Happy Easter

Dagny and Papa enjoying the pretty day. Dagny loves Papa's beard - she stares at any man with a beard as if she expects him to play with her.







Annika and Dagny playing on the swing. It's hard to catch both of them looking at the camera at the same time - forget about smiling.







Dagny and cousin Sophie watching the Masters with their moms last weekend. You can tell from the blurs that it is hard to catch them both while they aren't moving.




Annika in her Easter dress and headband that Nana bought her. In the background, from the left are Papa Fogle, Grampa Bachman, Grammie Bachman and Dad's torso. Dagny was trying to nap at this point, so she isn't in the photo.

Share the Load

So, I know that every stupid chain email in the world says this, (but I'm hormonal - what with the weaning and all) and I'm really thankful for my girlfriends (and friends who are not girls) today. Several of my friends are going through rough patches right now and it made me sad to hear of it. OK, it made me cry, but I'm hormonal.

Anyway, whenever I have a crappy day or something bad happens, I know that I can call a friend, or my sisters, or my Mom, or Doug and they will help me feel better about it. Sometimes men are more interested in "solving" than in the "talking me down" but sometimes that perspective is just as necessary - at least to me. And, if I just need the talking, I call a girlfriend and that works. They help me see the bright side and sympathize with me on the bad stuff.

So, anyway, my point is that I'm glad to share the load, whatever it is. You guys are valuable to me and whatever comes up, I'll do what I can to help out.

Shopping Hell

Since I start the new job tomorrow and haven't bought any professional clothes since 2001 or 2002, I went to several stores yesterday. It SUCKED. I'm just no good at shopping.

As I put on the clothes and tried to make mental notes of which sizes fit and which necklines were too revealing, I thought to myself, "this shouldn't be so hard - plenty of folks love to shop and would trade places with me in a heartbeat." My body is not an unusual size and I wasn't going anywhere pricey, so why couldn't I find anything to buy? I think that some people are gifted with the ability to shop and pick outfits, but I'm not - it was much easier when I wore a dark suit to work every day and simply rotated the blouse or shirt underneath and the jaunty scarf (it was the late 90s). A suit is like a uniform - takes all of the guesswork out of the equation. However, now that the world is business casual (and all blouses are slutty-looking), fashion retards like me are adrift.

I fell back on the old standby of khakis + button down shirt or sweater set , but I did get one skirt. We will see how much that gets worn. My friend Tina said that I could wear open-toed shoes with a skirt, but I'm still not sure. I'm the girl who wore camisoles under her blouses until 2000.

She Rolls!

Dagny rolled over (back to front) on Sunday! Hooray!

Penance

Today was Palm Sunday and in keeping with my Lenten promise to make it to Mass each week, I took both girls and went to Mass. Doug missed golf yesterday, so he was playing today and didn't get to join us. We missed the 9am Mass because Annika slept until 8:30, so you'd think I would have had plenty of time to make it to the 10:45 one. I would have had this time if I hadn't stopped at the ATM to get money for the second collection, because the cash I thought I had in my purse was missing (turns out I gave it to the babysitter on Friday).

Anyway, we made it to the church with about 5 minutes to spare. This is ordinarily plenty of time, but there were lots of Palm Sunday activities, so today was not an ordinary day. Dagny had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the church, so I thought she would sleep for a good part of the Mass and might wake about communion time. Since she was asleep, I thought we could sit in the sanctuary so that Annika could hear the music and see what was going on (and because it's a free-for-all of unrestrained screaming children in the cry room). A very nice and well-meaning usher sat us in the middle of a back row after the millions of folks who had been outside for the parade and palm demonstration came back in and filed past us. "Whew", I said to myself as we settled in, "we did it". The church was packed and there were people standing behind us and also against the wall behind them. It is at this point that if my life were a movie, an audience would have screamed "NO - Get Out of There!" or the evil stepmother would have cackled "FOOLS! Now I've got you! Ha, Ha, Ha!"

Annika could not sit still, but she was quiet so I thought we were OK. Then, midway through the first reading I noticed that Dagny was awake. Gulp. I let her relax in the carseat and concentrated on Annika because she was getting rowdy. Finally, I was able to occupy Annika with a pen and my notebook (for writing the things I'm supposed to remember) out of my purse, but Dagny was angry. So, I figured that I could just hold her - she is heavy, but Mass is only an hour. That worked for most of the second reading, but then she was hungry. Of course she was hungry - we follow the "Eat, Activity, Sleep, You" schedule from Babywise, so after Sleeping (even if it is only 15 minutes), there must be Eating. Knowing that my hooter-hider was not in the diaper bag, I whipped out the boob and tried to cover myself with Dagny's blanket. Dagny doesn't like to be covered while she eats, but I did the best I could with the blanket and my hand. Yes, my boobs are so small that I can cover most of them with the hand, so that worked reasonably well until it was time for the congregation to kneel.

In case you didn't know, in Christianity, Palm Sunday is the day you talk about the Passion (crucifixion) of Jesus. Accordingly, the reading of the Gospel on this day is a BIG DEAL. The one our priest chose to read called for the congregation to read parts out loud, while kneeling. This is a very moving way to read this particular passage from the Bible, and it would have been marvelous, except that kneeling individuals are approximately as tall as the back of the chair in front of them, affording them a bird's eye view of anything going on in any such chair, including breast-feeding, which is what I was attempting to do, discreetly, during this time. I tried to relax enough to allow the milk to flow and fed both sides until Dagny twisted away from the feeding. On a usual day, a period of "happy time" would have ensued. After eating, Dagny is usually chatty and pleasant for about an hour and a half. Unfortunately, today was not a usual day and she might not have eaten enough and she was hot (because of the million folks in church), so Dagny was ANGRY. Midway through the (very short) homily, she started to yell. I tried to bounce and shush her, but eventually gave up - put my huge diaper bag and carseat on our chairs and began to shove out of the row, intending to come back and retrieve the bag and seat from the chairs on the way towards the door. The same nice usher came to help escort us out (bless him) and we spent the rest of the Mass in the narthex (lobby). I had to discipline Annika while we were in the lobby, but Dagny was much happier in my arms out there and Mass went fine. I occupied Annika with returning to the sanctuary for both collections and communion and looking at the cool stuff in the narthex and the bag of cereal I keep for emergencies.

Now I am home and have fed us all, Annika is at the park with Doug, Dagny is asleep and I'm exhausted. I guess I could look at this morning in two ways. One way, I made a lot of stupid mistakes and should have gone to the cry room from the beginning. The other way - payback for forgetting it was Friday and having Steak Taco Paco at Mexican last week.

In other news, I did the 2.8 mile loop this morning (pre-dawn) in 25.02 minutes - 8.9 minute miles. I thought that I was running super-fast because I was channeling Natalie and good music kept coming up on my i-pod, but the time was not so great. Next week I'll do better.

Slow Day

Both girls are sleeping at the same time, so I have time to upload some photos. The first is Annika speeding around the cul-de-sac at Tara's house on the scooter. She and Charla (the blonde on the left) were fighting HARD over that scooter. As you can see, Annika thinks she won and is doing her Gene Simmons impression. Her new favorite hairstyle is braids and her hair is so curly that the braids themselves actually curl up at the bottom - a little bit like Pippi Longstocking.


In the past two weeks, Dagny has learned to sit in the high chair/booster seat and begun to eat solid food. Her current menu is rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, squash, sweet potatoes and bananas. The peas were too fibrous, so we've had to put them in the back of the cabinet for later. Maybe they would be OK if I mixed them with the bananas, which have an opposite effect, if you know what I mean. Dagny is thrilled to eat the solids and seems to like the chair. A water bottle is also great fun.











I swear that this photo was not sideways when I uploaded it. Anyway, it is Annika and she is saying "not me" to my question about who woke the baby. You may notice that she is standing in the doorway of the room that connects with Dagny's room. "Not me" - yeah, right.











After Annika's second haircut, we paused for a moment on the bench. Annika savored her mint and Dagny laughed at me.











Dagny wakes up happy. My photo composition and lighting are not awesome, but at least I've captured her mood.

Last night, Dagny slept from 9pm to 7am. As if that were not gift enough, she was babbling quietly in her crib at 7, so I snuck into the bathroom for a quick shower. When I emerged, she was back asleep and stayed that way until nearly 9am. HOLY COW! She could have been sleeping 12 hours a night for months now if I'd only have let her! Not really, because we have to get up and moving before 8 most mornings anyway so she would have been awakened (see above) regardless, but imagine the possibilities.

In other news, I am employed, temporarily and part-time. It will be interesting to see how we weather the change. I'm sure it will bring new appreciation for my current position. It's funny how moms who work outside the home can't wait to get home to see their kids and moms who don't work outside the home can't wait for time away. Maybe we should all be a little more thankful for the time we share with those kids. They sure are fun.

Not So Fast

On Monday, Doug's mom took Annika for lunch and decided to keep her all afternoon. It was found time for me! Dagny and I went for a run around the loop - 28.01 minutes (10 minute miles). We didn't set any speed records, but it was a lovely day and we got to wave to lots of neighbors who were also out enjoying the sunshine.

Yesterday, playgroup at Tara's house - you can see photos here and here. It's amazing how chaotic a group of toddlers can be!

In other news, the dog is sick again and I was up at 3:30am cleaning #1 and #2 out of the hallway.

Camera Rescue

Annika is three - ta daa! This is our birthday morning portrait.

I rescued the camera from Doug's car this morning when I went in there to get the earbuds for my i-pod. Why can't he put the earbuds back in the beautiful blue tins that I put on the kitchen counter to corral cords and earbuds and junk like that? Who knows.

