The rules go out the window

This past weekend I was solo parenting while DH was in Connecticut for a college friend's wedding. I had 48 hours to fill with Cameron. Normally that's not a problem but we are between kid activities, I'm a bit depressed post BigFinance layoffs and all I wanted to do was veg out around the house. My solution? Throw out all rules and get through the weekend.

Here are some snippets from our time together:

• Lots and lots of television. I think we watched Tangled about 8 times and I even let her pull out her travel DVD player so I could watch football and HGTV yesterday. OK, you got me, it was more like watching Millionaire Matchmaker and occasionally checking in on the score.


• Let her eat crap. I dug into the "only once a month" type of snacks and drinks and let Cameron go wild. She even had two juice boxes yesterday (the horror!).


• Convinced a friend (begged really) to come over for a many-hour play date on Saturday. It resulted in every single toy being pulled out, played with for 5 seconds and discarded but at least Amanda and I got to catch up.


• Put a pillow over my head. Cameron decided on Saturday that 6 AM was a good wake up time. I managed to hold her off until 6:30. On Sunday it was 5 AM when she started calling for me. I closed my door and put my pillow over my head. We had breakfast at a much more respectable 7 AM.


• Bribery. I had to do a Target run for essentials. So naturally I stooped by the One Spot and picked up a few things for Cameron to keep her entertained.


• Forgo bath time. Typically we bath Cameron every other day but somehow I missed Saturday's bath. I took her to McDonald's (or as Cameron calls it, "Old McDonald's) and by the time we got home all I wanted was to put her to bed and pour a glass of wine.


• Didn't push potty training. Ironically this stance kind of backfired on me because she ended up going like 10 times over the course of the weekend which was good because we've had a regression lately with the training efforts.


• Let the house become messy. I did pick up post play date (only because otherwise I couldn't have walked through the house) but otherwise I did the minimal amount of housework I could get away with.

We survived and Cameron was very happy to see her daddy on Sunday evening. He even did bath time and bedtime for me so I could relax. And now we are back to our normal routine. So, what do you do to cope when your partner in crime is away?

Karma or coincidence?

A few days ago I mentioned to my husband that I thought it was odd we had never been called for jury duty in the 4+ years we've lived in Charlotte. Particularly because we both regularly vote and I've heard that it is through voter registration that jury duty selection is made.

I got home from a run with my friend Amanda yesterday. As I sat down to chat with Cameron and DH he pointed to the kitchen counter.

"I blame you for this."

I got up to go and look. Yup, my husband has been summoned to jury duty on October 11th. Weird coincidence, right? Or is it?????

I've never served on a jury but my mom was on one years ago for a first degree murder trial. Most jury duty stuff tends to be boring but every once in a while....my mom was even sequestered for a day or two! Have you ever been on jury duty? Was it boring or a good case? And what was the verdict?

This superman may not fly but he does tea parties

2011 continues to suck it. I can't believe it isn't even the middle of January yet. As I am sure you are aware, the Southeast was struck with a combination of snow and ice starting on Monday. Coincidentally I was also in Charlottesville when it hit and the shut down of the Charlotte airport necessitated in two extra nights there.

My flight to Charlotte on Monday was one of only two that wasn't cancelled. I kept checking my phone for the status update during my interviews of intern candidates at Darden. All was on time. Happily I returned my rental car and headed through security. 2 hours later it was official. No flights in or out of Charlotte. I informed DH and booked a hotel.

Needless to say, any amount of snow results in a shut down of everything in Charlotte. So while I was interviewing students, DH was stuck at home juggling a toddler and work. Like so many other transplants, DH and I have no family in the area. Which means if we end up in a situation without childcare, we have to juggle our calendars. In the past, I typically work from home and we trade off based on meeting schedules. Unfortunately we both have jobs that require a lot of meetings and conference calls and just keeping work things to evenings wasn't an option.

DH persevered and we both planned that my 5:25 AM flight on Tuesday would bring me home to help out. But an automated phone call in the middle of the night pushed back my flight to 9 AM (at least I didn't have to wake up at 4 AM!). While waiting at the airport it was pushed again to 2 PM. Right at 2 we were told that Charlotte was shut down and re-booked again for the next day. Thank goodness I was in a small regional airport. If I had to deal with that craziness at Atlanta I would have broken down crying several times. Customer service at Charlottesville was excellent.

