In our house, Isaac does almost all of the laundry. This is, primarily, because I am really good about putting laundry in the washer, but terrible about remembering to put it in the dryer and even worse about putting it away. This drives my dear husband up a wall. So, he just takes care of it. I try to help out and do what I can, but laundry is my nemisis and I just can't bring myself to do more than the bare minimum. Clean underwear? Good to go...everything else is just a nice added bonus.
But. Isaac is gone. For a while this time; 9 months at least. And, I can't just not wash my clothes for 9 months. So, when he left, I had a little self-motivating talk. "Erin," I said to myself. "You are a grown woman. You have been doing (and hating) your own laundry since you were ten. This means you have 20+ years of experience cleaning your own damn {sometimes I swear at myself. It's more motivational than one might think} clothes. Get your crap together and do the damn laundry. And, for the love of all that is holy and good PUT IT AWAY." And, I've tried. I really, really have. But. I just can't seem to stay on top of it. The clothes are everywhere. My bed, the chair, the floor. Everywhere. And everytime I look at those stupid piles of clothes I wish Isaac was home to just take care of it like he always does. But. He's not. And he won't be. And then, I hate the stupid laundry even more than usual; for existing and for constantly taunting me, for reminding me that he's not home and that he won't be home anytime soon. And I know I just have to get over it and do it. But. Sometimes it just really, really sucks.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Levi and the
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...
(If I had any artistic ability whatsoever, this would be accompanied by delightful illustrations that really capture the drama and tragedy of it all. But, I don't. So there aren't. Use your imagination.)
Levi's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day began when he woke up on the wrong side of the Pack-N-Play. He did not want to get out of bed, but he did not want to stay in bed either. So, since he couldn't decide what to do, he cried.
When Levi's mom got him out of bed, he yelled "NO, NO, NO, NO" the whole time he was getting a new diaper and getting dressed. But he didn't really know what he was mad about. Because he didn't know what he was so upset about, he just fussed about everything.
After playing (and fussing) for a bit, it was time for Levi to eat breakfast. "Here's your granola bar and milk!" said Levi's mom.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" he yelled, throwing his granola bar off the plate.
"We don't yell and we don't throw food, Levi" said Levi's mom, somewhat exasperated
"noooooooooooooooooooooo" he said, just a little bit quieter. Mom wouldn't give him something else and Levi decided he was hungry enough to eat, even though he didn't want a granola bar. So, he ate his breakfast and drank his milk. This made him feel a little better. But not much.
Soon, Levi got to watch his favorite show, Sesame Street, but was very, very angry when Mom turned off the TV after it was over.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled again, brandishing the remote control towards the television.
"Levi, we don't yell.", said Levi's mom. Again.
Levi began a little chant, "No, no, NO, no, NOOOOOOOOOO. No, no NO, no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" . Over and over again Levi chanted until his mom said, "Levi, that's enough. Let's play with Playdoh."
Levi did not want to play with Playdoh, but he did want to throw the containers and cutters around. So he did. The noise that throwing things made seemed to make Levi feel a little better. Then, his mom's office phone rang and she hurried back to the office to answer it (even though she wasn't, technically, supposed to be "at work" yet.). She figured Levi would keep throwing things while she was on the phone. She was wrong.
While she was gone, Levi decided to climb up on the extra tall kitchen chair to try to get the Halloween candy off the counter. Levi loved candy. Maybe candy would make him happy. Levi's mom hadn't been in the office for very long when CRASH!
Levi fell down onto the hard, kitchen floor. It hurt. A lot. And was very scary. Levi began to cry. A lot.
Levi's mom heard the crash and came running. She found Levi lying on the floor, crying and yelling. She was very worried that Levi had hurt himself badly; the kitchen chair was about as high as the counter! That's a long way to fall! Levi and his mom sat on the couch for a long time while Mom checked that nothing was obviously broken and that his head was okay. Levi cried and cried.
Levi had just calmed down a little when Levi's dad came home! But, Dad couldn't stay very long; he'd just come home to pick up his lunch, but when he saw Levi was sad, he helped Mom check Levi over and then left again. Levi didn't want his dad to leave, so he started crying again. And crying and crying. This was shaping up to be a very bad day.
