All things disalike are alike all the same

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 by Bethany

My daughter's got the biggest smile with matching curls. My son has the innocent, wide eyes that tell you what he's feeling in his soul. Almost six years apart, but still alike in ways that are unimaginable and quite conceivable at the same time.

I mean, their love of music and all things animated is definitely something they gathered from their father. The sensitiveness. The joy of just being silly? Also their father.

From me? Maybe their stubbornness. Or, so I am told, my daughter's twinkle in her eye. I can't see as much from me as what they have gotten from their Dad. But, this is a good thing. I worry they might get the worst of me.

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8:59 PM | | 0 comments

Wake Up Call

Monday, November 17, 2008 by Bethany

What's worse, being awoken by the sound of a child vomiting

OR

a one-year-old's persistent, "Meow. Meow, meow. Meow!" Over and over and over again.

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11:22 AM | | 0 comments

Sick Days and Reality Television

Saturday, November 15, 2008 by Bethany

In the last few blurry weeks my house has fell ill. Kids have had double ear infections, chest infections, single ear infections, stomach viruses, and all the odds and ends that come with fall time and children in school/day car. All of that means that of course, mom gets sick some point along the way. And of course that landed sometime last week.

So, while still recovering from an intimate night with me and the porcelain goddess, I stayed home from work. Alone. Yep. After hauling my ass off to school to drop him off (and weakly stumbling across the walkway to get him there) and then bringing my daughter to the sitter's for her normally schedule day, I went home and crawled into bed. For four glorious hours. Sure, it was all recovering from the night before, but it was still something I rarely enjoy. Too bad I had to be barfing up the last 2 weeks of meals to get the pleasure. And then I sat down for a little day time television.

Normally, if it isn't Spongebob or Yo Gabba Gabba! to keep the kids occupied (or football/basketball for the husband), I might toss on a home improvement show. Or say, some fashion related thing that keeps me mildly entertained while I read. Or surf the web with my trusted laptop. But that day, sick and all, I decided to land on reality television. I found myself absorbed in a marathon of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Can I first just say--what the hell? Seriously. These women have children? Or at least 2 of them do--they show these glamor shots of them smiling and all cute, but um, WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY with all these nights out and drinks with girlfriends in parking lots? Of course, my confusion and awe at the whole lifestyle that is so foreign to me did nothing to stop me from watching. Three hours, a few glasses of iced 7-Up and more moments of yelling at the television later, I was still entranced. But the point is--Never. In my life. Can I imagine a life like that. And (this is a close second) how did these women end up married to these men? I mean, what kind of money do they make to by a $5000 handbag!?!?! Seriously. What did I do wrong in my life to have to worry about when money comes in? Can someone tell me? Because I went to college, found a decent career, and it still feels like I am barely making it some days. And these women can't even decipher that 1/3 of a pizza is MORE than a 1/2 of a pie. And that, you know, you spell cat with a 'c,' not a 'k.' It is frightening.

But maybe it is more frightening that in over 2 weeks that I have been living the crazy life of a working mom that THIS is what I come back to blog about.

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7:36 PM | | 0 comments

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead...

Sunday, October 26, 2008 by Bethany

Okay, I don't know any witches. But it' Pseudo-Halloween here. Yep, kidlings of all shapes and sizes are costumed up and knocking on my door tonight. Honestly, next weekend would make it feel more real, but what can I do. I'm not the Halloween Queen. I just hand out candy while The Husband takes the kids for the cold (and windy) walk. And I get interrupted every 5 seconds by a pound on the door or a door bell ring.

But here's the thing, since when:

- do children ring the doorbell 5 times in a row
- or ring with a 5-Mississippi second pause between the two. Do I not walk from my couch to the door fast enough?
- request a different kind of candy from my cauldron then what I givingly hand out?
- ask for different candy than what I have?
- or have 5 bags of candy and claim it is for sisters/brothers that are no where to be seen behind them?
- or ring my bell 20 minutes BEFORE (or AFTER) trick or treat time?

Really. I don't consider myself old fashioned--but never in my thirty-ish year life would I do any of the above. I mean, it's trick or treating. You have a bag full of candy that you never eat all of anyway. What does my measly candy make a difference if you don't like it? AND, damn, I never realized I was that slow on the candy brigade. Maybe next year I'll have to stop cheating on the candy eating a week ahead of time.

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4:55 PM | | 3 comments

Highlights

Monday, October 20, 2008 by Bethany

And I'm not talking hair here people.

Okay, maybe I will. Just for a second. Because I can't be the only mom on the planet that did her own highlights yesterday. And not yesterDAY really, but more like yesterNIGHT. Near 11pm to be exact. And finished washing it all clear and clean a whole 30 seconds before her daughter started screaming and then promptly vomited everywhere--can I?

