This glamorous life of mine

Hmm.. so.. what do I want to tell you about? About so many unrelated things I guess.

I finished planting all the seeds for things I'm going to grow this year. I started out with sunflowers, carrots, lettuce, onions, poppies, and strawberries. Most of the sunflowers are about 6 inches tall and will have to go into pots that are a lot bigger soon- or be moved right into the ground outside. The carrots, lettuce, onions, poppies are all about the same.. small still, but doing okay. It will be awhile before they can go into the ground. And the strawberries? After weeks.. are just barely coming up out of the dirt. But.. I guess that's normal for strawberries. They are actually one of the things I am most excited about growing. That and the cucumbers.

The second batch of seeds that I planted (over the weekend) were cucumbers, yellow tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins (just 3 seeds, because what am I going to do with 20 pumpkins?), beans (3 different kinds), nasturtiums, and echinacea (that Lily picked out because the flowers were pretty.. although, considering how often we get sick now..).

Yesterday.. I finally bought a new stroller. Finally. Last year around this time I wanted to get a new one.. and looked around a lot, but never bought one. Because I didn't really NEED one, I just kind of wanted a new one. Now.. I do need one. The one I have now was bought right before Lily was born. Four and a half years ago. It was used a lot. And it shows. The basket is ripped in several places, the axles are both rusted all the way across, the tires don't have much rubber left on them, etc. But the major problem is that one of the axles is now bent near the tire. I have no idea how it happened and when I tried to fix it, it only got about 25% better. I was afraid if I put too much pressure on it, the whole thing was going to snap. And then instead of having a mostly broken and really difficult to push stroller, I'd have a completely broken and totally useless stroller. So.. it was new stroller time. It'll be here some time in the next few weeks. I'm excited.

Also.. I've been trying to clean the house. Clean as in.. organize, I guess? Because I already do clean the house.. and that's not exciting to talk about. Or do. It's slightly chaotic around here.. and has been as such for years. It's better now than it was a year ago.. and a year ago it was better than it was two years ago.. but, it's still nonsense. And I hate it.

Trying to organize things with two little kids is.. not going well. I can only make the tiniest of progress each day I get to work on it. And by tiny I mean.. not even noticeable. And there's only so much that I can do- physically.

Today, I spent a lot of time starring at a bookcase that belongs to someone else and I wish would just get moved out already. But.. after 14 months of wishing that.. it's still here, so I'm not holding out much hope that it's going anywhere. Right now I'm trying to figure out where to put it. There are a few places it could go, but I'm not thrilled about any of the options.. so all I really did was stare at it.

I swept the hall and Lily's room. I rotated Noah's bed 90 degrees- which I think makes better use of the Lily/Noah bedroom space. I did two loads of laundry, folded it all, and put it away. I also washed a lot of dishes. That's actually washing them.. wouldn't it be funny if I had a dishwasher?

I drank two cups of iced coffee today. Not "cups" as in eight ounce quantities, but as in containers.. so, more than two cups really. And there's still so much. To do.

what we did this week

1. The seeds are growing like crazy (sunflowers, carrots, lettuce, onions, and strawberries). I've already moved half of them into bigger pots.. and then they'll go outside. Which is good, because now I can plant the rest of the flowers and vegetables that needed a little bit later start.
2. Lily's portrait of Noah. Totally unsolicited. I can't remember what he's holding though.. I think it's cake?
3. My new sneakers, in their revised and correct size, finally came. I tried to get a picture of them.. and who has to come and get in the middle of it? One of my children of course. Oh well, his feet are cuter than mine any day.

How convincing her happens

I won't (right now) get into my feeling about Lily's schooling situation in the fall, but.. I've been thinking about increasing her time at the school she's currently at. There's lots of good reasons for her to spend more time there (less screen time at home, more opportunities to play outside, more time to play with kids her own age, more time in an environment that goes by a schedule, etc). There are also one or two ways it'd be better for me and at least one way it'd be better for Noah- one on one time with me (which Lily had for 3 1/2 years straight and Noah only gets when Lily's at school).

I tried to talk to her about it last week. She didn't want to hear it. So I tried again on Sunday, as her school is trying to get an idea of who will still be attending in the summer, in the fall, etc- she told me she didn't want to go to school more. Because, of course. I pointed out all the great things about being at school more. Fail.

On Monday, when I dropped her off at school I let her one of her teachers know I was thinking about having her at school more, but that Lily told me she didn't like the idea. This teacher's response? That one doesn't typical ASK a 3 or 4-year old if it's okay with them. Ug. So, I had to explain that, of course, I wasn't asking my child's PERMISSION to send her to school, but that I just wanted to see how she felt about it. This is Lily we were discussing after all- if you can't get to her agree that it's a good idea.. oh, man.. good luck with that. So, we agreed that we'd "try it out" one day. Some day in the future. To be determined.

When I picked Lily up that afternoon, she came running over to me and blurted out "I want to stay more!" Which.. I don't know.. I probably should have seen coming. I kind of frowned at her and inquired if her teachers had talked to her about it or if she just decided that on her own. She decided it on her own, she tells me. Alright.