Levi's mom had just calmed Levi down when his Dad came through the door! Again! Dad's flying teacher told him to come home and make sure Levi was really okay, so he did! Levi was so happy. And also, very sleepy from all the crying. Levi let Daddy rock him to sleep and then Levi's dad laid him in his bed for a nap. Maybe after a nap, he would feel better.
But, he didn't sleep very well during his nap and woke up even grumpier than before! Levi's mom, somewhat desperately, asked, "Levi, would you like to go to the playground"? This seemed like a good idea. Maybe this would help him to be happy. So, off they went.
But it was terribly windy at the playground and Levi hated wind. So, he didn't want to play much. Levi's mom tried to help him have fun by showing him how to play with his cars on the wall by the swings. Looking at the swings gave Levi an idea. He would put his car on the swing and give it a push, like Mom did for him! This sounded like great fun.
SMACK! Unfortunately, this was not great fun. Before Mom could stop the swing, it hit Levi on the nose! Levi and Mom hurried home to make sure Levi's nose wasn't hurt too badly. Mom and Dad looked it over and they decided it looked okay, just a little bruised. Since Levi was okay, Levi and Dad went outside to play for a bit, while Mom made pizza (one of Levi's favorites) for dinner. But, then Dad had to leave to go back to work. It had been a long time since Dad and Levi had time to play outside together and now Dad had to leave! This was really and truly a terrible, horrible, no good, VERY BAD day.
Levi was very sad for a while after Dad had to leave, even though Mom tried to cheer him up by playing with the soccer ball outside. Luckily, it didn't take long for the pizza to cook and soon Grumpy Levi came back inside to eat. Levi loved to eat pizza and Mom even let him watch Curious George while he ate! Finally, Levi was happy again.
He (and his Mom!) hoped that nothing would happen between dinner and bedtime to ruin it.
(If I had any artistic ability whatsoever, this would be accompanied by delightful illustrations that really capture the drama and tragedy of it all. But, I don't. So there aren't. Use your imagination.)
Levi's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day began when he woke up on the wrong side of the Pack-N-Play. He did not want to get out of bed, but he did not want to stay in bed either. So, since he couldn't decide what to do, he cried.
When Levi's mom got him out of bed, he yelled "NO, NO, NO, NO" the whole time he was getting a new diaper and getting dressed. But he didn't really know what he was mad about. Because he didn't know what he was so upset about, he just fussed about everything.
After playing (and fussing) for a bit, it was time for Levi to eat breakfast. "Here's your granola bar and milk!" said Levi's mom.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" he yelled, throwing his granola bar off the plate.
"We don't yell and we don't throw food, Levi" said Levi's mom, somewhat exasperated
"noooooooooooooooooooooo" he said, just a little bit quieter. Mom wouldn't give him something else and Levi decided he was hungry enough to eat, even though he didn't want a granola bar. So, he ate his breakfast and drank his milk. This made him feel a little better. But not much.
Soon, Levi got to watch his favorite show, Sesame Street, but was very, very angry when Mom turned off the TV after it was over.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled again, brandishing the remote control towards the television.
"Levi, we don't yell.", said Levi's mom. Again.
Levi began a little chant, "No, no, NO, no, NOOOOOOOOOO. No, no NO, no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" . Over and over again Levi chanted until his mom said, "Levi, that's enough. Let's play with Playdoh."
Levi did not want to play with Playdoh, but he did want to throw the containers and cutters around. So he did. The noise that throwing things made seemed to make Levi feel a little better. Then, his mom's office phone rang and she hurried back to the office to answer it (even though she wasn't, technically, supposed to be "at work" yet.). She figured Levi would keep throwing things while she was on the phone. She was wrong.
While she was gone, Levi decided to climb up on the extra tall kitchen chair to try to get the Halloween candy off the counter. Levi loved candy. Maybe candy would make him happy. Levi's mom hadn't been in the office for very long when CRASH!
Levi fell down onto the hard, kitchen floor. It hurt. A lot. And was very scary. Levi began to cry. A lot.
