Category: Family Matters

When I go to the chiro’s, I have at least one, if not two twenty-thirty minute sessions of laying down in a basically quiet, somewhat dark room to either get nerve therapy or computerized traction. I often close my eyes, space out, pray, make mental lists and listen to my mp3 player. Today I took a 20 minute, deep-sleep power nap. One minute I was laying there, listening to “Boys Don’t Cry”, thinking “oh cool, the next song is ‘Cecelia’ ‘. The next minute I’m listening to “Daughters” by John Mayer. I skipped over FIVE songs on my playlist completely. The receptionist swears she didn’t hear me snoring. On an unrelated note, the chiro now thinks that my right leg is seriously physically shorter than my left (I think. Or its the other way around.) Either way, in the next few weeks if I don’t straighten up, I’m getting a lift for my shoe.

I’ve tried thinking all day of something more interesting to write, but have come up blank. So I’ll shut up now.

That you get a one hour delay and get sent home early due to weather, learn about carbon monoxide from the local fire department , go for your daughter’s 18th month appointment and take away her punishment stool for misbehavior, but today was *that* day.

The Weather
We’ve gotten about 6 inches of snow since about 10 am this morning, which is enough to send this city into a tailspin. Everyone’s forgotten that we live in the Midwest, that it did, in fact snow this much last year and that the city will effectively shut-down until the snowplows clear the way. Nice. So we were delayed again today due to temperature (lame, IMO) and everyone was sent home by 2:30pm due to snow.

The Emergency Response System
I also learned today what the carbon monoxide detector makers don’t tell you–that you need to have gas appliances, a gas water heater, a gas furnance, operating fireplace or kerosene heater to generate CO in your house (or leave your car running with the garage shut)….otherwise, if your “get to fresh air” button is blinking, probably it’s just the battery on the fritz. NO NEED to call 911, get the big red engine and three fire fighters out to your house in the impending blizzard to trek through your house to tell you that it’s probably just your battery. Nowhere on the package does it mention that. BTW, when you try to “air out” your house of that odorless, tasteless gas you may or may not have in the middle of a snow storm, it takes about 20 minutes from your house to go from 68 degrees to 54 degrees.

The Monkey
M turned 18 months old on Saturday and had her Dr’s appt today. The official stats are: 34 in. tall, 27lbs, 7 oz–putting her squarely at the top of the curve in both categories once again. He agreed to keep her on soymilk until Spring, thinks she’s brilliant and laughed when I told him about the punishment stool and the battle of the wills we are already experiencing.

To illustrate the point, today after getting her FOUR shots (ouch!) and surviving the drive home, during dinner M threw her veggies on the floor. After dinner I expected her to pick them up. She expected not to. I put her in the time out stool. After awhile, she came back over to the kitchen, and she hit me. She got put back onto the stool. She then threw the time out stool. She “lost” the time out stool and had to sit on the floor. She got up to go play. I brought her back to the kitchen and she watched me pick up the veggies. I had to force the napkin into her hand to throw away the trash. We then called a truce and headed up for bath time.

OMG.

Seriously, I had to take away the time out stool. I guess that’s why people use steps and couches and other things angry toddlers can’t throw. Holy Cow.

I’m going to curl up into a ball now and drink some wine.

Let me tell ya:

Seriously, how has a week gone by? Let me count the ways…..ways # 1, 2, 3 are of course work, the chiro, and Meijer. But there are other things.

Tuesday night I had a meeting for the fundraiser I’m doing for my school–yes, the same school that makes me clean the damn toilets. I can’t help myself. Somehow, I think that if I bust my butt, someday it’ll get better. I don’t know if it will, but I have to try. So I’m the “staff liason”, which translates into “person who does too much” in plain English. But I’m doing too much with one of my best friends, so it’s not all bad.

Wednesday night I had a girls night at my house, which was lovely. Wine, salad, chit chat. Ahhh. I liked Wednesday.

Thursday night, I got a call from the mafia dentist. The mafia dentist? Yes, the mafia dentist. The one who prefers to be paid in cash, and gives steep discounts for cash. Not being able to pass up a “deal”, I had to race to the bank after recieving a phone call just before 5pm that we had a monster copay for L’s dental work the next day. Monster, as in more than a house payment. Ok. Not to panic. We bank at the grocery store, so they were open til 6pm. After checking all accounts, I was able to figure it out. And get a huge wad of cash out of the bank. So freaking weird.

Friday night we journeyed to NW Indiana for a belated Christmas. SO much fun. My mom still had the house decorated, which was sweet–M had so much fun! Saturday we had a great family day, and had a great time with my brother and his family, grandma, and other brother. The “cousins” trio played SO well together. It was fun!

Sunday we drove through the lake effect snow storm of the season and visited the other side of the family–again, so much fun and so nice to see everyone. Since we sort of skipped Christmas this year, it had been 2 whole months which is sort of unusual.

*Today* I went to work for a little bit, then took off with an adoptive mama friend and we went to lobby at the statehouse. There’s a bill before the senate about regulating adoption facilitators, and we went down to the capitol to show our support. It was really neat to see how it all worked–I actually talked to some of the people that were all over TV commercials this fall. AND I made a new adoptive mama friend–someone who’s done a semi-open domestic adoption and an international adoption, whose children are school aged now. After our political hobknobbing, we got some coffe to go at Nordstrom’s, and then it was off to the chiro for me.

Phew. No wonder I’m wiped.