Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Time management

Nothing like having a lot of time on your hands! Actually it's been sorta counter-productive for me because instead of being my usual organized, scheduled self, I've not really done anything all week. I should be taking advantage of the free time to get errands done, or chores, or go find some pants that fit, or even take a nap, but instead I've done things like the Lord of the Rings marathon. And read three magazines in one day. Today I made rum & raisin ice cream.

All that punctuated by the fact that we found out my grandfather passed away on Tuesday night (long illness, very expected) and with M away and everyone in Jamaica for the week, it was up to my brother and I to try to track mom & dad down and now he is dealing with the funeral home until everyone gets back on Saturday. So I didn't even really do anything with that, except talk to some relatives.

Tomorrow, though, I mean it, I will make it to the mall. I'm down to 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair of khakis that fit and if they get dirty I'll be wearing my pjs until I do laundry. Plus I'd like to get a cute little homecoming outfit for the baby. Not that we used D's -- I was so exhausted and frazzled when we left the hospital it's a miracle I was dressed, let alone the baby -- but I think I'll be a bit more "together" when BabyBoy is born. I think.

Fizzy is horribly suspicious that I've done something dastardly with the rest of the family. She wanders from room to room, peeks into D's bedroom, then comes over to stare at me. Poor doggy.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Sound of silence

It's hard not having anyone to take care of, besides yourself, that is. It's too quiet and I'm way off my routine/schedule. Except for walking the dog. I even sort of miss the constant low-level chit-chat in the background that is the sound of D playing legos, or coloring, or just playing in her room. I don't quite know what to do with myself!

Maybe it's just the horrendous discomfort of being 30 weeks pregnant. I went on a brief expedition for maternity clothes this morning only to come back empty handed and bummed about how ugly everything was. Stuff that I saw on my friends just a year ago that looked amazingly cute on them, look like crap on me. And can I tell you how much I hate this "under-belly," "mid-belly," belly band business?! I just can't deal with that band, it cuts me in all the wrong places. I'd love a huge loose pair of linen pants, but they're not to be found anywhere.

10 more weeks. Tonight is the start of my Lord of the Rings marathon. Whee.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Home alone

M & D left this morning for NC to visit his parents. They'll be gone for not one, not two, but seven whole days. Leaving me with nothing, NOTHING, to do this week except rest, relax, watch movies and occasionally take the dog for a walk. Amazing. Don't know what to do first, although I'm sure I'll end up cleaning, since I can't help myself.

First off, I'm running out to stock up on some good magazines -- you know: InStyle, Vogue, Vanity Fair - nothing remotely "kiddie." Then maybe I'll get some pie.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Icon-fusion

We had a nice weekend here getting caught up on our sleep and getting back to our regularly scheduled routine after a week of visiting with my in-laws.

After Mass yesterday, M took D over to the little grotto at church where there is a large statue of Mary. She had on her crown of flowers (last Thursday was the official May crowning at school) and her flowing robes and I guess they stood there for a bit silently contemplating. Then they caught up to me and D's first response was "Mom, we saw the Statue of Liberty!" It reminded me of the time we saw Father G out near the car line at school one day, and as we walked by D stage-whispers, "Look Mom, there's God!" I guess a logical leap for a 3-year-old, since we tell her that Church is "God's house."

Only two more weeks of school to go! I'm thankful, since most of D's friends are already out. I decided that, this summer, we are taking it easy. I just don't have the energy to go racing around town to activities and appointments. So, except for one week of nature camp and her Monday swim lessons, we're going to be completely spontaneous. We've got lots of outdoor stuff now - a nice canopy tent in the backyard, a new kid's picnic table and sandbox which our lovely neighbors generously gave us, the sprinkler ball, wading pool and, of course, TONS of play-doh. I also snagged a vintage set of Tupperware popsicle molds on eBay (just like the ones we had when I was a kid!!) so I'm sure we'll have fun thinking of juice combinations to go in them. When I was a kid, we always started out with OJ or some other nutritious juice, but by the end of the summer we were freezing Coca-Cola.

Hard to believe it's been almost one year since I started this blog and we were getting ready to go to Kosovo.

Friday, May 05, 2006

6 down, 3 to go

Tomorrow I will be 6 months along! Whee! August 5 is right around the corner! Last dr. appt. was great - he's very active and pretty big. I'm doubling my efforts to be careful about what I eat. With the exception of this weekend when my Mom, M-I-L and sisters are all coming to take me out for a fancy brunch.

The other day D saw one of those planes pulling an advertising banner - she pointed it out to me, "Look Mommy! A coupon up there." So cute. The last time we saw one we had explained the difference between an ad and a coupon - but I guess some of the finer points got confused.

Three more weeks of school to go. Next year, D will still be at the same school, but going five mornings a week. I think she's ready, most of her friends are returning, and it will really be a nice break for me since I'll have Junior to deal with at that point. I'm hoping my mom can come to help for a few weeks or a month like she did with D, but unfortunately, we're out of rooms here. So we'll have to do some creative juggling.... I'd send D to my parents for a month, but she'll be in school. I hate to put my mom in a hotel.... I wonder if we can renovate in 3 months?

School ends with an event called "Water Day," which I thought was some kind of educational event about conservation, ecology, blah blah blah. Come to find out it's a day of slip n' slides, sprinkler balls, wading pools, etc. for the kids on the last day of school. What was I thinking?! Anyway, I can still help because, after the water fun, they have a make-your-own sundae bar and I'll help do that. I don't know what D is more excited about, the water or the ice cream.

M's parents arrive for a week visit tomorrow so today I'm cleaning house and making muffins and a lasagna and a bunch of other make-ahead stuff. Busy day, but it will be nice to visit with them for a week.