The next photo is Dagny wearing Birthday Barbie's crown. Thanks to Annie, Todd, Rollie and Matilda for the Birthday Barbie. The crown was supposed to fit Annika, but works better on Dagny. She is already quite the princess.

The next photo is one I took when Annika said "Mommy, take my picture, pleeeese!"

It Starts Early Over Here

Top 10 good things about running at a ridiculous hour of the morning:

1. You get to run
2. No cars - not even the paper guy
3. It's too dark to see the sky, so you have no idea what the weather might do
4. Further the #3, no excuse not to run because rain is coming.
5. You get to see Dale and his dog.
6. 24 minutes, 29 seconds for the 2.8 mile loop (8.75 minute miles)
7. Plenty of time to eat breakfast and drink coffee without kids because they are still asleep.
8. No modesty problem with removing wet clothing/shoes on porch because it's still dark out.
9. No need to add an additional shower to the day.
10. You get to RUN.

In other news, there is a new running store in our area: Spike. It is on Alpharetta Highway in the shopping center where the El Mexica Gourmet, the Bally's and the Applebees are. They have crocs, lots of track shoes (flats and spikes), a huge selection of trail shoes and (best of all) they stock wides. I will be back there - AND, you get a free shirt just for walking in the door. They plan to have group runs on Tues and Thurs (not that I could ever manage to do such a thing).

Liars

All of the doctors and books say that solid food has no effect on your child's sleeping. "Introducing the rice cereal early won't help," they say. Fools! Old wives know better!

Dagny has been eating cereal for about two weeks. The sleeping, it goes from 8-9pm to 4-6am. I'm a new woman and Dagny is just as big a chunk as ever. Can you believe that? Someone called one of my children a chunk yesterday. She is a chunk and I'm basking in the joy of not worrying about whether she is getting enough calories.

Damn, Damn, Damn

Doug was home this morning so he could take Annika to "Donuts with Dad" at school, so I was going to get to run (in the middle of the week!). But, Doug said he was going to work out so I didn't get up early and Dagny didn't wake up at 4am like she usually does so when Doug and I finally rose at 6am, the boobs were NOT having any running. Since I had to feed Dagny and get Annika beautiful for the special day, I settled for Plan B (to run with Dagny in the stroller after Annika was at school). Dagny decided to nap at 9, so Plan B was scrapped. Plan C was to bathe the dog and take Dagny out after the next feed. Unfortunately, diaper rash and a poop woke Dagny early so by the time I fed her, changed her sheets and cleaned up the dog-washing mess, it was 11am. I was faced with a dilemma - move to Plan D and run at 11 and try to eat and shower fast enough to go get Annika on time or just give up on the running for today.

I gave up. Maybe this weekend will be better. It's too bad because today is so beautiful.

Fight the Power

Yesterday was Saturday, which is one of the days that I have time to run because Doug is home in the morning. Unfortunately, I was so crabby when I got up (and it was wickedly cold) that I couldn't make myself go. It was only after Doug left and I spent 45 minutes with my DVD pal Billy that I felt good enough to consider going outside - and then I was jealous of all of the other folks that got to run. HARUMPH.

I've got to learn something to fight the inertia of not working out/running/doing. It's so easy for me to rationalize why I CAN'T do it (not enough sleep, too busy, got up too late, don't want to shower again) when I know that I will feel so much better if I just do it. My whole day is better if I start with an activity, mentally and physically, but it's just so hard to take that first step.

Benevolent Despot

Yesterday I was paying bills on the computer while Dagny played in her exersaucer and Annika played with toys and entertained Dagny. Then, Annika snuck up next to me and grabbed Doug's scale (ruler) and ran away with it. When I made her put it back, she screamed: "I want to RULE!"

Don't we all.

Ridiculous!

I read an editorial in the Wall Street Journal today which said that Federal Income Tax receipts are actually increasing and have been doing so since the Bush tax cuts. Further to my friend Colin's post here, it just makes you wonder why our elected officials choose to spend our money on more shit to help them get re-elected instead of paying off the debt or making social security solvent. GRRRR!

Back in the Saddle Again

We've returned from the belated anniversary weekend AWAY. I planned the trip back in September when I was too pregnant and we didn't have time to go away for the weekend. So, Doug and I dropped the girls off with my folks on Sunday and went to Lake Oconee for two days. It was lovely. We played two rounds of golf, swam in the pool, worked out in the gym, walked around and had decadent meals with wine and lots of dessert. I played my best golf ever - 128 for 18 holes, which is sucky for the rest of the world but FABULOUS for me, especially since I haven't swung a club in six months and we got to experience two really nice courses. Thank you to my friend Debi for suggesting the getaway.

Annika seems to be recovered from the pox, but now might have a sinus infection. Luckily she has a doctor appointment tomorrow so we will get her checked out before sending her back to school. Dagny was angry for all of Sunday afternoon, but warmed up to Nana and Papa by the evening and was happy as a clam when we arrived to pick her up today (WHEW!). It's funny, though, how much I missed these little kiddos. We were driving home from my folks' house and Doug said "well, you're back at work" and I don't mind a bit.

I do want to point out, however, that I am actually sore from playing the golf. It's clearly not a cardio workout, unless you walk, but my forearms and triceps would be really buff if I played regularly - of course, then I probably wouldn't hit so many times per round so who knows.

Surprisingly Relaxing

You would think that the chicken pox quarantine would be horrible, but so far it has been remarkably relaxing. We've done a lot of laundry, coloring and playing outside. It's amazing how much stress I apparently put on us in our daily routines to go to "school", activities, the store, etc. To know that I will make something (anything) out of the freezer for dinner and that we won't be going anywhere is surprisingly liberating.

Not that I wouldn't give my right arm for a run or a frosty beverage or adult conversation, but given the circumstances, we aren't doing too badly (and Doug and I ARE going to spend two nights away very soon). The only tough part is keeping the girls in separate rooms - no one likes to be left alone. Luckily, I am so talented that I can read stories from the doorway of Annika's bedroom so that Dagny can see me from her spot on the bed too.

A Pox on Our House

That's right folks, Annika has the chicken pox.

The red bumps she got yesterday (not so unusual with her skin) grew little yellow hats overnight. That, plus itching equals 7-10 days of quarantine at our house. Luckily, we don't think she was contagious at her birthday party on Saturday (stay tuned for the birthday post later in the week). Doubly lucky that her friend Whitney has not had the pox or the vaccination so she is coming over to play and get exposed tomorrow. As ordered by the doc, we are keeping the girls in separate rooms at all times (which sucks!) and washing hands like surgeons.

I Don't Like You

Annika told me today, "I don't like you anymore, Mom."

This barb had surprisingly little impact on me, and thinking quickly (not a strong suit), I responded: "it's not nice to say mean things like that to Mommy. If you say it again, you are going to time-out." End of discussion. I still marvel at the fact that time-out is such an effective punishment, at least for now.

Another good punishment we've discovered is "denying the goodies". Annika pitched a fit when I said that Dogarita couldn't go outside, so Dagny and I went to the mailbox to get the mail without Annika (who remained in the kitchen, screaming). You would have thought I cut off the kid's leg. She was much nicer after all of those nasty screams were released, though.

Crazy Women

Ok - I'm the only crazy woman.

Was it Virginia Woolf who wrote about women/mothers trapped in their homes who slowly went crazy? I think I know one of the reasons - no adult conversations lasting longer than five minutes.

It's 3:54pm and I've not had a meaningful adult conversation all day. Yes, I did speak with my sister on the phone this morning but we talked while I held one child and brushed the teeth of the other one and helped her dress. Yes, I did speak with my sister-in-law while I held one kid and tried to keep the other one from running screaming down the hall at her dance class. Yes, I did have some perfunctory exchanges with the other moms at dance class and I did speak with the customer service lady at the bank to explain my transaction, but I don't think those count (though they do help and I'd miss them if I hadn't left the house).

Some days, especially when it's not so pretty outside, despite the overwhelming love for both kids (who have been angels all day), it's hard to do this job.

In Which We Do Not Kick Ass

To celebrate the stroller being fixed and the beautiful day, Dagny and I went to the park today while Annika was at school. I thought that if I fed Dagny before beginning the jog she would be happy or asleep for the 30 minutes. Not so!

I had to stop many times to attempt to distract Dagny or make her happy. Nothing doing. She screamed most of the time and we did the 5K loop in 30 mins, 25 sec. Not a great time but it was still a nice day. Maybe next time she will like the walk better or I will bring her better toys to play with. Wow, it is a test, though, to think pleasant thoughts about folks when they give you dirty looks on the trail as you jog by with the screaming baby. Some moms and grandfolks gave me the "been there" eyes or just smiled, but I got some nasties today! Maybe those folks thought that I couldn't hear Dagny with my i-pod on - HA!

Dagny Rides Again

Today, my favorite bike shop fixed my jogging stroller, for free, in less than ten minutes! They also identified the problem with my bike pump - a missing part, which is hopefully in the garage somewhere.

So, my pump is not irretrievably broken and my stroller is all pumped up and ready for action. HOT DOG! Beautiful park, here we come.

Endorphins are my friend

After a rough morning in which the girls and I went to the post office and then to Sams Club and I nursed a grudge against Doug because he was golfing and I was not and he had "encouraged" me to NOT run this morning, I had a great run this afternoon. Annika took a nap and Doug took care of Dagny. The sun was warm, the breeze was stiff and I ran around the block in 24:48 (8.86 minute miles!). I was feeling so good that I tacked on an extra 0.3 miles instead of doing my cool down. My knee will be complaining tomorrow, but it was worth it. I feel so much better now.