Aside from the vomit, who in the hell highlights, and then continues to style, their hair at near midnight? Apparently I do. I'm afraid to admit it's a common occurrence in these parts because I'm too cheap to have someone else do my hair. And really, who has the time? I'd love to say my husband graciously offers to watch the kids for 3 hours while I go to a posh salon and enjoy some down time. But if I said that, I'd be lying. Lying through my teeth to be exact. It took me some crab-assing to get a whole half hour to run down the street to the Great Clips on Sunday. And we almost didn't make it before closing. Mind you, that was EVERYONE. Since, you know, right after the hair cut I had to man-handle my daughter to sit still while we wandered Target for toilet paper and Q-tips. But that's another story.

Let's see... highlights. Oh yes. My weekend in a highlight reel. You already got last night's spectacular run down. Try Friday to match it. The same daughter that vomited, started out sickly too when she had a double-ear infection diagnosed. Not because she looked sickly, had a fever, or was coughing like there was no tomorrow (that would be too easy). But because she awoke with eye drainage. Just like earlier in the week. Hauling her into the doctor's office was my brilliant idea (for once), and look at that! She was indeed sick. Though not acting a thing like it. Then again, she couldn't hear a damn thing.

Next up is Saturday's greatness. And really, it kinda was. We did the soccer thing in the morning. Spent the afternoon outside in the goodness called fall (the fall days I like, 70 degrees and sunny) and then ate a dinner out of the house. Which meant I didn't have to lift a finger. Which always means I love it. Except for the whole diaper blow out episode (damn Augmentin antibiotic! Why must you cure the ailments of sick child but cause serious diaper episodes?).

And then we are back to Sunday. Which means highlights, puking, a couple loads of laundry at 1am and then again at 3am. Happily, I'll report, we just had one incident Le Barf. Drawback was that I couldn't get any shut-eye thereafter. I kept waiting for her to spew again. And then The Kiddo started coughing. It just never ends. Except for when you have to awake for a day at the office. Which brings me to today. Another Monday.

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10:25 PM | | 1 comments

My Life in Repeat

Monday, October 13, 2008 by Bethany

I'm doing it again. The whole get up, get dressed, get kids up, ready, eat (maybe), coffee, rush out the door, school, day care, work, pick up from school, day care pick up, make and eat dinner, bed time routines all around--rinse, and repeat. Over and over and over again.

Guess it's good things are worse. Because they could be (don't even get me started on the economy nightmare). Or even better (can anyone whisper the word w-r-i-t-i-n-g?). But I guess the in between isn't so bad. I mean, I know what tomorrow is going to be like. So what' the big fuss?

It's the fact that it feels just a wee bit like a rut. One that when I desperately try to find a way out, I just get jammed right back in my place. Like this weekend. When the wee one, The Peanut, awoke with crud in her eyes and landed us in the doctor's office and a prescription for eye drop antibiotics for some minor conjunctivitis. Then, I was rushing both of our asses back across the state border for the weekend soccer game. Again. And well, repeat. Lunch afterward. Home for laundry. House or yard work. Naps. Snacks. Television. Walks. Dinner. Bedtime. You get the idea. It's all the same. Even when you throw in a family outing or two.

Sigh. They say children love routine. Maybe they do. But me? I'm dying for something just a bit out of the ordinary.

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9:21 PM | | 3 comments

Pen and Paper, Paper and Pen

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 by Bethany

As a writer, I think pen and journal fetishes are a required attribute. Or maybe not fetishes, but whorish collective tendencies (at the very least)? Regardless, I would probably categorize myself with both. I buy pens when I don't need them because they just "feel right" in my hand. Or look cute. Or just need to be purchased so that I can write something new. And the same pretty much applies to notepads, journals, and stationary. I have boxes of all of the above lying around my house (well now in the basement in "my" corner).

But even with all of that said--I found myself at Target this afternoon in a tizzy over finding the right pen and paper to write. Again, this behavior isn't uncommon for me in GENERAL, but over the last few months, I've barely written a blog entry worth reading. So to go to the store for the primary purpose of finding a pen and paper to WRITE ANYTHING is a big deal. And for whatever reason, when I do make the purchase, I find a way to link to my muse and write.

And so I did. For a whole 15 minutes over lunch. But it isn't the time (or quantity or quality) of what I wrote that we should be focusing on here. It's the fact that I let myself write longhand--which I rarely do, my laptop and typing fingers are the way my muse usually connects--and that I was able to invent and idea that is interesting. So much so, it might become my next book. It has potential. And possibilities. And life. And characters that made me smirk, giggle, and coo over almost in the same breath.

This is when I get inspired and feel I can really write a book that will see a book shelf aside from my own. I get tingly and sit up late at night pondering plot points and paragraphs of back story that I'll eventually erase from the story line. THIS is when I start dreaming of my characters.

All that crazy writer stuff? I've desperately missed having in my live over the past 6 months. I WANT to want to write. And I wanted a story and characters that kept my wandering brain occupied. Now, I find that it's happened... the moon and stars have aligned. Pray that they keep me occupied, or I might start writing blog post long-handed as well!

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11:07 PM | | 3 comments