Which is typical of her. She often tells me she doesn't want to go to school, while I'm trying to get her ready or when she goes to bed the night before. But.. it's not that she doesn't like being at school (BELIEVE me.. I've asked her 100 parent-nightmare questions about it).. I think she just really likes being at home and around her family- but once she gets out the door and in the car.. she loves school again. I think sometimes she thinks she'd rather stay home and play video games or not have to get dressed or have juice on demand or whatever other at-home luxury, but then when she stops.. and remembers what school is like.. she wants to go there too.

what we did this week

1. The daffodils are blooming.
2. Lily, Noah, and I finally made it outside to play- amidst all our various illnesses and medical situations. (I'm sick, again, by the way- thanks preschool.) It wasn't as warm as I thought it was before we went outside, so we didn't stay that long.
3. I saw this car at Target. At first I thought 'oh, thaaat's weird'- because it looked like part of the car. Then after a couple of seconds I realized what it was (uh, Apple!) and then I thought 'oh, that's cool!" I may or may not want one for my own car now. On a level of one to super nerdy.. how nerdy is that?

Things that will happen to you as a SAHM

Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom has its disadvantages. (Sometimes?) Oh sure, I get to spend tons of time with my children (tons!)- and that's awesome. But sometimes it's almost too many tons. (Maybe you know this already, but the Peace Corps isn't the job that's the toughest one you'll ever love.)

Don't misunderstand.. I'm not complaining (right now)- it's more awesome than it is not awesome. But.. half the time I don't even know what day it is. Major holidays, I've got. Specific days the week and minor holidays- not so much. Take this Monday for example..

Last week Lily was out of school all week- sick. When Monday came around and I was going to be able to get more done.. I was excited. We got ready to go without out too much issue and were only 10-15 minutes late. (Today we were half an hour late. Get up earlier you say? Not when I'm only getting 4 hours of sleep thanks.)

Pulling up to the small parking lot at her school, I couldn't see any cars. Which I thought.. was.. weird? But then I saw just one on the other side of the building- so I wasn't sure. Was there no school? Why would there be no school? There must be school, the teachers must have.. just all.. walked? I dragged everyone out of the car, through the gate, and up to the door. We were greeted by a sign that said "Monday: No School." Uh, what?

Well didn't I feel stupid. Back to the car, back into car seats. What the heck holiday was it? I was pretty sure Presidents' Day already happened. Martin Luther King is in February. I think. (No, I just looked it up.. it's January. See what I mean?) Not time for Memorial Day yet?

I Googled "April 15 holiday." Tax Day. Tax Day? What? No school for tax day? So confused. What was going on? So I kept scrolling and scrolling down.

Oh.

Patriots' Day. Ug. If I was a normal person.. if I had a job (you know, a REAL job).. interacted with people over the age of 4 on a regular basis.. wasn't, essentially, a shut in.. I'd know these things. And not get up before 7am. And not force myself and two small children out of the house at unGodly hours of the day. Before I'd had enough coffee. Not enough coffee, that's what I'll blame this on.

inspired #5

to MAKE..

diy coffee filter wreath @the sits girls

I love this idea. I also like the idea of soaking the filters in brewed coffee first- just wonder how well that would hold up.. versus new filters.

a LIKE..

diy easter decor carrots @the creek line house

It's a little late for Easter this year, but there's always next year. Or as part of a spring/summer vegetable display.

to DO..

head scarf tutorial @keiko lynn

This is perfect for the impending hot and humid summer weather (that I do not enjoy). Now I just need to find some scarves..

to MAKE..

project life scrapbook @a beautiful mess

Now if I only I had the time and patience for something like this. I used to. And then there was Lily. And Noah. Maybe someday.

what we did the last 3 weeks

1. I decorated Easter eggs with Lily. This one was my favorite. And in the end, the only one that didn't get eaten.
2. I played Mario Party with Lily. She loves this game- and while I don't want to play it everyday, I actually kinda like it too.
3. Lily and I ate our favorite IKEA dessert. NOW it's our favorite. The first time we got it, she didn't even want to try it.. now she's brave.
4. I started eating a lot more burritos, thanks to being really sick, not being able to eat anything, and then slowly eating things like rice. Then rice in a burrito shell. Then rice in a burrito shell with a little guacamole. Etc. You get the idea.
5. And then Lily got sick. The three of us were stuck inside for the nicest weather in the last 6 months.. with no more for another few weeks.
6. Lily has her own Macbook (my old one) and she (unfortunately) knows how to print. She printed out a word search. And then actually did it. Really fast. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised that she can do a word search when she can use a laptop and print things out.

Oh come ON.. !

Sometimes I feel like I just cannot catch a break. Which isn't really true. There are many ways in which I have "caught a break" recently- like I had surgery and did not die.

But then there's the other stuff. Lily gets sick constantly from school. And I can only assume it's school because there was never so much illness in our house until she started school. From about Thanksgiving until a month ago, she had a runny nose almost constantly. She'd sniffle for weeks, start to get better, go 5-10 days.. and then it'd just start all over again. These sniffles also worked themselves into a cold a few times as well. Some of which I caught too. To such an extent that I apparently had a sinus infection. It wasn't really bothering me, but I had to take a week's worth of antibiotics anyway, so I that could have surgery.