What a beautiful day - all of the creeping phlox and daffodils are blooming, someone's daphne smells awesome and Doug is making ribs for dinner (the in-laws are coming over).

It's funny how a lack of endorphins (and probably some hormones) can make me feel so crappy and mean and nasty and petty. You'd think I would be able to ignore or get past it - especially during Lent, but no.

Weirdness

We were at a birthday party last week and I snuck away to feed Dagny but could overhear the discussion in the next room. I know that eavesdropping is rude, but listen to this:

The other moms were talking about Mother Goose rhymes and how they won't read them to their kids because they are too mean and they don't want to explain why Jack Spratt's wife was fat and what that means and about Peter Pumpkin eater's wife in the pumpkin shell. Then, the discussion turned to "G - U - N - S". Yes folks, the word gun is too horrible to utter so you have to spell it. Apparently no one wants their kids to even own a toy gun.

Just for the record: (1) Mother Goose will now be read in my house (despite the fact that the stories are too short but the book is too long for before-bed reading) just to be contrary (Mary, Mary), (2) a discussion of the Mother Goose rhymes might be a good thing, thought-provoking, etc, (3) same thing with guns - knowledge and safety rules seem like a better thing than ignorance to me, and (4) all kids coming to Annika's birthday party are getting water guns in their goody pails.

The Dancing Queen

Yesterday, Annika told me:

"I can't be a star!" (we were discussing the "superstar" on her jammies)

and when I asked why not:

"because stars are big and I want to stay little so I can concentrate"

concentrate on what?

"I want to stay little so I can concentrate on my dancing" (said while twirling around the kitchen in the aforementioned jammies)

Errata

I screwed up on the Fair Tax post. Thanks to Anne and Colin for letting me know.

Read about the Fair Tax at http://www.fairtax.org/

Dagny Kicks Ass

Not really, but we did manage to do the 5K loop at the park in 30 minutes - except for that 20 minute break after mile one to breastfeed, go potty and dress Dagny in my sweatshirt (she was cold). We will try again later. Imagine how great we could do if we weren't hungry or cold!

Note to joggers: even if your stroller wheel is out of round and goes glide . . . bump, glide . . . bump on pavement, the bump is not noticeable on the park's trail. : ) This will allow me to put off my stroller repair for another week.

My Girls

Here are my girls, in their party clothes (courtesy of Nana) after one change due to spit-up. Since they were both dressed at once and I was a few minutes ahead of time (WONDERS!), I thought a portrait was in order. Too bad you can't see the whole beautiful red skirt - next time.

Here Comes the Rain Again

The rain came in this morning, but not fast enough to prevent me from getting my run in. Dagny was up from 2-4am (eating and then we had booger issues) so I was dragging this morning but I got her up at 6:40 (she was grumbling, but not fully awake yet), fed her and put her back down. Doug held down the fort while I sallied forth into the drizzle.

Luckily, we went to the mall yesterday to meet Camille so I managed to FINALLY get a new battery for my watch. Hooray! I timed the run today and did my 2.8 mile loop in 27 minutes (approximately - because I forgot to push start until I was on my way up the hill). Ten minute miles - not bad for a woman who has not exercised regularly in 6/7 months. I don't know if running once or twice a week this past month counts or not. Regardless, today is the first day of getting back into better shape. : ) My world record for the 2.8 mile loop is 22 minutes, 25 minutes for the 3.2 mile one so I've got a long way to go, but under 10 minute miles is a huge victory.

The light rain was not unpleasant and it was warm enough that I didn't freeze. Amazing what good the humidity will do for a stuffy nose/head. Natalie said that she finds good stuff on her runs, but I found only a bolt and a screw and a smashed battery. The nut and screw went into the storm drains because I couldn't carry them and I didn't want anyone to cut a tire, but I left the battery.

Wow, I've missed my runs. Those endorphins really make the rest of the day easier. I was able to prepare and schlep both girls to two birthday parties today without losing my temper once.

Food for Thought

Maybe you have noticed the sudden appearance of "dinner places" at which one can purchase a meal or meals in which most of the preparation is already done. We've tried a couple of them and here are my thoughts:

Whatz for Dinner is a store near us (they also have an in-town location) which is owned by a former chef. He and his wife do all of the prep work so that customers may order meals to pick up ready for cooking. The menus are interesting and varied and the food was very good. The instructions were sometimes lacking, but someone who is a frequent cook would not have a hard time winging it. An example of one meal we had was stuffed pork chops: You put the butter/oil mixture into your pan and heat it up, then add the chops, onions and garlic, once the chops are browned on one side, you flip them, add the sauce and mushrooms and put the whole pan into the oven. Sweet potatoes were ready for boiling with butter/seasoning to add at the end after mashing. Vegetables were cut, seasoned and buttered, ready for the microwave. If associating the meals from this store with a Food Network show, I'd say that Emeril is the closest. The cost: $7-20 per meal. Fish and holiday meals are fancier and cost more than the pork/beef/chicken stuff.

Super Suppers is a meal preparation store at which one may purchase 6 or 12 entrees to take home and freeze. The store will prepare the meals for you or you can go in and assemble them yourself. The lure here is that you can have "meal parties" with friends or family. I'd associate this store with Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee because the food is all pre-done and customers just assemble it. Some meals that I made at our playgroup party were chicken en croute (pot pie), stuffed green peppers and pasta fagiole soup. The food is also very good, but either their portion size is way small or Doug and I eat like lumberjacks. Cost per entree: $3-4 (their portions) or $6-8 (our portions).

Please note that neither of these places are for vegetarians, though they do offer some vegetarian things. Doug and I guessed that the cost to purchase them (rather than make them at home) would be too high to make vegetarian meals a good value. For some cool vegetarian ideas, check out this blog - the vegan lunchbox.

Anyway, the nutshell is - both of these places (and the billion other ones cropping up everywhere) are interesting and I will be surprised to see which operational model ends up being most successful. They do save time (how much time is debatable) but they cost more than cooking from scratch so they will likely remain a nice treat for us instead of a regular plan.

Civic Duty

I've just finished writing my elected officials to thank them for their support or urge their support of the Flat Tax. After reading The Flat Tax Book (by Rep. John Linder and talk show host Neal Boortz) and finally finishing the voluminous paperwork necessary to send 1099s to our sub-contractors and send our tax information to our accountant (so he can actually do the tax returns), I am more in favor of tax reform than ever.

Doug and I have discussed the possible downsides and unintended consequences of a flat tax, but I still think it has to be better than the incomprehensible mess we have now. Rather than taxing income and legislating "breaks" to encourage certain behaviors, tax consumption across the board with a credit (prebate) for the tax which would be paid on the necessities. That way any increase in taxes would be transparent and won't turn into a "tax the other guy" scenario.

You, read up on this issue and write your elected officials to tell them what you think! It matters that our representatives hear from us - whether you agree with me or not.

Outside the Range

This is my dad holding our niece, Sophie. She is a darling girl.

So I joined up at myspace so that I could see my sister Emily's page and because my friend Anne suggested that it was fun to find folks from the past. Well, clearly I am too old for myspace. I posted the poncho photo of me and Dagny but very little else. When I looked in my high school, there were no people older than 31. It was very neat to see all of the photos of Annika, Sophie and Dagny on Emily's page, though. In the midst of all of this blast-from-the-pasting, I found an old boyfriend via Google (he was quoted in a newspaper article). Apparently, the man I dated before Doug (we affectionately called him Butthead) is now married and has a baby daughter. He was a pilot, but quit that because of Delta's troubles and now sells real estate. Interesting.

Camera Mastery

After the old camera died (just after the poncho photo), we got a new one. Fortunately, the new camera is better in quality and easier to use but unfortunately my computer/printer/thing that you plug into are not. So, after much trial and error, I have mastered the art of downloading photos from this camera - it requires direct connection to the computer (which means crawling under the desk), but it works!

Here is the promised baptism photo (Uncle Robbie and Aunt Jennie are on the outside with me, Father Frank, Dagny and Doug in the center) and a photo of my girls that was taken yesterday. Annika loves to have her picture taken, but it is difficult to get a genuine smile. Dagny just does her own thing - she has a beautiful gummy smile and I've made her laugh (finally) but it's hard to catch on "film". Please take note of the beautiful baptism gown that my Aunt Debra made.

Three Hours!

Last night was Dagny's first meal with Dad. Doug has always been good about taking care of Annika on tennis nights so I could go out with the ladies, but Dagny wasn't ready to drink from the bottle yet so I've been staying home since she was born.

So, after last week's Herculean efforts to introduce the bottle, yesterday Doug told me not to come home early, gave both girls (and himself) dinner, bathed Annika and put everyone to bed. I, on the other hand, went to tennis practice with my girlfriends and then out for a glass of wine and some food. It was lovely. I played like crap (what do you expect with 4 months of no practice?), but it was still fun.

Stupid Stupid Stupid

Last night, I thought it would be a good idea to leave Annika's valentines to take to school to finish this morning. Then, when he left at 6:30 this morning, Doug said "you should sleep in" because Dagny was up a lot last night, so I did - until 7:10. STUPID.

