May I change my name?

For some strange reason, the last two nights my normally-predictable, even-tempered child has boycotted sleep. Why? She was grumpy on Tuesday when her preschool teacher had to wake her up from her nap at the end of the school day. I don't think she has recovered.

Tuesday night, we were up and down at least every hour because she was crying hysterically. However, she wanted nothing to do with Chad. She just stood up in her crib saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy ..." I'm flattered. Honestly. But I need sleep, child!

She also resisted her afternoon nap yesterday, begging for my bed. So I tucked her into my bed. She escaped. I put her back in my bed and laid down next to her. She attempted to escape again. Back to the crib. She screamed for a while and finally crashed. The nap was shorter than normal, but at least she got one.

She woke up from that nap in hysterics again. My wheels are turning, thinking of every possible mysterious illness that could be plaguing my child. I stripped her down and wrapped her in a blanket and rocked for for a little. She calmed down, then went nuts again. I dressed her and brought her down to try Elmo. That stinkin' red monster has helped in the past, so I'm pulling out all the stops.

I spoon-fed the child some cottage cheese and let her watch the Elmo in Grouchland DVD and she transformed back into my child again. Were we in the clear???

No. She was normal for church last night and very pleasant on the way home. We had a great bedtime routine and tucked her in without incident. I crashed pretty soon thereafter and just as I was drifting off, I heard "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy ..." Kill me. I'm really considering a name change. I laid her back down and told her to go to sleep. She woke up several times last night, but we let her cry it out. Tough love? Maybe. But DEFINITELY sheer exhaustion.

This morning, she was as perky as ever. She wanted breakfast. Yogurt, apple, cheerios, juice. I'm happy with that. While she was eating, though, I ran upstairs to grab another load of laundry to throw in. By the time I got back downstairs, Avery had painted her entire bib with her yogurt. Why me??? I stripped her down to her diaper, but she has a yogurt cowlick that I've got to remedy before school today.

This job is nuts, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Difficult loss

Friends, I learned tonight that a friend and former co-worker had a difficult prenatal doctor visit today. She and her husband found out that their baby no longer had a heartbeat. Tomorrow, she'll have to deliver the baby. How profoundly sad that a normally happy occasion will be extremely full of pain and disappointment.

When I hear things like that -- God-fearing people having to endure unspeakable loss -- I feel a sense of guilt that my pregnancy has been so routine and normal and joyful.

Please pray for peace and comfort for my friend and her husband. And cherish every normal, average moment of your day that you'd normally take for granted. Much thanks.

It's not easy being green

I needed a change. I've had the same blog template for ages now. Okay, so now I just have the same template in a different color, but it feels different. Just go with it.

The day has been NUTS. I realize it's only 4:00, but I feel like the day won't end. The alarm went off this morning about 3:45. (Yes, you just read that correctly.) Chad got up early to take his best friend Za and his fiancee to the airport. They had been staying with us since Sunday because Za's grandmother had a massive stroke. Thankfully, she's doing much better and is about to be moved to a rehabilitation facility. The day started REALLY early for my sweet husband, but he was glad to help his friend.

I'm very grateful that Chad remembered to re-set the alarm for me. Normally, I wouldn't need it, but Avery was snoozing away this morning, way past her regular wake time. I had to wake her at 7:45 so she could be dressed and fed before we needed to zip out the door for a meeting at Kirkpatrick Elementary at 8:30.

I scheduled aforementioned meeting at 8:30 so I'd be done in time to take Avery to preschool at 9:30. After the meeting, I rolled into the Crieve Hall parking lot at 9:35 and there was not a soul in sight. Fears affirmed. School was closed for Fall Break. WHAT??? I thought I heard a little buzz Tuesday afternoon about Fall Break, but I ran home and checked the school handbook and calendar that said Oct 12 was Fall Break. That's tomorrow. NOT today. Nothing had been sent home. Nobody'd said a word to me.

Well crud. Now I had to come home with an antsy toddler who'd be climbing the walls while I was trying to make media calls. I needed a Cranberry Limeade. However, Avery was a little angel this morning. She played quietly with blocks and books and baby dolls and chattered away to herself. She did try to turn on the television, but I distracted her with markers and paper.

