Drapes, Big Girl and Politics

This weekend has been a particularly productive one. I've pleated my drapes!! Now all that's left is to hang the hardware, see how long they need to be, and then hem them. I hope to have that all done by next weekend. There are a few more steps than that, for one, the rods all need to be cut, and then fixed together to be one giant rod. Then the hemmed drapes will need to be hung. And I think that Hubby and I will be working on that stuff just the two of us, so pray for us in this as projects of this nature test the mettle of our marriage. (I jest, but prayer is always welcome!)

Big Girl continues to be stressed about eating, which is very difficult because it comes up regularly, each day. It's not like we can just avoid the subject. She thinks she'll get sick and/or throw up if she eats. We had a major ordeal about getting her to eat 1/4 of a hamburger yesterday, and today she wouldn't eat even 1/3 of a grilled cheese sandwich. She has shown no signs of actually being sick. Her sleep seems to be better, she napped quite a lot on Friday, and she napped each day this weekend as well. I think it's safe to say that right now her worst fear is of throwing up. If this continues another week, I'm going to move up our appointment to see the pediatric neurologist, if that's possible. We have an appointment for November. The likelihood of getting in sooner seems slim. At any rate, this year I'll actually have something to talk about with him.

I passed up my opportunity for a Sunday afternoon nap to work on the drapes. I'm feeling it now, that's for sure!

We sang "Burdens Rolled Away" this morning in church. We had our former drummer drumming with the band this morning, and he's totally awesome. All the music today just had a special something, and I don't think it was all because of him, but his playing certainly didn't hurt! It was a blessed morning of worship, both times around! So now, at the end of the day, all the songs we did this morning, including "Burdens Rolled Away" are rolling around in my head. Others on the program this morning: "Days of Elijah," "On My Lips," "Prepare the Way," & "Mighty to Save." It was a good service.

Something else that's been on my mind that I have failed to mention is the current economic mess. Our pastor spoke about this briefly this morning, and he was spot on with what I'd been thinking about and praying about late last week. Whatever pain is brought about, God will use it for the good of humanity. We naturally have an aversion to suffering, and we don't want it to happen, but we can't stop it a lot of times. Suffering is so often the vehicle God uses to bring about changes in our lives that need to happen. This current economic squeeze will hopefully bring an end to our country's love affair with money. I personally hope that the $700 BILLION dollar bailout doesn't happen, because it will mean that nothing is really better, they're just delaying the eventual crumbling of the system, pinning it on our kids and their kids. And the objection I've heard to my point of view is that innocent people will lose their jobs. I lay that concern to the side with the faith that God is at work, and He will provide. Whatever plan the politicians eventually go with, I pray it is based on sound principles and not more of the same inanity that got all this started. I have prayed for my congressmen and senators like never before. Anyway, my point about all this is that we have to face it with an attitude of faith and not one of fear. Is our God bigger than this or is He not?

The Night I Had

This morning I'm the kind of tired you feel all over. I think my hair is even tired.

My poor Big Girl feels the same tiredness too. This morning she didn't want to get up, she didn't want to get dressed, she didn't want to eat breakfast, and she certainly didn't want to go to school. But she did most of that anyway, at my prodding. She ate a few bites of breakfast and then suggested she donate the rest to her sister who wasn't up yet.

Last night about 2:30 AM, she came to my bedroom door screaming that she needed to throw up. I was on my feet instantly and trying to help her any way I could, holding her hair, getting the potty ring up and whatnot, but she never did anything. After maybe 10 seconds of that, she went back to bed in as dramatic a fashion as she woke me up. I went back to bed praying she wouldn't throw up.

About an hour later, same thing, only this time it was over even faster. She never actually threw up. I think she's remembering and stressing out about the little bug that has now passed between all us girls in the house. Other than fatigue, there's nothing wrong with her this morning that I can tell. She has expressive language deficits, and I just don't know if the words she's using are the ones she really means or if she's thinking something else, and the words just aren't there. Her vocabulary is vast, but when it comes to telling how she feels, it definitely breaks down. It's not that I don't trust her intentions, I just can't trust her words.

Big Girl has not been quite herself all week. It started with being line-leader, and she hasn't really recovered. I'm just left scratching my head and wondering what (if anything) I'm supposed to do about it. I'll definitely make her lay down for a nap this afternoon when she gets home from school. She needs it.

I just found out that Hubby will be coming home tonight, HOORAY!!! I know he and Big Girl have a way of communicating that works for them, so hopefully he can get to the bottom of whatever is going on.

I have "Once in a Lifetime," by the Talking Heads, in my head. It's a very strange song, but very cool too. What's with this 80's kick lately? Oh well. They clip the ends of the phrases in the chorus which annoys me a little (that music snob in me anyway), but still... interesting song.

