My List - Version 6.30.09

I have the eternal list of things to do. We all have it. Every now and then I declare myself an independent state and shuck the list insisting that I know what I need to do and will get it done on my own time frame. And it is usually the next day when I spy something disgusting on the bathroom floor, and I realize that I cannot function without my list.

"Number 29: 'Sweep and mop bathroom floor.' There! I feel better. It's on my list - I'll do it....tomorrow."

And so the sad story continues. On top of just the general day to day tasks that I number, write down, ignore, and then do in a hurried frenzy at 10:03 PM on a weeknight when I should be sleeping, I also have my pet projects. You know, those little projects that you actually want to do. Here are a few of mine...

1. Take all of the framed paintings from the backroom that have dust on them from July of last year and hang them in the hallway.

2. Actually print the photos I sent to walmart.com four months ago so that I can make a family picture collage to hang in our bedroom.

3. Hang things on our bedroom walls so that it doesn't feel so blah in there.

4. Attach the wall decals that I have had laying out for 9 weeks so that they could "flatten"...that happened 8 weeks ago.

5. Paint the kitchen island that I had built 2 months ago that has been setting in the garage for three weeks now. It would be nice to actually have it in the kitchen.

6. I started a table skirt last weekend to cover up storage space underneath our mail and sorting table near the backdoor. I got as far as attaching sticky sided velcro and cutting my fabric to length. Hemming...eh, that's left to be done - perhaps I should do that and actually iron my new table skirt.

7. Vaccuum the one room that has carpet in it. That cheerio has been in there for way too long.

8. Mulch around the vegetables in the garden. We spent so much time getting it to this point that I refuse to surrender to those damn little weeds that you never can seem to tell where they start and where they end.

What's on your list?

My List - Version 6.29.09

I have the eternal list of things to do. We all have it. Every now and then I declare myself an independent state and shuck the list insisting that I know what I need to do and will get it done on my own time frame. And it is usually the next day when I spy something disgusting on the bathroom floor, and I realize that I cannot function without my list.

"Number 29: 'Sweep and mop bathroom floor.' There! I feel better. It's on my list - I'll do it....tomorrow."

And so the sad story continues. On top of just the general day to day tasks that I number, write down, ignore, and then do in a hurried frenzy at 10:03 PM on a weeknight when I should be sleeping, I also have my pet projects. You know, those little projects that you actually want to do. Here are a few of mine...

1. Take all of the framed paintings from the backroom that have dust on them from July of last year and hang them in the hallway.
2. Actually print the photos I sent to walmart.com four months ago so that I can make a family picture collage to hang in our bedroom.
3. Hang things on our bedroom walls so that it doesn't feel so blah in there.
4. Attach the wall decals that I have had laying out for 9 weeks so that they could "flatten"...that happened 8 weeks ago.
5. Paint the kitchen island that I had built 2 months ago that has been setting in the garage for three weeks now. It would be nice to actually have it in the kitchen.
6. I started a table skirt last weekend to cover up storage space underneath our mail and sorting table near the backdoor. I got as far as attaching sticky sided velcro and cutting my fabric to length. Hemming...eh, that's left to be done - perhaps I should do that and actually iron my new table skirt.
7. Vaccuum the one room that has carpet in it. That cheerio has been in there for way too long.
8. Mulch around the vegetables in the garden. We spent so much time getting it to this point that I refuse to surrender to those damn little weeds that you never can seem to tell where they start and where they end.

What's on your list?

Time outs, Gray Hair, and Yoga

The blog is suffering because I'm working a 9/80 schedule for the summer. Staying at work for 10 hours a day is slowly sucking whatever creativity I have into a blackhole of sleep deprived nothingness. I used to love this schedule...before I had a commute, and a baby, and the burning desire to lose 20 pounds - which is highly dependent on me getting enough sleep. Why can't we have naptime at work?