Levi's mom heard the crash and came running. She found Levi lying on the floor, crying and yelling. She was very worried that Levi had hurt himself badly; the kitchen chair was about as high as the counter! That's a long way to fall! Levi and his mom sat on the couch for a long time while Mom checked that nothing was obviously broken and that his head was okay. Levi cried and cried.
Levi had just calmed down a little when Levi's dad came home! But, Dad couldn't stay very long; he'd just come home to pick up his lunch, but when he saw Levi was sad, he helped Mom check Levi over and then left again. Levi didn't want his dad to leave, so he started crying again. And crying and crying. This was shaping up to be a very bad day.
Levi's mom had just calmed Levi down when his Dad came through the door! Again! Dad's flying teacher told him to come home and make sure Levi was really okay, so he did! Levi was so happy. And also, very sleepy from all the crying. Levi let Daddy rock him to sleep and then Levi's dad laid him in his bed for a nap. Maybe after a nap, he would feel better.
But, he didn't sleep very well during his nap and woke up even grumpier than before! Levi's mom, somewhat desperately, asked, "Levi, would you like to go to the playground"? This seemed like a good idea. Maybe this would help him to be happy. So, off they went.
But it was terribly windy at the playground and Levi hated wind. So, he didn't want to play much. Levi's mom tried to help him have fun by showing him how to play with his cars on the wall by the swings. Looking at the swings gave Levi an idea. He would put his car on the swing and give it a push, like Mom did for him! This sounded like great fun.
SMACK! Unfortunately, this was not great fun. Before Mom could stop the swing, it hit Levi on the nose! Levi and Mom hurried home to make sure Levi's nose wasn't hurt too badly. Mom and Dad looked it over and they decided it looked okay, just a little bruised. Since Levi was okay, Levi and Dad went outside to play for a bit, while Mom made pizza (one of Levi's favorites) for dinner. But, then Dad had to leave to go back to work. It had been a long time since Dad and Levi had time to play outside together and now Dad had to leave! This was really and truly a terrible, horrible, no good, VERY BAD day.
Levi was very sad for a while after Dad had to leave, even though Mom tried to cheer him up by playing with the soccer ball outside. Luckily, it didn't take long for the pizza to cook and soon Grumpy Levi came back inside to eat. Levi loved to eat pizza and Mom even let him watch Curious George while he ate! Finally, Levi was happy again.
He (and his Mom!) hoped that nothing would happen between dinner and bedtime to ruin it.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives
At the end of the first phase of flight school, each class goes through a process called "selection". At selection each pilot in the class chooses the helicopter model s/he will fly for the rest of their career. A list of each available airframe is given to the class and then, one by one ( in order of class rank), each person chooses from the list. If the helicopter you want to fly is not on the list at all or all the available helicopters for that model are claimed before it's your turn then you are out of luck- you have to choose something else. As you can imagine, it can become very stressful and very competitive as everyone tries to earn a spot at the top of the class so they have a better chance of getting the helicopter they want. I share this with you because today was Intrepid Spouseman's selection day and it is important to understand that this is a BIG DEAL. Everything for the past year (well, 2 years really) has been leading up to this day and this one day determines the path of the rest of an aviator's career. A very BIG DEAL indeed.
For the past 2 years as we have been slowly working our way to and through flightschool, Intrepid Spouseman has wanted to "get" a Chinook helicopter on selection day. The only problem is that most classes only have 1 Chinook available and many classes don't have any. Most classes have several( at least) students who want the Chinook and Isaac's class was no different. As you may have guessed, these facts did not put the odds in Intrepid Spouseman's favor. Nevertheless, we've hoped and prayed and Intrepid Spouseman has worked like crazy. He studied more than you can imagine. He and I spent hours reviewing materials and then he spent hours reviewing again with friends in his class. He prepared for check rides like every single one was the most important day of his career (and they kind of were)and we finally made it to today. Selection Day. I think I may have been more nervous than Intrepid Spouseman. I knew he'd worked like crazy. I knew he'd done very, very well. But still I wondered of it would be enough. I kind of hoped that the Chinook wouldn't even be available. If it wasn't available, there wasn't any way for someone else to choose it. I just didn't want Intrepid Spouseman to have worked so hard, for so long, only to have the one thing he wanted taken away from him. Oh me of little faith.
