now being fed 2 cc of breastmilk every three hours, has a fighting personality and appears to be a happy girl from all accounts (her daddy calms her down, her mommy gets her excited, much like their personalities!).
The next two months will be long for my sister-in-law and her husband, and somewhat long for the rest of the family as we bide the time with them; they expect her to be in NICU until close to her due date (which was Aug 11).
My children are so excited to have a "real" cousin...we have distant cousins and "chosen" cousins, but now they have a cousin of their own and my husband is beyond thrilled to be an uncle. I know I'm an aunt, but I suppose it will hit home a bit more when it's my brother who has a baby (this is a man who doesn't even have remotely possible prospect...my hopes are slim for a while yet!).
Welcome little one.
My bed is kinda my own for now...Baby J is in his crib, "side-car" to the bed, and some nights we get an early morning visitor for a few hours, but none of that really bothers me in the least.
The thing is, Miss C goes to bed better than she ever has in her life. She earned her baby bear. Bear, you ask? Yes, she saw an older Furreal baby bear at a nearby consignment shop for less than half the cost of that duck, and I was happy to let her switch her allegiances. Indeed, I bought it while she was out of site so it would not be gone once she filled out her chart (which only took one week--she never skipped a single night!).
Of course, the day she got her bear, which she lovingly takes everwhere, she told me she'd be sleeping in my bed again (I was ready to put the duck back on the chart and try again if necessary). I very simply said, "Oh, you sleep in your bed now" while she looked at me like someone was trying to trick her. So I continued, "Besides, your baby bear wants to sleep in your bed with you." Okay then, it's never been discussed again. Amazing. If she feels the need to join us around 4am or so, she just makes her way to our room without calling out or crying. So easy...(Little B, however, still calls for us if he needs anything in the night.)
So, at bedtime, Miss C is hittin' the hay when Little B is. You must understand that it has been difficult for a LONG time to get her to go to bed, especially after an unsolicited nap. Now, she likes calling across the hall to her brother, "Good night; don't let the bed bugs bite!" She gets ready fast and easy; she's empowered by being a big girl. I'm empowered by the simplicity that is so new at bedtime.
(Now, to make our days that simple.)
