Happily over my "where are they now" funk, it's back to real life. Unfortunately, that includes trying to figure out where all stuff that was delivered on Monday will go. Three times today I've walked into the garage, opened a box, snorted in disgust that I have no idea where to put the contents of this box either, and walked back into the house. Isn't that just the way? And how much Tupperware does a person need? I have a cabinet full that made it with me all the way from NC to SD to Germany and now to Il. And come to find out, now I've got at least one more box full. Oh good grief. Was I thinking that Tupperware might go out of business one day and I'd better get the colors I like NOW because the stuff my mom bought in the 70's and 80's is still around and going strong. Now, that's some quality plastic ware.
Yesterday morning I hauled myself out of bed and hit the gym. I was there at 5:30. It sucked. I miss my trainer, I can tell there's been some backslide in my fitness level, and the motivation to go every day isn't exactly consistent. This morning I didn't get up to go because I didn't ask R, who is officially in charge of the alarm clock, to set it for me. My first glimpse of consciousness was when he kissed me goodbye on the way out the door at 6 am. Of course, I promptly rolled over and went right back to sleep. Lucky for me, T came in about 6:45 and said, "Mom? Are you ready to wake up yet?" Well, no, not really, but then I realized what time it was. And that got my feet out of the bed and onto the floor. That also meant no time for a real shower, so I thought - hey - I'll drop T off at school and hit the gym. There's a family room here, so I can take the little diva with me. As S and I were walking to the family room I asked her - "are you ready to play with some other kids?" and she was so excited. Then we actually walked into the family room and she realized we'd be on opposite sides of the gate. It did not digest well. By the time 30 minutes had passed, I think four or five more parents and their kids had come in. All THOSE kids behaved. I'm sure they are more used to it than she is, but the kid area had the trifecta of toddler heaven - dvd (playing the Wiggles), a huge climbing/sliding structure, and soft mats. What else was there to want besides a puppy and an all you can eat snack and juice bar? Obviously something was lacking, because S was NOT happy.
I've got my iPod ear bud in one ear, the other ear trained on her wails of "Heeeeeeelp me! Mommy! Mommmmmmmy! Mooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmy! Helllllllllllllllp me! MOMMY! MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!!" I don't know the first thing about family exercise room etiquette - do you let them scream for a little bit to see of they calm down and accept the inevitable, do you whisk them out immediately, do you talk to them soothingly from your perch on the torture device of the day, do you put the other earbud in and just smile and wave? I have no idea. I tried encouraging her to climb and slide, to play with the other kids, to watch the Wiggles, to roll the balls around, to grab her coloring books out of her book bag and color...none of this worked. She basically walked around with my keys (the look in her eyes told me "I'll drop 'em. I'll find the smallest space they'll fit through at the top and back of this climbing structure and laugh and laugh while you figure out how to get them back") and ignored any attempt I made to help her entertain herself or play well with others. When none of that worked, she walked over to the little boy eating a snack and did the 'stare down'. When he offered her some of his food, she wailed NOOOOOOO and put her head down on the table. Then she took toys away from bigger kids and tried to throw them over the gate. The other parents were trying not to laugh at this point, and after 30 non continuous minutes on the elliptical, I gave up and switched to sit ups and push ups in the kiddie corral. S tries to cover me up with a blanket while I'm doing crunches and the tries to crawl under me as I'm doing push ups. I mean really! Does the kid not realize I could squish her like a pancake? For crying out loud already!
Lucky for us that the other parents and kids were really nice and understanding. We made it out alive with no harm done for the most part. As per usual lately, I just apologized my way out the door and told S that she may as well resign herself, because we were going to be coming back a lot. I'm already wondering if taking T to entertain her would help me or hurt me more. I guess there's one way to find out.
After leaving the gym, S and I did some errands and then went to pick up T. Since coming home, I've been attempting to organize and unpack the last few boxes. It isn't going as well as I'd hoped. I'm starting to think that if we didn't have to replace it, complain about needing it, or sorely miss it that there should be no problem in stacking it up neatly in the utility room and dealing with it in 3 more years.
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