The REAL Song in My Head...

As I got up from the computer, having typed that last post, and poked around on facebook for a little while, I was whistling "Dancing Queen" to myself. The brain is a curious thing, is it not? Yesterday on a local radio show in the afternoon, the host was complaining about the lame music groups currently up for nomination into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, one of those being a roller-disco group I hadn't really heard of. That got me thinking about other lame disco groups/songs, which led me to "Dancing Queen." (Sorry to you Abba lovers out there, but it's pretty lame. Catchy, but lame.)

I think I would have ordinarily just shared that with Hubby, but since he's away, I'm sharing it with everybody. Hope you don't mind. Enjoy thinking about "Dancing Queen." I dare you not to sing it right now in your head, just to yourself. You've got it in your head now too, don't you. Yeah, thought so.

(Honestly, when I post the song in my head, I do truthfully report what's in my head either right then, or else tell you when it was in my head. It's just that I'd been thinking this one for a while, and it took a break for a few hours with choir practice, and then planted itself right back in the front of my head. I want you to know that I do my utmost best to faithfully reveal the inner workings of my crazy mind by sharing the songs in my head, and it is not something contrived just for continuity on a blog. This is my nutty psyche at work, like it or not!)

"Where you die, I will die" & a Smattering of Other Stuff

"Where you die, I will die."

As I was driving my girls home from AWANA's tonight, I heard Big Girl say this to Little Girl. There's just nothing quite like a 5-year-old with such a keen sense of her own mortality. Turns out they studied Ruth and Naomi for their bible story tonight, and she said this to her sister as something she thought would be a nice thing to say. Sisterly love. That's always sweet to hear.

Yesterday was a rough day. I was in a sort of funk, still digesting all that had gone on with Little Girl this past weekend, and dealing with her in a way that would elicit affirmative responses and squelch rebellion without me losing my mind. The two of us went grocery shopping, and she was really quite good at the store. As we left, she wanted to walk across the parking lot without holding my hand. I made her come back and start over, holding my hand. That went better than it would have last week. I think she's really making some good progress, and so am I.

Then yesterday afternoon, about 4, I finally was stricken with whatever it was that the girls had the week before. I tossed my cookies (actually it was grapes), and felt just completely awful for the rest of the day. Why is it that these things seem to happen when Hubby is out of town? My sweet friend let my girls dine with her family so I didn't have to look at or think about food.

Thank the Lord that today I am much improved. No sick feeling, and I found my appetite. It's not quite 100%, but then I could probably afford a lessened appetite!

Today was my day "off", so I sent Little Girl off with my swap partner (I'll get her 3-year-old next week), and I went to my mom & dad's house to use the sewing machine. Today was the first day I got to work on my drapes! I put in 5 hours, and so far I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything to mess them up fatally! (When you cut on fabric worth that much money, it's pretty nerve-wracking!) I hope I can finish them in one more work-day, and then put up the hardware, then measure for the hem and then get the whole project done, and have some COLOR in my living room!

Then I can go on to the next project. Believe me, this project thing with me never stops. It really keeps me going, makes me tick. When I'm in a project (one that's going well, anyway) it improves my entire outlook.

Tomorrow I have an exterminator coming. Don't you just love the exterminator? Saturday we found two roaches, one dead, and one alive caught in the rug by the front door and quickly killed with the fly swatter. It was enough motivation for us to make that phone call. And Saturday we thought we had a dead rodent in the wall somewhere near/in the pantry. There was a smell. You know that smell, right? It was horrible! Luckily, late Saturday night, I tracked the smell to some potatoes I had forgotten about in the rack on the inside of the pantry door. We had been looking in the pantry itself, and had neglected to check the door for the offender. What a relief! No rodents!

Right now the song in my head is the one our "choir" is singing on Sunday morning, "Burdens Rolled Away." I "sarcasterized" the word choir because our church choir isn't really what you're probably thinking of as a church choir. We only do our thang once a month at the most, and the only practices requared are the two Wednesday nights leading up to the Sunday we sang. It's a good example of the laid back nature of our church in general. It's refreshingly free. For someone like me who thrives on musical perfection, it can be a bit frustrating, but I understand that it has it's place. There's a love in that room when we're assembled together, singing praises to our Lord, that can't be found elsewhere. I'm thankful to be a part of it.

Parenting Isn't Easy

I've taken a step back from my blog over the last couple of days. Things happened from which I needed to detach myself emotionally before I could share here.