The antibiotics made me sick. Funny. But I kept taking them because.. surgery. The surgery went fine, but initially knocked me out totally from doing anything other than just the most basic of hygiene tasks- like brushing my hair or standing at the sink to brush my teeth. Since then, each day I'm able to add a few more things to my list of yes-I-can-do-that stuff.

But just as I was ready to be a 100% full functioning person and mom again.. I got sick. Really sick. So sick that I didn't even turn my computer on for days. So sick that I went to the Emergency Room. Twice. Because it turned out I had an infection- most likely related to the surgery/being in the hospital. But even that was not especially common for an average, healthy, non-elderly person such as myself. I heard "how'd you get that?" from multiple medical professionals. Which.. is of course awesome to hear.

The medicine for that was.. vile. Even with pudding. (Turns out lemon pudding isn't weird, it's good.) And the first spoonful would make me sneeze violently, every time. I'd also have to lay down afterwards for about an hour (but couldn't ever sleep), 3 times a day, because it made me sick all over again.

Just as I was all better, as another week was starting, as I thought we'd all get back into the swing of things, I'd finally get to the grocery store.. Lily got sick. Really sick. With the same symptoms as I had- vomiting, fever, chills, not wanting to eat. And I panicked. No, no, no- I'd rather her have the flu than what I had. I think. I think it would be better if she had the flu than what I was sick with.

However I've decided that she's got too many other symptoms now to have what I did. So, yay right?

For her- yes. For me- no. Because it means I'm probably going to get that now too- just like Noah did. And getting 5 hours of sleep a night after taking care of two miserably sick kiddos all day (and night).. is just further setting up my body as a perfect host for whatever new illness Lily has gotten us into this time.

So.. I'd personally rather just skip over this one if it's all the same because I'm going to lose my mind doing 2 or 3 loads of laundry every.day.all.week.long anyway. And all those seasonal allergies are just about here on top of it. Mommy problems.

Doctor, who?

I recently started watching Doctor Who. (I watched some of the original shows when I was a little kid, but I just recently started watching the new series of Doctor Who about a month ago.)

And I love it.

Today I started Series 3. The Runaway Bride. Catherine Tate. Catherine Tate.. you know what I just watched last night? The Office. And now she's in Doctor Who. (First Penelope Wilton of Downton Abbey, now this.) I know, I know it will be hard when I get to the Alex Kingston episodes (I watched every season of ER, so I'm sorry, but you ARE Dr. Corday).

And then of course Anthony Head was in an episode in the second series (yes, I watched Buffy too).

Writing this out is really making me realize that not only have I watched a lot of tv in my life, but also that I'm a big nerd.

I wasn't sure I was going to like new Doctor Who. I wasn't sure I wasn't going to have nightmares. But so far, so good. I watch it alone because there have been a few episodes that I thought were going to make me cry- which I guess is normal for Doctor Who.

[This is where I started explaining the hysterical parts too. Cybermen and Daleks arguing back and forth demanding that the other identify themselves first, the first ten seconds of the third series, etc. But even I realized that it was too nerdy for this blog and took it out.]

As a genre, I don't really care for Science Fiction. [Or Horror movies, gore, etc.] But apparently I like Doctor Who. I blame my dad.

what i did last week

I'd like this to be a good week, because last week was not. It was mainly one thing, but it was mainly one thing that lasted an entire week.

On Sunday I woke up and felt sort of.. tired. Sorta lower on energy than normal. And as the day went on, I had less and less energy. I just didn't want to do anything. And then I started getting cold. Really, really cold. Cold like.. wearing long sleeves, jeans, and a sweatshirt, had my hood up, and was under 2 blankets- (and still cold) kind of cold.

Monday it got worse. Back and forth between fever and chills. Over and over- all day long. Then there was the vomiting. Not being able to eat. Not being able to keep anything down. Not even little sips of water.

Twenty-four hours later I was done. I didn't care if Jason took me to the walk-in clinic (my doctor was out of appointments) or the emergency room.. I just wanted someone to help me. I just said that I really didn't like the idea of being up-right. And off to hospital we went. Finally.

I didn't have to wait too long. Probably. Really, it felt like forever- because I was feeling worse. The nurse tried over and over and over to get my blood pressure, but I was just shaking too much for the machine to get a reading. She did it on her own and didn't like the results.. too high. Or the results of my temperature.. too low.

And off they sent me for blood work. Where my body proceeded to not take it well. However, it took awhile to get someone to pay attention to me. When they did? Back to where I was to.. finally.. lay down.

My "emergency" got upgraded to a more urgent level and I was hooked up to an IV. (Dehydrated.) And moved right into the heart of the emergency room. Including being in the room next door to an inmate handcuffed to his bed.. guarded by three men with guns.

And there I stayed for the next five or six hours. Until finally they let me go home- only to call me at 6am the next day to tell me I had to go back.