Of thunderstorms and puke

My parents are here for a few days while Charles is out of town. They're helping me put more stuff in storage so we can fully declutter the house and hopefully sell it! (We have had a few people come through over the last week -- yay!)

So last night we went out to dinner at a local seafood restaurant that pretty much sits on the water. A storm rolled up while we were sitting there, and it was a lot of fun to watch. The power went out for a couple of minutes, but we already had our food. So, whatever. There was a break in the storm for our drive home. When we got back here, there was a limb on the deck rail and our trash can was halfway down the neighbor's yard. There were limbs down all over the neighborhood too.

A couple hours later it started up again. We couldn't do movies on the Roku, since it needs internet to work, so we started watching "Silent Movie." It was actually a decent "Steph Netflix" pick. (Those words are usually associated with seriously crappy movies.) 1/3 of the way through, or so, the TV just cut off. I could intermittently get a red "standby" light to come on, but that was it. Charles' computer was beep-beep-beeping like it was on battery power. It took us half an hour to figure out it was a brownout. We had partial power, but not enough to power a TV or computer. Overhead lights flickered and clock lights were dim. Not long after we figured this out, everything turned off. I think the flashlight is in my car, and it was still storming hardcore. After a few minutes of using cell phones for light, I remembered I had a bunsload of candles around.

Mom and Dad and I headed to bed (and I slept in Adia's bed because the dark was scaring her.) When I woke up at 7, we had power again.

I went to nurse Francesca (who was wandering around the house) and found chunks of something in her hair. She told me it was chicken nuggets. I checked her bed and... ew. I came back up to the living room and told her "You threw up in your bed!" Her response? "I did?!" The sheets are drying, the comforter is in the wash, and Miss F now smells like body wash. She seems fine this morning, and she's had a bowl of dry cereal.

Goodnight Mom

This was posted on a mom forum where I'm a member:

In the messy green
family room
There was a telemarketer ringing the telephone
And a crying toddler
because his brother just popped his
red balloon
And a picture of--
The cow jumping over the moon (which someone colored on with permanent marker)
And there was a missing
teddy bear, and a girl with
gum in her hair

And one to be scolded
And laundry to be folded
And a very hungry spouse
And something stinky in the house
(that no one else seemed to smell)

And a comb and a brush and a colicky baby who just won't shush
And a frazzled mommy screaming #*%#@

Goodnight messy room
Goodnight scribbled-on moon
Goodnight cow getting out while she can
Goodnight telemarketers and the
popped balloon
Goodnight long-gone teddy bear Goodnight cereal bar smeared all
over the dining room chair

Goodnight spitup
And goodnight leaky sippy cup
Goodnight much-too-little house and goodnight grumpy spouse
Goodnight comb and goodnight brush
And goodnight to a certain 4-year-old who just needs to hush right now I mean it

Goodnight Elmo
Goodnight toys we'll pick up tomorrow,
or the next day
Hello chardonnay and TiVo--
"me" time finally

http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/Relax--Recharge/Goodnight-Mom

I'm a cool parent! who knew? :P

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need. You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law. While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top. You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

Improvement?

Dare I say it? She's been in a good mood since I got her settled in to watch the movie. Francesca took an extra long nap, and things are pretty calm at the moment. In a little bit we're going to go out to dinner with some friends, so let's hope that we don't turn back around.

(She kept telling me that she was "so mad and so sad" when we were leaving. I asked her a little while ago if she wanted to finish her project from the library, and she said not right then, but she wasn't sad or mad anymore.)

The preschool mom's walk of shame

I got to do the walk of shame today. The one that moms of preschoolers get to do when their child loses her mind at the end of the library story hour and has to drag both crying (and screaming in Adia's case) girls out of the library while everybody wonders (a) why they are crying and (b) why their mama hasn't disciplined them yet.

The drama? She wasn't ready to finish putting together her windsock, so I backed off and let her do some more. She decided she was done, so I put it together. At which point she decided she was not done, but it was too late. She freaked out the whole way out of the library and the block and a half to the car. And then the lone streamer we'd put on it blew off down the road. Double drama. And then she remembered the snack she hadn't finished at the library. Oh, the huge manatee. She's eating lunch and watching Dr. Seuss here now. I thought the library might be a good distraction from Gamma leaving, but apparently it was just too much change for my little Pisces.

On the plus side, she and Mason had a nice little pre-storytime snack at the coffee shop. And a pleasant walk to the library.