We were very late for school this morning. Annika ripped the "circles" off of the bottom of all of her cards so they would not close. Then, she forgot how to use stickers to keep the valentines cards from "bouncing open" though she manages to do it to every single birthday card we send though we've discussed repeatedly how I'd like her not to do so. I managed a shower by locking the screaming baby and the dog in the bathroom with me while Annika ate her breakfast and (allegedly) colored her valentines cards. Lunch got made while Dagny gave us more screaming and Annika tried very hard to finish her valentines. Curses on the woman who did all of her valentines early and attached the candy to the cards and brought presents for both teachers.

I had to stop for a coffee and scone just to make myself feel better.

Payback

On Friday, after Mexican, I put Dagny down in her car-carrier while I took care of some business. She hates the carrier and immediately began getting agitated and searching for something with her eyes. She moved her head and eyes from side to side - sweeping the room, until she found me and smiled.

It completely made up for the fact that she woke every 2 hrs to eat during the night.

In other news, she had bottles (with no fussing at all) on Thursday and Friday. One was formula and one was breastmilk, but they were both very warm so maybe that was the difference. You'd think we would have figured this crap out by now, but apparently not.

Torture

So, we are working on getting Dagny to take a bottle. She had a few at the hospital when she was born, I tried once the week she came home, and my mom has given her three (3) bottles at various times so I could go to the doctor or work, but other than that, she has been all-boob-all-the-time.

It's totally selfish, but I need some down-time so we are trying to give her a bottle every day to get her used to it. Monday, she ate 3-4 ounces of (gasp) formula during an hour of screaming. Tuesday, 2 ounces of breastmilk with more screaming, but she was wearing most of it. Wednesday, 1.5 ounces of formula during the wailing hour. Do you see a pattern? Bottle-feeding is torture for everyone - even the dog.

Doug's sister may try to help me today or tomorrow. She is the one who taught Annika to take a bottle so maybe she is the magic we need. If our schedules don't mesh or if Dagny refuses the bottle again today, I may go insane. On one hand, it's very complimentary that Dagny likes the boob so much - she is quite a bruiser and it's all because of me! On the other hand, though, I would really love to do something (anything) by myself or with just Annika. Four months of 24/7 responsibility is a long damn time - how I'd like to disappear for just an hour.

Inspiration

I'm not a good runner. I love to run and it makes me mentally and physically better, but I'm not fast and not pretty. Think about a fast-moving upright turtle - that's me.

My friend Natalie, however, is both fast and beautiful to watch. She runs like a little kid - even when pushing her kid uphill in the stroller. Anyway, Natalie can run a marathon and she generally kicks ass. Whenever I am trying to go faster or run better, I think to myself "run like Natalie". You can read Natalie's blog here.

So Darn Angry

Doug and I have discussed this issue before, so when I read the article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on Friday about the federal budget wrangling, it was not a surprise. What was surprising was the depth of anger the article caused. Maybe I was just stressed out, but I've simmered all weekend and I'm still angry this morning. Here is the nutshell - 85% of the federal budget goes to three (yes, 3) things which no politician of either party will touch with a ten foot pole: national defense, social security, and medicaid/medicare. So all of the BS posturing that we see when the budget is discussed each year is over just 15% of the total budget. The talking heads discuss, opine, argue and finger-point about items in the budget and the press dutifully reports it all, but nobody ever discusses or tries to "fix" the real problem - it's just not politically advantageous (more like suicidal). Meanwhile, we edge closer to disaster every day.

Some folks, who are retired or close to retirement age, don't want to "fix" (by "fix", I mean make solvent) social security because that would mean that their benefits would be cut. They are operating under the assumption that the money that they paid into the system was held in trust by the government and will be repaid to them according to the plan when in fact, the money they paid in was paid out the same year to other beneficiaries. Nobody banked any money, so the current beneficiaries are living off of the money paid by the current workers. So, you ask, when the number of beneficiaries increases and the number of workers decreases, won't there be a problem? DUH . . . yes. But no one wants to fix the problem. Medicaid/Medicare has a similar problem, but will be insolvent much more quickly - it won't be our children's problem, it will be our problem. Has anyone posed any reasonable solution(s)?

No. Bush posed a half-assed solution to the social security problem last year which came to nothing. Neal Boortz and John Linder have allegedly proposed a solution in their Fair Tax book. I'm still reading that book so I don't know if their proposal is reasonable, but my gosh, how could we (voters), our parents (retirees or almost-retirees) or our elected representatives have allowed this mess to occur and why isn't anyone trying to fix it?

It's beyond ridiculous.

Don't Inhale

When refilling the dog's self-feeding bowl, do not inhale unless you want to be breathing and tasting dog food all day long. Even the dog food that costs more than steak still tastes like dog food.

Word to the Brother

All parents divide their labor and time with their children in their own way. I don't think that there is a right or wrong way to do this but it seems like every set creates their own system. In our system for baths and bedtime, I bathed Annika and put her to bed just about every night of her life - until Dagny was born. When Dagny came, Doug took over without any discussion with me and now he bathes Annika and puts her to bed while I do the same for Dagny. It's easier for me to do Dagny because of the boobs.

Anyway, I was talking to my mom last week and she mentioned that my sister and her husband bathe Sophie together. Every night. What a guy that Rob is.

Stealth Soreness

I was supposed to run in a race on Saturday. However, my illustrious running buddy was ill, then Doug had to borrow my car for work so I was just going to run in the neighborhood but I overslept. Curses.

Undaunted (well, maybe a little daunted), I unearthed the exercise videos and spent 40 minutes with my pal Billy. I sweated, but not so much and was frankly a little disappointed in the workout experience. Be patient grasshopper! The stealth workout caused so much soreness that I couldn't move yesterday, and I'm only marginally better today. Now I can be disappointed not in my workout video, but in the fact that I was in good enough shape to do this workout without soreness while I was 7 months pregnant but not now.

In other news, Dagny was baptized yesterday so she won't go to Limbo. She was a good girl and only cried a little. I'll post photos soon.

I'm THAT woman

Yesterday we had to vacate the house in the morning, so I took the girls to J. Christopher's for breakfast. Annika was a dream. She drank her juice and ate her cheese and bacon grits and an english muffin with a minimum of stress. Dagny, on the other hand, refused to eat and did a lot of screaming. I tried to get her to eat, but to no avail. Everytime I put her to the breast, she freaked out. I had to remove the hooter hider and go uncovered because she didn't want anything on her head. Despite our location (back of restaurant, facing the wall), anyone who looked could have had a nice view of my boob. Maybe just my tummy and nipple, but still. In the parking lot at this restaurant, we tried to eat again inside the car. While I was attempting the feeding (in the driver's seat in full view of anyone who cared to look in my window), a woman parked 6 inches from my car and hit my mirror on her way into the restaurant. Imagine my delight when I found that I couldn't even open the car door enough to put Dagny in her carseat. After a brief temper tantrum in which I punched the woman's car and used various curse words (no damage to car, out of earshot of kids), we went to Target. Dagny screamed basically the whole time we were there. Then, we went to Annika's dance class. Dagny decided that she would skip that feeding also. My blood pressure rose and she cried during the whole class. On the way home, I got fast food for Annika's lunch because Dagny was STILL CRYING and then she fell asleep in the car. She stayed asleep until 2:30pm when we got to the doctor to see what was wrong with her.

What was wrong? Nothing. She ate fine once she woke up in the waiting room of the doctor's office. All nurses and docs at the office thought I was a moron because the nurse on the phone told me to bring her in and I did.

All day, I was "that woman" - the one who sits behind you in the restaurant with the screaming child, the one who whips it out in public, the one with spit-up on her shirt, the one whose child screams while she is shopping, the one who causes you to move to have a phone conversation because her kid is so loud, the one who feeds her kid nasty fast food, the one who goes to the doctor for no good reason, the one who can't keep her shit together.

Clean Girl

One of the best parts of my day is after Dagny has had her bath (Doug does Annika's bath, bless him) and her last feeding and she has fallen asleep in my arms. I lift her gently and take her to her crib. She is so sweet and beautiful and smells good.

Usually, she is sweet and beautiful but also wet with drool and smells like spit-up. If she is dry and smells good, I can pretend that I'm doing everything right.

Rainy Days

Rainy days are difficult with kids at home. Everyone gets crabby, boredom sets in, tempers flare, nothing good happens - unless you live at my house. When it rains, Doug frequently comes home during the day because not much work happens in construction when it is raining. Yesterday the weather was crappy, cold and rainy but Doug came home for lunch and then made a yummy soup for our dinner. I made a nice soda bread - from my new cookbook. I didn't get my work done because Dagny wasn't napping well (typical) and I was making the bread, but it was a nice day.

Dagny Dagny Dagny

Last week, when the knitting ladies came for dinner, Dagny laughed at Corinne - OUT LOUD! What a glorious, musical sound! I was nearly speechless with wonder but then Doug came around the corner and said "She laughed? She's been doing that for about a week now." Apparently, I'm just not as funny as Corinne and Doug.

On Thursday, we busted out the parenting books to see when Dr. Spock and the others thought it would be time for Dagny to sleep through the night. Of course the books said that she should have been doing it already. So, Doug had a talk with Dagny on Thursday and a pep talk with me about letting her complain because she doesn't need to get up and voila! - she slept from 9pm-7:30am. She did the same on Friday and was only up at 1am with a messy diaper on Saturday. Last night we had our first actual "crying it out" incident. She complained for about 30 minutes and then went to sleep. Doug held my hand the whole time. She never started screaming the "I'm hungry, damnit!" cry or the "Where is the freaking boob?" cry, so maybe she really wasn't hungry. I went in to check on her after a few minutes and she had scooted up so that her head was near the end of the crib but was sleeping peacefully. Then, when she did wake up hungry at 4am (which is totally OK with me - it's the 1-2am that I can't stand), she had scooted whole body to the end of the crib and turned sideways. One minute they can't move a bit and then next minute they are scooting all over the crib! It won't be long now until she rolls over.

