My Fresh Hell
Life in Scribbletown.

Interim Weekend Report

2006-12-02

Oooh, look! A rare weekend post! What has gotten into me? Must be that calm-before-the-storm moment.

Red and I spent the majority of the day together. I took her, as I always do, to the library and the grocery store. There was much gross poo today. I must have changed her six times. Guess that 3/4-of-the-way-out molar is coming 4/4 of the way in. Let�s hope so.

While she is not an ideal child in public these days, she was particular badly behaved at the grocery store. She was irate that there were no free samples for her to eat. Usually there are baskets of organic crackers and cookies to sample and chunks of fruit or cheese. But nay! Not this weekend.

I'd brought her usual soybutter on pumpernickle sandwich and water cup but she was having none of it. She pitched a fit. And I did my best to ignore her until she smushed up a piece of sandwich in her hand and smeared it all over the grocery cart seat. And you wonder why those carts are so disgusting? Yeah, it�s kids like mine. I did my best to clean it up since I had a large bag of wipes (for the abovementioned poo) on hand.

Then it was just ceaseless loud chatter and �Hi, Daddy�s to all the men in the store. All of them. (Yeah, couple a years ago I, uh, partied a lot; Red�s just trying to find the guy who�ll fess up and start paying some child support.) And the insisting that Dusty�s balloon (for tomorrow�s birthday party) was hers. She had been perfectly happy at the library. I should have left her there.

Then there was a series of incomprehensible lashings out in the back seat on the way home. No idea what that was all about but...my god, child, just...shut the FUCK up already!

Just eat your damn Coney Island!

Did I already say �fuck�? Then I'll just think it to myself a couple more times.

Fortunately, she did take a nap while my husband took Dusty to a birthday party (yes, she attended one today for a friend who will be at hers tomorrow) so I was able to clean up, pass out for awhile, read a book, drink a beer, decorate. Recover.

When she awoke, her mood had improved. We went outside and wandered around. We pulled radishes. She got to carry the biggest one. She�s suddenly able to say a lot more words these days and can finally say �banana� for a banana instead of lumping it in with all the other �apples.� She pointed to the barn and said �barn� so we walked through the barn. She wanted to see neigh-neighs. We saw them. We petted their soft noses. We watched them eat and listened to them pull up grass with their teeth. She wanted to see meow-meows and lo and behold! Here comes Boots, the neighbor�s black and white cat.

Boots hung out with us for awhile and Red was absolutely beside herself to pet him and watch him follow us back to the house so I could wash the radishes and check on the laundry. He sat on the porch for about fifteen minutes and Red screamed �Meow-meow� at him over and over.

I�d strung some Xmas lights and decorations in preparation for the birthday party (at Dusty�s express orders, mind you) and Red was only partially satisfied. She wanted more �ye-ights� in the living room so I opened a new box and strung a strand over the curtain rod.

It�s beginning to look a lot like Xmas around here now.

Happy at last, I was able to start dinner and she played happily with the doll house and the life-size shaggy dog. The dog was treated to her oatios and the doll house people were put to bed. �Nite-nite!� they were commanded in no uncertain terms, at top volume.

She was much more gentle with things this afternoon (despite the yelling at the doll house people). I even let her drink water out of a regular cup. She only purposely spilled some later on. She did try cleaning up the mess with a swim diaper she found somewhere. It�s the thought that counts, right?

And this deserves a mention: it was still so warm last night after Red went to bed that the rest of us went out in the yard, spread blankets on the ground and star gazed. The moon, in its almost-fullness, shone down on us and gave us just enough light to allow Dusty and I to roam around. We swung on the swings (whee�s!), prowled through the fairy-lighted forest, and hid in a shadow from her dad. She enjoyed sinking into the darkness and jumping out with a �Boo!�

The country is really starting to grow on me. We could never have done such a thing � at least not so freely and alone � in the city.

ALSO: The Official Dusty and Red school photos have been posted to flickr. Check 'em out!

|

8:15 p.m. ::
prev :: next