I'm going to say he's advanced

Tonight a friend of mine from work, let's call her Ann, drove E and I to another work friend's party. E's a pretty big fan of Ann, and was thrilled to get to hang out with her. She's also pretty gorgeous. On the way home from the party this little sweet voice from the back seat says "Ann? I think you should come live at our house." She replied that she had dogs she needed to take care of and so she couldn't live at our house. After giving it some thought, E responded "I think you have lots of friends that would take care of your dogs for you." The kid's got good taste, and he moves fast.

Wishes

Outside one of our go-to restaurants is a fountain. There's a number of stores and restaurants that all share a "patio" and this fountain is the centerpiece, so to speak. E LOVES the fountain. He loves to run around it, to stick his hands in it, and of course to throw pennies in it. The first time he threw a coin in, he thought long and hard before wishing that he could swim with sharks. After that, his wishes came easy. They were always quickly whispered before he threw in his coin and I didn't want to ruin the magic by asking him to repeat them. I do get the idea though that he always wishes for the same thing. So the other night, by some economic coincedence, the patio was especially quiet when we were there. I gave E his penny, and as I got ready to make my own wish, I heard, very quietly, what my son was wishing for.

"I wish that Mommy and Daddy will never leave me alone"

I still don't know if this breaks my heart or makes it swell, but it was a much bigger wish than I was expecting from the little dude. I'm not sure he'll ever stop amazing me.

Because I am unable to resist showing the universe how crazy I am

I had today off (Yay for state jobs!) and the planets aligned, so C did too (Yay Universe!). We took full advantage. By that I mean C let me sleep in, then we took the kid and got pancakes. We really know how to live it up around here. Then we took E to daycare so that we could get some work done on the house, the dishwasher repairman could work in peace, and I could purge some of the craptastic toys that are threatening my sanity.

Now, because we had such a leisurely morning, E got to school just in time to lay down for nap. Because I'm thoughtful, I offered to tuck him in and innocently asked his teacher where his blanket was. The blanket that has been his daycare blanket since he started daycare three years ago. The blanket that's survived four daycares, two cross-country moves, and numerous out-of-state trips. The blanket that, despite my hatred of writing names on things, has E's name on it. Do you see where this is going?

According to the teacher, she can't find his blanket. She last saw it in the wash room, because apparently they wash the kids blankets, and now she can't find it. No idea how long it's been. No idea where it is. I was rational and even offered that maybe it was at home. I promised to look. Then I asked where the loaner blankets were, so that E could lie down. People, there are NO LOANER BLANKETS. Despite the fact that there are two full laundry hampers in the room. My son has had to sleep on a bare cot while his classmates are all cozy on sheets, with blankets that remind them of home and are loved.

I came home, tore the house apart, and still no blanket. C remembered taking to school about a week ago. All signs point to it making it to school, and therefore being lost. If you know me, you know that I HATE to lose things. It consumes me. Especially when said things also have sentimental value. So now I'm convinced that this is just another nail in the coffin of this particular daycare and just goes to show that I was, in fact, not being irrational or insert more attractive adjective than snobbish about this school and we do need to move him. What kind of school loses a preschooler's beloved blanket and doesn't even mention it to the parents? How long's it been missing? How long's E been asking for his "all froggy blanket" only to shiver, cold and alone, on a dismal and probably germ-infested cot?

Throughout the day I managed to shrink myself enough not to immediately submit our resignation and go all crazy-ass preggo mom on the school by the time we went to pick him up. I had convinced myself that it's a blanket, that kids lose things, that it'll show up, blah blah blah. In fact, I was pretty okay with everything and filled with some renewed daycare love. The we went in to his classroom, where the kids were all gathered around, watching Dr. Doolittle 2. You know, with Eddie Murphy. The one rated PG for language and crude humor. And they may have also watched Dr. Doolittle 1 (PG-13) today.

Anyone know any good daycares around here? Ones that don't have TVs hidden in the room and keep track of beloved blankies?

*Update* Complained to director this afternoon. An hour later the blanket had been found and the TV removed from the classroom. I still have my reservations but I'm feeling very all-powerful. Part of the dilemma with moving E is that there are very few places, none conveniently located, that also take infants. My radar's up now though, so we'll see how it goes.

Today

Today I pushed my luck, slept a half hour later, and still made it to work on time.

Today I started my new gig at the new job and realized that it may be more of a scenery change then anything else.

Today I was lectured by a colleague for not being concerned enough about getting shanked (Family, don't freak out. Not really a big issue), a boss for not telling inmates more about my pregnancy, and by a mentally ill inmate about taking good care of the baby and "blessing" myself.

Today I sort of wanted to kick my own ass briefly for being a whiny ingrate about my job.

