More Sugar Than Spice

We Are Off!

Today is the big day! We are leaving for the cabin in less than six hours.

I have so much to do before I leave, but my bags are packed (and so are everyone else’s) so I figure I’m doing alright. My camera is charged and my list for the store is complete. I have to run to Sams Club for the makings of the feast we indulge in while we are down there, and I have to give Stinky Magoo (aka. Bluto the stinkiest bulldog in the West) a bath AND wash out his kennel since he is the only dog I have ever owned that just doesn’t care about peeing on himself. I have a ton of laundry still, but the machine only runs so fast…. yet I sit here feeling off and just wanting to do nothing.

Monkey is playing so sweetly upstairs, and I know if I jump in the shower and she sees me go in, she will go wild. It’s as if the sound of the water somehow translates into crack pulsating through her veins, because I swear nothing gets broken until I am in the shower. Well, except the curtain she pulled out of the wall the other day, but that’s off topic and a whole other story…

With that, I am off… Off the computer and back on the to do list.  Off to the southern most part of the state known as the Spanish Peaks. Off to join the wild life, take lots of pictures and get lost in the silence.

Looking Forward to Nothing

Even though I have been trying to catch up on our work, we have all been making time together a priority. We are leaving for the cabin tomorrow night, and I have been trying to get prepared for school prior to us leaving. I still have a list a mile long, but at night I have been trying to carve out time for some love and laughter.

It has been a struggle to get Monkey to bed on time since her sleep pattern and eating pattern went out the window when everyone got sick. She will now ask for breakfast at midnight and actually eat her usual breakfast of four eggs and toast. She doesn’t want to go to bed before ten, and doesn’t want to get up before nine. She started taking an afternoon nap again and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to break this schedule. Normally with things like this, I go with the flow, but not only do we need to prepare for Monkeys new school schedule, but also I have felt the need to reconnect with Daddy.

When Monkey goes to bed late, Daddy typically falls asleep in her bed. An hour later I drag him out of her bed and we go to bed. That leaves no time for us to talk… let alone anything else. And that scenario is best case - meaning Monkey’s NOT in our bed.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

As Monkey and I got ready for my doctors appointment this morning, I was stressed. It felt like no matter what I did, Monkey had her own agenda and wasn’t willing to budge. I asked her to eat her waffle at record speed while I brushed my teeth, and I came down to find she was in the basement getting the kitties because “they were calling her”. I asked her to come sit down so I could comb her hair, and she “had to get dollie to show her new shoes”. I repeated the phrase ‘you need to be a good listener today’ at least 30 times before 10am. That’s not a good start for us.

With my patience running thin, we arrived at the doctor. I went inside of the new building only to find their name was not listed in the directory. I called Daddy, who didn’t answer. I practically screamed at Monkey who thought it would be a good idea to stand just out of my view in the parking lot, even though I gave her very specific instruction on where to stand while I used the phone. I called the main office, obtained the suite number and we headed up.

Moving Mountians

It has taken a while for us to get back to our usual routine after that bout with sickness, but I feel like we are almost there. Let me also add, that I have never been the perfect housekeeper. I love to enjoy my house and I want my family to do the same. I don’t walk around picking up every little thing and then stressing when it gets pulled out all over again. I was like that when I first started staying home and it didn’t work for me. I wasn’t any fun and learned quickly I would never be ‘done’ anyway. So, now I have settled into the mentality that it will get done when I can, and if I stop to laugh or rest in between… oh well - the chores will be waiting for me when I am done.

Well, while Monkey and Daddy were sick, I was so busy caring for them that I did, I now realize perhaps a little too much resting afterward. We now have a mountain of laundry that needs to be done. Multiply worst case scenario by two or possibly three because Monkey is still learning to stay dry throughout the night - which means loads and loads of bedding laundry to be done sooner rather than later. This includes our bedding, because she will climb into bed with us, only for us to wake up hours later as the warm pee is running down our back and onto our bedding. Just another reminder that parenthood is not for the weak or weary.

Right Where I Want To Be

After several hours of prayer and contemplation, we decided Promiseland was where we wanted Monkey to be in the fall. We felt the curriculum was nice at The Academy, but we tried to keep in perspective that she’s only three. The school part isn’t the most important aspect of her education right now, but rather learning to have a fire for the Lord is what we were looking for. And I feel as though the teachers and the director at Promiseland can plant the seed that will develop for years to come. And who knows, next year we could be in a completely different spot, but for right now, that’s right where we want to be.

We also really like the fact that the director at Promiseland has been there for eight years (seven as a director). We found online the meeting notes for the application for the extended day program, and it was well documented that she runs the facility as a preschool, even though they were not licensed as such (they are part of the church, and had permissions as a ministry). They have since been granted their license and should they expand they would look at leaving the church in which they currently share a space with. For whatever reason, their program speaks to my heart.

Love God First, Learning Second

As I had mentioned before, I have been uneasy about the whole preschool thing… which is starting very soon. But, after a lot of prayer and thought, it is starting to occur to me that it could be more than just being sad about Monkey getting so big. Rather, deep down I could have mixed feelings about the decision we made to send her to The Academy at The Rock.