Sunday was one of the hardest days I've had with my Little Girl. Her refusals started first thing, which set the tone for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. I won't repeat the details. Just know that it got so bad that I was in tears at my parents house after church. She had a good long nap that afternoon (without eating lunch first, by her own choice), and woke up as the sweetest little thing. And she was sweet yesterday, and so far today (it's not much past 8:00 AM, but still, it was already bad by this time on Sunday). In fact, she stood by me just a second ago flashing a very cute, teethy grin.

She's had relative success with the potty of late. She still doesn't tell me when she needs to go, but she's gone day after day with no more than one accident. That's not too bad for a novice. I'm still convinced that her lateness in potty-training is related to the attitude junk she's been pulling. A kid who can stay dry overnight is more than capable of doing the rest. Seems like that's the hardest part, and she's got it down.

Admittedly, I've been stressing out about Little Girl. If she's this difficult to deal with now, what will she be like at 13? At 16? You get the idea. The consequences now are no big deal, but later on, it's a different ball game. I firmly believe that the battle for later must be won here and now. To give up now is to fail her. I love her so very much. It pains me to think that she will have to learn all of life's lessons the hard way. Unless things change, that's the road she's choosing. My heart is burdened for her. Pray for me, and pray for her.

And this all came about as Hubby was leaving again for another week of working out of town. Not only am I fighting this very important, very tiring battle full time (she's the kid that's home with me all the time), there's no one coming home to help me in the evenings. I need that pep-talk at the end of the day to say that I'm doing it right. I need encouragement to fight another day.

But like I said, she's been super sweet for the better part of 2 days now. I know how good it can be, how cooperative she can be. She's cute, and snuggly, and oh so sweet. I want to enjoy it, but part of me is waiting for her to change back into Mr. Hyde (or Dr. Jeckyl, whichever one was the bad one).

This parenting thing isn't easy.

To make things even more fun, when Little Girl throws a screaming, crying fit, it sets off her autistic sister who can't handle the sounds of screaming and crying. (We need to get some of those things that the guys wear who work at the airport, directing the planes to the gate. I think they have something like that for her to wear at school.) I just feel bad for Big Girl to suffer so when her little sister is just being rebellious. I guess that happens in all families to some degree, when one child's choices impact another child. When Mom has to "pull this car over right now," the innocent child doesn't get to keep on going. The car stops for everyone.

The song in my head this morning, is "Fat," by Weird Al. Yes, I'm feeling fat, and that's what started this song in my head today. "When I sit around the house, I really sit around the house..."

Praise God!

The baby that I mentioned some time back, the one born at 24 weeks back in July has made some major progress. She's off many of the heavy drugs with dangerous side effects, and she's now breathing enough on her own to only need a little tube in her nose instead of the CPAP machine she had been on. They still expect her to be in the NICU for a long while yet, but the news is good. Thank you for praying.

Yesterday Hubby and I watched more VH1 80's programming, "The Top 100 Songs of the 80's." We watched enough of it to see "Sweet Dreams," by the Eurythmics as #50 on the countdown. I think that song was totally underrated. It's in my top 10 of 80's songs, along with "Jump," "Every Move You Make," and "With or Without You." Anyway, "Sweet Dreams" has been in my head since yesterday evening.

A New Tactic

In our "war on rebellion," Hubby and I have employed a new strategy. With our precious Little Girl, we now appeal to her love and desire for all things "princess." I have shared before about her "I can't" response to most things. We now have another weapon in our arsenal. We ask her if she wants to be a "NO-monster" or a "YES-princess." So far this has brought on more affirmative responses than anything else we've tried in the past.

It has also backfired just a bit. Today she asked me if she could watch a particular movie, and my answer was "no." This exchange ensued:

Little Girl: Don't be a "NO-monster," be a "YES-princess."
Me: I'm not a princess. I'm the queen. The queen can say no because the queen is the boss.
Little Girl: Oh.

No time to think about songs tonight. It's shower time for my two dirty girls!

Always Thinking...

I've shared about our penny chart system before, and Big Girl is an old pro at working this system. Usually she can count on getting 3 pennies a day, one for being dressed on time, one for a "green day" at school (it's tied to the behavior system they use), and one for clearing her dishes from the table for all the meals or snacks of the day (one penny for the whole day's table-clearing duties). Well, today she didn't go to school, and she's still in pj's, so that's 2 pennies she knows she won't get for today. After her rest time (we can't call it nap with her), she came downstairs, and I offered her a snack. Snack time is part of her schedule at school, so I thought she may like to have that consistency at home. She ate part of her snack and asked me if she could share the rest of it with her sister when she got up from her nap. Sure, that's fine with me, and it's a very nice thing for her to want to do. I should have knows she had ulterior motives. She gets a penny for sharing with Little Girl. She was quick to point this out to me after she offered the snack to her sister. That Big Girl of mine is a smart one!

John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change" is in my head.