Today I decided to stop wishing my job was something it's not, and start appreciating it for what it is.

Today I had a doctor's appointment during which I spent more time shooting the shit with my super awesome, totally unlike the crappy midwife from kid 1, encouraging and relateable doctor than I did being prodded, lectured, or brushed off. (I also got some good gossip about some people I work with.)

Today I bought a onsie with ruffles on the butt and crib sheets covered with ladybugs.

Today I had a minor emotional meltdown over my inability to get "oh my God that's so adorable I have to have it!!!!!!" excited about buying anything for the Bug. Then I remembered how much crap never got used with the first one.

Today I helped my son do his homework for preschool while we waited for our food at one of our favorite restaurants, where C and I then split our two favorite things so we didn't have to choose.

Today I had some really good conversations with a husband I haven't seen nearly enough of lately.

Today I found out that my son has an imaginary friend named Jeff. He's a goldfish. He lives in the toilet. Sometimes he gets flushed "with the poo."

Today just about perfectly sums up my life. It's pretty awesome.

I can't believe it's already Sunday (or "Stalling going to work tomorrow")

We had the most lovely weekend! C had the weekend off (it happens about once a month, LOVE the new job) so we decided to try to fit in something fun. We decided to head to the coast and hit an aquarium that everyone said was amazing.

If you know C and me, and if you've ever been around while we've tried to execute a plan, you know that it's not pretty. Generally we have some huge fight, leave hours late, and spend at least the first half of the day silently fuming at each other. It's AWESOME. It's also the reason we don't take a lot of vacations. But this time was different. We woke up early. I made a real breakfast. I had packed a lunch, which C then loaded into the car. We were the freaking Cleavers.

All day I kept thinking that it couldn't last. But it did! It lasted through the three hour drive there, the sticker shock at the ticket counter, the masses of obnoxious children and ignorant parents (still pregnant, still crazy, still kind of mean). It even lasted through the parking ticket at the end of the day. All in all, it was a great family day.

Please ignore the multiple chins. It's an unflattering angle. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my reignited love of the Quarter Pounder.

Today E started the day with a huge giggle-fest in our bed, and then C got up and made us breakfast. I had big plans for taking down our Christmas decorations and cleaning the house. I did get the laundry and dishes done, but the tree still stands. I also checked out a new grocery store that was supposed to be super cheap. I don't know if it was much cheaper, but by the time I left I'd heard two dads tell their kids "I'll give you something to cry about!" and caught a guy casing my car. I think I'll pay extra and have someone else bag my groceries. We ended with a delicious family dinner of cheeseburgers and homemade fries, and then grown-up TV (read: serial killers and cussing, not bow-chicka-bow-wow) after bedtime. C and E working on E's homework while I was making dinner. I have more to say about a 3 year old with homework later. Right now he likes it and it's fun to see how quickly he catches on. The kid can do MAZES! He also begged to do a "cutting project" and rocked the scissors.

I love weekends like this, but they sure make Monday a little more painful.

New Year's Resolutions

I love the idea of New Year's Resolutions, but it kills me that most are forgotten by the end of February. With that in mind, I'm putting mine out to the universe in hopes that I will actually keep them on a front burner.

1. Reduce The Crazy: Although I may hide it quite well (stop it. I really do!) I have a tendency to get a teensy bit neurotic. On top of that, when I start to get stressed I have a couple of go-to issues that get all of my focus and of course are never resolved. Because if I resolved those I might actually have to think about what's really bothering me. As you can imagine, I've spent a lot of time in The Crazy over the last few months. I'm tired of it, nothing's getting taken care of, and my husband has started putting ear plugs in the second he gets home (not really, but I wouldn't blame him). So I'm making a conscious effort to reduce The Crazy. Right now that means reciting the Serenity Prayer a lot.

2. Focus on the joy: This goes hand-in-hand with #1. When I get stuck in The Crazy I forget to notice all the awesome things I have in my life. I want to be a happy, relaxed person and to do that I want to shift my focus from "what needs fixing?" to "what's going well?" I am so blessed, and I'm not doing the Universe justice by dismissing those things. So essentially, less complaining.

3. This one is a bit more concrete. When we moved I ended up with a huge box titled "Pictures" in the back of my car. On top of that, I have THOUSANDS on a hard drive from after we switched to digital. They're just sitting there, and everyday I add more. So this year I'm going to put the keepers in albums and get rid of the rest. I've already brought the box in and bought a couple of albums, so forward progress. My goal is to have it done by the time Bug gets here, so that I can put her pictures straight into albums.

So that's it. It feels doable, and is more of an attitude shift than anything else. However, it can be hard to remember those things when I get in the muck. I'm going to try though. Wish me luck! I'd love to hear what you guys are planning to do in the new year!