My Tuesday delay meant poor DH had to endure another non-daycare day with Cameron. And he did an awesome job. Every time I called Cameron was laughing and chatting away in the background. He was definitely tired and stressed but helped keep my spirits up as I whiled away far too many hours in a hotel room and airport lobby. DH definitely got the short end of the stick on this particular parenting challenge. Especially since Cameron is obsessed with her new tea set and insisted on several tea parties an hour. DH is now a pro at clinking "cheers" and dipping his cookie into the "tea."

OK, I've bitched enough about 2011 although post is coming about the early advent of terrible twos. Time for photos! Just a couple since sickness and mouth sores have kept the camera from coming out a lot. But enough to keep the grandparents and great-grandparents happy, I hope!

Despite it being her "time out" chair, Cameron still likes chilling there.

DH is pushing the Yankees paraphernalia.

Excuse me while I whine

I’m sick. Again. While it’s not the soul sucking experience that was strep throat from two weeks ago the constant sneezing and blowing of my nose has resulted in a distinctly Rudolph-like appearance. Just in time for the holidays, right? It is compounded by a cold snap that keeps me from feeling warm more than a few hours a day (when I’m snuggled in bed with the furnace of a dog next to me). I’m trying to figure out why exactly it is that I’ve been getting sick so often. I’m in the best health of my life and at age 33 I figure I’ve been exposed to a lot of germs up this point which should have strengthened my immune system. Apparently germs from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia differ from North Carolina ones.

Cameron has been sick frequently but she seems to shake it off and/or ignore it successfully. Is it because she is young and oblivious to how she should be feeling? Is the fact that I’m middle aged (really, is 33 middle aged? Kind of a scary thought) and feel the aches and pains so much more? I’m liberally dosing myself with drugs and still feeling miserable.

Interesting, DH has yet to catch any of these bugs. I have a couple of theories about how he has avoided illness so far this winter. He works at home so he avoids the work germs that I come into contact with regularly. DH avoids errand running like it’s the plague. Yes, he will go grocery shopping and to Home Depot. Most other errands fall to me which I don’t mind because it gets me and Cameron out of the house. I’m also more willing to let Cameron stick her fingers in my mouth and feed me food than DH is. Cameron’s latest obsession is to force feed me and DH her snacks and she won’t take no for an answer. The best is when she puts in her mouth first and then forces it into mine. Lovely picture, isn’t it? Finally, I have a theory, corroborated by my friend, the Internet, that men just generally get sick less than women. This study confirms that men get sick less but whine about it more. I think DH would disagree with the last part of that hypothesis. I am woman…hear me complain.

Would you agree that women get sick more often than men? How has your winter been faring when it comes to illness?

Remember when sick days were fun?

I used to love sick days when I was a kid. As a triplet, it would oftentimes be the only 1:1 time I had with my mom. Plus, when we were in high school my mom would give us the occasional mental heath day. As mostly straight A students with multiple extra curricular activities it was needed and appreciated. Aside from mono in college I also never really felt like I was hit by a truck when I got sick.

Now that I'm an adult with a child sick days aren't nearly as much fun. No more mental health days because I have to hoard my sick days in case Cameron gets sick or if she gets me sick. After a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends I took Cameron to the Discovery Place KIDS in Huntersville. Two hours after we arrived back home I started feeling sick. I was miserable all day Sunday and knew that it would only get worse. First I was annoyed because I got the damn flu shot so why was I sick? I knew it wasn't a cold. Around 5 PM I let my work team know that I would be out all day.

I went to bed at 8 PM and got up at 10 AM after very restless sleep (DH ended up sleeping in the guest room) and headed to the Minute Clinic. I love that place. There was no wait and after I listed my symptoms the doctor took a peak at my throat. "Yep, looks like strep throat," he told me. A 5 minute test confirmed the diagnosis and I was on my way to pick up antibiotics and go back to bed.

My biggest concern these days is that Cameron not get sick. Especially because DH is traveling right now and both of us sick at home with no back up is not my idea of a good time. Fortunately she seems to have avoided it so far although I'm wondering where I picked it up then.

The things that suck about being sick as an adult include having to worry about catching up on work. I'm fortunate that my team can cover for me but I still had to do about 2 hours worth of work. Which I did in a complete fog. So I hope there are no major mistakes! I have also found that the older I get the more sick I get. A cold that lasts Cameron a day or two knocks me out for a week.

The only silver lining? Well our dog, Charlie, would tell you that it's the fact he gets to sleep all day in bed with me. Lucky dog.

I hope this post made sense as my fog continues to grow. What do you dislike the most about being sick? Does your job have enough flexibility to allow for multiple sick days? I plan on being out tomorrow too with a meeting here or there.

