Loneliness and Uninterrupted Bowel Movements

I guess you could say I take my 'me time' where I can get it.


I lock the bathroom door every chance I get. If I'm consumed by a novel or a game on my cell phone, I'll take it with me. Otherwise, I'm happy to just go alone. If even just to pee. I sometimes even lock my bedroom door to cut the children off so they can't knock directly on my bathroom door.


Alone.


Wow. That used to sound like a bad word when I was younger. From the time I was five and wished I had an escort to walk me down what seemed like the longest, darkest hallway ever to get to my room to years later when I was a single mom sitting in my tiny, low income apartment watching reruns of 'Nash Bridges' on a Saturday night while my then two-year-old daughter slept...waiting for my life to 'start.'


I'm learning that some of the things that we fear most when we are younger are the things we often crave when we're older. I'm also learning that my children have some sort of built-in radar that tells them when I'm trying to crap in peace.


Just yesterday, I was minding my own business (okay, I was doing my business) when my 5YO started pounding on my bedroom door. She just repeated over and over that she had something to tell me. Over and over, no matter how many times I acknowledge her request and tell her that she just needs to 'hold on a minute.' Over and over.


Just where did my children learn that persistence pays off?


I finish what I'm doing, wash my hands, and open my bedroom door. The thing that she had to 'tell' me was actually something she wanted to ask me. She wanted to ask me if she could have a Capri Sun. The funny part is that she probably had to physically step over her father, who was sprawled out in the living room floor in his usual 'watching television on the weekend' position to walk down the hall and ask me this question. The very man who, like it or not, has the same authority as I do when it comes to these sort of questions.


I just tell her that I refuse to answer such a question and that she can go back to the living room and ask her father, who was awake and breathing the last time I checked. I guess it's because I'm here with them all day while he's at work. They are not used to asking him questions like that. Daddy is the one they wrestle with in the floor or follow around outside as he takes care of the yard. Daddy is the fun, adventurous one. Mommy takes care of the food and beverages.


That would probably also explain why my idea of the perfect day is standing in Target all by myself, Starbucks cup in hand and nowhere to rush off to. I take every opportunity I can to run errands by myself, though I don't always enjoy it. There are some days when I don't want to be alone, or I don't need to. My tiny Saturn Wagon feels so big and empty without children arguing in the backseat or Miley Cyrus blaring out of the speakers. I actually sometimes miss the feeling of being mildly annoyed. Whoodathunkit?


Things are getting easier on the homefront. I only have one kid at home with me while the others are in school. On her own, she's actually pretty easy. Even pleasant, though she's still very much TWO YEARS OLD. I have three years of this until she's in school, too. What then? Do I sign my life away to their school and end up staying there all day making copies of things for teachers and collating and stapling homework packets? Do I get a job? Do I go back to school?


Whatever path I choose, I'm sure I'll still question myself and wonder if I should have chosen something different. And I'm sure I'll start to hate being alone again.


Although, maybe a few weeks of loneliness at the beginning wouldn't kill me, right? It's a risk I guess I'm willing to take, at least for a little while!

It's a crazy-haired, new humidifier, ants in the pantry kind of Friday

It's 'Crazy Hair Day' at 12YO's school.

Did she participate? Nah...she always looks this goofy!

*giggle*

David helped her spray her hair the colors this morning. I'm so proud....

This is 2YO's new humidifier. I never thought we'd need another one, but we got impatient trying to clean our old one and ended up sort of breaking it. Oh well, that one made warm mist and she's actually supposed to have a cool mist one...even though they had said that humidity was humidity. Now I had an excuse to buy a new one.

Now, since she so regularly gets that yucky cough (which has loosened up quite a bit and is almost gone now, thankfully!) I figured we can get a cute one that can permanently sit on her dresser when it's not it use. Target had humidifiers shaped like cows, frogs, penguins, even Spongebob Squarepants! 2YO HAD to have the frog.

