Another refreshing holiday

by Heather on July 2, 2009

I’m coming down from a massive sugar high, one that was brought on by a king-size package of peanut butter Twix and a package of Oreo Cakesters.  No one needs that much sugar and I’m starting to pay for my choices with a case of the ick that I could have avoided had I eaten the grapes that have been in the fridge since Monday.

The truth is I’m trying to eat my anxiety away.  Autumn is going to be gone to Nathan’s brother’s house this weekend and I’m starting to feel apprehensive about the trip.  There’s really no reason for it, but it’s just one of those things I go through whenever I’m going to be away from my child for more than a day.

Nathan is euphoric.  He’s been dancing around the house since he found out we’d be alone together for 48 hours.  His plans whenever we have time away from the kid seem to always involve nudity, the bed or a combination of the two while I like to do things I don’t normally have time for when Autumn is around.  I have a stack of books yet to read, an afghan to finish and a severely neglected checkbook that needs balancing.  Most of all I’m looking forward to two days of not having a child wake me up before 8 am.

Tomorrow morning we’re meeting the family at McDonalds for breakfast and from there they will be taking Autumn to a water park.  Ok, that’s the part that is really making me anxious.  Autumn and water.  Autumn and a water park.  She loves to swim but has issues with water hitting her above the neck.  And by “issues” I mean she emits an ear-piercing shriek whenever water is poured over her head.  She hates showers and refuses to frolic in sprinklers or any variation of outdoor toy meant to douse one with water.

Et tu, Elmo?

And as this photo very clearly illustrates, the girl is likely to lose her shit tomorrow.

But really, this is not going to be my problem since I won’t be there.  But that’s another thing.  Her first trip to a water park and I won’t be there to help bring her down from the inevitable freak-out.  I know she’ll be in capable hands since Nathan’s sister-in-law is a nurse not to mention a mother herself, but I’d like to be around because there’s really no acceptable substitute for MOM when you’re losing your shit.

I’m also sort of feeling bad that we’re shuffling Autumn out the door during a holiday weekend.  We normally don’t do a lot during the Fourth of July anyway, but I’d kind of like to have her around.  It is a holiday after all, and someone has to be there to offer the dog some hugs when the fireworks start.  This year we seem to be short on both canine tranquilizers and carpet shampoo.

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Sunny with a chance of stupid

by Heather on July 1, 2009

We’ve been experiencing some cooler weather so yesterday I sent Autumn to school wearing long pants. It wasn’t terribly cold, but it was windy and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable.

I remember looking at the weekly forecast yesterday and seeing the mild and sunny weekend ahead of us, but I only vaguely remembered what was in store for today. This morning I consulted the weather app on my iPod Touch, which told me we were in for lots of sun with the temperature reaching 80 degrees. Bonus.

I went into Autumn’s room and pulled up the shade. Hmm. Dark skies with lots of clouds. But this being Michigan and all and we being so near the lakeshore as we are, I decided the clouds were only a temporary matter and pulled out a pair of denim shorts, a t-shirt and the Disney princess hoodie that would keep my daughter warm until the sun made its appearance.

It wasn’t until I dropped Autumn off at school and spotted every other child wearing long pants that I thought to question that forecast. I opened up Autumn’s backpack and searched its contents for the pair of pants I had stuffed in there weeks ago, but all I came up with was another pair of denim shorts and a tank top.

As soon as I got to my desk I consulted the weather app again. The forecast had not changed. It was going to be a sunny day with no precipitation and a high of 80 degrees.

In Seattle.

Folks, I am a nerd. I’m the kind of nerd who programs several cities into her iPod Touch weather app just for the hell of it. Fairbanks, Tokyo, Atlanta, Galway, London, Sydney, Seattle and Cairo. They’re all there along with my own city and it was the Seattle forecast I consulted this morning. I am a nerd and today my child is paying the price.

I guess I’ll be going home during lunch to pick up some pants.

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Breaking little hearts like the one in me

June 29, 2009

Last week I picked Autumn up from school and was treated to a note on her daily report that said, “Autumn enjoyed teaching her friends the song ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot.’”  I smiled at the thought of a group of preschoolers singing Pat Benatar, though I can’t imagine how much fun that was [...]

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Is this worth a thousand words?

June 28, 2009

Here’s what I came up with for my Moo mini card design for BlogHer. I’m pretty happy overall, though I’m not 100% sure about the black text underneath the white.  Keep in mind this is going to be printed on 28mm by 70mm cardstock that’s roughly half the size of a regular business card.  So [...]

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In 27 days I will be prepared. Or on Prozac.

June 26, 2009

Way back in February I made my reservations for BlogHer. I was so excited and thought, “Man, how am I going to contain all this blogging enthusiasm for five whole months?” Then the blog was hacked. I lost lots of traffic and subscribers, not to mention momentum, and a few personal issues put writing way [...]

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Loving the light, accepting the dark

June 24, 2009

I finished Twilight on Monday.  I probably could have completed it Sunday had that day not been Father’s Day and my parent’s anniversary, but I have to admit I was hooked.  I was reading in the car every chance I could and I never read in the car because I always end up feeling like [...]

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It’s not me, it’s you

June 22, 2009

Dear Bloglines,
We’ve had a great run, but I think it’s time we parted ways.  You’ve been my primary feed reader for a couple of years now, but I’m starting to realize I’m more invested in this relationship than you.  Some of my bestest bloggy friend have days of posts you’ve yet to capture and I’m [...]

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Haircut and cleavage

June 20, 2009

Here I am showing off yet another haircut while trying to block the messy basement behind me.  Today was my bi-annual highlight appointment, and I have no idea how the highlights wound up so, um…light.  I know my hairdresser and I have fiddled around with the color over the years and I used to get [...]

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Giddyup!

June 18, 2009

Autumn’s teacher sent me this photo. I spotted it on a collage hanging on the wall this morning and told one of the assistants I’d love a copy.  It was already waiting in my in-box when I booted up the computer.
Poor kid. It doesn’t look like she’s having any fun at all.

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Bitten

June 17, 2009

I finally exposed myself to the Twilight saga this past weekend.  Nathan and I rented the movie and all I can say is…I’m intrigued.
Now I love me a good vampire flick, but perhaps the years of watching “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” led me to expect, perhaps wrongly, that I’d see some fangs in Twilight.   But [...]

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