Capitalizing on my super power

I have a super power. It's nothing special but occasionally I am able to leverage it in my favor, like I did on Tuesday night. DH and I were watching a backlog of Parenthood (a great show by the way and in danger of being canceled so add it to your TV list). Two characters met each other for the first time, one established and one new character. The new character was fairly hostile to the established one (trying not to give away plot points here!). I immediately piped up from my spot on the couch to tell DH, "Those two are totally getting together." He said, "No way. Why would you assume that? It's not going to happen."

True, I was half a glass of wine into the show but I held my ground. "OK, let's make a bet. Whoever is right has to plan a date night. Schedule the date, get the babysitter, pick the restaurant. Everything." DH, "I'm in." I should note that typically I plan our date nights (which are infrequent) so it was no skin off my back either way.

We finished the first episode which was rudely interrupted halfway through by 30 minutes of tornado warnings (thanks ABC!). Halfway through the second episode the established character kissed the new character. I chuckled evilly and said, "I won!" Insert your own bwah ha ha ha ha here. DH argued that the new character didn't reciprocate so we still had to wait and see. Fortunately, 15 minutes later the new character confessed his feelings. Vindicated!

So what exactly is my super power? Predicting plots. I developed this super power for several reasons:

• I watched soap operas when I was younger (yes, Helen, I still check in on All My Children occasionally).
• I was a Creative Writing major in college. I had to write and read fiction every single day.
• I'm a voracious reader.
• I watch a lot of TV.
• Most TV writers are predictable and recycle plots constantly. Why do you think I respect shows like Veronica Mars so much?
• There are actually on about a dozen real plots. OK, I may be making that up but I swear I heard somewhere that there are only a set number of possible plots (star crossed lovers, revenge, etc.) I tried to Google it and failed.

It's rare that I get to put my plot predicting skills into action. Mostly because I don't want to ruin it for other people (although DH is tolerant when I pause the TV and tell him my prediction...see above). But also because let's be honest, it's kind of a lame super power. With that said, I did manage to turn it to my advantage the other night so I count it a win.

So what is your super power?

Friday Fun: What's on my Season Pass

Fall TV officially commenced this week. DH and I spent time pouring through the special double issue of Entertainment Weekly and picked out the shows we wanted to watch individually or as a couple. Let me state for the record that DH thinks he is going to watch far too many shows with me this year. The Yankees are guaranteed a spot in the MLB post season. Which means he is tied up 6 nights a week watching baseball. So I have a feeling many of the "us" shows will become Stacey shows. Any takers on that bet?

House - DH stopped watching this show for a while but got sucked back in last season. I'm looking forward to seeing some growth from the grumpy doctor this season given his new relationship with Cuddy. At least one can hope, right? Plus Amber Tamblyn is joining and I have loved her since Joan of Arcadia.

The Mentalist - I'm kind of bleh on this show. The main character comes of as smarmy a lot of the time. Although very, very pretty to look at. DH calls him the "smiler." Because it is a CBS show, I can't watch it on Hulu which is why it is on my Season Pass. For now. This is a Stacey only show.

How I Met Your Mother - I will always watch this show but this season the writers better put their money where their mouths are and start progressing the storyline. 'kay? DH likes this show too.

Fringe - My X-Files type show that DH likes too. A win/win. We had about 10 episodes saved this summer and blew through them pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to more alternate universe story lines.

Gossip Girl - What can I say, I love watching rich people and their "problems". I hate the Dan-has-a-baby storyline but other than that, it's all about the fashion, booze and sex. Love it. Need I mention that DH derides this show constantly?

Bones - Another show I started watching because of a Buffy alum. I think it's hysterical how much goo and gore gets worked into the episodes. And the "will they/won't they" storyline isn't annoying at all.

Private Practice - I'm totally only loyal to this show because of Addison. And I love looking at Taye Diggs. Here's hoping the story lines get better.

Grey's Anatomy - I'm impressed that DH has stuck with this show. I thought for sure that the soapiness would have turned him off long ago. Grey's still manages to choke me up on a regular basis. So it will stay on my Season Pass for a long time.

Modern Family - You all watch this so enough said.

The Good Wife - Finally a good vehicle for Mr. Big and Julianne Marguilles. Great supporting cast (including Logan from Gilmore Girls) and a great feminist vibe. DH does not watch this one.

Glee - Dare I admit it? This show is getting a little old for me. I actually fast forwarded through most of the songs from this week's episode. I'll keep it on the list and hope that the Brittney Spears episode brings me back around. I'm sure your not surprised to hear that it's a Stacey only show.