Bad Mother

The dog got in BIG TROUBLE just now for freaking out when the Brownie from next door came by selling the cookies. Ordinarily the barking freak-out would be fine, but Annika is sleeping and Dagny is about to go down, so I can't have the dog waking up the girl. Annie is just a dog and it's her nature to tell us when someone is at the door, but it makes me more than a little crazy when she does that during Annika's nap - almost as bad when both kids start screaming while I'm trying to drive the car.

Cool Stuff I Got for Christmas

MMMMM, cookbooks. Doug gave me three cookbooks from the Cook's Illustrated folks and they rock. Last night Doug made (I helped chop) Chicken Provencal out of the "1000 Best Recipes" and over the weekend, I've made Winter Vegetable Pot Pie out of the "Cover and Bake" for the knitting ladies coming for dinner tonight. I had planned to make Chicken Pot Pie last night, but Doug wanted to try something unusual instead. Wow, pot pie is a pain, though. I thought it would be simple and fast because I did most of my chopping yesterday, but no. These Cooks folks are not corner-cutters. Even the "Cover and Bake" recipes (casseroles, mostly) are involved and don't use any pre-made food except for stock. However, I've been making stuff out of their magazine for a few years now and I can safely say that nothing that I've tried has been less than darn good and some stuff was amazing.

Also, Doug (and girls) gave me what appears to be called a buffet casserole pan from Le Creuset. It is made of cast iron and you can put it on the stove and in the oven. And it's green. So cool. Just wait until I try the pineapple upside down cake I saw on Emeril last week while Doug and Annika were gone.

What ifs

Twice yesterday (once with my mom and once with my friends Michelle and Kara) I found myself discussing what would have been different if we (me, the conversation partners or old boyfriends) had married someone else than who we actually married. It reminded me of something Doug told me once while we were discussing the compulsion I have to remain friends with old boyfriends. He said that he didn't care what they were like or if I still spoke to them because he was glad that they brought me down the path that led to him.

Some folks would say that you are "meant" for your mate or that fate or God brought you together, but I think I like Doug's analysis that your decisions determine your path(s) - like those "choose your own adventure" books. If you pick option A,then options B and C are foreclosed to you but options C and D open up later on. Maybe fate or God is still behind it, but I think the key is to trust your decision and be happy about it rather than "what if"-ing. I'm glad those old boyfriends brought me here and I expect that the old boyfriends are thankful that I led them some of the way to where they are. : )

I'm the Devil

I don't know if it is a mood or hormones or the weather or lack of sleep or depression or the devil, but I am really battling the negativity lately. There was an article in "The Georgia Bulletin" yesterday which blamed it on the Devil, so who really knows? Now that we are officially back "in" with the Church, I get the Bulletin again. It had some interesting articles, though, including the Devil one, but the good part was the ads for schools with listings of their open house days.

Whatever the problem is, I'm finding it very difficult to get or stay in a decent mood. Doug and Annika left this morning for Disney World with Doug's mom. They called to check in (see why I like this man?) and are having a super time. I decided it would suck to be at Disney and/or a hotel room with a nursing infant who wakes twice during the night to eat and I still think that, but now I'm feeling sorry for myself because I'm missing out. In addition, I spent a good bit of the night (not much sleeping going on) angry because Doug didn't take the Christmas tree back upstairs like I asked him to last week. Does the Christmas tree really matter? Who cares if it sits in the den another week? But noooo - I just couldn't let it go. Luckily I have learned enough about my crappy moods to keep my mouth shut until the feeling passed instead of picking a fight about it. Of course, before I let the feeling pass, I had to take it upstairs my damn self instead of sleeping or leaving for the birthday party I was supposed to visit. Stupid.

Maybe some endorphins would help. After we finish our obligations tomorrow, maybe Dagny and I can go for a walk/run. I think that would improve my mood greatly. In the meantime, I'm going to continue my cleaning out the pantry project. Did you know that we have 3 jars of honey? Me neither.

Evil Cookies

Corinne gave me cookies and a lovely Santa plate for Christmas this weekend. Unfortunately, the cookies are possessed by the devil so that they keep jumping into my mouth whenever I walk by the kitchen. It is totally unfair to give delicious baked goods to someone struggling to lose their pregnancy weight.

In the unpossessed photos shown above: Dagny is wearing the lovely poncho Corinne knitted for her, and Annika is having a tea party with Dogarita on Christmas morning. Please note that Dogarita is wearing the pajamas Santa brought her and that both ladies have their napkins in their laps - HA!

While I was typing this post, Annika brought me Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head to reattach their bottoms (the hatch to the secret storage place). She said, "dere bottoms don stay on dere any mo". Having just typed this, I noticed that it does not adequately convey the cuteness of Annika. Maybe you will just have to take my word for it.

Big Foot

While I was pregnant, a shoe salesperson helped me realize that the problem with my golf shoes (toes crashing into the front, soreness in the side of my foot) was because my foot was wider than my shoe. I chalked this up to the fact that Nikes are made for ladies with skinny Barbie feet because I had a similar problem with Nike running shoes.

Apparently, the problem is not the skinny Barbie foot shoes - my feet are just wide. I bought new running shoes this summer (also wides) but I thought it was just a pregnant thing. NOPE. The marvelous Brooks shoes that I love are no good for me in the regular size anymore. Thankfully, the Fleet Feet (www.fleetfeetduluth.com) keeps wides in stock. I love them - so nice there.

Lest you think that this foot thing is all in my imagination or that my feet are just fat, my friend Natalie, the ultra svelte marathoner has the same problem with her running shoes. Who knew?

On the upside, I got to run this morning (2.8 miles around the block) and it was delightful. Doug put Toto's "Eye of the Tiger" on my i-pod, AND "All About the Benjamins" - gotta love that man.

The Gold-Plated Dog

Annie, our chocolate lab, has skin allergies. We've been to the pet allergist, administered shots, given her steroids, tried new foods, doped her up with Benadryl, but eventually she just gets itchy again. So, this month I tried a new food - made just for skin problems. No dice. Now, Annie is itchy on her face and chest (instead of her tummy and bottom) and has scratched herself so much that she is bleeding and infected.

So, after a delightful visit to the vet today (with both kids), we got a shot of steroids, antibiotics, eye ointment and extra-special prescription food. On the way to Mexican tonight (it is Friday, you know), we have to stop and get more Benadryl, benzoyl peroxide wash and pads for her face, chin, chest and ears. You are SO JEALOUS.

This poor dog is miserable, but the vet is making a killing off of us. So much so that they made me baby blankets (four of them) when Dagny was born. I'm glad that they are so nice, but I could really use all of this dough on something else.

I lick you

All dressing, tooth-brushing, nose-blowing, hair-styling activites in our house are a group activity. As we were finishing up this morning (Dagny was napping), I velcroed Annika's watch on her wrist. She grabbed my arm and moved her mouth on it and said "I lick you". She is not a loud talker, so I said, "what?". She repeated - "I lick you" and I said, "don't lick me, that's disgusting".

"No", she replied, "I LIKE you" and kissed me again on the arm.

License to Guilt

Every year it is the same - from October forward, the family members, friends, employers, etc. . . all jockey for position in our social calendar. There are entirely too many obligatory "events" and not nearly enough fun ones.

Because I'm the oldest child, it has been especially difficult for folks to grasp the idea that my husband and I and our kids are indeed a family unit and will be the ones to determine our attendance at (or absence from) any given event and it's not the end of the world if we don't make it to everything. One family member remarked, after I explained that we had a conflict with her event, "let me ask you a personal question. . . are you ever going to come?". Then, after the event in question (and my conflicting event) occurred, I asked another family member how it was. Her response, "next year, you really need to make the effort." So, I'm bad because I had a conflict and next year I should rearrange my life (and the lives of the 20 folks coming to my house) to comply with the events scheduled by someone else.

I guess it boils down to this - holiday traditions are very nice and everyone wants to be with their family at the holidays, but necessarily, the attendance at any specific event must ebb and flow depending on the age and family situations of those concerned. We all know this is the case -why create the season of guilting?

Easy Peasy

So, one of the guests at our party on Sunday asked for pepper for his soup, which caused me to remember that I had forgotten to do any salt/pepper seasoning at all after the intial measure. Especially with soups, this is essential - so I forgot, and this nice guy (John) took care of it for me. Then, it was time to eat while Dagny was nursing. So, my girlfriends found the tray with the kid food in the fridge and set the kids around the little tables and got them started. By the time I even remembered the kid food, the first wave of kids was done eating.

Another time, we had folks over and I had made pot stickers. Pot stickers are not difficult, but they are a lot of work and you don't want them to dry out before cooking. So, I put them in the fridge covered with a damp towel to stay cool and not dry out. Unfortunately, the towel was too wet and the dumpling material turned to mushy goo. As I freaked out and said "fuck" over and over, a nice guy (Mark) handed me an apple martini and said that it would be fine. Then, after Mark insisted I drink some of the martini and my outlook improved, another guest (Tina) arrived and suggested that we bake the dumplings. We did and they were fine, just a bit ugly.

You gotta love the folks that can find the beer/wine/whatever and don't mind lending a hand when you are out (of hands, of sorts, of your mind). It's nice to find friends who are easy that way.

