Overwhelmed!

Mama C needs a break! I've fallen into the guilt-trap. And I hate the guilt-trap. You know what I'm talking about--you get asked to do something and even though you have NO desire to do whatever it is, you do it anyway because of guilt! Ughhh...so now I've got four classes worth of final exams, term papers, and projects to grade along with a bunch of stuff I said I'd do for various groups I belong to. So, I'm feeling overextended and overwhelmed. Well, actually, just complaining about it here made me feel better. Thanks for letting me vent...hmmm...maybe that's all Lydia's tantrums are about--just needing to vent when she's feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by choices, rules, or just this big, confusing world around her...who knew I'd have such insight by complaining myself? : )

I'll write more when the semester is over...

Invasion of the Goo

It all started simply enough. Lydia asked me for a few juice treats (kind of like gummy bears, but made with fruit juice.) I gave her a few and off she went outside for a romp on this glorious spring day. Evelyn and I joined her on the deck, and we all enjoyed the warm sunshine for a while. Then it happened. Lydia cried out to me in that voice that told me I'd better check it out. Her hands were stuck together. She had laid a few of these gummy treats in the sun, played for a while, then went back for them. The treats had melted into this gelatinous muck that stuck like you wouldn't believe. I tried to pull her hands apart and pull off some of the goo only to get my own hands stuck in the goo. You would not believe the sticky power of this stuff! You could probably stick a person to the ceiling with this stuff it was so sticky. We slowly, stickily made our way to the kitchen door when we encountered our next problem: how to open the door without sticking to the door? Well, I now realize that I have outstanding chin-neck control because I managed to get the door open without my hands. We made our way over to the sink and the warm water would not get the stuff off. Nor would the giant squirts of Dawn liquid dish soap. I finally grabbed--and adhered to--some paper towels and using the warm water, soap, and paper towels and lots of elbow grease, I finally worked the goo off of our hands. Lydia and I both were laughing so hard and I chalked it up as a lesson not to leave those things out in the sun. But as I sit here writing these words, I'm left with the thought: what do these things do on our insides?!?!? Ewwww!!

Cat: Free to Good Home

I have a love-hate relationship with my cat, Bob. When he's being so nice and cuddly with me, keeping me warm on a cold night, I love him. When he's being so sweet with the girls, letting them pat him, pull on him, cover him with stickers (like in the picture,) or even dress him in hats and he never even bats a paw, I love him. Right now, though, I HATE HIM!!!

I know, how could I hate such a sweet kitty? Let me set the scene for you... It's 3:00 AM and all are quietly, blissfully snoozing in our quiet, dark house. Then I startle awake hearing some kitty-footsteps and a little squeaky-squeal. "Oh, great," I thought...thinking it was yet another mole or chipmunk that Bob had brought in--up two flights of stairs, no less--to our bedroom. Jeremy woke up, too, and we quietly laid there hoping Bob would just finish it so we wouldn't have another critter to catch ourselves and get rid of. So, we're lying there in the dark, practically holding our breathes, when something flutters by our heads.

Choking back a scream--at least the girls didn't wake through this commotion--we both sat bolt upright and realized some winged creature was in our room. We grabbed our glasses and turned on the lights and a cloud of feathers floated through the air while this poor bird flew in frantic circles over us and Bob chased. I was ready to kill Bob at this point--I mean, come on, we're talking 3:00 AM and a BIRD in my bedroom!!!

Jeremy and I decided we really didn't want to bang and crash around our bedroom trying to catch this bird. So, I had the idea of opening our window so it would fly out. We opened our screenless window, turned out the lights and waited. And waited. Bob got bored and went back outside--probably to get some other feline tasty treat. At this point, Jeremy and I were so tired and we were punchy. I brilliantly commented when Jer asked where the bird was, "He's over there on the floor....I wonder what kind of bird he is....hmmm...he must be some kind of floor bird for Bob to have caught him." Yeah, that made sense. But it sure did make us laugh.

We finally dozed off, and a little before sunrise, when all of the birds are singing at their loudest, the bird finally made it out the window and flew on. I guess I'm not so angry with Bob anymore....I guess...it was pretty funny...but I still have to vacuum up all of those feathers. Sigh....

Success!!!

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words...

The Puddle Jumper, part 2

Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Or something like that. It's been raining here for DAYS, but it hasn't bothered me a bit. I just got my little puddle jumper some awesome new Wellies (see pic--too cute!!) Lydia has been having a grand time splashing to her heart's content in all of the puddles she can find. Happy rain!!