Little Girl

Since I shared some less than pleasant stuff about Little Girl yesterday, I feel the need to follow it up with something good today. We really do love this kid. She's a delight when she wants to be.

This morning Hubby got up and did breakfast for the kids a little later than usual, and I stayed in bed. Big Girl had her turn at whatever stomach bug is going around, and threw up 3 times last night, I was up with her for a couple hours. Since she wasn't going to school this morning, we turned off the alarm clocks, and just let it be a casual morning. I needed the extra rest (and could still use more), so that's why I was still in bed.

Right before he had to leave, Hubby noticed Little Girl doing the potty dance. She had been dry all night, so it was no wonder. You know the potty dance... knees together, shifting nervously, possibly a crotch hold as well... He wisely put her on the potty. He alerted me to her status, and I got up and came downstairs so I could keep track of Little Girl's progress.

About a minute after I was downstairs, and within listening distance, she went. Yay! I went in there and gave her a big smile, which she returned, ear to ear. When she got up from finishing her business, she went out of the bathroom and took a bow. No lie. It was the funniest thing ever! She didn't even have any pants on yet!

She's definitely catching on to the potty thing. There's no doubt, and no turning back. I'm still a little surprised that she's actually getting it.

The song in my head as I lay in bed last night, going to sleep for the first time, was the epic background music in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you've seen it, then you know what I mean. If you haven't, click here.

Strong-Willed Child

I have said before that Little Girl is a strong-willed child. I think those reading may chuckle to themselves, thinking they know what I mean by that. Whatever you're thinking, multiply it by at least 3. Now add 27, and then you're getting close to Little Girl's "strong-willedness factor". She challenges me on things that should not be a struggle.

Yesterday she screamed bloody murder every time I put her on the potty. Well, it had been hours in some cases since she'd gone, and it was going to come out sooner or later, and I wanted whatever it was to end up in the potty. I thought she was balking about potty. I missed the memo yesterday. She wasn't up for ANYTHING I suggested yesterday. We finally had a "come to Jesus" moment in the car (I did "pull this car over"!!) and she decided to comply for the most part after that. And she had a good potty day yesterday too. Only one accident. (I do question if it's accidental with her. She seems to have pretty good control. But that's a different issue.)

I was hoping that today would be better than yesterday as far as her obedience goes. Actually, it's not even about obedience, it's about general cooperation. Today she wanted to go out and ride bikes. She rides her trike really well, but she has a little bike with training wheels that she needs to learn to ride, so we went out and she got on the bike. She would not pedal forward. She insists upon pedaling backward, which is the brake on this bike. I tried to give her instructions, move her feet to get the idea across, whatever I could think of to get her to pedal the bike the right way. She screamed and kicked and threw a gigantic fit. I was trying to help her, and she was acting like I was trying to ruin her fun. If she only knew the fun I was trying to teach her...

My patience in these instances is not very long. When it's an obedience thing, and she absolutely HAS to obey (like getting in the car and buckling up in the car-seat), I force the issue, man-handle her if I have to (parents, you know what I mean, bucking the car-seat is non-negotiable), and go on with my business. But when it's a matter of me trying to teach her something fun, I gave her a second chance after she calmed down a bit, and then when she blew up at me again, I quit. It's not worth the frustration, and my getting angry with her over something inconsequential. How she treats me is not inconsequential, whether or not she learns to ride a bike today is inconsequential. She had another massive fit when I took the helmet off her and took the bike back inside the garage and closed the garage door. (I didn't leave her outside, but it was tempting.)

I will not be the one to teach this kid to drive. I'll let her dad have that fun. I seriously doubt she'll have a personality makeover in the next 13 years. I'm not sure our relationship can survive that kind of challenge. At three years old, kids are supposed to think that grown-ups know everything, and yet she won't listen to me. How is it going to be when she's a teenager and she thinks I don't know anything. I have been around the block a time or two, on a bike and behind the wheel of a car, whether or not she believes that.

The song in my head today is a weird one. Well, it's not weird like yesterday, but thanks to VH1's "I Love the 80's" series which we watched Sunday afternoon, I've got Toto's "Rosanna" in my head.

A Refreshingly Cool Breeze

The temperatures have dropped dramatically, and WOW! I just love it! This morning Big Girl and I wore jackets as we walked to school. The afternoon walk to pick up was just as pleasant as could be. Now, at 3:22 PM, nearing the "heat" of the day, I have the windows open and a wonderfully refreshing breeze is blowing through the house.