I sent Intrepid Spouseman out the door and prayed. And prayed and prayed and prayed. Right up until the moment he called to share the news. Of course, instead of telling me what he had selected, he asked me where I wanted to live next. He began to list the various posts available to him now that he had selected an airframe. I kept asking him to please stop naming posts long enough to tell me what he had chosen. "I got the CH-47F" he said. A Chinook. He'd finished at the top of his class and was able to select the only available Chinook. Despite the terrible odds, he'd done it.
I've always known, but now there is concrete evidence: Intrepid Spouseman is, indeed, made of awesome. :-) Way to go, Spouseman. I am so incredibly proud of you!
For the past 2 years as we have been slowly working our way to and through flightschool, Intrepid Spouseman has wanted to "get" a Chinook helicopter on selection day. The only problem is that most classes only have 1 Chinook available and many classes don't have any. Most classes have several( at least) students who want the Chinook and Isaac's class was no different. As you may have guessed, these facts did not put the odds in Intrepid Spouseman's favor. Nevertheless, we've hoped and prayed and Intrepid Spouseman has worked like crazy. He studied more than you can imagine. He and I spent hours reviewing materials and then he spent hours reviewing again with friends in his class. He prepared for check rides like every single one was the most important day of his career (and they kind of were)and we finally made it to today. Selection Day. I think I may have been more nervous than Intrepid Spouseman. I knew he'd worked like crazy. I knew he'd done very, very well. But still I wondered of it would be enough. I kind of hoped that the Chinook wouldn't even be available. If it wasn't available, there wasn't any way for someone else to choose it. I just didn't want Intrepid Spouseman to have worked so hard, for so long, only to have the one thing he wanted taken away from him. Oh me of little faith.
I sent Intrepid Spouseman out the door and prayed. And prayed and prayed and prayed. Right up until the moment he called to share the news. Of course, instead of telling me what he had selected, he asked me where I wanted to live next. He began to list the various posts available to him now that he had selected an airframe. I kept asking him to please stop naming posts long enough to tell me what he had chosen. "I got the CH-47F" he said. A Chinook. He'd finished at the top of his class and was able to select the only available Chinook. Despite the terrible odds, he'd done it.
I've always known, but now there is concrete evidence: Intrepid Spouseman is, indeed, made of awesome. :-) Way to go, Spouseman. I am so incredibly proud of you!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Sneaky, Sneaky
Today, Levi had a peanut butter sandwich for dinner. I cut up his sandwich and put it on his little plate for him and walked back into the kitchen to finish the "grown up" dinner preparations. Several minutes later, young Levi brought me his empty plate and proclaimed "DONE!". I am trying to get Levi to eat at regular meal times instead of snacking all day (this is not going well) and so, I was effusive in my praise. "Great job eating your dinner, Levi!", I said. "Thank you for bringing me your plate! What a good helper you are!" I exclaimed. "Maybe we are making progress after all! " I thought. He happily went back to playing and I continued my dinner preparations. Not 5 minutes later, I realized that Levi still had my measuring cups (he really likes to play with them) so I went looking for him and them. I found them. And, a little something I was not expecting. Observe:
Little man had put his sandwich into the measuring cups. Very neatly, I might add. Clearly, we have not made as much progress as I thought. When Isaac arrived and we sat down to finish eating together, we again tried to get Levi to actually eat his sandwich. Again, he proclaimed he was "DONE!" I should have suspected something was up because later, while cleaning up the living room, I found this:
Why, yes, that is a piece of peanut butter sandwich shoved into the star hole of his shape box. I am not sure if he was hiding it, saving it for later or just wanted to see if it would fit in the hole. In any case, he most certainly didn't eat it. Sigh...
Little man had put his sandwich into the measuring cups. Very neatly, I might add. Clearly, we have not made as much progress as I thought. When Isaac arrived and we sat down to finish eating together, we again tried to get Levi to actually eat his sandwich. Again, he proclaimed he was "DONE!" I should have suspected something was up because later, while cleaning up the living room, I found this:
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