Incriminating Evidence

I am a tidy person. I like to stay on top of clutter before it gets out of hand. When something is out of place, I put it away. That being said, the following pictures prove how overwhelmed and in pain I have been lately:


My kitchen floor has looked like this for DAYS.


Why, yes, that is a close up of a half-eaten waffle on the floor. It still took me a few hours to throw it away after I took the picture, because it was just not worth the pain involved to bend down and pick it up.

24

I have never seen the show 24, but I have been told that each episode covers a 24 hour period, and I imagine that a lot happens over the course of each said 24 hour period. Here are my last 24 hours:

3:30 pm yesterday: Sophie had been home from school for only a few minutes (God bless the friend that brings her home every day. It is seriously my saving grace in life.) when Lilah woke up from her nap. I was not excited at the prospect of entertaining them for another four hours until bedtime, so I took them out shopping at a couple of nearby stores.

5:00pm: Things were going pretty well. I had found some shoes for myself, a birthday present for a kid's party we are going to this weekend, and each of the girls had chosen a book. Sophie was being a typical four year old in a store: dancing down the aisles, walking backwards, touching all of the clothes, etc., but generally behaving. Lilah was eating a snack of cheese crackers. She was asking to get out of the stroller a lot, but was also behaving fine. She had been coughing/congested all day and the school nurse had called me, but I hadn't been all that concerned. My kids have asthma; they cough a lot. Sometimes they wheeze and we use an inhaler. No biggie. All of a sudden Lilah's coughing turned into vomitting. All over herself, the stroller, and one of the not-yet-paid-for books she was holding at the time. And we were next in the check out line. Here is where my experience at these types of things came in handy. I calmly walked us all to the back of the store, toward the restroom, drawing as little attention as possible to ourselves (impressive feat considering we were a caravan of vomit). When we got to the restroom, the door was being blocked by a garment rack. I struggled to move the rack, open the door, and maneuver my nine month pregnant self, a fidgety four year old, and a stroller containing a crying, vomit-covered two-year-old through the narrow opening, all while a saleswoman looked on and made no attempt to help in any way. Once inside the small room, I got to work. Luckily, I carry an entire package of wipes in my purse at all times. I wiped down Lilah, the book, and the stroller pretty quickly. I got everything organized in the stroller's basket and started to open the door. The garment rack had been pushed back against the door again, so once again, I had to really struggle to get us all out. Again, the saleswoman was just standing there watching. When we were all settled on the other side of the door I thanked her for her help. She told me it wasn't her job to help me. I said a few more sarcastic things to her and walked away. We walked over to the kids' clearence clothes, picked up a cheap dress to change Lilah into, and made our way back to the check out line. When we were outside, I changed Lilah into the new dress, and back home we went. All in all, we did find a way to pass a couple of hours, so mission: accomplished.

6:00pm: We had breakfast for dinner followed by the kids playing outside while I potted some plants.

8:00pm: The kids had been bathed, changed into jammies, had watched their bedtime show, and went to bed pretty easily. Lilah was not breathing well, so we did the inhaler and I set up a mist humidifier in her room.

9:00pm: Shimmy came home and we had dinner and our daily debriefing session together. Then he went to work out and I went to do my hair for my maternity photo shoot that was to occur the next day.

10:00pm: Shimmy and I reconvened for the Roast of Charlie Sheen on Comedy Central. It was hilarious. I fell asleep before it was over, hoping to get a good night's sleep and be refreshed for my photo shoot.

10:48pm: Lilah woke up crying. Shimmy did the inhaler with her again and put her back to bed.

1:30am: Lilah woke up again. Shimmy laid down with her in her bed.

3:50am: Lilah came and got me. Shimmy was passed out in her bed. She climbed into bed with me. I gave her a snack and let her watch some tv, then we both went back to sleep.

7:46am: I heard Sophie in the bathroom calling out, "Daddy, help me!" Followed by, "Daddy, I'm starting to pee on the floor!" Followed by, "Daddy, I had an accident!" Daddy was still passed out in Lilah's room and deaf to the world around him. I stumbled into the bathroom through my sciatica and leg cramps, cleaned up the floor, and showered Sophie. Then I helped her get dressed and went downstairs with her to make breakfast and pack her lunch for school. The construction workers, who were already here, asked me many questions and had me move a car. Lilah made her way downstairs shortly thereafter in good spirits, but her breathing was very labored. Shimmy made his way downstairs shortly after that and decided that both he and Lilah should stay home today and that Lilah should be seen by a doctor. I decided to hell with everything, I would go about my own plans to make myself glamorous and enjoy my maternity photo shoot, which would now have to be indoors as it was raining.

8:30am: Shimmy took Sophie to school and Lilah entertained herself while I attempted to cover up my stress and lack of sleep with copious amounts of coffee and heavy doses of makeup.

9:30am: My photographer arrived and I had a GREAT session. Loved the photographer and can't wait to see the results!