Earlier today, a friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent me a link. I wish it weren't so, but this is the song in my head today. I don't know what the original language is, but, well... listen for yourself.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

I couldn't let this day go by without telling everyone how proud I am of my parents. They have been married to each other for 34 years today. And it hasn't always been easy, I know. My parents have been excellent examples to me of love and sacrifice. They're not perfect, and they don't claim to be, but they were fantastic parents to my brother and me. They both continue to set great examples for me in so many ways, as professionals, as people, as Christians, as parents, and as spouses. I admire them and love them tremendously.

Today is also the anniversary of the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." How do I know this? My mom is an elementary music teacher at the school where I now send my daughter to Kindergarten. Back when I first graduated with my music ed degree, I went to work with her there. She teaches "The Star-Spangled Banner" and other patriotic songs to her 4th and 5th grade students this time of year because this is when "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written. She makes a big deal about the story of Francis Scott Key being held captive overnight on a British ship September 13-14, 1814, wondering if the stars and stripes would still be flying over Fort McHenry in the morning. It's a very fascinating story, and one most 4th and 5th graders don't know, or most adults, for that matter. Anyway, Mom likes to make a big deal about it being such a special day that she decided to get married that day. Of course the truth is that in 1974, my parents were just looking for a day when they could tie the knot, completely unmindful of the events which had occurred on that day in history 160 years before.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! I thank God for you!

Sunday Morning

Don't you just love it when you bathe your kids on Saturday night, send them off to bed, and then find that one of them has vomited in her bed the next morning? And it's not just in the bed, it's on her pajamas and in her hair. That's always lovely.

My Hubby plays in the worship band at church, so he is often up there before I'm out of bed. Our church does an early service, and the band practices an hour before that, so he gets there a whole 2 hours and 15 minutes before I get there for the "Bible Fellowship" hour. (I'm old school. It's called SUNDAY SCHOOL in my mind, but I guess that sounds to old fashioned for people today.) So he left this morning long before the wonderful discovery of Little Girl in her vomit bed. And wouldn't you know it, he left his cell phone at home (for the second week in a row). Seems like it's difficult for us to coordinate on Sundays when we're not going and coming together, but we need to meet up in the middle. And leaving the cell phone at home doesn't make that any easier.

In my mind, there's no reason that Big Girl can't still go to church. I got her dressed, and arranged with some friends who live near us and go to our church to take her with them, along with a note for Hubby and his cell phone.

I've stayed home this morning washing sheets, hair, panties, pj's, all for Little Girl. She's been watching whatever is on Noggin all morning. Poor girl. She seems to be fine, but I'm afraid to feed her too much.

Saturday (yesterday) morning, I woke up remembering one of those really weird dreams that makes very little sense. In the dream, I was driving down a city street, and there was a lady in a car in front of me singing a Weird Al song at the top of her lungs. Then I turned right, and suddenly instead of driving a car down a street, I was pushing a shopping cart down the aisle at Wal-mart. It was in the seasonal aisle and there were backpacks on the left. Anyway, the song in my head was/is "Wanna B Ur Lovr," from the album, Poodle Hat. It's a style parody of Prince. It's full of not-so-subtle innuendo, all very silly. It's definitely one we don't let the kids listen to, at least not until they're older. We can't have them thinking that people go around asking, "do you mind if I chew on your butt?" There's also a line about her eyes being bluer than the water in his toilet. Be still my heart!

Breakthrough!!!

We've had some major developments on the potty scene. I finally figured out the missing piece of the puzzle. I've been awarding "potty prizes" (gummy bears) for going potty, but that hadn't really been working. The breakthrough today has been awarding potty prizes for STAYING DRY. Now, today for the first time, Little Girl is really getting it. It's not just about putting stuff in the potty, it's about NOT putting it in her pants. Today she has not had accidents, and for the first time, she's actually going right away when sitting on the potty.

I've been checking her about every hour, and giving out one gummy bear if she's dry (which she has been each time so far). Then the "pay scale" is 5 gummy bears for #1 and 10 gummy bears for #2. I'm so excited that she's finally turning a corner.

I promised to not blog all the "ins and outs" of our potty adventure, but this was too big to hold back. I don't think this is the end of accidents, but it is definitely the progress I've been desperately waiting to see.

And with that, it's time to check her again.

Choral Arts

I have two sides to my musical life. There's the leisurely side that listens to interesting music on my iPod for fun, and then there's the academic side of me that sings music I would probably never listen to in a million years. I enjoy the challenge of singing difficult music with good tone, dynamics, phrasing, etc. Ensemble singing, truly excellent ensemble singing, is definitely a love of mine. Since college, I really haven't had opportunity to do much of that. I've sung with ensembles here and there, but nothing consistent.

