It's sunny and warm out!

well, not right now. I guess right now it's pretty dark and maybe chilly ... but it was warm and sunny and beautiful outside today.

So when bambino wouldn't take his nap and just kept yelling at me this afternoon, I put him in the stroller and just started walking. He slept for about 15 minutes, and then the bus dropped off kiddo. He never did go back to sleep.

I was sort of hoping for a repeat of last night, when I put him to bed at 7 and he didn't wake up again until 3:30 this morning (honestly, I was worried and kept checking to make sure he was breathing, lol). I put him down at 6:45, fell asleep with him, woke up at 7:30 (thankfully; my visiting teachers came at 8), and he slept until 11:30, nursed, and went back to sleep. Too bad I didn't use my time more wisely -- I could be done with work for the night. Bah. Guess I'm going to have to get more focused. *sigh*

Reasons why 9-year-olds are ... difficult.

They think it's fun to pinch on St. Patrick's Day. Then, when they annoy someone on the home-bound bus who didn't wear green and is obviously sick to death of being bothered about it, they wonder why that person bops them on the head (repeatedly) with a hard-covered book until they cry.

*sigh*

Or, y'know, when mom is busy being sick at home and the 9-year-old in question is playing at the park, and some of mom's friends (who are the moms of the 9-year-old's friends) are there and tell her to go get her mom to come play, instead of saying, "she's not feeling well," she tells the world, "mom has diarrhea and she's not coming outside."

*double sigh*

Then there's the whole attitude preteen stuff going on ... and refusal to clean her room ... oy.

I just keep reading my former post and reminding myself she IS a good kid.

It's nice having a 9-year-old.

She's capable and willing to take her prescribed antibiotic at the assigned times every day. And I don't usually have to remind her. Which is good because I can never remember to take pills myself. Ahem. And she can actually swallow pills now, whereas when she was a baby/toddler/preschooler/early grade schooler, she had to have SHOTS because she'd puke up the liquid. not fun.

Plus, she loves to play with her brother and will babysit him for a few minutes while I decompress. Or, y'know, use the bathroom by myself.

And she's pretty cool. Funny, too.

And pretty. Don't forget. She's pretty.

FRIDAY FAVE FIVE!

Books I've read recently. They are children's/young adult fantasy novels, borrowed from the library of KerliFan, and they are awesome.

1. The Sisters Grimm series. In the genre of fractured fairy tales, descendants of the Brothers Grimm solve modern-day mysteries involving beloved fairy tale characters.

2. The Septimus Heap series. The books names being Magyk, Flyte, Physik, and Queste, they are obviously Magyk books. I have not read Queste yet, but the first three were really cool. There is a theory that a 7th son of a 7th son is extraordinarily gifted (orson scott card, anyone?). Septimus Heap is that 7th son, who was declared dead at birth ...

3. Moorchild. I was almost sad this was not a series. And I hate series books. Half faerie, half human, Saaski has to learn who she is and try and make her life right.

4. Crispin by Avi. It *is* a series, but I've only read the first. Set in Medieval England, a boy with no name and no parents must find out why certain people want him dead, while trying to stay alive.

5. ...

Actually, that's it. I did read others, but those were my faves.

I still didn't call a junk yard ... but found a part online for about $45 plus S&H. Maybe I'll just buy that one and take it to a body shop for installation.

And mom's knitting needles all showed up. I practiced casting on and the knit stitch, but am not sure I'm purling right as it looked weird, so I think i'll just wait until knitting night in two weeks. ha.

Oops

That's not what I said this afternoon when I broke the car.

And not what I said when I picked up the pieces of the side mirror that shattered. Or its housing.

And not what I said when my loving daughter gleefully ran upstairs to tell daddy before I could.

*sigh*

Fortunately, there was no other car or major structure involved. Just a garbage can that wasn't put away properly and a car that had been parked wonky and a driver not paying the best attention while backing out of the garage.

Guess I'm calling junk yards and body shops tomorrow ...

And just in case anyone is counting that "bad things happen in threes thing," we're well beyond three if being sick with various viruses for over a month, a dead vacuum, a dead dryer, the water heater leak, plus the car all count ...

And now, a fun little song.

From the mind of a 9-year-old on the bus with my daughter.

Imagine, if you will, a toilet seat. Singing the ABC's.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G ... Get your big fat butt off me."

Thank you.

Ooo, goody!

My kiddo has para influenza (milder form of influenza I guess). Yay me! Because guess what? She *shared*!!!!

Yeah ... I am so ready for winter to be over. We've been sick with something or other for the last 6-8 weeks.

At least she got an antibiotic for the cough/PND she's had for the last 3 weeks ...