K-man is quite the character these days. He is down to biting only occasionally and it's usually associated with him being so excited that he has to chomp down on a shoulder...or your back...or your butt - whichever is closest. To express his frustration, he clenches his fists and screams. Then he gets put in timeout where he cries. Once he's out of timeout, you get a sweet little hug, possibly a bite, and then he's off to test his boundaries again. Lather, rinse, repeat. I think the child will hate that little round rug in the living room by this time next year. We're also dealing with the hitting issue. If he's mad at you, he will try to sock you in the face. There are very few things that really push my piss-me-off button. Hitting my head on the shelf right over the dryer after having to crawl halfway in the damn thing just to retrieve the last sock - that's a good one. Having my child hit me in the face with his fist because I have told him no, that's another one. I take a deep breath, catch his little hand, tell him NO Hitting!, and set him in timeout. Then I have to count to 47 or some odd number like that to chill out. And we are coming up on 19 months, people! What's the 2-3 year time frame going to be like?

I am already going gray. Part of it is genetic. That lovely skunk stripe that I'll have when I'm about 38 will be ever so lovely as I religiously cover it every six weeks with Clairol Nice 'N Easy. They have to make the name sound soothing because if you're 38 and have a skunk stripe, you're probably not in the best mood while you are trying to cover it up. My mom was in town over Memorial Day weekend and asked me when I was going to let my hair go natural again. i.e., she didn't like my hair. I told her that I was thinking about getting highlights. She replied that I should just let the gray grow out like she does because everyone always thinks her hair is a frosted blond. I smiled. When you are my mom's age, you can pull that off. Me, I'm not quite 30 and I have absolutely no interest in letting any freaking gray "frost" my hair. Am I holding on to my youth? You betcha...like a dog on that old rawhide chew toy he dug up from 4 months ago...it's mine!!!

One more highlight. Yoga. One day of it last week...two days of it this week (so far)...can I share a resounding, "OW!"? It's not the same day that gets you, it is the next day and the day after. Since when did they put muscles on our rib cages? And is it just me, or does Denise Austin just have the most annoying way of "motivating" you by pointing out all your flabby parts and comparing them to her firm parts?

Tantrums, Photos, and Thunder

K-man is an over achiever. He's decided to enter the "Two's" at 18-months of age. I'm so proud! *sniffle* My baby is growing up! He's graduated to throwing himself on the ground and kicking his legs while screaming instead of just standing and screaming. Isn't that wonderful? Can you feel the glee just oozing off of me? Oh wait...that's K's snot from earlier this morning. I hate it when he uses my good shirts as his personal kleenex! Moving on...

Mr. Cranky Pants needed to get out of the house Sunday morning. Hubby was pulling a weekend shift, so I loaded up the yelling toddler and we took a trip to Babies R Us. We went for sunscreen because that's the only place I can find Mustela sunscreen. If you've never used it, you're missing out on one of the best sunscreens on the market. K's class goes outside twice a day and he's the only kid in the class without a tan. As is standard when it comes to the baby megamart, we left with more than sunscreen. In one of my more dense moments of motherhood, I pulled one of the popcorn poppers (those little domes on two wheels that you push around and they pop the little balls inside) off the shelf and showed K-man how it works. It was all over from there. The dammm thing rode in the carseat home with him because there was NO way he was riding home in peace knowing that his rolly thingy was in the back behind him.

Before we were able to leave the store, though, the in-house photographer suckered me in to a photo session with the promise of a free 5"x7" portrait. Me: "Free? Suuuuuure!!" Ummm...45 minutes later, I left with a whole package that I paid for AND my free 5"x7". Here's a sampling of how the little guy did...

Up until the past few weeks, K has also been a very sound sleeper. At times, sleeping his best through thunderstorms. That's no longer the case. I knew when I heard the first rumble of thunder at 4:00 AM that it would be an early morning for all of us. Sure enough, it got loud enough at 5:00 for the little guy to hear, and it was all over after that. We were awake. I used to love thunderstorms. Now, not so much. Or maybe that's an understatement. When the thunder woke the baby up before my alarm clock went off, I wanted to find the person responsible for this intrusive storm and punch them in the nose. The closest I can come to that is the local weatherman, but I'm pretty sure he'd just blame the computers.