Last year I participated in the Choral Arts Society at the local state university (if you know where I live, then you know where) for the first time. It's a hybrid community choir/student choir mostly made up of graduate students, undergrad students, and community members who have extensive music experience. We practice for 3 hours a week, all on one night of the week, this year it's on Tuesday nights. It's a long night, but it's fun. We do abundant sight-reading, just because we have so much music to learn. The music we're working on for our first concert of the year is all 20th century stuff with lots of dissonance, changing time signatures, accidentals all over the place, and it's very challenging. It's not as bad as last year, where 3 weeks into the school year we had our first concert, and it was the Rachmaninoff Vespers in Russian! They had performed it the year before, and were just brushing up on it, whereas those of us who hadn't been in the choir before were completely lost. This choir is "high brow" all the way. Sometimes I wonder if my brows go high enough...

Anyway, last night was our second practice of the year. I'm glad to be doing this choir again. It's good for me to have a place where I interact with adults. And it's also good for me to have a place in my life where I'm not surrounded by my church friends. There aren't really many opportunities for me to make relationships with people who aren't already Christians at this point in my life. Besides this, everything I do (with scheduled repetition) is either with my family or my church. I do grocery shop regularly, and I see many of the same check-out people, but I wouldn't say there's really much of an opportunity for relationship there. In order to really touch people for Jesus, relationships make a difference, and now I have choir friends who either don't know Jesus at all, or don't have a life-changing relationship with Him, and I can possibly influence them for the kingdom of God. It's a good thing.

Since joining this choir, there is a part of me that was dormant for 8 years that has come back to vitality. It feels good to be stretching my vocal muscles and brain this way. It's why I studied music in college in the first place. There's just something about rehearsal that feeds me. And then to take what has been rehearsed to an audience and do it for real is such a thrill. There's always those things that you know could go horribly wrong, and you hope they don't. The need to be focused at all times, to pay attention to the details, to give it all you've got right then is an experience that is pretty hard to match. Sure it's work, but then that payoff makes it all worth it. In an ensemble, it's a shared experience, and that strengthens the relationships forged during chit-chat breaks before and after rehearsal.

It's also great fodder for some wonderfully cerebral songs to get stuck in my head. But not yet. I don't know the music well enough yet for it to get stuck. I'm sure it will happen closer to concert time!

On my way home last night at ten o'clock, after rehearsal, my Jonathan Coulton CD was playing in the car and it was in the middle of "Millionaire Girlfriend." After a rehearsal like that, I can actually sing the melody up an octave, which may not really sound all that great, but it's fun to do every now and then, when I'm alone in my car. I usually harmonize when I sing along to his stuff, or sing melody in the register he's singing. All that's to say "Millionaire Girlfriend" is in my head this morning.

Our Weekend + Monday

This weekend I wasn't planning to take a leave from all things technology, but that's what ended up happening.

Friday night, my dear hubby and I went on a much needed date. The girls went to spend the night with my parents (thanks, Mom & Dad!!). We were planning to go see "Dark Knight" at the 6:45 show at Alamo Drafthouse. When we went to purchase our tickets, we found out that the 6:45 show had been bought out for a rehearsal dinner. Our only alternative was the 10:15 showing, or pick another movie. I hadn't seen the new Batman flick yet, and he had, and we weren't interested in any of the other offerings, so we bought the tickets for the late show, and then set about to waste nearly three and a half hours.

It was actually very fun to spend our time casually looking around at Best Buy and the mall, wandering about. I took him into a World Market for the first time in his life. What's funny is that I couldn't even really describe what that store is like without taking him in. Besides that, and eating dinner at Pei Wei (the cheaper, less fancy version of PF Chang's- YUMMY!), we went to a fabric store to look around at possibilities for drapes. I have never made drapes before, but I think I'd like to try it. Hubby actually found the perfect fabric. It was way up at the top of the rack, and I'd have missed it if he hadn't been there with me. It has embroidery in it that perfectly matches the color of our new sectional. It will be very cool.

So after our leisurely shopping, we went to the movie. I don't want to say too much about the movie. Those who have seen it know what it was like, and those who haven't don't need any more spoilers than are already out there. I'll just say that the nearly 3 hour show didn't feel nearly that long. That movie just doesn't stop. You don't get the opportunity to wonder what time it is. And there is no better movie theater experience than Alamo Drafhouse. If you haven't been to see a movie there, just go. It's worth it. The food isn't anything special, but they don't let kids in, they don't let people talk during the movie, and if anyone does, they encourage you to tell on them and the management will throw them out. We don't do regular theaters anymore. Not ever. Anyway, it was after 1:00 AM when we got home. At least we didn't have to get up with the kids Saturday morning.