We met Chad for lunch outside at Baja Burrito to give Avery a break from "my office" (the living room.) He had stories, too. Since he had to drop Za and Krishon off at the airport at 4:45, he was at work by 5:15. He pushed a wrong button on the alarm panel, setting it off. So he corrected it and turned it off. Next thing he knew, the phone was ringing. It was the alarm company. They asked him if everything was okay and requested the code. He gave it to them, but couldn't provide the account password. They hung up. 2 minutes later, the police roll into the parking lot. Chad explains and thinks it's all fixed. However, then his boss, John, squeals into the parking lot, looking confused, tired, and disheveled. Chad felt TERRIBLE! Poor John. Back to bed.

Anyone ready for TV tonight? I've been disappointed with Grey's. I hope tonight gets better. The Office is definitely winning my affection. Jim and Pam. Yay!

Okay, so it's broken

Saturday, Chad got brave and took apart the VCR. We made it a team effort and Avery wanted to help. Chad had taken the top off the VCR and laid it on the floor. Avery stepped on it and bent it in half. Spectacular. I bent it back as close to the right shape as possible. Then Chad stepped on it and cut his toe. He then bled all over the carpet. Marvelous.

We unwound the tape from the machine and pried the cassette out of it. I wound the tape up and saved the cassette. A good start, right? Nope. I found out what was goofing up the VCR. Brace yourself, okay?

Kix cereal.

I flipped the VCR and shook out all the stale kid-tested deliciousness. We replaced the cover and plugged it in. The "cassette in" light was still flashing. Even though we removed the tape, the tape deck was still down, indicating to the sub-human super-smart VCR that it knew better than us. Aarg!

We took the VCR apart again and forced the tape deck to the "up" position. In the process, we snapped one of the parts off. Okay, so new VCR/DVD combo in our near future. We had to go ahead and break the thing even more to remove Avery's precious "Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland" DVD. (She can't live without it. How did she even learn about the little red terror in the first place???)

In other news, Avery got her first professional haircut several days ago. This is just the first time I've gotten around to posting the pix. She didn't make a peep! She just sat really still and acted very serious. I'm really missing the pigtails, but we have no more ragged ends. Yay!

Thursday night gripes

Why? Why must all the good television shows be on the air on the same night at the same time on the one night of the week when Chad isn't here? I am completely addicted to Earl, The Office, & Grey's Anatomy. The Office and Grey's are on at the same time on different networks. Chad doesn't give a flying flitter about Grey's, but he won't miss The Office.

I ran to Walgreen's yesterday to grab some VHS tapes. Then I stuck one in the VCR in our bedroom on NBC and tried to stick the other in the VCR in our study on ABC. However, we are missing the cord that attaches the VCR to the TV. Aarg! So I decided to just record whatever I was watching in the living room.

Chad zipped out the door to softball and I put Avery in bed and grabbed a glass of sweet tea and plopped onto the couch. Then I remembered the tape! I hadn't put it in the VCR! I jumped up quickly and popped it in. It revved its little motor and made a strange sound. I ejected the tape and peered inside. Diaper coupons. Lovely. I pulled them out and tried again. It whirred again and then shut itself off. I turned it back on and pushed the eject button. Nothing. It turned itself off again. You've GOT to be kidding me!

This morning the tape is STILL in the VCR and I have no idea what else might be in there with it. At least I managed to get my cell phone out of there the time my little helper stuck it in there.

Since NBC was being recorded upstairs last night, I watched Grey's on ABC. Then I ran upstairs and watched Earl and The Office. (I have no desire to watch 30 Rock. Not sure why. Love Tina's credit card commercials, though.)

So if any network executives stumble across my blog, please hear my plea. Move SOMETHING to another night. Thank you for Heroes and Dancing with the Stars. And I LOVE YOU CBS for making Survivor available On Demand. (One of Chad's tax clients is on the show this season!) My other plea is to move the good stuff that falls on Wednesday night to another weeknight. I'm never sure what's good on Wednesday since we're at church. It may be time for DVR!

By the way, if anyone has recommendations for getting a VHS tape out of the VCR without breaking either, PLEASE let me know!