At first, we thought it would be ideal. She knows the facility and really likes the indoor playscape and is comfortable there. We love the church and feel Gods presence there.

However, the week I canceled our application to Promiseland, I started seeing signs that maybe we’d jumped into the decision to switch a little to quickly. The first thing that happened is a girlfriend from MOPS emailed me, excited about the fact that our kids were going to be in the same class together. I had to sadly inform her that I had withdrawn Brooklyn earlier that day. Just a few days after that, our neighbor told us her daughter was going there, and hoped we could carpool. Again, I had to explain we wouldn’t be attending.

Giggles To Share

Everyone is finally on the mend, and to celebrate we went to Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday. We had a million things to do such as get the weeds caught up before we get a fine from the HOA, finish the slide show for a friends wedding, and back to school shop, but nonetheless we needed some play time so that’s what we did.  Monkey had a great time, and since we had tokens left over from another visit, our trip this time was free.  She giggled and ran from game to game, and this time she even put her own tickets in the ticket counting machine.

I have been in a funk about Monkey starting school in just 22 days, but I know she will have a great time.  Her love for learning new things is a passion I want to promote, therefore I have been torn between putting on a happy face for her, yet trying to stay honest and open about how much I will miss her while she’s gone.  Plus, she really does need a friend who will let her know she’s not always in charge.

Not only that, but we both need our routine back.  We haven’t attended the MOPS play dates because of various reasons - most of them health related - and I know how good they are for Monkey… but they are even better for me.

For me, when this group of women meet, without saying a word, we are bonded.  Most of us have chosen to stay home with our kids, so we can balance a check book, install a shelving unit, and get the kids bathed and out of the house before 9am, when we are determined.  We have all probably wiped a dirty nose (or a dirty butt) in the last 24 hours, and most likely all of our husbands have come home and busted us in our pj’s and thought ‘did she get dressed today?’

When Monkey and I don’t have to set the alarm, or make an effort to shower before 2pm, we get caught in this cycle of laziness that makes me feel like we are wasting our time together.  So, with that, I am off for now.  Off to shower and get to the store for the last minute wedding items we need for tonight.  Off to run errands and do what we have to do, so we can come home and do what we want to do…which involves a lot of play time and giggles to share.

Like Daughter, Like Daddy

Just when Monkey started eating and drinking regularly, Daddy started going down the same path.  He has been very sick since last Saturday, and as of yesterday was put on a prescription that cost $25 per pill after insurance. The good news is, the pharmacist said this medication should pretty much kill everything in its way.

Whenever Monkey gets sick, I say I would take it from her if I could, but after this week with Daddy I am not sure if I really feel that way.  If I were this sick, there wouldn’t be anyone to do anything.  He literally cannot take care of himself right  now.  I don’t wish illness upon her, but given the choice I think I would have to be selfish and say ‘not it’.  Not because I wouldn’t take the pain, but because I think it’s easier on everyone that way.  Does that make me a bad mom?

Speaking of moms…one of our best friends had their baby on Tuesday and I have been so disconnected from the world that I didn’t found out until yesterday.  Mom and baby and doing great, and I have to say the baby is beautiful.  She doesn’t have any of that weirdness that sometimes comes with fresh babies - like blotches, spots and cone head.  She is perfect and I can’t wait to meet her.

I am ‘hanging tough’ (that’s a throwback to NKOTB for those of you who were a preteen/teen in the 90’s) and just buying time.  I have sprayed enough Lysol in the house that I am considering buying stock.  Either that, or I am going to make Daddy drink it since it kills 99.9% of germs according to the bottle.  And it’s certainly not $25 a day.

Let Them Eat Cake!

Last night Daddy ran and picked up a few new movies for Monkey and a chocolate cake… mostly for Mommy.  I had given Monkey a bath and having the boogers washed out of her hair seemed to lift her spirit.  She didn’t play for long in the tub, like she normally does, but she wasn’t kicking and screaming either.

While Daddy was gone we had a meltdown because Teach my Alligator Manners is not a full blown cartoon, but rather a two minute add-on after Handy Mandy on Playhouse Disney.  This apparently was too much for Monkey to handle.

Daddy came home just in time to save the day, and Monkey chose to watch Shrek III, because he’s green like the alligators.  She didn’t really watch the movie, but she did devour the chocolate cake.  She had two kid sized glasses of milk and her mood dramatically improved.

She woke up this morning with bloodshot eyes, but her spirit has returned.  She gave me a pedicure, using flash cards to buff my feet, and paint pens as her massage tools.  We painted the name plate for her room together and she settled in for a movie.  She may not look the same right now, but my little girl is in there.  Her fight is back and I realize even though we don’t tolerate it, I’ve kind of missed it.

Mono Y Mono

When you have a sick kid, if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that if mom feels something isn’t right… it’s not.

I called into the doctor again today, because it’s been six days since Monkey first developed her fever, and she keeps getting worse instead of better.  She woke up today and her eyes were still swollen, but in addition to the swelling, they were completely blood shot… as in no whites were visible.  I figured it was from the dehydration, but it scared the crap out of me nonetheless.