Cougar Town - Totally underrated and actually had a good guest appearance by Jennifer Aniston. Check it out. Seriously, despite the terrible name it's a good show and it's nice to see a Friends alumnus getting a regular paycheck.

Parenthood - I thought that Maura Tierney would be excellent as Sarah but I also love Lorelai. I mean Lauren Graham. Easy mistake, right? You can tell that a lot of it is ad libbed and sometimes the shouting and talking over each other can be painful. But DH and I both like it.

Castle - I had a void in my Monday nights so I filled it with this light fluff. Another Joss Whedon alum stars and I love him. If anyone watches this, can you confirm if the female lead is pregnant or not? There were some suspiciously roomy shirts and shoulders up camera work.

Blue Bloods - DH is making me DVR this. I doubt I will watch it but I'll save at least 5 episodes for him before they get deleted forever. If you are excited about this show, please tell me why to like it. I might give it a shot.

Undercovers - I have a sneaking suspicion that this show will be an early cancellation. Not a lot of buzz despite a massive ad campaign. Poor J.J. - at least he has the DVD release of Lost to console himself. DH claims he will watch this show with me but I don't buy it.

The Whole Truth - Only because it has Maury Tierney and Rob Morrow. Yes, DH and I were one of the few who watched Numbers. Get over it. This will be a "bottom of the pile" show unless the first episode is really good.

The Event - Please, please, please be my new Lost. Another show DH thinks he will watch but considering he made fun of Lost (are they found yet?) and never watched Flash Forward I think I'll be watching it solo.

Detroit 1-8-7 - This is all DH. I will not watch it. Never liked Sopranos. Don't like the main actor. Zero interest.

No Ordinary Family - Please, please, please don't suck like Heros.

Terriers - Another DH cop show. Bleh.

Hawaii Five-O - A last minute add after the rave reviews I read online. There is the Battlestar Galatica connection as well as Lost.

Shows I watch on Hulu because of conflicts: Chuck, 30 Rock, Community

OK, written out, that is a heck of a lot of shows. However, we don't watch movies so TV is basically my main entertainment. So please don't just the quantity too harshly, OK? Also, I have a feeling quite a few will be cancelled soon or drop off my Season Pass because of suckiness.

What do you like this season? What are your recurring favorites? Am I an insane American TV watcher? Inquiring minds want to know.

Daddy/Daughter time

I am watching the last episode of Gilmore Girls while blogging at 3:30 PM. How, you may ask, is that possible? Because DH took Cameron to Freedom Park so that I could have a little down time. Can I just say how much I love daddy/daughter time? It will definitely become a regular occurrence in this house!

Cameron has her 18 month well appointment tomorrow so I'll update her stats as soon as I can. I predict a perfectly average munchkin which is great. In the meantime, I'm off to enjoy the peace and quiet and secretly miss not being at the park with my husband and daughter.

Just like mommy

DH picked up Cameron the other day and he told me that when he entered the room he couldn't see her right away. He said hello to the teacher who was in the middle of a diaper change. Looking around the room DH spotted Cameron sitting up on a pile of mats. She was sitting quietly "reading" a book while the other kids played with toys. Ah, that's mommy's little bibliophile!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned before that I am a voracious reader. I can knock out a book in a few hours. Well, mysteries and trashy romance novels at least. My fantasy books tend to be 600+ pages so that takes a little longer. DH likes to tell the story about when the last Harry Potter arrived in our mailbox one afternoon. I grabbed the book and immediately started reading. I finished the book before bed...it probably took about 5-6 hours to read. What I like the most about reading is that I am a bit of a skimmer so when I go back and re-read a book I can always find new things in it. At least that is my excuse for re-reading books up to dozens of times. How about the rest of you? Do you re-read books? Do you hoard books like me, only purging them for Goodwill every several years?

Cameron has only let me put her in pigtails once but doesn't she look so freaking cute?

DH calls this Cameron's members only jacket. Lately she has been requesting (by pointing, not verbally) to wear a jacket as soon as she comes home from school. Yes, Cameron will hate me for this picture when she gets older but how funny is this shot?

Happy Anniversary

June is a very busy anniversary season for my family. Grandparents, parents (both sets), aunts, uncles, siblings, the list goes on and on. Yesterday I wished my grandparents a happy 60th anniversary and realized that mine was the next day. Oops! I called DH and asked him if he remembered. Nope. Phew. At least I wasn't alone. Our gift to each other this year is to refinance the house. Yes, a very romantic 4th anniversary, I know.

