2010 April

Delayed Embarrassment

29 April 2010

Comments (4)

I have no idea if any of you can relate to this, but I’m sitting in bed, with a bright red face and cringing…I’m trying my darndest to think of something other than my mistake, but just can’t.

Tonight my friend Pilar’s mother-in-law hosted a very intimate dinner to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Tragesser baby #2 (we met Tim and Pilar in our birthing class, and became fast friends. Jaden and EG are only 3 days apart). I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have some much needed girl time, but definitely felt the pressure to get everything packed and ready for my trip tomorrow, get Ellie Graye settled at Lorena’s, and then try to look halfway presentable before arriving. I was very proud of myself when I looked at my watch and was only 15 minutes behind schedule. Just as I was about to turn the corner onto the Senior Tragesser’s street, Pilar sent me a text message asking if I got lost.

“Hmmm. That’s odd, I’m hardly late…” I felt tears welling up feeling completely overwhelmed, and hoping that I hadn’t held everything up. I arrived and was greeted by smiling familiar faces, and was soon enjoying myself, and probably talking WAY too much. We had a great time, and even though all we talked about seemed to be babies, it was appropriate for the event and I was able to actually enjoy talking about the “baby” experience. I left a little bit late (I’m always late), but really had a wonderful time. I’m so excited for Pilar and Tim, and can’t wait to meet baby Lucy.

Fast forward to 10 minutes ago. Ellie is conked out; my bag is packed (mostly with vodkas); the dogs are tucked in; I’m waiting for Jeffrey to arrive. As I replayed the night in my head, I went through the usual review:

“I think I talked about myself too much.”

“I should have asked more questions.”

“I should have said more positive things about babies.”

“Was I too negative?”

“Did I interrupt anyone?”

Then finally, I recalled Pilar’s text message, and decided to check the evite. There in big, bold font it says,

6 pm.

6 pm. NOT 6:30 pm. My face flushed, tears again rushed to my eyes, and then I got that cringing feeling that makes your eyes squint and your nose crinkle. Oh man. The first time I go to dinner at Mrs. Tragesser’s home, and I’m not just 15 minutes late – I’m FOURTY-FIVE minutes late. Oh man. Oh MAN. I’m sooooooo mortified. Ugh.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has done this kinda thing. Seriously, I feel like such a LOSER!

Other than completely making myself look like a disrespectful, flakey, irresponsible person, the day was what I expected it to be: full.

Aside from all the regular responsibilities, I:

1. Prepped a ton of food for the weekend. It will be Jeffrey’s first time having the Ellie Bear overnight without help, and I want to make it as easy as possible!

2. Started the filtering process for the latest batch of Blackberry Liquour.

2. Avdoo had his second acupuncture appointment (which I was late to), and did great again.

3. Ran to Costco for a bunch of last minutes supplies – including soaker hoses…which are the cheapest there.

4. Returned some clothes to Target that were just too big (since when is an extra small HUGE????).

5. Talked to my SuperMom cousin Sarah, and realized that she has not only inspired and helped me grow as a woman and mother, but also helped me gain confidence and push for excellence. Thank you, Sarah. You mean more to me than words can tell.

6. Picked up prescriptions.

7. Prepped Boots’ medicine so that Jeffrey doesn’t have to deal with cutting pills in half…then dealt with a little constipation issue of the aforementioned beagle…apparently pureed pumpkin cleans them out!

6. Bagged all the horses’ grain for the weekend. Again, trying to keep this weekend as simple as possible for Jeffrey!

7. Finished packing, hung out with Ellie as much as possible, and that was about it.

Oh, yeah, and showed up late to a dinner party.

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The morning sky

The driveway has a canopy now!

She really, really, really felt like the bracelets should be allowed in bed with her....

The Papen Family Cock

28 April 2010

Comments (1)

Breaking News: the rooster is still alive. I’m not sure I’m happy about it, but he’s still alive and kicking. Jeffrey posted a comment on yesterday’s blog in order to point out that we really should be referring to Mr. Rooster as the “Papen Family Cock.” Yeah. That’s my husband.

Apparently, that rooster makes his appearance everywhere…I mean, seriously, what do YOU see in this cloud???

Here……let me crop it a bit…..

SEE!?!?! He's freaking EVERYWHERE!

Actually….what DO you see in this picture? I’d love to hear………

Aside from seeing the “family cock” everywhere, my life was – surprisingly -completely untouched by the arrival of Mr. Rooster. We still woke up, made coffee, made breakfast, fed all the animals, picked up Victor and Lorena, turned the horses out, and got ready for the rest of the day.

Ellie was beyond excited to be heading to her friend “Ena’s house” (Siena from SwimBabes), and just about came unglued when we arrived. Her squeals of delight were enough to send me out to buy a Bose Noise Cancelling Headset.

I’m not generally a “playdate” or “mommy-and-me” type mom. That being said, I’m really enjoying getting to know another mom who lives relatively close, and shares so many of the same values, experiences, quirks, dislikes and interests. The fact that the girls like each other is just an added bonus. Of course, Ellie had a total meltdown toward the end of our time there, and had to have some time away from the toys, but all in all, I think it went fairly smoothly.

This age can be so tough…here I am with all these years of “experience” with toddlers…and I once again feel like I have no idea what the heck I’m doing. I had forgotten the feeling of helplessness that comes when faced with a little person who has a strong opinion and who’s completely unwilling and pretty much incapable of seeing things in any other light than her own. