Experiences

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Day in the Life

May 3, 2011 in Experiences, Homemaking | 8 comments

It’s time for another exciting installment of Day in the Life of Amy. It was a crazy, hectic, great day, full of surprises, and, in most ways, totally normal.

Woke up half hour late
Got dressed (no chance for shower), got Sam dressed, got Sam breakfast
Made and drank coffee – made some for Adam too because next I had to…
Put coffee maker in car to return to Bed, Bath and Beyond (this is our second Keurig that is defective) – the damn thing leaked water all over my floors and all over me – cleaned it up
Left to take Sam to school at 8:45am
Realized that I left my phone at home – ironic, given how much I ended up using it later, and also, that I thought my day was frantic now
When dropping Sammy off, confirmed the time for Mother’s Day Tea school event on Friday
Exchanged coffee maker at BBB and bought spoons (I think Sam has been throwing spoons in the trash can)
Stopped off at home to pick up phone (can’t live without my Droid)
McDonalds for breakfast because it is fast and right next to my hair salon
Got my hair done from 10-11:15
While sitting under the dryer, read this article, Is This A Great Country or What?, which ended up partially inspiring this Day in the Life post by making me think about technology and Target and freeways and how much I was able to do thanks to all of that great stuff people have created
Phone message from car dealership (On Sunday, I put in 5 requests for quotes from local dealerships and they haven’t stopped calling since)
Quick stop at supermarket for milk, tissue, sugar, salmon (we seriously could not wait one more day for more tissue)
Home to put groceries away – left phone in the car since I would only be inside for a few minutes
Let the dog out – still really loving my new deck with stairs so I can let him out and go do other things until he knocks on the door to come back in (he bangs the glass door with his claws – cute!)
5 minutes until I have to leave to pick up Sam so I sit at my computer and see a phone message from Adam from just a moment ago (Google Voice is awesome – it transcribes messages and puts them in my email where I notice them before I would ever check the phone)
Went to the car and got my phone and called Adam back – he rode his new motorcycle to the mall to register it and it wouldn’t start back up again – he might need me to pick him up but I need to hold tight until he figures out what he’ll do next – luckily the mall is near Sam’s school
Left to pick up Sam from school
Call from car dealership on the way to school – good price, do they have the color we want? They’ll get back to me
On the way to school, called friend P. to see if she found a sitter for tomorrow night so we could go and see the Atlas Shrugged movie – she said she couldn’t find one so I need to try to find one
In line to pick up Sam from school, called babysitter and left message
Right when Sam walks up to the car and I need to help her get in, got call from Adam – he is just waiting for a tow and do Sam and I want to bring him some lunch and we can picnic outside on the grass near the bike? Nice idea, but can’t do it today
Off on to the next set of errands – on the way to get gas, got call back from babysitter: yes, she can do it, so now I have to get her the address of P.’s house and time she should come which I’m not sure about yet
Got gas (yikes, those prices!)
While pumping, got call from friend A. which I ignored for the moment due to complete overwhelmption (nice word, huh?)
Burger King for lunch, at Sam’s request – it was near Target, our next stop
At the Burger King indoor playground, I met a mother with twin girls – she was told they would be a boy and girl at 15 weeks but only found out they were two girls when they were delivered, despite the fact that she had an ultrasound once a week throughout the last half of her pregnancy! They never figured it out because the babies were just too squished up in there to see! Holy shit! My only consolation is that all of that happened in Japan, where I’m going to assume they have their heads up their asses to retain my sanity. (Her husband was stationed there but they were evacuated because of the nuclear plant.) All in all, an interesting lunch.
On the 100 yard drive from Burger King to Target, got the call from Adam that I’d need to pick him up from the mechanic where they were towing the bike in about an hour – actually, I think it took 3 phone calls because he had to call me back once and because I had to pull the car over and get out of the car to hear him because Sam had decided to throw a tantrum because I locked the car doors – she said, “You locked me in!!!!!!!!” even though she is strapped down to that car seat with a gazillion buckles and belts – interesting, how a four-year-old mind works
Enjoyable trip to Target for a sleeping bag for Sam, which she needed by tomorrow if our Atlas movie plans work out – picked up new leotard and tights for Sam as long as we were there – that girl is growing!
On the way out, Sam says, “I’m hungry” even though we finished lunch less than 15 minutes earlier – I guess she really is growing – bought her a bag of chips – some days are just junk food days
In the car, called Adam to let him know we were on the way
Drove 11 miles to pick up Adam at the mechanic – luckily, no traffic, or this could have been an hour long event
Sam napped in car
Once we got to the mechanic, had to wait for Adam, so I napped in car
Came home with Adam and found that I had left the dog outside for over 3 hours – since I had left to pick up Sam from school – ooops, sorry to my neighbors for what I’m sure was a lot of barking
It’s now 3pm and I remembered that phone call from friend A. and checked – she had left me a message about meeting at the park with the kids at 3:30 – and on this beautiful day, with Sam having already napped, that was a definite GO
While packing up gear for the park, heard the jingle of the ice cream truck – he usually comes at 8:30pm when kids should be in bed and I had promised Sam that if he came at a decent hour we would get ice cream – so we got ice cream!
While eating ice cream on the front porch, called friend P. to decide on logistics for movie and dinner tomorrow – she told me I should check with her husband, C. because he thinks we need to get to the theater early
Noticed that I had Burger King on my white shirt – went inside to change while Sam finished up her Bubble Gum Popsicle (when will she learn that the blue one is not always the yummiest one?)
On the way to the park, called friend A. to let her know we were coming and received two calls from car dealerships which I didn’t answer
On the way to the park, called C. and decided on logistics for dinner and movie
At the park, learned that friend A. has recently begun to consider homeschooling – we had a lot to talk about!
Many bumps and bruises at the park today, for some reason – maybe the kids were having a frantic day, too
On the way home from the park, called babysitter but she couldn’t take the info because she was driving so I had to call later
Home at 5pm – set Sam up in front of the iPad so I could use my computer for a few minutes without distraction – hadn’t sat at it all day, with the exception of that one quick check when I got the message from Adam about his motorcycle – thank god for the Droid, which kept me connected all that time
Wrote up most of this Day in the Life
Called babysitter and left a message
Went online to buy the tickets for Atlas and found out that I had the movie time wrong, but I figured a way to work it out and bought tickets anyway – but now I needed the babysitter at a different time
Called babysitter again and got her the correct time and location – finally!
Sent email to friends and Adam confirming plans for movie tomorrow
Spaced out in front of Facebook and email for 15 minutes
Took care of the one other thing on my calendar for the day – a minor financial transaction
Cooked dinner – it was relaxing, even though I had to work around a sink full of dirty dishes since I had never unloaded the washer from last night (and yes, there was a sink full of dirty dishes even though we ate fast food for breakfast and lunch because I was still catching up with the dishes from the weekend!)
Ate dinner – unfortunately, one of my failed experiments (salmon with grapes – yuck)
Put Sam to bed – she read 3 pages of one of her Little Bear Early Reader books to me – one of the highlights of my day
Unpacked and checked out the sleeping bag – it will work for tomorrow
Took tags off new leotard and tights and put them in the laundry basket
Adam set up the new coffee maker and did the dishes and brought all the clean laundry up from the basement, leaving me time to finish this blog post before I head off to watch last week’s episode of Survivor and maybe read an interview or two in 100 Voices before I go to sleep
Really, really good day. Really, really tired.

Other Things

January 14, 2011 in Experiences, Homemaking, Parenting, Pets, Travel | 2 comments

So, besides all of this donor egg stuff, there have been lots of other things going on in my life over the past two weeks or so. Let’s see if I can summarize:

I booked our hotels for Rome and Florence in April. WE ARE GOING TO ITALY! I can hardly believe it, I’m so excited. I hope to write another update about my planning soon.
We’ve turned our cat into an indoor/outdoor cat. I have a great story about how he fell into the drainage sewer.
My dishwasher broke again a couple of weeks ago, and we just got it repaired yesterday. We definitely got a lemon when we bought it a year ago, but it’s pretty much been rebuilt now. Going a few weeks without a dishwasher over the past few months really makes me appreciate technology. What an amazing, wonderful world we live in!
Our six-month-old coffee maker hadn’t been working right for months and I finally got around to calling Bed, Bath, and Beyond about it. It was still under warranty, but they exchanged it with no questions asked. I figured I’d have to send it to the manufacturer myself or something. That was a wonderful surprise.
Adam has grown a beard. He had one when I met him, but I asked him to shave it off. He looks good in a beard, but I’m not a big fan of them, generally. However, I kind of like it this time around. Change can be kind of sexy.
We paid off our second mortgage and refinanced our house. We actually started off with three loans because Adam’s parents lent us the money for the down payment. But after paying off two of the loans and the refinance, our monthly payment is reduced by just around $1000. We have an extra grand every month. Wow!
I signed up for a creative writing class at the local community college which starts next week.
We completed our 2010 Adventure Box. 2010 was not a great year for us. I guess the best part was that Adam got tenure. OCON was also a big highlight.
When we took down the Christmas decorations, Sam was so disappointed (and so were Adam and I!) that we decided that we’re going to start a new tradition of putting up snowmen decorations for the rest of the winter after Christmas. January and February are really the most drab months of the year, and the Christmas let-down doesn’t help. Let’s keep the cheer going until spring, when nature will provide the delight.
We saw a nice performance of The Nutcracker (but it wasn’t a ballet – more like a fancy puppet show with singing and dancing). Sam seems to really love live performances.
Speaking of live performances, we’ll be seeing Mary Poppins during our trip to Manhattan in a couple of weeks. It will be only my second Broadway show, and Sam’s first. I’m really looking forward to it.
We tried to take Sam to an elaborate ice-sculpture exhibit (so elaborate that they charged $25 each for tickets!) but she got so scared she wouldn’t go in. I know another mother who physically forced her sobbing, scared three-year-old to go in and I got all judgmental about what a bad mother she was, but then I realized that she has more than one child, and that makes things not quite so clear-cut. The other child might have missed out if they hadn’t all gone in. Maybe I’ll have to deal with those issues someday.
My slacker-mom tendencies have resulted in Sam getting a staph infection on her bottom. And I had to suffer the embarrassment of the doctor telling us we should bathe her more often. Okay, so I wasn’t really embarrassed. I actually found the whole thing quite funny, except for the infection part.
Adam and I had a nice adult night out at a party just after Christmas.
I sent my spit into a company who will analyze my DNA. I’ll get the results in a couple of months. Fun!

That’s all I can think of for now. It’s been a very busy time, but mostly good. I have high hopes for 2011.

Thanks

November 25, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

My computer seems to have healed itself. I hope we’re not headed towards Skynet, but I’ll take what I can get right now.

The cat peed in the litterbox and the dog has not thrown up yet.

Sam has a ruptured ear drum. She’s on the meds now and she will heal herself, but she was in a lot of pain last night and I had to sleep in her bed which means that I’m stiff and sore and getting by on very little sleep. Still, it was worth it when I woke up to dim daylight, opened my eyes, and found her watching me with a sweet, loving smile on her face. Then she touched my nose with the tip of her index finger and said “boop” just like I might have done to her. It was just about the sweetest thing she’s ever done.

So I have some Little Things, even today, to be thankful for, along with many Big Things like my family (and the potential for enlarging it), my good, good friends, my Best Job In The World, my travel plans, and much more. And you know, writing it out like that actually makes me feel the emotion – not so much of gratitude, but of appreciation. Thanks, Thanksgiving, you came just in time this year.

No Such Luck

November 22, 2010 in Experiences | 4 comments

Well, since I wrote the last blog post this afternoon, I’ve found out that we still don’t have reliable internet access (and now Adam’s computer is not working properly either), the dog has started chuffing like he’s going to puke again, and the cat has not yet used the litterbox. Oh yeah, and our brand new microwave, which has been replaced once, repaired once, and jury-rigged once, is making funny noises again. Oh yeah, and Adam and Sam are sick. I don’t know what is wrong with this house but I feel like we’re cursed. Well, I was stress-free for a few hours. Anyway, the point of this post is that I might not be able to blog much until I get the computer problems resolved.

