Olivia's Weekend Adventures

 
 

I know that one of the pictures is blurry but i can never resist Olivia's ensembles. Olivia had quite the weekend that started with a trip to the botanical gardens to blow kisses to koi, a night at Stomp where we blantantly ignored age restrictions, then an overnight at her Aunt Kat's where i hear rumors of M&M pancakes. For those of you curious about how Olivia did at Stomp a hour and forty-five minute show with no intermission, let's just say that she spent 24 straight hours randomly clapping and hitting inappropriate objects together. Did not think that one through.

Month of Living Dangerously

This week starts five weeks of Chad being at trial in Green Bay. We have spent the last two weeks gearing up, Chad has been working later, i have been scrambling to get some projects done and mentally preparing myself for some single-parenting. I might be in denial, but overall I am looking forward to a little alone time. I get the whole bed, to sleep in, eat salads, turn off the tv,etc. I am a little bummed that Chad will be gone for our 10th anniversary, Mother's Day, my sister's high-school graduation and Memorial Day, and let's face it, May is one of our few nice months.

I figure the way to get through it is to make a goal for myself, like teaching myself to lay ceramic tile, or to start drinking. I think the red meat is going to go again, maybe even pork? Poor Chad has to spend a month in a hotel room and he might return home to people he doesn't recognize.

I Would Call It The Daimon

This is a painting by an artist named Mike Monterio, while I was torn between this and "Let's Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow" I have to put my lot with this one. Unfortunately, sold. I'm thinking it could be a series-Fuck You It's Baby Weight-Fuck You I Shouldn't Be Able To Hear Your Conversation From Here-Fuck You You Bored Me Before You Even Opened Your Mouth.

My genius has been squandered.

For My Book Club Girls

This is Olivia's closet. It holds most of her art supplies, a mere fraction of her books and all the things I hoard for spontaneous project-making like paper towel tubes. Also, some toys that she is not quite old enough for yet. It is more overstuffed than usually because of the recent birthday. My neighbor and I put it together with peg board and some old parts from her garage.

This is where the rest of the art supplies live in a great little paint corner built by my awesome Father-in-Law. I have to relocate this somewhere else when number two comes and it is breaking my heart, it has been keeping the rest of my house relatively paint free. Olivia has a watercolor station in the kitchen but that is it.

This is where all of the artwork is housed. Some pieces have snuck out and gotten taped to walls, but it is mostly contained in this little curtain rod from IKEA.

I have all of Olivia's dress clothes in a few of these. I used to have hanging pegs, but they were always overcrowded and the clothes were always falling off, besides I believe everything in a small house should be doing double duty.

I hope this is what you were looking for ladies, if not feel free to leave me a comment.

Photo Dump

 
 


Olivia with Miss Frances and the bubbles portion of the aforementioned Fizzy, Foamy Science.

Since I am in such a great mood I thought I would share a few of my favorite things lately.

1) My reading list for Spring, let's just say there is a fantasy that involves me, a hotel room with a bathtub that holds more than three inches of water and this pile. Also, coffee.

2) I am straight up in love with usluairlines nail polish. I would do a lot of things to have my next manicure in bright orange or this sunny yellow.

3) I have been hankering to throw a party and this Bookworm Party at Oh Happy Day should do the trick.
4) My kitchen is so close to being done I can taste it. I think this little pear-shaped terrarium should do the trick.

5) Last but not least, my ten year anniversary is coming up in a month, and even though Chad will celebrate it alone from trial in Green Bay, that doesn't mean I can't want something fabulous like these, or any, earrings from Blue Poppy.

A Note To Readers

I feel compelled to write a post saying that I had a wonderful morning with my daughter today. I feel like the funny posts are the ones where she is badly behaved so those get the most play, but today she was terrific. We went to Spanish storytime in Middleton; hung there reading about everything from ferrets to Ancient Egypt. Then we met Chad for lunch and went and got a scoop of ice cream and ate in the sun. Then we came home and picked the sunniest spot in the house to do puzzles, she went down for nap without a peep.

No monster child, it gives me hope that maybe the nice weather will bring a nice attitude?

**-The Taco Bell Ritual, or A Portrait of Crazy

I am going to let everyone have a little peek at my crazy that may paint a very different picture of me as a person, but is accurate nonetheless.

Whenever I get the opportunity to eat alone I always try to make sure it is a lunch meal. I like to eat lunch alone. To me, it is the meal that you eat reading a book, listening to the radio, quietly enjoying a mid-time break. I usually need a break from having to interact with people, I have mentioned this before, but I do not like interacting with people. I find it stressful and emotionally taxing, but I am good at it and I realize that it is necessary so I do it. I eat lunch with Olivia every day.

When I do get to eat lunch alone I eat at Taco Bell. Despite being a good cook, enjoying well made foods the one food that I feel consistently denied is a bad taco. Whenver I ask to go to Taco Bell my daughter immediately collapses into histronics and my husband looks at me with a stare that says," I'll go because I love you but I will repsect you less afterwards (I have a similar stare for his affinity for the Burger King)."