Four years ago I was stressing about the weather. For days before the wedding I scanned weather reports and consulted the Farmer's Almanac. It was one of the rainiest summers in Massachusetts in decades. For basically the months of May and June it rained almost every single day. Talk about stressing a bride out when she's planning on an outdoor ceremony!

Finally I threw my stress to the wind and said, "whatever happens, happens." And guess what? It poured. But not until after we were married in the gardens and had all of the formal group shots taken. So it worked out perfectly.

We were married at the Harding Allen Estate which is in Barre, MA. Basically in the middle of nowhere! DH and I were living in Charlotte while I interned at BigFinance. Because I was in my first year of business school (aka Boot Camp as it's know at Darden) DH basically planned the whole wedding with my mother. By the end they were exchanging phone calls multiple times a day. I also discovered why people take a honeymoon right after the wedding. We were married on a Sunday. We took Friday and Monday off and were back at work on that Tuesday. I was exhausted all week! But we made up for it with a 2 week honeymoon in Hawaii during the winter break.

My dad gives the best toasts. Seriously, he's really good at it. The theme for his toast to us was welcoming DH into the family despite the fact that he is a Yankees fan. Dad even managed to put a Yankee hat on but also required DH to put on a Red Sox one. After all, fair is fair.

Our first dance was to "A Sunday Kind of Love" by Etta James. It was a painful process to pick a nice, short song. Neither of us are dancers and didn't take dance lessons. It was seriously the longest 3 minutes of my life. But we struggled through it just fine.

Happy anniversary to a wonderful husband and father! Here's hoping we live long enough to make it to our 60th wedding anniversary...only 56 years to go!

Holding pattern

I have been extremely remiss about posting lately. A major reason why is that I can no longer access any blog sites at work. I have been attempting to email myself posts but I haven't really felt inspired lately. The reason? I feel like we are in a bit of holding pattern.

We are waiting to hear back about a new daycare for Cameron. I think we'll get in but we won't know for another few weeks. Another upcoming event is our big family vacation/family reunion. T-minus 4 weeks and I am super psyched! Work is going well but I have to get a lot done before vacation as we have a big 7/9 deadline. Thinking about what to pack coupled with trying to enjoy the summer has resulted in far fewer blog posts.

Another big event on our horizon is closing our refinance on the house. The closing happens Friday and I am a bit nervous about it. On one hand we are reducing our interest rate by 1.5 points which is awesome. One the other hand we are going down to a 15 year mortgage. Eek! Needless to say this will increase our monthly payments but given the drop in value in our house we need to start building equity or we'll never be able to sell in the future.

Interest rates have been super low and it looks like they will stay that way for quite some time. Anyone else toying with the idea of refinancing? And can anyone else commiserate with buying a house at the peak of the market? And yes, I do count my blessings that we can afford our house and both (knock on wood) have stable employment. It just would have been nice to have timed the market a bit better.

The list

DH is keeping a list. No, it's not of my sterling qualities. But I'm sure he has that somewhere. Instead he's keeping a list documenting the number of chipmunks he's killed. Yup, my husband is a proud animal killer.

We have a big infestation of chipmunks in our neighborhood. Many of our neighbors have complained about the holes, the tunnels and the dying plants that result from having multiple nests of chipmunks running around.

DH decided to take things into his own hands and researched how to get rid of chipmunks. Suggestions ranged from shotguns to explosives to poison. I put my foot down on live ammo and poison could kill other animals like birds. So instead DH discovered an effective solution that only required purchasing one item.

The solution requires a 3 gallon bucket, 1.5 gallons of water, a piece of wood and sun flower seeds. Here are the steps:

1. Fill the bucket with water
2. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top
3. Put the piece of wood up to the lip of the bucket (as a ramp)
4. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on the ramp
5. Wait
6. Fish out dead chipmunks and repeat

DH set it up in the backyard first and managed to get 7 of the critters. Today he moved it to the front yard and has fished out two more dead chipmunks. Cruel? Perhaps. But DH is taking childish glee in counting the number of dead animals. Of course I let him deal with disposal. It's better for everyone that way.

Given how little success we've had with getting rid of ant infestations (stupid sugar ants that find every nook and cranny), the dead chipmunks do give a sense of satisfaction. Personally I don't mind them. But if it makes DH feel like a hunter without the gun or orange vest, I'm all for it. Has anyone else had successes or failures in battling pests?

