It's that time of year, when the rest of the northern hemisphere gets back at the way we southerners acted during the winter. We bragged about 70 degrees. We posted pictures of clear blue skies and sunshine. We made sure you knew when the trees started blooming, all when you were covered up with snow.
And now it's 100 degrees F every day. Every single day. The sun is relentless. We've actually had a bit of rain this summer, but that just makes it more humid. Feel free to say "nanny nanny boo boo." We probably deserve it. It was 93 yesterday afternoon, and I actually said "it's much cooler today."
And school will never start. Summer will last forever. I will forever be refereeing fights over toys. No one will ever voluntarily get dressed independently again.
Wah.
Pixies, are you stuck in the doldrums? Do tell. Surely your doldrums are more interesting than mine.
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I'm not in the doldrums, but I did manage to get salad dressing on my shirt.
So, this isn't the point to AW that the temperatures are sticking at about room temperature all week? Is it okay if I AW/brag about that, if it's because it's our last few days until we move into an air-conditioned building?
W: Oh my goodness, you guys. Moving is stressful. And moving with a baby is very different from any previous move. We're either having to keep an eye on her/keep her out of trouble/entertain her, or we're having to be sure not to be too loud in the rooms adjacent to her room (which is most rooms in this small house).
W: Ladies, we have a wee biter on our hands. And on my Remembering That It's All Abouts. She just realised how useful her teeth are, yesterday. I've kept her from biting me today, by being consistent with her routine (I also treated her like a puppy: I tapped her cheek with my finger and said "No!" and then made her take a break from feeding until she was ready to behave herself), but last night she LAUGHED after biting me! Eeep. And ouch.
It's especially unnerving because she's also been roaring like a dinosaur.
Espeanza, sending a little heat relief your way.
Liz for best dressed!
QWP -- remembering what it's all about, all right. Here's to some toofy discretion! and also a gentle enough move, with magical moving fairies.
I had this whole whine about getting my computer back up but not being able to connect to the internet, which was because my wireless adapter died, but then suffering bouts of mansplaining from both my beloved AND the people at the tech parts store -- and then the adapter I bought, her box was missing the installation CD, leading to another trip to the tech parts store, where a manager mansplained that probably it doesn't need an installation CD, and I had to point out that actually, according to the instructions and my personal experience trying to install the thing, it does.
And lo, everything ran, and I got my software loaded fine, and rebuilt my bookmarks, yay! Except, it turns out that my documents from the last 15 months were not actually saved when I backed up during the crash proceedings. And that really sucks, very very badly.
PSA: Don't be like me. External backups, pixies.
PS -- many thanks to Liz for helpful suggestions and not calling me stupid (even though I deserve that). Yes, I was able to reconstruct a good bit! Yes, my computer is going to a data recovery hospital tomorrow, to see if they can do salvage.
Oh, dino roars! QWP, that would surely brighten my day! ;)
QWP, much sympathies on the biting. Sweet was a pumped breast milk bottle kid, so no biting but plenty of other things to whine about there. Mini, on the other hand, was a biter. It didn't take too long to get her to stop, but ouchies during the process.
AW: spottie the former feral (now age 6) recently had a breakthrough, when he jumped on me and started purr puuuurrrr puuuuuurrriiiiing, complete with kneading paws! but then it got scary, so he had to go. this actually happened twice, so it's not a fluke, and he can still hold off a dog 8 times his weight, should there be an encroachment of territory. such a brave and handsome boy!
Oh, nice! Brave kitty.
W: Apparently I can no longer stomach coffee. I had my first full cup in over a year (until now, I've only had about 1/4 of a cup, heavily diluted with milk). My stomach has never really loved coffee, but oy. I had that cup in the early afternoon and I'm still sick.
AW: tea exists. Wonderful, beloved tea. All the tea for me.
W: I think this move is really affecting Li'l E. Her dad tried to put her to bed while I showered (because of how sick the coffee made me), and it was bad. She took a long time to calm down. She's been really clingy to me for the past couple of days.
Sorry about the coffee, QWP.