Old Friends

We had a party last night with a bunch of friends from Doug's high school who I met in college. Kat, Mike and James were in from the Netherlands so that was cause for joining in celebration. It was pretty cool to see the college friends all hanging out in my kitchen talking about babies. Who knew that those folks who we used to see at the Downstairs and the GA Bar would be such great adults and parents!

It's funny that no matter how many years pass, you can still enjoy hanging out with your friends with ease, even if you are living far apart (geographically, politically, career-ally).

My Sweet Girls

We took the Christmas card photo yesterday. No, neither girl was wearing their Christmas finery and no, I didn't manage to get the tree or any Christmas decor in the picture. Maybe next year we will get on the ball with that stuff.

However, I got some beautiful photos of my sweet girls (as beautiful as my camera will take inside the house). This is my favorite and not the one that will appear on the card. Doug thought it would be nicer to send the card with a photo in which you could actually see the girls' faces. Annika thought it was super that she could make Dagny smile. I thought it was pretty super myself.

Crying it out update

Apparently, Dagny has been a pill in the evenings because she was tired. Her doctor said that she should be sleeping about 20 hours per day and I thought he was insane. However, since we've been doing the "cry it out" thing, she has been napping very regularly between all feeds (except after dinner because we do her bath or if a certain helpful toddler wakes her up by accident) and sleeping about 5-6 hours at night.

And the two hours of allowable crying? Not even close. She usually fusses for less than 20 minutes, but even then it isn't screaming (like when we get out of the tub). I haven't even gotten to try the Oatmeal Chocolate Stout that I bought at Harry's last week.

I ran!

Doug was home this morning until almost nine, so he stayed with the girls while I went for a run. It was my first time away from Dagny ever, but she slept the whole time (we planned it that way) so I wasn't missed.

It wasn't far and it certainly wasn't fast, but I am so happy that I was able to go around the block (2.8 miles) without stopping or walking. I got to watch the sun come up and listen to some funky Prince music. What a feeling!

My exercise list got erased from our i-tunes when Doug's computer died, so we will have to work on starting a new one. Any suggestions for good running music are welcomed.

Crying it out?

At her 8 week checkup today, I asked our doctor how long I should let Dagny cry when trying to get her to nap independently. Until this point, I've been walking or rocking her to sleep in my arms and then putting her in the crib. We were worried she would have the horrible "no sleeping, therefore too tired to eat, therefore no sleeping" cycle that Annika had so we used any means necessary to get her to sleep.

Anyway, the answer was 2 hours. He suggested that I verify that she is fed and is clean, then put on my i-pod. We did a variation of this strategy with Annika, where I fed her, bathed her, then did laundry and showered while she "worked it out" and napped, but I was worried about doing it so soon with Dagny. The doctor said that I should have already done it and that it should take about 4 days.

In the meantime, I may have to get more adult beverages to get through the 4 days, but stay tuned for the update.

Life of Saturdays

A post on Dogwood Girl's blog led me to think about something that my husband once told me. We have a friend who gave up his career to be a stay-at-home dad and to allow his wife to blossom in her career (which she has, and how!). Their children are getting older (one in college and two in high school) and need less of his time now than they once did. The other guys in dad's circle of friends joke about how he now has the life of Saturdays.

Doug has remarked that I, too, have the life of Saturdays. I guess that is one way to look at it since I don't go to an office or a jobsite every day. However, if a "Saturday" is defined by a rest from work responsibilities, then I'd have to say that I (and all other stay-at-home parents) live the life of Mondays . . . not that I would change a thing. Soon enough, the kids will be in school and if I don't get an outside-the-family-business job, I really will lead the life of Saturdays - at least from 8-2.

Objects in arms are smaller than they appear

Doug was holding Dagny the other day and I realized how small she is. She is growing fine, I think, so no worries there, but I just thought she was a lot . . . bigger. I guess the fact that she currently runs my life has given her mythical size (not to mention weight, strength and volume) in my head.

Feedback!

Dagny smiled yesterday. She has been smiling in her sleep the whole time, but yesterday she looked at me and smiled. Of course, my exclamation scared her smile away, but what a joy to see her smiling! The sleepy smiles always make me laugh (even at 3am), but I forgot how an actual smile makes the heart melt.

In other news, my mom came over today and fed Dagny her first bottle. After many loud complaints, she ate about 4 ounces (of formula, since I don't have the hang of the pumping throughout the day) and I pumped about 3.5 ounces for the freezer. Victory! I forgot how nice it was to be able to go out alone - not that I'm going anywhere.

Doug was right

Allow me to commence the "Doug was right" dance. Nudity not required because I didn't actually disagree with him.

Those jeans, the ones that fit, are definitely too big for the "real life" Steph. An exhaustive survey of my closet revealed exactly zero other pants that come close to buttoning. Doug was right, Doug was right, Doug was right. Damnit.

Back in Blue

On Monday, I put on my jeans!

Granted, they are larger than all of my other jeans - the ones that make Doug say "Steph - those are too big for you" and they are not riding exactly right, but I'm wearing them. You forget how cool it is to wear pants without elastic in the waistband.

The weight loss appears to be continuing, though way slower than Anne's - way to go Anne! I'm attributing the recent loss to (1) no pretzels in my house, (2) no time for snacks, and (3) illness-related water retention going away.

Endorphins

Whew - endorphins are low here, but I got to walk around the block (plus some extra cul de sacs) last week and it was great. Dagny and I got many funny looks since I had her in the double stroller, but it was lovely anyway.

I don't know how it works for everyone else, but if I don't get moving (profuse sweating and showering afterwards required), I get depressed. With the lack of sleep here, it is hard to get any exercise in since I need the sleep more, but when Dagny starts sleeping more, I'm right back onto those silly workout videos.

Dark Days

This week has sucked. Don't get me wrong, it started out fine. Annika went to school on Monday while Dagny and I went to Sams Club and I got to have lunch with Doug, then Doug's Mom picked Annika up for an evening away after her sports class on Tuesday. Dagny and I even went for a walk around the block AND Doug and I were going to watch a movie that night (like real adults!). Then we got a call from Doug's Mom - Annika was throwing up and they were on the way.

Because Dagny is so small, we were worried about her getting sick so Doug took total charge of Annika. He made her a bed on the floor, gave her a bowl to throw up in, turned on her shows, cleaned her up again and again and again, and slept with her in her room. He is good at throwing up (not scared to do it, like me), but it really makes him sick if someone else does it. I'm the opposite, but I'm breast-feeding the baby so we didn't want throw-up virus germs on me. He was a saint. Then, late that night, I got a fever. Not the throw-up virus, but mastitis. Fever and chills plus the sweating.

Naturally, we have PILES of laundry because of the vomiting and Dagny's propensity to do her business so it escapes her diaper. I was trying very hard to get the house together, do some laundry and pay the bills (Thursday is bill-paying day, because the subs in Doug's business get paid on Friday), plus the two kids and the fever. Unfortunately, there were several meltdowns. Last night when Dagny wouldn't go to bed until midnight and insisted on nursing continuously from 6pm-12pm, I was at my wit's end.

Today, however, when we woke up this morning, Doug had left breakfast out for Annika. Then, Katie called and said she would pick up Annika to play and for lunch AND my Mom insisted on coming over to bring me a heating pad. She made me lunch and folded/put away 3 loads of laundry. My drugs finally started working (with much help from Jen) so my fever is gone and hopefully the other symptoms will go away soon.

I'm so very lucky to have such a great family (despite the complaining I do about them).

Wisdom from Annika

As I was helping Annika out of the car at Target today, she turned to me and said "Mommy, be happy". Just like Doug, this one - keeping me in line.

Love at First Sight?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I just finished a book about a woman who fell in love with a monk (who was, obviously, not her husband) the first time she saw him. Apart from the whole infidelity thing (which also bothered me), I had a hard time believing that the man and woman fell in love after meeting each other only once. I can understand if they had spent an afternoon together or an evening, but one meeting? Seems to me that love at first sight is really just lust. Nothing wrong with some good old-fashioned lust, though.

Granted, I am biased. I met Doug at the first Lollapolooza concert, when he came walking by our blanket with his friend Mike, who was also my friend Mike. I don't remember anything special about the meeting except that I met Mike's nice friend and hung out with them on their blanket for a while during the afternoon. It was only through repeated exposure over the next year or so (same friends, same concerts, same parties, he liked my scar) that I realized that Doug was as great as he is.

I just don't think you can realize the fullness of someone else at first sight.

Stuff my husband has taught me about parenting

1. A biscotti is a good teether
2. Chocolate milk is a good excuse to stop for Starbucks
3. It's easier and more fun to take the kid(s) on an outing than to stay home
4. There is no reason not to run screaming in circles around the kitchen or dance to the music (yeah, yeah, yeah)
5. Hot chocolate CAN be called latte if it makes the kid happy
6. Sometimes, you just gotta stop for ice cream - it's full of calcium and calories, you know
7. Is is OK to run through the sprinkler with your clothes on
8. A sand trap is pretty close to a sand box
9. No one wants to sit in the crying chair
10. A two year old doesn't know there is any other answer to "who is in charge?" except "Daddy" (or Mommy)

Mmmmmm . . .

So, I am breaking the "no alcoholic beverages before 5pm unless there is another adult in the house" rule RIGHT NOW. There is no reason for the lovely Guinness that I am now enjoying, except that it looked yummy and I thought it would be better than corn chips for my snack as I pay bills this afternoon. I justified the rule-breaking by the following: (1) there was only 1 can in my fridge, (2) I'm hydrating, (3) Annika is up in her room screaming because she doesn't want to nap, (4) only a woman far wussier (I know it isn't really a word) than me will get drunk on one Guiness, and (5) it's full of B-vitamins for the nursing, don't you know.