Wordy Wednesday

Not being able to access my blog and by extension, all of the blogs I read regularly, at work has really thrown me for a loop. Yes, I have an iPhone so I can go on my Google reader and access them that way but have you ever tried to type a blog post on an iPhone? It’s a laborious process and not one that I plan on doing regularly. Instead I will try to come up with witty posts during the work day, email them to myself and post them at night when I get home. Except for one thing: my personal computer has shit the bed. It’s only 5 years old so I’m a little annoyed. It’s a combination of the fan not working and a battery that only lasts 8 minutes. Which means even if I’m plugged into power my computer shuts itself down (stupid fan) every couple of minutes. It’s gotten so bad that I can’t even boot it up entirely before it shuts down. So I’m in the market for a new, basic laptop. I basically read email, edit photos, blog and watch Hulu on my personal computer. A MacBook is too expensive and a NetBook is too small for watching online TV. Any suggestions from my readers for a not too expensive laptop?

We had a wonderful weekend with far too much booze, much socializing and plenty of fun with Cameron. I would have blogged about it but see above. We have joined a local community center that has an awesome splash park for the little ones. You would have thought that it would be prime picture time and you would be right except for one thing. Both times we went I forgot my camera. Oops! I promise pictures after we go again (weather permitting) this weekend. Cameron has been very tentative about going up to the spraying water and interacting with the other kids. She’s definitely one of the younger ones but it also highlights a personality trait DH and I have commented on in her. She is very much an observer at first. Cameron needs to stay with me or DH, sitting on our laps for a few minutes in a new situation before she’ll start exploring. Sometimes she sticks to our side like glue for an entire situation. With all the noise, water and kids running around the splash park I have no doubt it will take more trips before she is comfortable. I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about next steps in education and child care for Cameron. First of all, my morning commute sucks. It takes me 45-60 minutes to handle drop off, fight traffic and be at work by 8 AM. Pick up in the evening traffic would be worse and I run the risk of having meetings that run up to 5 PM so we have to stick with me doing the drop offs and DH doing the pickups.

The other concern that I have is about the educational program at her school. Cameron’s daycare uses the High Reach Learning program which is a nice philosophy but doesn’t include formal music, language (foreign) and art programs. But wait, you might be thinking, Cameron is only 14 months old. True, but before I blink she’ll be 2 and ready for pre-school. The other daycares we are STILL on the wait list for have special teachers for the areas I listed not to mention my top choice has an indoor gymnasium and the kids get physical activity regardless of the weather. The problem is that there are really only two daycares with the programs I like right in our area. My commute would be even worse if we settled on something outside our neighborhood area. Sigh. DH says he loves Cameron’s current school and I think it was great as an infant and waddler. But now that she is getting closer to “school" age I want more for her in terms of education and enrichment. And I’m willing to pay for it. Has anyone else struggled with this?

Wednesday Wisdom

DH was emptying the dishwasher this morning and I noticed that he was unloading the top first and then the bottom. I was folding clothes and trying to pick up because the cleaning people are coming today. Yay! My house needs a good cleaning so I am excited about that.

Me: "You empty the dishwasher from the top down?"
DH: "Yup."
Me: "Interesting. I always unload from the bottom up."
DH: "You should blog about it."

He probably didn't mean it but it's a perfectly fine topic for a blog post, don't you think? I always unload from the bottom up because all the plates are on the bottom and cups are on the top. I get the heavy plates out of the way first and feel like I'm making serious progress. It is then followed by the top (usually cups and/or small bowls and Tupperware) and the last thing I empty is the utensil holder (placed in the bottom rack).

How about you? Do you find that you unload or load a dishwasher one way and your significant other a different way? And yes, go ahead and tell me if this is a totally lame blog post. DH would thank you for it.

Tuesday Thoughts

Cameron has decided that hair clips are not for her anymore. Every time I put one in to keep her hair out of her eyes she reaches up and pulls it out. Looks like we are relegated to Pebbles style ponytails until she stops being so stubborn.

Houston, we have another molar coming in! Cameron woke up wailing at 8:30 PM last night and we had to douse her with Motrin and I sat with her on the floor of her room until she whimpered herself into sleep. I would have sat with her on the rocking chair but she wanted nothing to do with the soothing motions of a chair that would allow my ass to be cushioned while trying to get her back to sleep. At least she didn't want to stay up and play. The poor thing was so tired that she draped herself over my leg with her head on the ground while I rubbed her back. 1.5 molars down and 2 to go (with many more in the future). I'm not sure DH and I will make it!

The light bulb in one of our lamps in the TV room went out and we replaced it with an energy friendly CFL. We are not quite as aggressive about saving the planet as my friend Amanda's family but we try to do a bit. The only problem is that the light is so dim that it doesn't even give off enough light to compare it to a nightlight. Looks like we need to dig up some 100 watt versions and just bear the expense.