10:30am: I went with Shimmy and Lilah to the doctor. I helped Shimmy hold Lilah down while she underwent a dreaded nebulizer treatment. We left with a better-breathing Lilah and some prescriptions. We went out for lunch, attempted to pick up the prescriptions (but they were still not ready), and went home.

2:15pm: After a lot of snacking, reading, stalling, and then rolling around and talking to herself, Lilah finally fell asleep.

2:40pm: I decided to go to sleep too.

3:13pm: Sophie woke me up, asked me for a snack, and told me, "Don't tell Daddy I woke you up."

Which brings us to the present, 3:30pm: Sophie is eating a snack and watching a show. Lilah is still napping. My parents will be here in a couple of hours to eat dinner and babysit while Shimmy and I are at Back to School Night. When I get back home I will have an exciting evening of four loads of laundry to fold.

Back To School

First day of school

The kids have just finished their first complete week of school. Everyone is happy. The morning routine is working, everyone is having fun at school, and afternoon carpool is working out well. I am breathing easier and my back is hurting less. I am crazy busy with appointments, meetings, holiday prep and nesting- the lines between which are very blurry. But I am alone! I can do all of these things and do them well! And the kids are so happy when they come home- babbling excitedly about the fun day they've had! Everybody wins! As sad as I am to say good-bye to Summer, I think Fall is going to work out just fine. To start off the season right: apple picking on Sunday!

Catching Up

I've been too busy to blog, y'all. Both the good kind of busy and the bad kind of busy. I'll try to catch up now- and I'll do it with pics to make up for my lack of blogging.

The construction, which should have been finished well over a month ago, is still going on. I'm hoping everything on the inside of the house will be finished by the end of next week. The landscaping is still a complete mess. It should also have been finished a few weeks ago. There was a lazy period, followed by progress, followed by a week of rain and flooding. I have a dream that one day when I look out the window I'll see grass, plants, paved walkways, and a fountain. I am so very tired of looking at mud, rocks, holes, and ditches:




We took our annual Charleston trip for a week in the middle of August. We rented a beach house with a great view:



And we had a ball:



It was great hanging out with friends and family and spending time with each other:



The very next weekend we headed up to Cleveland to celebrate our niece's bat mitzvah. The kids loved hanging out with their cousins:



We had time to squeeze in a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (no matter what I do, this picture keeps posting sideways):



The next weekend, Shimmy and I flew to Atlanta without the kids for my cousin's wedding. Even though we were only there for a total of 26 hours, it was amazing. Firstly, because instead of spending between six and ten hours in the car as I had done for the past few weekends, it was a short hour and a half flight! I got to eat, sleep, and party like a normal person! It was fabulous! I found this pic on my camera- I think my dad took it. It's blurry, but it's happy:



And that brings us to the present. The summer is over. The kids are in school (that will get its own post), the weather is gloomy, and I am busy planning all of our holiday meals. Oh, and a baby is coming soon. Back to the grind! Nine more months until summer is back in full swing.

Hybrid

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time now. And the longer I wait, the more relevant it becomes. It’s nothing highly astute or Earth-shattering, but it’s still incredible to me. Lilah is growing up.

I remember observing a friend’s two year old a few years ago and thinking, she is a baby-kid hybrid. Lilah is now at this hybrid stage. She still has chubby cheeks, fine baby hair, and an adorable little baby giggle. She still runs to me for comfort when she’s sad or scared. She still asks me if she can give me “a big, big hug.” She still sleeps with her thumb in her mouth and her body curled into the fetal position. She still has soft baby feet. But those feet are getting big. I’ve noticed a few freckles cropping up on that soft, baby skin. Her hair is finally long enough for a pony tail (not that she lets me put her hair in a pony tail). She likes to boss me around. Sometimes, if I try to sing along with her she gets angry and yells, “No, don’t sing that!” She remembers things and starts actual conversations with me. She has mad negotiating skills.

I knew this part was coming, but the baby days still managed to slip through my fingers. No matter how many times I kiss that little baby face, it continues to mature. No matter how many times I elicit that heartwarming giggle, I cannot bottle it forever. I’ve been here before with Sophie, but somehow it’s harder this time. Perhaps it is because I know how quickly Sophie’s baby days slipped away from me that I am grasping even tighter around Lilah’s baby days. Sadly, it is to no avail. No matter how tight my grasp, those baby days slip farther and away with each passing moment. I can only try my best to bottle them in my heart.

From this:

To this:

Unwinding

You know what cures a long day filled with aches and pains and whiny children? A jacuzzi bath, a bowl of strawberries, a (small) glass of (5% alcohol by volume) wine and Tina Fey.

The Way You Look, July

July is the best month of the year. Summer is in full-swing. The long, wonderfully hot days are filled with laughter in the pool:



Lazy afternoons in the hammock, looking up at the sky:



Picnics of fresh fruit (usually sweet, juicy watermelon):



Floating around, without a worry in the world:



And, of course, July 4th, in all it's flag-filled glory:



The days of July are what I mourn in the Fall, long for in the Winter, and eagerly anticipate in the Spring. This is when I am my happiest. I can only try to bottle it as best I can and hope it lasts the rest of the year until July returns.

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you...