But it didn't matter that I didn't have to get up. At 7:00, I was wide awake, laying in bed thinking about drapes. We pretty much decided on the fabric the night before. The question was whether to make 4 panels or 2. How would I make such a choice? Well, I took a picture of the windows the way they are (pictured right), and then I photoshopped what it would look like with drapes (and the walls painted), so I could show it to Hubby and help him understand what I'm visualizing (pictured left). It only took me about a half hour to do that. I like the HGTV shows where they show the people what it will look like before they do the work. I was able to do that for Hubby, since he is "visualizationally challenged". (I actually put up several versions of this on my facebook page, and this was by far the favorite of the folks who commented.)

We did have actual work to do Saturday morning after my "fun with photoshop" morning. Hubby did the yard, and I cleaned out the garage. It was good to get things done.

After we got ourselves cleaned up, we went to the fabric store on our way to get the kids. We had noticed the night before that there was a sale on the drapery fabrics, 40% off. Apparently everyone else in the entire sewing world was aware of the sale as well, and the line at the cutting table was absolutely ridiculous. It took us quite a long time to get help, but we finally got what we needed and went on to get the kids.

As we left the fabric store, we noticed my van wasn't running smoothly. It was lurching every time we were stopped. The check engine light was on. Super. Just what we need. A huge bill to pay. My car is only 1800 miles past being under warranty. Isn't that always how it works?

When we got home, around 2:00 PM, the garage door wouldn't go up. The last time that had happened, we were without electricity for 8 hours. Our neighbor came over to our driveway and let us know that they didn't have power either. Great. So we went in and and called the power company on the cell phone, they predicted powere would be restored by 4:00. That was also when Hubby's football game started (he's a big time college football spectator), so that was good news. We sat around reading books in the interim. Big Girl was distraught that her TV shows weren't available. Little Girl just played (like she's playing upstairs right now). As promised, the power came back on, before 4:00.

About 15 minutes into the football game that Hubby was then watching, the cable went out. Not just the cable, but every service we get from our cable company, internet and phone as well as TV. (Thanks, Time Warner.) So no football. At least we had air conditioning. So we watched episodes of Firefly, a TV series that only lasted for one season. We bought it on DVD recently, and it's really good. The cable was out for the rest of the day. (I hope we are compensated for Time Warner Cable's not holding their end of the contract we signed with them. We're stuck with them for 2 years, but the contract only holds if they actually provide the services we're paying for!)

Sunday was a pretty regular Sunday except that between church and going to my parents' house for lunch, we dropped off my car at the shop.

Being down a car usually wouldn't matter, since I walk Big Girl to and from school, but I had plans for yesterday that meant I needed a car. Dad let us borrow his. That meant Mom took Dad to work Monday morning, and Hubby would pick Dad up from work, and then come home, and Dad would then take his car home. Hubby walked Big Girl to school, and Mom picked her up and took Big Girl back to her classroom until it was time for her to leave for the day.

Hubby's sister had a medical procedure scheduled for early in the morning, and I went to their house to watch their kids while her husband took her to and from wherever they went. They had to leave at 6:25 to get there by 6:45, so I tried to get there around 6:00. They live about an hour and a half away from us, so I left at 4:30 Monday morning. I woke up before my alarm at 3:59 AM. Without waking anyone else in the house, I got my stuff together, and prepared the car. I plucked Little Girl out of bed and took her straight to the car, hoping not to rouse her too much, and thinking she would fall back to sleep easily. Such was not the case. She was awake for most of the trip. She fell asleep about 20 minutes before we got there.

Once there, and after the patient and her husband left, Little Girl and I went back to sleep, snuggled together, for a little over an hour. That was kind of nice. It's been since her infanthood that the two of us have slept like that.

After a while, my nieces woke up, my sister-in-law and her husband came back. Then we stayed until after lunch, since the cousins were have so much fun playing together. I expected Little Girl to fall asleep on the way home, seeing as it was nap time, and her morning sleep had been so disrupted, but again, she stayed awake. This time, she didn't fall asleep at all. By the time we got home, I was SO ready for a nap.

I resisted and managed to wait until 9:30 last night to sleep. And let me tell you, I had no insomnia this time.

This morning, it's time to get back in the swing with packing lunch & sending Big Girl off to school. I just got back from a long walk with my wonderful neighbor. She let me push Little Girl in her extra jogging stroller. Little Girl fell asleep on our walk. It is catching up with her!

"Philosophy," has been in my head on and off all weekend. Hubby put in a Ben Folds Five DVD for a little while Saturday, in between Firefly episodes, and that was one of the songs we watched. I'm getting tired of it. It's been rolling around in my head for so long...

Songs

In my head this morning, with no radio or iPod on, is "Lady of the Morning," by Journey, I think. It might be Foreigner, I always get those two mixed up.

And in general, "Barracuda" by Heart has been in my head too. That driving riff is fantastic. And of course, they're playing it as bumper music on Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham shows since that was Sarah Palin's nickname when she played high school sports.