I've been tossing and turning until 12 AM for the past two nights. Lots going on with my current job, interviews and not enough time in the day to get real work done. Plus I am finding myself working much longer hours which means less quality time with Cameron. Instead of picking her up at 4:30 we've pushed it back to 5 PM. Partly because she no longer needs that short nap before dinner and partly because DH and I are swamped at work. That means Cameron is in daycare from 7:15 AM until 5 PM. That's a long day! For parents with kids in daycare, how long is their day?

Please wish me luck for a few interviews I have today and tomorrow for some great new opportunities at BigFinance. I even plan on wearing make up (ooooooh) because of how excited I am about career possibilities.

Another day, another juggle

I very happy it is Friday, if for no other reason then I won't have to juggle both work and Cameron over the weekend. These past 3 days have been stressful and chaotic for DH and me. We got a call on Wednesday at 11 AM that Cameron had a 102 degree fever. DH went over to pick her up and I packed up my computer to head home.

Like every other daycare out there we knew that Cameron would be home on Thursday at least before she could go back to school. What we didn't realize is she picked up a virus that has kept her fever going, clocking in at 101 this morning. For 2 1/2 work days DH and I have had to figure out our schedules, pray for long naps and try to avoid feeling completely overwhelmed. We're fortunate that we can both work at home but we also need to negotiate conference call conflicts. We are both in a very busy work period with little down time, even when Cameron is healthy and in daycare. I've been clocking longer hours in general and the only blessing that Cameron got sick this week is that one of my key contacts (read PITA, ridiculous expectations client) is out on vacation.

I'm very thankful that we have been able to juggle but it is definitely time for us to look into alternative childcare situations for when Cameron is home sick. The best scenario is for one of the two of us to just take the day off of work so we can devote full time care to her. Unfortunately if things continue at this hectic pace, it's just not possible. Another sticking point is that DH works from home so if we bring someone into our home it would be an added stress for him. I couldn't do it if I worked from home. I'd be constantly checking on things and unable to concentrate. I think that men are better able to compartmentalize, however.

I am also going to be very thankful when we can drop Cameron off at daycare and our lives return to normal. She is definitely still her happy, playful self. Just with a fever. And very long (2-3 hour) naps. On a good note I called her pediatrician yesterday at 11:50 and we were seen by her regular doctor at 12:15. How great is that? No ear infection, just a bug and the fourth kid that day they saw with the same symptoms. Nothing but a fever and a slight runny nose.

How do the rest of you handle juggling work with a sick kid? Do you have back up childcare? Is it normally Mom or Dad who has to sacrifice work for family?

Behind every cloud

I had planned on doing a picture post but DH is traveling so I decided to veg out last night, watch a little TV and stay up a bit late reading an awesome book. It's the latest Anne Bishop if anyone is interested.

We had a wonderful weekend with very minor temper tantrums by Cameron. Either we are getting better at managing (really distracting) her or she's just gearing up for another big one. Lots of errands were run and DH had his baseball draft. This Sunday is the start of me being a baseball widow for the next 8 months. Perhaps a month less if the Yankees don't make it to the post season. Hey, a wife can dream! DH finally broke down and bought a new flat screen TV for his office and a new couch. The TV is already in place and the couch should be delivered in the next week or so. That means I can have the main TV all to myself!

The one errand we didn't accomplish was to pick out new glasses for me. 7 years ago I got laser eye surgery. It was absolutely the best thing I ever did. I was able to pay for it with pre-tax dollars and loved being able to see in the shower or the clock when I rolled over. I had, to put it mildly, very poor eyesight. My glasses were coke bottles so I primarily wore contacts. About a year before the surgery the contacts started to really bother my eyes if I had them in for longer than a few hours. Faced between scheduling an expensive procedure and wearing my coke bottle classes, I decided to go with the surgery.

I had a feeling that my eyesight wasn't 20/20 any more. But I haven't been to the eye doctor since the last eye surgery follow up. I do have some problems driving at night. I get a halo effect from lights. But DH usually drives so it wasn't that big of a deal. I scheduled my appointment for this huge facility right down the road.

The nurse took me back through a warren of corridors (I think this place could have seen 100 patients at one time!) and began administering my eye test. Are they really nurses? Perhaps eye technicians? Anyway, she immediately began clicking her tongue when I couldn't read below the second line. I said, "These letters are really small. I bet most people can't read them." She responded, "Yes they can." Crap. I knew that this wasn't going to be a good appointment. After scaring me she dilated my eyes and then the doctor came in. He was super nice and his wife was also an eye doctor (Harvard). He also told me that his daughter was going to Harvard in the fall. For what, you may ask? Nuclear physics. Yikes. Smart girl.

