A Stage I Can Only Hope Will Pass Quickly

This is A’s newest “thing.” My brother-in-law (bless his - ahem - soul) loaned A this DVD. It’s all computer-animated music, and frankly I can’t stand it. When he’s got it on, I feel like I’m living in a video game. But he’s worked out this great setup in his bedroom: he puts the DVD on his computer, then uses two mallets made out of Tinkertoys to beat the hell out of his pillows. He’s got it down pretty well, I must admit. He plays right along with the little animated robot-things, in perfect time. And when they’re playing with only one stick, he plays with only one stick. I suppose it’s impressive if you can get past the sheer annoyance of it.

Vacation

We're visiting my mom this weekend. It's fabulous. She cooks for us, doesn't let us clean up after ourselves or the kids, and she gives us a blank check for as many hours of free babysitting as we want. We could walk out the door right now and not come back until tomorrow...and she wouldn't care! Not that we're slobs while we're here...and hopefully we don't really take advantage of her. But it's really nice being here. Her house is very warm and cozy and welcoming, and there's so much stuff to do within a few miles of here (malls! Panera! fabric stores! movies!). We're going out in a little bit, after my second cup of coffee, then we'll be back here for naps (because the children slept precisely 4 hours each last night), then D and I will be going out ALL BY OURSELVES for dinner and a movie. OMG. I can't wait.

Snow Day 2

So here we are again. I was up, dressed, ready to go...with dinner in the crock pot, no less...when I found out we had no school again today. S’OK with me, but I’m ready to go back and dreading the catch-up that’s waiting for me there...

Anyway. In an effort to kill time this afternoon, I took the kids to Burger King. I hate the food there, but they have the only indoor play-place in this town and they were both desperate to burn off some energy. So we went. After they ate, they took off from the table to go run and climb, and I was left sitting there listening to a couple of moms at the next table. They were having the typical mom-to-mom chat...one of those things that really kind of makes my skin crawl. I guess I feel as though I’m sort of beyond the new parent thing. I feel pretty comfortable in my role as mom, and while I by no means think I’m the perfect mother, I don’t really think I’m screwing things up all that much. But these two were discussing the ins and outs of the current stages their kids are in, and they were just regurgitating all these facts and hints from parenting books...enough to drive me crazy. Sometimes I even had the feeling that even they didn’t quite believe the things they were saying, but it was what they’ve read good parents do and say, so on they went.

There was a distinct feeling of “I’m superior” in their conversation. Their clothes were perfect, their kids were dressed perfectly, they were (I’m so not kidding) calling their kids over about every 5 minutes to anti-bac their hands. And the kids that were too small for the play area had an entire set of ocean creature toys that they were playing with.

I suddenly felt really self-conscious and small and so much like a bad mom. I only brought my kids to the play area so they could run around and wear themselves down before naptime. I didn’t even bring the diaper bag, so no anti-bac. I didn’t spend the time looking around at the other kids and comparing mine to them, and I venture to say that I wouldn’t have done that even if I had a friend there to talk with.

I do feel comfortable with the mom thing on about 5 days out of 7. I provide for my kids, teach them, keep them safe, and plan for their future. I think I’m doing a halfway decent job...they’re happy and bright and busy little kids who are respectful to others (ummmm...others outside the house...). I don’t know why it is that I let an overheard conversation like this invade my thoughts and become my obsession. I’ve said many times before that I don’t cater to my kids’ every whim...I’m firm when I need to be and there’s not a lot of cajoling and molly-coddling that goes on in our house. I want my kids to like me, but it’s OK if they don’t all the time. It’s just that whenever I find myself in a situation like the one today at BK’s play area, I’m suddenly thrust into a very insecure place. Am I doing a good job? Will they turn out OK by the time they’re old enough to fly this coop? Furthermore, will I be OK? Hm. I wonder.

Boogers

(If that title won’t make me post more frequently, just to have it off the top of the blog, then I suppose nothing will!)

Bedtime conversation last night:

J was picking her nose. She does it almost incessantly, but mostly (I think) just because she knows it aggravates her father and me. She and I were snuggling last night before I laid her in her crib. It went something like this:

me: J, stop picking your nose! Yucky!!
J: (Quickly jamming her finger with the - um - freshly mined goods back up her nose) OK! I put it back!

Well, at least she didn't eat it. That will come in time, I’m sure, but for now...it’s our “well, things-could-be-worse” scenario.

Can you say...SNOW DAY?!

I knew it would happen eventually. Hooooooooooooooray!! Tomorrow...no school! The best part is that I already know that tonight! I don’t even have to listen to the news tomorrow morning and wait...and wait...and wait...to see if my district(s) are closed for the day.

Sad thing is...Doug knew this would happen eventually too. Poor guy. He’s got to get up and go to work tomorrow.

Oh well! I’m free for another day!!

(In truth, I have a bunch of reports to write and work to do that I would’ve done tomorrow at school, but it’s extra nice that I can stay in my pajamas and do that work at home.) (And perhaps I’ll get to start my next quilt, make dinner early, and keep reading the book I got from the library that I’m devouring. I love chick lit!!)

A Question

Does anyone else in the world loathe plastic grocery bags as much as I? I mean seriously. Whose asinine idea was it to package groceries in bags that don’t stand up in the trunk, can’t keep my bread and eggs secure, and require 8 times more than the traditional (read: much-preferred) paper bags? Furthermore, I wonder if back in the day, bag-boys had to go to bag-boy school, where they would learn how to properly sort and pack groceries into bags. Plastic bags completely negate the need for thoughtful packaging of the groceries that I spend $150 on each week. Today, my groceries were packed in the most haphazard manner. It took about 25 bags, which promptly dumped all over my trunk on the way home. My bread got squished. In one bag was the 8-pound chicken I’m roasting for Sunday dinner, along with a brick of cheese. In another bag were the week’s supply of freshly-ground coffee...and garlic. HELLO!! In another bag, all by itself, was a package of cookies.

And did I forget to mention that I ASKED FOR PAPER?!

I don’t mean to gripe, but seriously. The only other person in the world who I know is tremendously bothered by the rise in use of plastic grocery bags is a 70-something former engineer who used to go to our church. Does this mean I’m getting old?

I Can’t Even Watch

The Buckeyes are losing. It’s 34 - 14 in the 3rd quarter.

I’m going to bed.

Because yes, frankly, it is that bad.