Wedding Weekend

November 22, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

Whew! We just got back from our whirlwind trip to Atlanta where we attended a wedding (congrats, C&T!). I don’t even need to write about it because Jenn (happy birthday, Jenn!) covered a lot of what we did on her blog – go check it out! I have to add, though, that the dancing was so freaking awesome. I hadn’t danced like that in years. I’m so happy that my pain was under control that night and didn’t interfere with my fun one bit. As Jenn says, Adam and I were crazy on the dance floor. Those Atlanta folks probably think we’re party animals now and I think I’ll let them just keep thinking that.

We totally wore Sammy out. She just refused to go to sleep at Jenn’s house and Adam had to make the 1-2am trip to pick her up. He’s my hero – thank god he didn’t drink anywhere near as much as I did! But Sam is still catching up on her rest. I didn’t really plan on any naps for her and I think we pushed her way too hard the whole time. I feel kind of bad about it – the poor kid. She slept the whole way home on the plane and then went to bed without dinner as soon as we got home at 7:30 last night and then slept until 9am this morning. I let her be late to school – sleep was more important. Especially after the two massive tantrums she threw while we were in Atlanta. This was not the first time that hotel security was called on us, but I hope it was the last. I don’t know what people expect you to do – muzzle the child? The security guy suggested ice cream. First of all, I’m not giving my child who is spitting and hitting and biting a reward for that behavior, and second, I really don’t think it would work. She’d probably throw it in my face.

On the other hand, I’m feeling rested and wonderful. When we left on Friday, I had two broken computers, both animals were sick and puking and peeing all over the house, the coffee maker was broken, Verizon had just flaked out about moving a fiber-optic line (that they mistakenly ran through my drainage pipe!), and I was in a lot of pain and totally stressed out. I think I got the computer problems resolved this morning (new router and new antivirus software), the carpet dried out while we were gone (man, it really is nice to be able to clean those FLOR carpet squares in the sink!), the animals seem to have recovered (we’re putting the cat on Prozac – seriously), and my pain is much lowered (I got something of a diagnosis last week which I’ll write about soon). I still have a broken coffee maker and I have to call Verizon again, but it all doesn’t seem so overwhelming anymore. I guess I really needed a break. I’m determined to go forward and avoid the build up of stress. Luckily, Thanksgiving is going to be really mellow and we have no travel plans for Christmas, so the only real big thing for me to stress over is the donor egg project. Think I can remain calm? We’ll see.

A Weekend with Friends

November 15, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

There was no Family Movie Night again this weekend due to way too much fun with friends!

On Saturday we went to the National Gallery with our Objectivist discussion group and enjoyed some art using Luc Travers’ method. I promise to write much more about that soon, but there is too much to say in a quick update. Suffice it to say that a whole new world of art has been opened up for me.

After that we hung out with friends and had a campfire and ate chili and drank beer and bitched about home repairs, old farts who get in your way at Home Depot, environmentalists, and the state of the Objectivist culture. I hope you all have friends like that.

Sunday Sam slept in and the animals kept their mouths shut so we all actually got a decent night’s sleep. We puttered around all day in little chores mostly related to our brand new deck and patio, which were completed late last week. I’ll post photos soon.

Then Sunday night we had dinner with some new friends. We ate spaghetti, drank Chianti, and talked about Italy, amongst other things. Sam amused herself the whole evening by playing with their pets – two dogs and a cat. Once you have children it becomes difficult to have friends who don’t, but pets help.

Next weekend we’re taking a quick trip to Atlanta for a wedding and we’ll get to see many of our distant friends.

I’m finally satisfied with my friends in life. I don’t really mean my particular friends, but my way of dealing with friendships in general. There will always be new friends, and old ones will fade away, but I finally seem to be able to make and nurture the relationships that matter the most to me. I know what I want from friends and I seek it out. I have goals for friendships and I don’t just accept the people who fall into my life. One important goal has been to find local friends. I started my Objectivist discussion group in large part for that purpose, and it’s been a huge success for me. That is a big achievement, and I’m proud of it.

Weekend Update

October 31, 2010 in Experiences | 3 comments

There was no Family Movie Night this weekend because it was jam packed with other fun stuff: school field trip to a pumpkin patch on Friday, then a two-and-a-half hour nap, dinner and bonfire at friends’ house Friday night, Objectivist discussion group Saturday morning, another nap, Halloween party Saturday night, sleeping in late this morning, and of course, the grand finale: Trick-or-Treating tonight!

After a year of talking about how she would be either a witch, a ghost, or a monster for Halloween this year, Sammy saw the princess costume at the store and there was no turning back. I can’t really blame her – the dress lights up and everything! After she decided to be a princess, she insisted that Adam be a prince, which I thought was just about the sweetest thing ever until tonight, when she kept yelling at Adam, “I turned you into a frog!” Well, it’s still pretty sweet.

I decided to stick with scary and go with the witch. I intended to do the whole green face paint thing but my nose was raw from the sneezy allergies of October, so I had to count on whatever ugliness I have naturally.

I think the last time I really dressed up for Halloween was about 10 years ago when Adam was in law school. (He dressed as a judge, and I as a prisoner. Ha ha.) We’ve enjoyed handing out candy and oooing and ahhing at the kids’ costumes since then, and Sam has Trick-or-Treated the past 2 years, but I think we’re entering a new era of big-time Halloween revelry that I hope will last at least another decade.

There’s candy stuck between my teeth and The Monster Mash stuck in my head. It doesn’t get much better than that.

We’ve Been Booed!

October 18, 2010 in Experiences | 2 comments

I’m not a big fan of the chain letter, but this one is fun. We got BOOed last night! We got a plate of candies and fun Halloween goodies along with a cute poem chain letter.

We have 24 hours to come up with treats for two of our neighbors. This is the kind of thing Adam loves to participate in, so he’s going to buy some stuff and Sam and I might decorate a couple of our mini-pumpkins this afternoon. I doubt that we’ll match the beautiful presentation that we received (I wish I had taken a photo before we dived into the candy), but it will be fun trying.

I’m 100% in favor of extending Halloween out a bit, just like Christmas, and this is such a benevolent way to do it. If you haven’t seen this trend in your neighborhood yet and want to start it, consider this a virtual BOO!

A Little Justice

September 17, 2010 in Experiences | 1 comment

I forgot to mention three other things that sucked about my day yesterday:

I had to get totally naked and be measured by that plastic surgeon. That was humiliating enough to mar my entire day, right there.
The cat decided that the corner of our powder room was his new litterbox, which means we have a lot of stressful days ahead of us. If you’ve ever had a cat, you know that this situation can easily end with the need to buy new flooring, and maybe even a new cat.
While I was letting the bleach sit and soak on the bathroom floor, Sam got diarrhea, and so we had to keep running upstairs for her to use the bathroom and there was a lot of cleaning up. Oh my god, did I really do that five times a day for months when she refused to use the potty? I guess I did.

All of that, plus the other stuff, on a day when I had the worst pain in well over a year.

Today is shaping up to be much better. Most notably, my good friend A. reminded me that I should make a point to mention the nice Chick-Fil-A employee to his manager. That kind of positive justice is something I try to remember to do, but it didn’t even occur to me after that horrible day. So today, after Sam’s long-awaited session in the indoor playground, I did exactly that. Thanks, A! And thanks everyone else, for the positive thoughts.

Summer Fun

August 16, 2010 in Experiences, Homeschooling | No comments

I can’t believe how busy I’ve been this summer! I’m having trouble unloading the dishwasher and getting the laundry from the washer to the dryer, and the whole house is covered in dog hair and apple juice. (Thank god the maids are coming for their monthly visit on Wednesday.) I think this means that I’m having fun!

My Big Project for the summer was supposed to be getting a new deck installed. It took me about 3 months just to get 3 quotes, and I did a terrible job because each time I finally got someone out here, I asked for something different, so I can’t even compare the bids. It worked out pretty well, though, because as soon as my parents arrived in town, I asked them for advice on the project and now I know exactly what I want. But now I need to start over with the bids. If we get it completed by winter, I’ll be happy.

Adam has been busy painting parts of the house and installing new light switches. I don’t know where he is finding the time, but he’s doing a better job than I am at keeping up with everything.

Sam and I have done no Montessori work at all this month, since my parents arrived in town for the month of August. It seems that every moment we’re not visiting with them is spent doing errands or other life-maintenance activities. Or, if we are at home and looking for something to do, all we have the energy for is watching TV. Mostly we just hang out with my parents, but we’ve gone to the US Geological Society, the Washington National Cathedral, and the county fair. (We might have done more than that but it’s all a blur.) We still haven’t made it to the water park or the aquarium. One month is just not enough time!