My friend Kevin went to Ireland years ago and donated blood while he was there. After you give your pint, they give you a pint - of Guinness. Gotta love that about the Irish. I think I'll stick with juice and Nutter-Butters after blood-donation, though.

Books

Last week I took the girls (HA - the girls!) to the library and we checked out Annika's 5 books and the first "Mrs. Pigglewiggle" book (author is MacDonald - I had to ask a librarian for help). My sister suggested revisiting this series as Annika's introduction to chapter books. So far, we've read "The Show-Off Cure" and it is going well. Apparently, the droning of my voice is relaxing because Annika has fallen asleep with minimal distress after both installments. She does not appear to be retaining anything from the story, but I'm hoping that eventually the morality messages will seep in without her noticing. Today - "The CryBaby Cure". Boy, could I ever use a crybaby cure! It is temper tantrum city over here.

Once we finish the Pigglewiggle books, I'm looking forward to "Encyclopedia Brown" but it may be too advanced yet.

I discovered two marvelous things this week: (1) I can listen to Doug's Audible.com selections on the i-pod while nursing at night instead of just sitting in the dark, and (2) Dagny prefers to be swayed to the beat of actual music rather than the music in my head (thank you Dwight Yokum!). I listened to "Who's Your Caddy" by Rick Reilly this week and will have to wait for Doug's computer to be repaired before I can add other books to the i-pod. Stupid laptop and crappy Best Buy warranty. The Reilly book was fun, though, and now I know what the guys are laughing about when they talk about not "putting your mouth on my ball". In the meantime, the tunes are keeping me happy.

I'm too sexy

Little-known facts about breast-feeding:

1. All bra, all the time.
2. Hormones give you hot flashes.
3. Pregnancy weight doesn't come off until you stop nursing.
4. Full, porn-star looking breasts are actually hard as rocks and hurt.
5. Larger breasts get in the way of life.
6. Even if you are covered up, some people will avoid you like the plague when you are nursing. Others will want to examine the baby - up close.
7. Leaking is the rule, not the exception.
8. Your shirt is always covered in milk or spit-up.
9. Shirt = burp cloth for baby. High fashion is out. Heck, low fashion is out.
10. Nursing shirts don't work because it is harder than you would imagine to thread your breast through the flaps and slits which are supposed to cover it up - especially with one hand while holding a squirmy, crying baby.
11. The nursing holds they teach you in class only work if your breast extends a certain distance away from your body.
12. While eating, the baby will unconsciously rub your side with her hand.

OK, that last one was a good thing, but the rest - not so much.

A New Woman

Dagny slept for two 4 hour blocks last night.

Granted, the second one was from 2-5am, with another hour tacked on from 5-6am after she had some fussing (she didn't start the hungry cry, though, so I went back to bed), but that means 8 hours of sleep for me! I feel like a whole new woman. She won't do this reliably, but it sure was nice last night after having her feed from 5:30pm until 9 without stopping except to cry and spit up on me.

Pat

There is a woman with whom I used to work who was pleasant, cheerful and nice, but thoroughly incompetent. This woman (we will call her Pat - not her real name) was the bane of my existence. She was the reason I took the cardio-kickboxing class and started running again. I used to dread the moment she walked into the office. She eventually got fired because she lied to the boss as she had been lying to the rest of us all along, and she went away. Interestingly, though, my stress level did not decrease - in fact, it increased.

Later, with several years of hindsight, I realized that though this woman was dumb and un-dependable (and a liar) she was not the horror I had made her out to be - she was simply the lightning rod for my stress. Doug and I continue to call anyone who is the lightning rod for our stress "Pat".

We have some friends who are having relationship problems. The husband has made the wife his "Pat" - the woman can do no right. Similarly, when I was crazy after I had Annika, I made Doug my "Pat". It's so easy to make someone your scapegoat. I have to fight it every day and focus on what I can do to make something better rather than blaming it all on "Pat". Do you have a Pat?

Reminder

Someone had a super-terrific, extra-fabulous, marvelous time on Halloween. This is not necessarily the best photo of the night, but it accurately conveys the excitement. Doug took Annika trick or treating and he said that she ran from house to house, yelling "race me, race me" and that her cousins pooped out after only a few cul-de-sacs, but she was eager to keep going. She is adorable.

The reminder is - if you say "sure, you can have a sip of Mommy's water", you might get some peanut M & M the next time you sip said water. Just sharing, you know.

Origin of Dagny

No, Dagny is not a family name. However, I have discovered (1) many Grandmothers from ladies on my due date forum named Dagny, and (2) that some folks pronounce it "Downy" instead of "Dagnee".

Dagny Taggart is the heroine of "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I first read this book while I was in professional school and thought it was amazing and spooky at the same time. I pestered Doug to read it, but he was reluctant. Years later, he bought himself the tapes (abridged version) and listened to it while driving to and from work - voila, a changed man. Always a capitalist and a "producer" type of person, Doug adored the book and downloaded the unabridged version onto his i-pod as his first Audible selection. Now he listens again every few months to avoid being sucked in by the "looters". [Gotta love Audible.com and the i-pod when commuting from Roswell to Dacula!]

Annika is not a family name either. We found it because of the golfer, Annika Sorenstam, but did not name Annika after her. Annika was actually Lydia for about 3 hours until I had a hormone moment in the hospital after Doug fell asleep and changed it to Annika.

Oh, and Doug wanted our girls to have tough names so that it would be appropriate for a neighbor to call us to say that "Annika" or "Dagny" beat up his little boy at the bus stop. Lydia and my other girly name choices just didn't work. Svetlana would have been good but it seemed a bit over the top.

I never . . .

Remember that drinking game called "I never" where you had to say something that you had done and then everyone else in the group who had done it had to drink?

I was thinking about that game the other day and then about the things in my life that I swore I'd never do, and have done or am continuing to do:

1. Get married
2. Have kids
3. Run, for fun
4. Color my hair
5. Stay at home with kids
6. Play golf
7. Say "because I said so"
8. Live in the suburbs
9. Take a wine class
10. Breastfeed
11. Get a dog and not have a cat
12. Send a photo Christmas card
13. Wear a jaw clip in my hair and consider it "done"
14. Get up at 5 am without an alarm
15. Have an entire load of pink laundry every week (or less)
16. Write a blog

Feel free to add your "I nevers"

Thoughtless People

So, at the doctor's visit yesterday, a woman was there with her daughter (3 or 4 years old). They were loitering at the check-out area and generally getting in the way. Finally, they talked to the check-out lady and were redirected to the check-in area, which is at the other end of the counter.

After this woman and her kid had been standing and brushing all around Annika, the baby and me, I stood at the check-out counter while paying and listened to her tell the check-in nurse all about her daughter's vomiting and fever which kept them up all night.

Did the woman bother to use the sick child waiting room or even attempt to keep the child away from anyone else? No - the kid was still standing next to me. Why expose the world? No one wants the throw-up virus.

Dagny Anne

Dagny Anne was born on October 10 at 7:02 am. She weighed 7 lbs and was 20 inches long. We had our 2 week checkup today and she is already 7.8 lbs - hooray! Annika was still under her birthweight at this point, so we are thrilled with the weight gain.

We are trying to get into a routine, but wow - it is hard to take care of two kids at the same time. Thank goodness that Doug is cooking and picking up the slack with Annika and also with Dagny on the weekends. I would be crazy without him.

The birth was difficult - something in me makes my babies come out face-up, but Dagny hung in there (literally) and she is fine now. Annika loves being a big sister, but she is not so keen on the sharing part. Who wants to share anyway?

Annika had a breakthrough this weekend (I thought) when she went potty all by herself (including "wiping") while I was putting Dagny down for a nap. Doug didn't think this was as great as I did because she has apparently been doing this with him for a while! Wish I had known that when trying to sit my huge pregnant behind on her stool to wait for her to go!

I'm recovering well from the birth and will hopefully be able to resume normal activities at or before the 6 week checkup. Oh, the situps that await me, though - UGH. My tennis team made it to playoffs and my friend Natalie is training for a marathon so those are some nice things to think about while I'm mending.

Drive-By Parenting

So, we went to watch the GA/TENN game during dinner at our neighborhood family sports bar yesterday. Annika asked me to take her to the potty, so off we went. It was, as I suspected, a ploy to get out of her chair (not to use the potty), but that is OK. However, while we were in the bathroom stall, this little kid (I estimate his age at 5) kept peeking under the door of the stall and talking to us. Kids do this sometimes, but this boy was (1) unattended, (2) clearly older than a potty-trainer, and (3) did it more than three times. After the kid started banging the door and the changing table in the adjacent stall, I escorted him out of the bathroom (we were still waiting for Annika to use the potty - very difficult if there are any distractions).

Granted, I am totally hormonal and in need of a cold, frosty, adult beverage, but I really wish that I had said something to the kid's parents. I watched him for the rest of our meal and when he wasn't eating, the kid was going in and out of both restrooms while his parents thought he was playing video games (conveniently located on the way to the restrooms). Is he going to be a big weirdo because he is obsessed with going in the bathrooms or is he just lonely?

You never want to be "that parent", though, the one who thinks she knows it all and tells you about it.

Justification

Why is it that we (people, generally, but stay-at-home-moms in particular and me, especially) feel it necessary to identify ourselves by our jobs?