I wouldn't be surprised that Lil E is picking up on teh moving stress. Sweet used to ALWAYS act up on Saturday nights, when Mr. E and I were each preaching on Sunday mornings. Trouble putting her down, waking up more often, clingy, etc. The grownups weren't aware of the extra stress in the household, but she was and reacted accordingly.
Hopefully things will all calm down soon.
AW: The Baboos and I had lunch with a friend today. Did you hear that? A local, real live person friend. NOT related to the church. Amazing, and we had fun.
I've heard about kids responding to their parents' stress, but hadn't really seen it until now! She's also gotten to a really observant stage, and is really attached to everything around the house, and so having all the furniture moved out gradually, while interesting to her, might also be stressing her out. Every time she wakes up, more things are missing!
(On the other hand, she also clearly thinks this is hilarious. She wouldn't rest until Mr. Q let her explore her empty closet, and hit all the walls.)
So many AWs! A dear old friend (who lives in Old Island Home, because we persuaded her and her husband to move out there, and then we ended up moving back home!) is visiting tomorrow, and will entertain E all day. And then another friend will join us after she's done work, and is bringing supper. This is a big deal, because we've packed all our dishes.
And! We're able to get our new apartment's keys hours earlier than I thought we could, and that'll make our moving day way easier.
I finally made it downstairs today (Tuesday afternoon) after being upstairs in bed since Saturday night . . . combination of flareup, minor uterine cramping/lower back pain, and severe ankle tendonitis, all from overdoing it last week even though I was trying to be careful and take it easy. I have no idea how I'm going to get through 5 days of county fair next week (my kids are showing animals, and I'm the 4-H leader, so I have to be there).
Also, DH injured his shoulder and keeps re-injuring it because he refuses to ask for help or not do things he feels need to be done. And it's not like I can take over the heavy lifting.
AW: We might possibly have found a name for the baby. And I can finally feel her movements well, despite the placenta being in the front between baby and my nerves. :)
Oh man, PK, so much sympathy on all accounts. It's so hard when you don't have the option to take it easy, and your body is forcing you to do so! And I'm so sorry to hear that your DH hurt his shoulder, at a time when you can't do the lifting!
And hooray for baby names and movements!
AW: Mr. Q got E to nap today, without my help. It involved her falling asleep on him while they watched TV together, but I'll take it.
esperanza -- yay for the lunch date with a live human friend!
QWP -- so sorry about the coffee. but yay about friends and early keys!
babies aren't verbal, but they are all the time responding to cues, and to what's familiar and what's not. that's not a bad thing -- but no wonder she is a little more alert, what with all this mysterious stuff! baby falling asleep on dad is CLASSIC!
((( PK ))) ohhhh, hope you are feeling better! will DH go see the doctor? sometimes it is better to hear the message from someone else.
here's what you need to do at the fair: park yourself in a chair with your feet up, supervise from that position, and delegate delegate delegate! i assume that other parents will be there -- can you get a schedule together for covering any this and that for the group? would you consider a wheelchair, to keep the physical stress to a minimum? xoxoxo
What Kathy A. said. All of it.
Hmm, wheelchair is actually a good idea. Not only would it hello with my overexertion, but it could help shape others' expectations of me.
DH did actually go to the doctor, which at least convinced him to *try* to limit activities with that arm, and to use ice and NSAIDS occasionally.
QOWP, yes, definitely kids respond to their parents' stress. Hugs to all.
Glad you like the wheelchair idea! Sends a better message than the lawn chair, no? Plus, wheels.
Old skool: cat bark, artistically arranged near the foot of the bed. The diva cat accepts your admiration.
W: feeling super duper stressed about my teaching gig in the fall. Will I be any good at this? why did i think i could actually do this? etc etc
AW: hurray for an awesome mentor who is willing to answer all my new-teacher questions even in the middle of the summer, and can calm me down when I am *freaking* out about the fall! feeling much better after a conversation with her.
w: haven't given almost any thought to an overseas vacation that starts very soon--like, very soon. as in, have not planned anything. or researched.
aw (with maybe a whine built in): we will be with others the whole time. my sister first, then spouse's extended family so not really a need to do the planning. trying to go with the flow (does not come easily to me, see above).