Sam has “slept over” at my parents’ motorhome twice since they arrived, so Adam and I have had a couple of great date nights. First, we went to Wolf Trap (the local outdoor concert venue) to see Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, which was mostly for Adam, but which I also enjoyed. Then the next week we saw Hal Sparks‘ stand up act at a small theater. He was hilarious, and it was a great night.

So, this summer is turning into one long vacation. It’s actually been really nice to have Sam at home with me all day, instead of in school. I was so worried that we’d run out of things to do, but the opposite has been true. We can’t seem to fit it all in.

In a few weeks, Sam will turn 4 and then she’ll go back to school. I’ll have a lot more time for the exciting projects I planned at OCON, blogging, and maybe even fiction-writing. Hopefully I’ll be able to make the transition back to that mindset – you know, the one where you actually work on long-range projects.

How did I end up back on the academic calendar? I swear, once we’re done with Montessori we’re going to homeschool year round so we can even out the fun and the work just a bit. Even though work is fun and fun is work, I like each day to have a little of each.

Visit from the Parental Units

August 4, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

My parents arrived in town on Sunday for their month-long visit. Hooray! As I’ve written before, they live on the road in their RV, so when they come to visit it means that they stay at an RV park nearby and we can visit a lot without having house guests the whole time. Nice deal, huh?

We don’t have a lot of formal plans but they’ve already started helping me out on my current home-improvement project of replacing our rotted deck and landscaping the back yard. Right now, I refuse to go out on the deck or in the backyard if I can help it. It’s that gross. When we get the project done, we’ll have a great deal more living space in (outside of) our tiny townhouse. I started working on this project in April or May but then I got stuck. Now I’m in the groove again and we have a good plan, so I’m hoping to get it done by the end of September. I’m really excited!

My parents are also going to have Sammy sleep over at the RV at least once so Adam and I can have some time to ourselves. Yay for grandparents! On Friday night, Sam will stay with them and Adam and I will go to a concert at the local outdoor venue, Wolf Trap.

Besides that, we’ll all probably do some typical stuff like going to the carnival, the aquarium, the water park, etc. But mostly, we’re just going to hang out with them.

The visit will culminate with Sammy’s 4th birthday, on September 2. My mom is very excited to be here for her birthday – the first time since Sam’s first birthday. I’ve delegated all birthday party responsibilities to Adam and he’s planned a party at JW Tumbles, which is like an indoor playground and gym for little kids. Sam recently took a class there and loved it. I have a whole post to write about that experience, but I’ll have to save it for another time.

A Tiny Whirlwind

July 26, 2010 in Experiences, Parenting | No comments

Wowza, I had a busy and fun weekend full of social events. We attended a barbecue on Saturday, had friends over on Sunday and then went to the water park, and Sam and I spent all day today swimming with old friends from Michigan who were in town.

A few highlights:

Our friends’ 20 month old child – that’s just over a year and a half old – has hands and feet larger than Sammy’s. Sammy will be 4 in just over a month! She’s tiny.
A few hours after we arrived, the water park closed in anticipation of a thunderstorm, which we knew might happen. What we didn’t know was that this was a tree-crasher, power-knocker-outer kind of storm. As the hundreds of swimmers were filtering out of the water park, the wind started up and caused a dust storm in the unpaved parking lot. We had four little girls who all just froze in their tracks in the middle of the parking lot and screamed, and I couldn’t blame them. Somehow, we herded them all into the cars without anyone getting blinded. But by the time we got home and made hot chocolate, the girls all seemed to think it was kind of fun, and I couldn’t blame them for that, either. I do love thunderstorms.
Sam had a breakthrough swimming day today. She’s had quite a bit of swimming this year but no lessons yet, and we’re still trying to get her to put her face in the water or go under. Today we hung out with two boys, 3 and 6 years old, and I think it helped her to spend so much time with them. She draped her arms over the Styrofoam “noodle” and let me pull her around on it while she kicked her feet, and she sat on the edge of the pool and slid in where I would catch her before she went under. Knowing Sam, she’ll be ready for swim lessons just as the season ends. I’ll have to find out if the local indoor pool has lessons.