I made a title for this blog, with my profession and current job on it, but after some thought have deleted it. Who cares what my profession is and whether I'm doing it right now? What difference does it make if I'm doing work for our family business while I'm home with the kid(s)? Staying home with my girl is a good thing and I don't need to justify this by reciting a resume of what I did/do in addition to it. I just wonder, why do I feel the need to do it?

Theories: (1) guilt because the burden of supporting our behinds falls on Doug, (2) desire to go back to work at some point, but maybe it just boils down to (3) a misplaced need for approval or desire to be "important". I dunno.

ETA

Went for my regularly scheduled doctor appointment today to learn that, no - I'm not in labor. No big surprise there, but my doctor said that we can induce me if I'd like to. I don't really know if I'd like to - wouldn't it be better to wait for my body to do what it is supposed to do? Then again, wouldn't it be nice to know when the baby is coming so I can have "things" well in hand?

After consultation with Doug, we decided that Monday is fine with us. I was induced with Annika because I went past my due date anyway (which, in this case is Wednesday) so what difference would the two days really make? Also consulted with my sister (the OB/Gyn) and she said that it was OK so Sunday night we are going in for the cervadil and then pitocin on Monday. I know that many practices are "non-interventionist" and would let me go past my date, but as I obsess with the kick-counting and whether the baby is moving enough and grow more and more uncomfortable, I think that I don't mind the intervening so long as there is a healthy baby at the end.

It's much easier for me to check if the baby is breathing if I can see her.

The Uncomfortable Zone

Baby sister is due a week from tomorrow and I've officially entered "The Uncomfortable Zone", in which sitting, lying down, sleeping, etc are all very uncomfortable and/or painful. Many of the ladies on my mommies' forum are going into labor early or on time, but not here.

I can't complain, though, because when I had Annika, the whole last month was the uncomfortable zone. At least this delay is giving me time to get my work done and get ready for the baby (and procrastinate by visiting the internet).

The Princess

So, she looks scared, but in fact, Annika is THRILLED with the Cinderella outfit, furry/shiny/tinsely crown, wand and "glass slippers" that Doug bought for Halloween. We've had to hide all of these things to prevent her wanting to wear them daily. The shoes are too small but we can't keep her from putting them on anyway and strutting around the house.

There is a part of me that didn't want her to get caught up in the princess hype - I was much more comfortable with her liking the sports activities, but it seems like all 2/3/4 year olds are into the princesses so maybe it's just normal.

No way . . . .

On Friday, I asked Annika what she wanted to name baby sister whenever she gets here. Her answer is usually "I don't know yet", but that day it was "Jose".

Where did she get "Jose"? Probably the same place she got "Dogarita". With apologies to Dwight Yoakam: "Dogarita, hold me tighter, I think I'm going down. I'm all strung out on doggie bones, on the lonely side of town." Annika loves that song - she sings along.

Sweet Girl

So, I've got two filing cabinets in my car. I got them at the scratch and dent sale to (hopefully) tame the disasterous filing mess at our house/office. Anyway, when I picked Annika up from school yesterday, we talked about the filing cabinets as they are the largest thing in the car (even larger than pregnant mommy!) and hard to miss. I explained that Dad would need to help me get them out because they are too heavy for me to move by myself. Annika thought for a moment and said "Mommy, I can help you move them, please can I help you?"

Savoring

Annika has had clean underpants all day today (it's 1:36pm) AND has told me that she needed to use the potty. Then, she proceeded to actually USE THE POTTY. Commence the dancing now! We've also completed our errands for the day (Staples, Hallmark, Home Depot, dr visit) so we can both nap this afternoon. What more could a person ask for?

After writing the above, I thought to myself that someone without a toddler would not be so interested in all of this potty talk. Too bad, that is what happens when a person has a toddler - potty talk and compulsive s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g of the n-a-s-t-y-w-o-r-d-s.

No baby yet. The doc doesn't think it will be soon, either. In other news, I kicked ass in our tennis match yesterday - I guess that is a good trade for not being done with pregnancy yet.

Happiness is . . .

sitting on the front porch with your sweet girl eating popsicles after a busy day.

Haircut

Annika had her first haircut today. She sat on my lap in the chair while Miss Jeni wet her hair and trimmed the ends. It was not a big style change, but more of a "clean-up" and introduction to the hair place.

Baby Sister

Annika's baby sister is due in 3 weeks. The doc was worried that she is small, so we had to evaluate her size on the ultrasound yesterday. She looks "unremarkable" and is within the growth curve so she can stay in a bit longer. Lucky for me since Doug is golfing this weekend. The ultrasound tech thinks she will have a tiny pug nose - as if anyone related to Doug or me could possibly have a small nose.

Jealous

My friend Natalie posted on our mommies' forum about an upcoming race in which she is running. There is a 10K race also but Natalie is running the half marathon. I'm so jealous - can't wait until this baby is born and big enough so that I can run again!

The Potty Train

The potty train derailed this week. Annika wanted to wear underpants to school on Wednesday, so I let her. We talked at length about telling her teachers if she needed to use the potty or if her bottom needed to make pee-pee or poo-poo. I got her to repeat the directions back to me. Once at school, she resisted the teacher's attempts to put her on the potty and wet/pooped on BOTH sets of underpants and was in a pull-up when I showed up early to get her.

Given my increasing bulk and disappearing patience, I think we are going to wait on potty training until after the baby comes. I just can't deal with it right now. Yes, our friend's child is potty trained and he will be 2 in October. Yes, I probably should have tried to get Annika trained before she got negative at 2. Yes, I should be able to deal with the nasty public restroom visits, continual hand-washing, picking up the 28 lb child and wet/poopy underpants. But, no, I just can't. The train has left the station. Who knows when it will be back - I didn't get a schedule.

Hormone Central

Yesterday I had a meltdown. I was really thinking that without the stress of the move and first-time parenthood this time, I would be less prone to the post-partum issues that I had with Annika. Wrong - they are already here.

I hosted playgroup at our house yesterday morning/lunch. It was great fun and lovely to see everyone but I guess it was too hot and I got too tired. After I finished cleaning up, got Annika in bed for her nap, showered and put my feet up, Annika woke up (only a 1 1/2 hour nap). The "let's rest on Mommy's bed" plan did NOT work. My patience was gone so even with Mexican for dinner (my favorite night of the week), I snapped at everything Annika did. Granted, she did request the (none too clean) potty three times with no actual USE of the potty, and did stick her hand in the potty on one trip and put this hand in her mouth after I told her not to touch anything with it. When Doug finally told me to relax on the way home when I raised my voice about not throwing Dogarita out the window, I lost it.

I don't know how people have more than two kids. This does not bode well for me post-partum. Oh well, at least this time I won't be so resistant to drugs if the doc suggests them.

The Belly

Here is a photo of me and my friend Michele feeding my belly at my party this weekend. At 36 weeks pregnant and up 20.5 lbs so far, it feels like the belly is taking over.

Testing the photos

Here is a photo of Annika from last summer - she is showing me the ball. Very proud of having found it.

If this works, more photos to come soon.

surprise

On Monday night, Doug took Annika and the dog outside while I cleaned up after dinner. I heard screaming outside and went to make sure that everything was OK. When I got to the door, I found the three of them plus two neighbor girls running screaming through the sprinklers. Priceless.

Taking a moment

Sometimes the best moments in parenting are when you aren't with your kids. Annika started school today. She was very excited, got dressed up, had her picture taken and ran into her new room without a backward glance.

I persuaded her to give me a kiss and went to play golf in the beautiful weather. Nothing like 4 hours of alone time to rejuvenate the soul.

God's Eyes

I was raised in the Catholic faith but my husband and I were married in the Methodist Church. We had a Deacon from the Catholic Church come and bless the wedding so it is a "real" marriage in the eyes of the Catholic Church, and we did the preparation activities of both faiths. We are not big church-goers and did not really have a "church home" until we decided (I decided) it was time for kids.

We visited many churches and decided that the Methodist Church in our town was the place for us. I joined up (Doug was already a member) and we did our version of the church-going lifestyle. Recently, however, we've been discussing Annika's education and how we'd like her to go to a private school. There are many good private schools in our area, but there is one Catholic one that we particularly like (where my sister went). Doug's not been going to church anyway, so we decided that it wouldn't be any big deal to join up with the Catholic Church and go there while continuing to expose Annika to the Methodist Church when we go with Doug's folks. Then, when she (and baby sister) are older, they can decide whether they want to be Catholic or Methodist.

We joined the Catholic Church in our neighborhood, which is a very nice place. It's very interesting to attend mass after having been exposed to protestant services on a regular basis - provides much food for thought. Anyway, I went to church this weekend for mass and to see what donations we could bring/do for the hurricane victims and who should be there but the Deacon who performed our wedding ceremony.

To wed in the Catholic Church, you must promise to raise your children in the faith, which I did promise. I was not going to do it (having decided that it was better for us to be of one faith in the family), but now we are doing it. I think God was just keeping an eye on us the whole time.

God's Ears

After a difficult morning yesterday (child and dog peed on the floor and post office and Staples near the house were incredibly unhelpful), I vented a bit to Annika as I took our packages to the car in a huff. I told her how we would have to go to the other post office because these people were stupid. Granted, they were stupid - and unhelpful and SLOW, but I was out of line to say that to my kid.

So, after procuring lunch and visiting the pool, we got back in the car and went to the "good" post office (if there is such a thing) and got our errand completed, but Annika kept asking me about the stupid people and where they were. I think it was God's way of telling me to keep my trap shut in times of frustration.