Saturday Night Musing

God, it was a great day not having to work and getting to spend all day with Max, even if I am very tired. Five whole days and no work. I pretty much have something planned for everyday, but not too planned or overscheduled.

I decided that I am going to use these 5 days to get Max on a better (read back to two a day) nap schedule. He woke my up once to often lately (this morning) in the 4 am hour. I can handle the 5 am hour. Even the 3 am hour is better for me than the 4 am hour. So, he went down nicely for his first nap around 9 am, but we never really have trouble with the first nap. He slept for about 1.5 hours. Then, he had an early lunch, we ran some errands, came back and played (chase, hug, and generally bug Shadow with laughter and utter glee in his voice was the favorite game of today and Shadow was NOT amused), watched a dvd, and then around 1 ish gave him a bottle and then put him in his crib. It took a few trips in to give him more formula, give him a book for his crib, and general soothing, plus a bit of cry it out in the end and finally, he went down for another 1.5 hour nap. This actually totals about the same amount of sleep he was getting with one nap, but the stretch in the afternoon to bedtime is just too long and he is too tired. Because of the good afternoon nap, I moved his bedtime back 30 min. to 7:30 pm, but he was so tired and went to sleep so easily I probably could have left it at 7 pm. We will see if this works. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wakes up at some point pee’d through because we were out in the backyard playing in the water and the heat for a few hours and he drank a lot of water.

Well, I should say that Max played (quite nicely amusing himself) in the afternoon while I worked on the project I decided to tackle now that I am not pregnant. The “fix the fountain” project. The old motor died and needed to be replaced so one of our errands was to get that, along with a little memorial for the little wee one that never made it to birth (a butterfly statue, that looks like it could also be a dragon fly). It is very different from the fairy statue from my first m/c, but I had gone in thinking about a butterfly and found one I liked (and didn’t really find anything else I liked instead). Anyway, I managed to get the fountain drained and apart. I can’t describe what a PITA that was and I have a sore back and legs, plus a big bruise on my left thigh, a big bruise on my right calf, and a sore toe from where I dropped (all on separate occasions) on myself. I tested the old pump to ensure that it in fact did not work, before opening the new one (at a mere $105) and attempted to get it back together again. I flat out couldn’t do it. I was so wishing I was married or had someone else around to call and help because I just wanted this done and I had to keep stopping to make sure Max wasn’t getting into trouble and hosing off the cement so he didn’t burn himself (because of course he would much rather play in the mud puddles in the sun than the nice water toys momma bought for him in the shade). I called my cousin to tell her how much I miss her not coming this summer and tell her about my fountain project cause I know she would have helped if she were here since last time the pump burnt out, she helped me fix it. She reminded me that she and I couldn’t do it by ourselves and that James her 13 (at the time) year old son help. Damn. I had forgotten about that. No wonder I couldn’t do it by myself. I called the place I bought it from to see how much it would cost to send a crew out to put it back together. $170. Not quite ready to part with that cash yet. I think I may ask my gardeners on Wednesday if they will do it if I pay them $40 or $60 in cash. Still a bargain for me and they are already here. I also thought about trying to hire a day laborer for a few hours, but don’t really feel comfortable doing that with just Max and I (guys just hang out on the street and wait for people to drive up and offer them work). So, another project on the to-do list not done that will require more of a cash investment to resolve.

My Friday project really started on Thursday night also remains incomplete and will likely require a call to the plumber to resolve. I really should be able to fix it myself. It is not that hard, but I am tired with the early wake ups and have either needed to work (or today rested and read while Max napped, after picking up the mess created since the last time he slept). The hand sprayer on my kitchen faucet started leaking so I bought one that looked exactly like it to replace it (even took the old one in as a model to be sure). Well, it only looked alike from the outside. The inside was slightly different. So, I thought I had to take off this white thing on the hose to connect it. I was wrong and basically screwed up the hose such that I was not able to fix it, which required me to replace the hose. Of course, to get to where the hose connects I either had to work blind, which I couldn’t do because it is behind the garbage disposal and my arms aren’t long enough or cut a hole in the cupboard (inside) between the left and the middle section. So, I cut the whole yesterday, got everything replaced, and tested it. Naomi was nice enough to stay a little late while I cleaned up and finished up. I thought I had it all with no leaks except a slow drip on the handle. I was wrong. I now have a baking dish in the cupboard to catch the water and need to empty it after using the kitchen sink to avoid water all over the kitchen floor (again). I either need to search deep within to find the patience and stamina to get back to this project or likely it will end up as another project that will require more of a cash investment to resolve.

Speaking of cash investments, I was buying a new microwave (because the old one that I had for 15+ years died sadly and they no longer make the same model) when I got the official news of the m/c. I really don’t like the new one. Not because of the timing, but because of other stupid reasons, mostly because it isn’t the old one. It shows finger prints. It cooks things too hot and too fast. It has express timers, but the 1 min. one is usually too long and the 30 second one is usually too short. To do a manual time amount is a pain. Plus, the cord is about 3 inches too short to fit into the outlet without an extension so the cart it sits on is out of place because I have been to tired/lazy/it hasn’t bugged me quite enough to find an extension and fix it.

Other than minor hassles of every day life, I am doing just fine. I have been reading that Coming to Term book when I get time (about 5 – 10 min at night before I am so tired I need to sleep) and it is very interesting and encouraging. I have slowly started to call or get back in contact with friends I just didn’t have the energy or desire to talk with after the m/c. I have been on BCP’s (birth control pills) in prep for my cycle for about 5 days now and I am one of those odd ducks that LOVES being on BCP’s. I spent most of my adult life (from 20 – 40) on BCP’s except for about a year in my late 20’s until I stopped ttc. I know most people get moody and out of sorts on BCP’s, but they just really regulate me (who normally produces too much estrogen and not enough progesterone) and I tend to feel great on them.

A friend mentioned wine earlier and I seriously thought about opening a bottle tonight and having a glass (since it is a nice long weekend and I have no reason to not), but it just seemed like too much energy and wouldn’t really have “gone” with my gourmet dinner of spaghetteos out of a can. I’m sure water was the better choice. Hmm. Maybe I will go pour myself a glass and go soak in the tub forgetting all about my projects that are currently in shambles and worse off from when I started.

Of course, with my luck, I will have the wine and then have a night from HELL where Max wakes up umpteen times just to torment me for his minor CIO nap earlier today. See how pessimistic I have become these last few years. I used to be such a positive optimistic gal.