This thing is really cool. It starts making the mist almost immediately and it goes well with the colors in her room! David did have be very clear to the girls that it is NOT, in fact, a PIGGY BANK. As soon as they got home last night, they looked for coins to drop down the 'slots' in the eyes. Hmmmm...I wonder how much damage that would do!

And Lily took her nap in the morning sun by the front door this morning. She loves this part of the day.

Another thing I was able to buy yesterday was a new broom. David is always taking my broom outside and sweeping things that ought not be brought back into the house. I was looking for my broom on Wednesday and could not find it ANYWHERE. That evening, I asked David where it was and he told me that he had taken it to the DUMP so he could sweep out the GARBAGE TRAILER when he was done. I told him he could KEEP that broom outside and that I was buying myself a new one.

Why are boys so gross?

I also told him that, if this broom ended up outside for ANY REASON AT ALL, I would just go out and buy another one. Nothing bothers David more than wasting money, so I'm hoping this means he'll leave my new broom alone!

Another thing that's gross is that there are ANTS in my pantry floor. Now, these aren't just regular ants. They are teensy-tiny and brown. They show up about once a year and go after random things. I swear these little buggers have eaten some of the grout around the top of my kitchen sink before! They are actually so tiny that they are hard to see and they eat grout.

Has anyone else ever seen or heard of these ants? Someone once told me that they were 'Piss-ants' but I'm not sure if they were serious, joking, or just plain ignorant! Thankfully, I don't think they got past the floor in the pantry and most of that stuff is in large cans or bottles. They were on a box of graham crackers. I hate those little suckers!

Well, 2YO is making a tower with couch cushions and she just turned one large piece of styrofoam into many, many tiny little pieces of styrofoam. If I wasn't motivated to vacuum before, I guess I am now!

OH! Before I forget...I made THIS for dinner last night. I was going to make THIS (and I still intend to!) but I haven't made it to the actual grocery store yet and I had all the stuff for the BBQ chicken and cornbread thingy on hand. It was REALLY GOOD! I swear, all of the wonderful recipes I'm getting from THE CROCKPOT LADY have been so easy that I actually feel like I'm CHEATING! Seriously....

On another note, I was totally wanting to add another crock pot or slow cooker or whatever to my collection. Technically, mine is not a Crock Pot. Mine is a SLOW COOKER. The concept is the same only the actual 'pot part' just sits on the heating element and is completely removable. I would love to have an actual 'Crock Pot' brand, but it's not completely necessary at this point. While I am waiting to purchase the name brand, I have another 'Crock Pot-type thing' coming my way.

David gets these yearly awards for 'Safe Driving' at his job. Every consecutive year, the prizes get a little better. I mean, he always gets a certificate and a little pin or magnet or something but he also gets to choose a gift from this little catalog they send. What cracks me up is no matter HOW many years they drive safe or how expensive some of the gifts are in the brochure, you always have the option of getting the PEN. I mean, I'm sure it's a really NICE pen and all....but if you look at the prizes they can choose from after many many years of safe driving, who's gonna choose a PEN over a PATIO SET or a BBQ??? (By the way, David is years away from anything that nice. None of the prizes really appealled to him. That is, until he got to the last page and saw THIS. He pointed it out to me, as I'd just mentioned the other day how I wanted another crock pot so I could have more options. I looked through the catalog again and pointed out the things that might interest him, just to be sure. I don't want to bogart his prize, you know! There is nothing in there that he wants or needs. SCORE!!!!

So, I will now have TWO crock pots. (Three if you count the 18-quart one, but it's not like I can keep that one anywhere within reach, you know! That one is reserved for Thanksgiving turkeys and baby back ribs. I mean, who needs to make 18 quarts of STEW or something?)

Maybe, just maybe, I'll make a LASAGNA ON STERIODS or something and use the big one! Hmmm....I wonder how much meat I'd have to brown for THAT......