Sam skipped all of her naps, unless you call passing out in the car for 20 minutes a nap. She was so exhausted tonight that she threw a tantrum the likes of which I haven’t seen in months. It made me realize that we have been over the horrible hump which was the “terrible threes” for quite a while now. From last September through February or March, Sam was a very difficult child. Well, since I have no frame of reference except her, I really can only say that she was difficult based on the Samantha Standard, but it was tough, let me tell you.

I’m glad that particular storm is over. I don’t enjoy being hit, even with Sammy’s tiny little hands.

My Day

June 18, 2010 in Experiences, Parenting | 8 comments

Tuesday was a typical day of my life in every way except that I wrote down everything I did. Even the stuff about Adam’s birthday is typical in that I have unexpected emergencies every day. This is what I mean by fractured time:

The cat woke me up so I pet him for a half hour and thought about my story idea.
Woke up Sammy.
Laid in bed with her and snuggled.
Dealt with her minor tantrum regarding getting dressed; helped her get dressed.
Dressed in my workout clothes.
Coffee.
Breakfast for Sam (I can’t eat first thing in the morning).
Read one email.
Cleaned up humongous milk-spill (BP has nothing on Sam!) while Sam changed her clothes. Left the wet chair for later.
Gathered tennis shoes and water for the gym, and an apple for Sam to eat in the car.
Decided to write up “my day” and started recording everything I was doing.
Got Sam out the door for summer school.
Ate some nuts and Sam’s leftover half apple for breakfast in the car.
Walked Sam into school and filled out permission slip for Thursday’s field trip.
Gave the teachers a brief review of the Farm Vacation and talked to them about whether it would be a good thing for the elementary students to do.
Two important phone calls in the car on the way to the gym.
Worked out for 45 min and thought about my story. Noted some ideas on my voice recorder.
Picked up an Umberto Eco book at the gym’s library.
Listened to 6 minutes of Leonard Peikoff podcast on the way home.
Took a shower.
Jumped out of the shower to reset my (really loud) alarm clock whose settings had been inadvertently changed while we were on vacation.
While dressing, talked to Adam about his latest idea for his OCON lecture.
Snack.
Spent 10 minutes helping Adam find his car keys.
Spent 40 minutes transcribing voice memos to my task list and story notes.
Did some research online for future blog post.
Picked up Sam from summer school. Listened to the end of LP’s podcast on the way there and told her a Little Bear story on the way back.
Made a quick (20 min) stop at the playground on the way home since it looked like it would rain later. While there, read a few emails but mostly played with Sam.
Prepared and ate lunch with Sam.
Opened two packages that had come while we were on vacation.
Read one page of my book while Sam went to the bathroom.
Read Sam 2 books and got her down for nap.
Read my book for a half hour.
Put away the things from the 2 packages that I had opened earlier.
Emptied the dishwasher, did the dishes from breakfast and lunch and straightened up the kitchen.
Made a bullet list of things to remember from the Farm Vacation.
Finished transcribing my voice memos.
Cleaned the chair.
Took photo of the “2 d’s” (I’ll tell you that story later) and was about to send an email about it when I realized that…
It is Adam’s birthday tomorrow and I don’t even have a card for him and I need to tell the babysitter what time to come!
Called Adam about seeing a movie but decided the movies are crap so we’ll just go to dinner. Advised the babysitter.
Frantically searched for a gift idea for Adam and planned a trip to the mall.
Cleared out some new emails and spent 5 minutes on Facebook to try to relax.
Tried to make an appointment for a blood draw that I’m over a week past due for, but the lab’s web site is down. Decided to take a chance and walk in tomorrow.
Sent the email about the “2 d’s.”
Woke up Sam, who had been sleeping for over 2 hours.
While she was waking up, pulled the sheets off our bed.
Put Benadryl cream on the 7 mosquito bites Sam got at the playground.
Listened to 10 minutes of Jenn and Kelly’s podcast on the way to the mall, where we planned to buy a present for Adam and get ice cream.
Dealt with a poop in the pants (not mine) at the mall and realized that I had not restocked my purse with extra underwear and pants after our vacation. Sam goes Commando.
Dealt with a 15 minute major tantrum in the bathroom when Sam learned that we would not be getting ice cream since we had to spend the time cleaning up her poopy accident. MAJOR tantrum, but wonderful resolution. I did a good job and it was the proudest moment of my day.
Got the gifts and came home.
Hid the presents.
Backed up my blog database.
Got Sam a snack of yogurt since we never got the ice cream.
Set Sam up with some paper and crayons to begin making a card for Adam.
Got a new set of backup clothes and wipes for my purse.
Let the dog out for the first time since the morning. He’s a sport.
Helped Sammy finish the card – cutting and gluing were involved.
Helped Sammy hide the card so her dad would not see it before his birthday.
Got the steaks out of the fridge for dinner and then decided to check Facebook for a few minutes of rest, but then Sammy pooped in her pants again and I spent the next half hour helping her clean up and take a shower.
Gathered the laundry while she was showering.
Adam came home and took over the steaks, so I popped some mashed potatoes in the microwave and popped open a beer.
Zoned out on Facebook for the 10 minutes it takes the potatoes to cook.
Sorted the mail (2 Geico ads, 1 Triple-A ad, and 1 community college ad, all sorted into the trash can).
Dinner.
Played with Sam for a half hour while Adam cleaned up from dinner.
Kissed Sam goodnight (it was Adam’s turn to put her down).
Finished up the dishes and started a load of laundry.
Wrote a short blog post.
Put new sheets on the bed.
Cleaned the toilet.
Did some clutter-clearing and restocking of supplies.
Read my book for 2 hours and went to sleep.