SO to achieve eating alone and eating at Taco you have to eat in your car, which I prefer to the soul-deadening interior of the Taco Bell, I have better music and it is much quieter, I can read etc. However, I don't like to eat in the car where people can SEE me eating in the car so I have to park in the far back corner of the parking lot where it is a group of people who agree not to make eye contact because they also hate eating with people.

What you have then is a woman who pays someone else so that she can eat bad tacos alone in her car in the back corner of the parking lot. Sad, but I would do it again tomorrow given the chance.

*

So in the midst of my soul-searching about Olivia's misbehavior I decided to look into my own culpability. I know that remaining calm is what I need to do, but it is a challenge when, say she is digging her fingernails into you and screaming' "I hate you, you are the stupidest Mommy ever!!!!!" when you are in, say, the Walgreens.

So I decided that I have had enough of being a good mother who does not choke her daughter and I was going to hire my sitter an extra day this week and do whatever I want-no compromising. Here is where the sad and desperate part comes in, I will give you a quick sketch of what three hours comes down to and you will see how the little things add up.

1) I called my grandfather from my driveway. I never get to talk to my grandfather without Olivia talking over the conversation. In fact, I never get to have any conversation where Olivia doesn't but in, talk over, or try to get on the phone herself and no amount of time outs or loss of privledges has curbed this behavior. My grandfather is the worst though because he insists on talking to her and if there is any kind of torture for me in hell it is going to be translating the conversation between and 88 year-old man and five year-old.

2) I went to the library to read magazines and look through the new releases. Forget flip through a magazine, I never get to leave the kids' section when I go to the library.

3) I conducted my Taco Bell ritual**.

4) I went on a walk through the marsh to see if my running path was still submerged, and I got to walk at a brisk pace, no stopping, just peace and quiet.

So if you find yourself paying another human being money to allow you to do such menial things as go to the library, make a phone call and eat Taco Bell you may be compromising too much in your daily life. After today all I could wonder is what would everyone I know do if they could do something for three hours that they feel they would never get to do otherwise? Would Chad beach out and watch three hours of baseball on full volume while simultaneously surfing the web? I often wonder if when I am gone he throws his wet towel on the floor in defiance.

Compromising Position

It is not secret that lately my child has been a hellion. Whenever I tell someone that we are adopting a second child their usual response is something along the lines of, "Are you ready for a child who misbehaves?" Now, I am not trying to claim that Olivia is generally ill-behaved, however Chad and I have experienced our fair share of trying behavior from our one and only. A quick example from this past week is: After refusing to brush her teeth one morning, I informed Olivia that she was not allowed to exit the bathroom until rudimentary dental hygiene had been performed. She proceeded to empty the entire contents of my linen closet onto the floor, throw a cup against the wall-shattering it, and when that did not do the trick she spread half a tube of toothpaste all over the bathroom sink. When she defiantly showed me the end result of her tantrum and my only response was, "Wow that's going to take you awhile to clean up." she dissolved to tears, apologies and self-flagellation.

Chad and I have spent many hours discussing the root of this new and challenging behavior (that is only one of many doozy tantrum stories)and all we can come up with is Olivia has hit the stage that we all do where you realize that you don't want to compromise about anything anymore. Anyone who has been married for a long time, had a horrible boss, demanding friend, domineering mother has hit this point where you feel like if you have to compromise about one more thing you are moving to a cabin in the woods and sending out demands via a #10 envelope. I will admit to having deatiled fantasies about being marooned on a desert island where there is no laundry or people talking to me. I empathize, which is why I can't be truly mad at her behavior, frustrated yes, but in the end I know how heartbreaking it is to come to that realization that never again in your life will you be able to have anything that you truly want when you want it.

My mother is one of twelve children so, naturally, I was raised to believe that you never get anything that you want, life is compromise and you should be grateful for whatever it is that you do have, even if it is not what you wanted. As I got older and had bosses, I learned that even if it is not how you think it should be done, you do it, and in marriage you learn to constantly compromise to create harmony in your home and life. One day you realize that you don't even remember what it is that you truly want, only that you want to get along. The millions of little choices you make every single day, not telling the woman behind you in the grocery that no one cares about the injustice that double coupons are only on Wednesdays, not eating cake for lunch, telling your mother that no that sounds like a great idea, when you know it will be a disater that you are going to be hearing about for months. I realize that this is an important quality to have to get through life and to be a good person and I have to teach Olivia to compromise, but I feel more compelled to teach her to be a little selfish, to hold onto those things you want a little tighter. Otherwise you have an afternoon like mine* where you are struck with how desperate you seem when you get a little taste being uncompromising.

Snowing Come Lately

I have to admit that I spend all winter hating snow, especially this winter because we didn't get a ton and the snow that did come, came when it was so cold we really couldn't get out and enjoy it. So I find it ironic that I have really been treasuring our spring snows. The last one I was the one who volunteered to make snow angels with all the neighborhood kids and today's snow was just a welcome excuse to have one last days to stay in and snuggle, cook comfort foods and get our house together for the coming busy Spring weeks.

Good-bye winter, it is bittersweet.