Maybe this vacation will be a growth experience. :)
--Neighbor Lady
NL!! You will be a rock star teacher! It is so great you have a mentor, too!
Yes, it will be an adjustment -- need to get your rhythm going, get used to the schedule, get to know the kids. You might need to kinda fake the "adult in charge" persona for a little bit, and that's OK. But these kids are so lucky!
Hope you have a wonderful vacation!
Pressure, cramping and possible cervical changes. My midwives are apparently on vacation, and on-call OB was paged more than an hour ago and has't called back. Just left another message. I think I'm 22 weeks on Sunday. Lying down drinking water and trying not to worry.
Baby is moving around a lot. :)
Thanks, Kathy a. :)
(((pk)))
--neighbor lady
Oh, PK! Good, stay down with feet up. Hope the OB is back in touch immediately. xoxo
I've called 3 times now over a 2-hour period and they haven't called back yet. Will give them a few more minutes and then if they still haven't called back I'm tempted to just show up at L&D and ask them to check.
Yes, you should just go in. Seems to me they will need to do an exam to give any useful advice.
xoxoox
oh, p_k, yikes. Lying down and drinking water is good. Out of touch OB is not good.
And keep us posted when you can.
Hugs.
Apparently the OB that was covering for my MW had a mishap today and is in the hospital him/her self! Being checked now.
Well sitting here being monitored anyway. . . not literally being checked at the moment, of course.
thanks for the update. I take back my snarky thoughts about the OB. Hope he/she is ok. Glad you went in.
Yikes! But glad you are being monitored and checked, PK!
Doesn't look like I'm having contractions much if at all, from what I can see of the monitor from here.
Everything looks good with the baby. Apparently there's a stomach virus going around that causes intestinal cramping and diarrhea, and intestinal cramping can cause uterine cramping. No real signs of early labor though.
And, I ended up seeing my own midwife, who came back from vacation to cover for the OB. And the OB is injured, but will survive.
Oh, and my MW wrote me a prescription for a wheelchair for the fair. :)
score! glad it turned out well, PK.
whew. Glad you got it checked out, sorry you're sick, and hooray for the wheelchair.
I've been obsessively refreshing my window, so thank you for the update! Preemie mama flashbacks ;)
...and if you don't mind some medical butting in, there is a test they can fun, called fetal fibronectin. If it's positive (I think I'm getting this right), labor is imminent in the next two weeks. If it's negative, it doesn't really mean anything, because things can change rapidly. My OB did this for me multiple times when I was pregnant with Mini, just for my own peace of mind. It's a cervical swab.
a test they can *run*
I obviously need to go to bed.
Great to know, thanks!
Neighbor Lady, I've gone on trips with extreme family where someone else did the planning and organizing and it turned out very well. Especially if the organizer is not offended if some people opt out of some activities.
Extended family. Although that autocorrect is pretty funny in a freudian slip kind of way.
((PK)) Keeping my thoughts on you.
Thanks, PK.
Will keep you in my thoughts also!
I love the autocorrect--funny thing-that sentence made perfect sense to me as it was.
:)
Neighbor Lady
Oh my goodness, did I ever miss a lot! So many hugs for PK. (Like esperanza, I was also having preemie and monitoring flashbacks.) It's the funny time when a stomach virus is the best-case scenario!
AW: Hey, guys! I live in an apartment now. We got the best possible apartment (View of the creek instead of the parking lot! End suite and so an extra living room window!). Believe it or not, all our service people (the carpet cleaners and the telecom guy) arrived EARLY. Like, more than an hour early. Our furniture is in place, and E is settling in already.
W: Boxes. And lack of storage space.
W2: While E is mostly settling in, she woke up a LOT last night. Pass the caffeinated beverage.
W-ish: So. I live in McMansion country now. All the trees are wee little saplings. On the horizon, I see big box stores. I will miss living in an established neighbourhood.
Nominate "extreme family" for addition to the lexicon!
QWP -- sounds like the move went well, and the new place will do! E will adjust. Got nothin' on the boxes; we still have some that were originally packed in the 1980's, not to mention the yearly boxes of schoolwork and art from when the kids were little. [hangs head in shame...]