As promised, I will not blog about potty. Just keep praying for me!

Potty Talk

To spare my readers from the daily ins and outs of potty training (pun intended), I may not be blogging all that much. Between checking her, putting her on the potty, cleaning up her messes, etc, I'm not really available to do much else. Even if I am available, that's pretty much the only thing on my mind, as it is the main thing going on in my life right now.

I still welcome encouraging words, advice, etc. Pray for me! And please pray for her to get it!!!

What would Sarah Palin do with Little Girl? That thought has crossed my mind more than once...

Digging In

I think I have bought my last box of diapers. But it's not quite what you think. Little Girl is not really cooperating any more than she has been. It's just that we can't let her go on the way she has. We have "pull-ups," but for daytime, it's panties (the thick kind that absorb most of what goes in them). And for today, she's pooped in the potty, I think by accident, and peed once too, also by chance. But she also peed in her pants four times.

We did our regular Wednesday trip to Chick-fil-a, and it was abbreviated by Little Girl's fourth pee accident of the day. Maybe she'll connect the fact that she doesn't get to do fun stuff, like stay and play at Chick-fil-a, to the fact that she peed in her pants again. Who knows... I'm really trying to just press on and not pull my hair out.

Tonight (since I started typing this post), we discovered ANOTHER accident, this time the less pleasant kind, and I took her outside and hosed her off. I don't want this to be fun. After that, I put a diaper on her and put her to bed. It was the last diaper in the box. (I still have a car stash, and I'm debating on whether I should bring it in and put pull-ups in the car. *Shrug*)

At any rate, it's time to really start digging in.

And thanks to some radio show, I have Billy Idol's "White Wedding" in my head. They were playing it as bumper music while they were talking about Bristol Palin's pregnancy. You know, it is diappointing any time a young person steps outside of God's perfect plan for sex and marriage, but it doesn't nullify Sarah Palin as a good VP pick. I know plenty of people my age who made mistakes in their youth, and God has worked it out for the best. I pray the same for the Palin family, and the young father's family as well. God is not surprised by any of it.

Labor Day/Birthday Weekend

Today is Labor Day, and it's also my husband's birthday. We're not too terribly big about birthdays, and really, neither one of is a real "gifty" person. On the Love Language tests, we both score lowest on gifts, which is a good thing. Not only is it cheaper that way, neither one of us feels slighted when there's not a huge gift waiting on the special day, whatever it is. Besides, like most guys, if there's something he wants, he'll go get it for himself and it's pretty hard to buy something for him that he actually appreciates. If it weren't for Amazon.com's wishlists, I would be completely in the dark for Christmas, which is really the only time we do gifts for each other. (We do make big deals of the kids' birthdays. They're still young enough to care about that sort of thing.)

In our understated way, we're celebrating with his mother and grandmother, grilling burgers and having cake (to be decorated later by the children). It will be a good day.

Yesterday we had my parents over for lunch after church. We usually go to their house, so it was nice to finally be able to return the favor, and to show off the table for the first time. It was very satisfying to have my mother walk through the kitchen after everything had been cleaned up and hear her say that the kitchen looked nice.

I finally feel like a full-fledged grown up. I think Big Girl's being in real school has a lot to do with that. Yesterday too, with me doing all the stuff my mother usually does. I've also been keeping my kitchen clean all week, which is vastly out of character for me. But I really care about it for the first time in... (I was going to say, "a long time," but that's not even right...) my whole life. And that makes me feel like a grown up.

This weekend we're realizing that we really have to tackle the potty training of Little Girl. She's graduated to a Sunday School class where there are no diaper changing facilities. They have a bathroom, with a teeny, little, kid-sized potty, but no changing pad. When she was dirty, a wonderfully sweet lady working in her class and I changed the poopy diaper with Little Girl standing there as we tried to wipe her behind. She really gave me a rough time yesterday with every little possible thing, and we know that her lack of potty prowess is entirely her choice. So now Hubby and I are really making things less pleasant for her so long as this is the choice she's making. We're not letting her wear her diaper (or anything else on her bottom) and we're not letting her on the carpeted areas of the house until after she makes in the potty. Currently she's crying about her confinement. But it's really her choice. So far, it's been a couple hours of naked bottom, and no accidents. She's in control. She's waiting for her nap-time when the diaper will be put back on. That's what she did yesterday too. I'm trying to be more mean about it, and less patient to see if that makes a difference. I'm also trying to be no fun during diaper changes. I don't want there to be a payoff for that at all. We've got to do something...

So today is mostly a relaxing day, except for the parenting. Nap-time is just around the corner. And by the sound of it, they need it as much as we do!

"Pink Panther" is in my head. The movie is on in the other room.