fighting with my toddler

i had a terrible day today. woke up at 3am to pee and wasn't able to go back to sleep. talia woke up at 6:30 and i brought her downstairs (after asking 10 times, are you sure you don't want to come into mommy's bed?) where she proceeded to sob because the "lights are on" even though they weren't. she could not be conviced that all the lights were out. she cried with a blanket over her head for 20 minutes. i'm not sure she was even awake. huge fight over clothing before school. i just felt like i was supposed to put my foot down about SOMETHING. ANYTHING. but she would not wear the panties i chose, nor the shirt. i didn't care if she wanted to pick out her own clothes i just didn't want a hassle. i finally told her she could go upstairs and get different clothes but i would NOT carry her up the stairs so she wailed at the bottom of the stairs for 20 minutes. she did finally come up on her own. dropped her at school after having noodles for breakfast and tried to go home and sleep but couldn't. now it's almost 11pm and i'm still at work. sleep deprivation is not good for me. i had no patience. then tonight i saw a mom pushing a stroller with a toddler who clearly has cancer and i feel terrible for having a fight with my kid.

things i want to buy when i move

a serger
deep freezer
really nice knives
a heated towel rack
digital SLR camera
really nice linens-- sheets, towels, etc.
summer weight down comforter
high tech coffemaker?
nice bath products
lots of organizational tools, ie the entire container store...
good recycle bins and trash cans
a window seat
a porch swing
lots of plants
cool shoes
really nice porch furniture
locker style in the mudroom?
mail oragnization place

halloween pictures

This was T's first REAL Halloween. I was a little bit ashamed that I bought this lame costume but I'm not going to make her a costume until she actually CARES about it. She hardly knew what Halloween was before we went out but she sure knows now! I was surprised when I asked her if she knew was "trick or treating" means. She said it means "candy" so I guess she knew some things!

We went out to a friend's house in the suburbs and the girls played together BEAUTIFULLY! Then we hit about 10 houses. Talia seemed to be all business. She generally went in, took one piece of candy and got out. I was a little disappointed at her candy choices. She always took a lollipop if it was offered. What a shame.

I was worried about how to deal with the candy afterwards. I took everything out except for about 6 pieces and let her choose about two a day for a few days. It actually wasn't that bad. After about one or two more days she stopped asking about it. Whew!

bubbles

8 out of 10

My husband works really hard and often works long hours. Fine. I completely agree. I still think he should help out around the house. It's a big job and it's never ending. I mostly want him to just pick up after himself. I will capture some evidence about how he leaves everything out and lying around in another post. This post is about a particular incident from last month.

My daughter was sick (coxsackie). It had been a long day for me. I think he had to actually cook dinner, which happens about once a month. The kitchen was a disaster. I asked him to clean it. He is notoriously "bad" at cleaning the kitchen, so he says and has proven through great effort for at least two years. I was exhausted from being up all night with my daughter and spending all day holding her and trying to get her to eat or drink. When my husband said the kitchen was finished I asked him to give himself a grade before I went to see it. He gave himself an "8 out of 10"

This is what I found...

it's a boy/ it's a girl quilt

Finished a new quilt last night. I think I have somewhat of a manic personality. I get into certain projects/ art forms/ craft genres and the next thing I know, it's all I want to do and all I can think about. I might be having a conversation with you, or be working, or playing with my daughter and the only thought I have is: I want to be quilting/ scrapbooking/ sewing/ cooking/ reading/ making mosaics etc.

My thought process goes like this: Hi husband/ daughter/ friend, how are you (I want to be quilting). Oh that's good. Yeah the weather is fine (quilting). No I don't know what I'm making for dinner yet (quilting). Yes, the political situation in the middle east is getting worse and worse (quilting-- or reading or cooking or whatever).

New things I learned while making this quilt: rotary cutting, matching seams and binding. Rotary cutting makes it a LOT easier! I always felt like the blade would slip before. Now I just take my time and press really hard. I never understood what matching seams meant and now I think I do. Duh. Now all my points/ seams/ alignment can match. I never made bias binding (or any binding) before. Being a self taught sewer means I have to figure a lot of stuff out myself. I think both my new techniques will come in handy! I didn't line the quilt with anything-- it's just two layers of thick flannel. I've never seen a kid carting around a "lovey" that was very thick. It needs to be pliable and crushable. I'm not saying that I think this will be the lovey the kid picks but I can hope.

I was also hoping the quilt wouldn't be too cutesy but I think it is a little too much. Hopefully the receiver of this quilt will still like it. She's not a "cutesy" kind of mom. Don't know if the baby is a boy or girl. I think it will work ok for both, at least for a while.

coxsackie virus

We are having a very yucky few days-- T has coxsackie and she has sores in
her mouth and can't eat or drink. Plus 104 degree weather is not our
friend. On a good note, we've been home for two days so i've been potty
training. She's been wearing panties and hasn't peed in them yet. at the
same time, she's dehydrated so getting her to the potty a few times a day
isn't all that hard. She has still never pooped in the potty and is afraid
of going to public toilets (who isn't?).

First time

I haven't written anything for public consumption in at least 5 years so this a little scary. I have no idea where to start or what I would want to accomplish with a blog. My life isn't all that exciting! I am a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse and a mom of an "almost two year old." Today my daughter (T) played by herself for a little while. It's fun to watch her when she thinks no one is looking. She puts little "blankets" (pieces of fabric I cut out for her) on her "babydolls" and her little animals. She pats them or wipes them with babywipes. She talks to them the whole time so I can see her thought process as she's playing. She's started using the word "favorite" as in, "my favorite bear" and so on. She might be the most amazing person in the world.