Return of (Former) Downstairs Girl: Mr. Q and I cleaned our old house, and did the walk-through with our property manager. While we were there, Mr. Q asked if I could text DG and remind her that she had a lot of mail piling up in the mailbox (and that said mailbox won't exist soon, once the demo starts happening), that she still has a crib and a carseat sitting outside (seriously), and to ask if we could come and pick up the pan and pot that she keeps forgetting to return.
And I heard back from her. She lost the expensive frying pan, and said that my text to her was rude!
I know that it would be useless to get her to pay to replace it. She has no money at all, and I'm just so done with this hassle. I haven't texted her back yet. I either could text her back (possibly with some nonpology about my tone) and tell her that I am frustrated that she lost this pan, or I can just ignore it and never talk to her again.
Pixies, what would you do?
Combined W and AW: our walk-through was a little nuts. The single most thorough walk-through ever, with the property manager looking under the baseboards, and feeling in the kitchen sink, determining it to feel a little gritty.
This is a house that was sold "as is," is falling apart, and is only (possibly) not being demolished because the demo guy decided to move the house out of town to his daughter. Also, the property manager realised, mid-way through the walk-through, that she should have sent us the move-out cleaning list. (And I swear that we spent forever cleaning.)
But AW: we got our whole deposit back. We took forever, as she made us clean up ever thing she spotted, but then she came to the realisation that we've been keeping this house together, and have been dealing with EVERYTHING, and decided just to give us back our deposit in full. (At first she was considering deducting $100 for minor things.)
So, I don't have to send a cluestick posse after her...
If you have no need for a continuing relationship with DG and have determined the frying pan is gone for good, I'd just let it go. Stress isn't worth it.
Well, you did the polite thing, informing her the place is no more and maybe she wants to get her mail and whatever. Time to let her go.
Seriously? Checking the sink for grit, and only grudgingly giving back the deposit? Ah, well -- another person you don't have to see again!
Gimme your new address, I'll send you a brand new multi-purpose cast-iron skillet.
Oh, I have a cast iron skillet! This was something more for making omlettes and things. I use the skillet for almost everything (and have been using it for eggs for the past year), but it was also part of a set, and was a nice, heavy-bottomed pan! And part of the set from our wedding!
I guess it was less the pan itself than the fact that she didn't return and then lost ours.
But yeah, I definitely have decided not to text her back. It just won't be productive.
I think we all know she didn't lose the pan. She's keeping it.
Most of us would have trouble "losing" somebody else's nice wedding-present pan (or our own, even) -- where exactly could one leave it by accident?
Here is hoping that DG eventually grows up and stops behaving as though everybody owes her something. "You were rude!" is such a classic 14-year-old in-a-giant-funk kind of response.
If you do decide to contact her, maybe texting is not the best way. A handwritten snail-mail card wishing her well in the future might go a lot farther. And then you might add a PS -- "If you should find the lost pan, we would be very appreciative. It was a special wedding gift from my [example] favorite aunt, and [example] especially now that she is ill, it means a lot to us. Thanks." Just an idea.
Those who have known me in the blogging world for a while will appreciate the wine/antiwhine in this: Baby E is 8 today. Eight. Years. Old. How did that happen?!
Obviously I meant whine, but autocorrect apparently didn't know that.
Very good suggested letter.
PK, can't believe your E is 8 already! Wow!
Eight?! I really can't believe it.
Hm. That's a really good idea for a letter. I only do have her cell number (and she never answers if you directly phone her). Mr. Q suspects that she's lying about having lost it (based on her track record), and that she actually ruined it, and doesn't want to admit it. Since there's no point asking her to replace it, I'm just walking away.
I've lost a few dishes leaving them at pot lucks or that sort of thing. Or putting them "in a safe place" for storage. Or having the kids take them out to feed scraps to the animals and then finding out much later (after being confused about where my dish disappeared to) that they chucked dish and all over the fence into the chicken run and left it there. Grrr.
I missed E's birthday party today because I was too slow and tired and feeling poorly to get myself there (DH left early with the kids and I was going to finish taking care of the animals and follow behind.) :(((
NLASS (college student who lived with us for a year) is getting married tomorrow and I hope I can make it to that.
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