A Good Day

March 4, 2010 in Experiences, Music | No comments

So far today,

I woke up rested after a real, full night’s sleep
I had a great parenting moment, getting Sammy to try on some new clothing while still getting her out the door and to school without a major battle, and learning something in the process (maybe I’ll write about it later)
I saw the first spring plants reaching up an inch or so above the ground
I heard Rush’s Limelight on the radio
I didn’t need to turn on the heater in my car
Sammy spelled “red” and “Adam”
I had an excellent Reuben sandwich at our local deli
I had so many good writing ideas at lunch that it took me a half hour to transcribe them from my voice-recorder when I got home
There was a fire engine at the deli which made Sam scream with delight
We met the firemen and even a fire-lady
The manager of the deli gave Sammy a balloon
I learned that Vivaldi wrote sonnets to go with The Four Seasons (via Lynne)

Happy Birthday, Vivaldi, and Happy Impending-Spring to Everyone! (Except those in the southern hemisphere, I suppose.)

Best of the Snow

February 15, 2010 in Experiences | No comments

I still hate snow. Not only did the 2 storms bring all normal activity to a halt for 12 days, but somehow being housebound caused Sammy to stop using the potty. Not only is she back to pooping in her pants 5-6 times per day (I’m not exaggerating) but she has started peeing on the floor as well. It’s a nightmare. This is not regression. She was never this bad, even the first day we took off the diapers. This is devolution. Anyway…

We did have a lot of fun playing in the snow. Here are the best photos from the past 2 weeks.

We know it’s a bad storm when the garbage can turns into a garden gnome:

These are cars:

This was taken before our neighbors so kindly gave us their daughter’s old snowsuit for Sam. We never bought her any real snow clothing since it doesn’t snow more than an inch or two in Virginia:

The walls of snow were so high that Sammy could make vertical snow angels, especially once she had her new snow suit:

This one is just plain cute:

Someone built a snow fort (and a snowman) in the park across the street:

This is our next door neighbor, H. He’s 8 years old and likes to dig big holes in the snow and then climb in. In the background you can see the blue street sign with the snow piled up almost to the top of it:

Ok, so I don’t really hate snow. We had a great time. Going outside was like joining a big block party, but instead of drinking and grilling, there was snow shoveling and sledding. It just all went on a little bit too long, and it ended with a pre-planned “mid-winter” break at Sammy’s school, which brought the total consecutive days off of school to eight. I can now say that I fully relate to this old commercial. (It’s one of the pleasures I’ll have to forego as a homeschooler, but hey, everything has its pros and cons):

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