The doctor told me that my eyes weren't too bad but my left one was worse than my right which was why I couldn't see well at night. "It's actually a good thing," he told me seriously, "That means in a few years when you are in your 40s and you start to become far sighted you won't need reading glasses." Gee, thanks. I happen to only be in my early thirties, dude. I had to write my birth date down a million times on the forms I filled out. Do the math!

It turns out that I will only need glasses for driving at night which is great. I don't plan on wearing them very often because I remember distinctly when I was 8 and got glasses for the first time. After about a week once I took them off everything was blurry. I don't plan on going through that again. And the silver lining is that despite failing eyesight today apparently I will not require reading glasses in ten years when I'm in my forties.

Has anyone else regressed from their eye surgery? Contemplating getting it?

Nobody does it better

DH is traveling this week. It's the first time in many, many months where he has hopped on a plane and I am left to juggle work and Cameron solo. Usually it is the opposite as I have been the one with more business travel. When DH is home alone he tells me how easy it is to manage the juggle. I am not quite so sanguine.

This morning was a bit of a blur and I felt rushed every step of the way. Granted, I probably slept a bit longer than I should have but hey, I'm sick so I cut myself some slack. A quick shower, throw on some clothes and off to wake up Cameron to start her morning routine. It was already 7 AM so I was running about 15 minutes behind schedule. 15 minutes became 20 when I realized the outfit I had picked out was too small and also had to administer a dose of antibiotics.

I whisked Cameron off to the car and strapped her in, Cameron protesting the entire time. For some reason Cameron has not wanted to go in her car seat lately. Called the dog back inside, dumped some food in his bowl and started our commute to daycare. Even though I am working from home and didn't have to doll myself up per usual I felt rushed through the whole morning process.

Coming home since I was later than normal I ran into a lot more traffic. Via cell phone I commiserated with Mommy, Esq. on her crappy work schedule, parked, got myself some caffeine and settled into email. And it was only 8 AM. Thank goodness DH is home tomorrow afternoon! I am extremely impressed with his ability to juggle the morning routine while I'm away.

A spring weekend

We had a wonderful weekend aside from me catching whatever felled Cameron last week. Aches, the sniffles and a slight soar throat are not a good accompaniment to a beautiful Spring weekend. Cameron decided to nap really, really well so I got to nap in the afternoons while DH toiled away doing yard clean up and a myriad of other tasks.

Cameron discovers the Tupperware cabinet. Mommy and Daddy discover that Cameron now screeches if she doesn't get her way. We quickly learned when we packed up the cabinet and tried to make Cameron move on to other games. Epic fail.

One of the tasks this weekend was to get rid of these ants that have invaded our pantry. They have come and gone for the last year and we've tried spraying and ant traps with little success. DH picked up some liquid bait that attracted the ants like, well, like ants to food. After a day of them congregating in our pantry they disappeared. Upon inspection DH decided to caulk every interior edge of the pantry to eliminate future migrations. Smart man!

Cameron dries off after a swim lesson. She is up to 4 seconds under the water!
Cameron plays before we head into swim lessons.

Cure for the snoring blues?

DH and I are normally very compatible sleepers. We both enjoy quiet (no TV in our room!), a little on the chilly side and of course, Charlie snuggled right between us. Unfortunately that quiet has been broken by the loud sound of snoring.

It all started about a month ago when Cameron, DH and I all got sick in a row. DH was miserable and I got tired of telling him to roll over and stop snoring. I am an extraordinarily light sleeper so as soon as he started I would wake up. Pure torture. So one night at about 2 AM I went into the guest room, drew the blinds and slept wonderfully.

Fast forward a few more weeks and now I am the one torturing DH with the dulcet tones of my snores. For a few nights it didn't wake him until 4 or 5 AM. He did what he usually does and decided to just get up for the day. Crazy, isn't he? I mean, I have no problem falling back to sleep at any point during the night/morning. Even if it is 5 minutes before I'm supposed to get up!

This weekend was particularly bad as I continued with congestion. DH ended up retreating to the guest room twice. Finally last night I told him that I would just sleep in the guest room from the get go so that we could both get some decent sleep. And it was heavenly! No DH telling me to roll over a hundred times in a row. No loud snores from me to wake him up and cause him to lie there fuming. And if I were him, I'd totally be fuming.

So, has anyone else experienced this situation in your marriage or relationships? What did you do to conquer the snoring blues? Will DH and I be destined to sleep apart several nights a week just to get sleep?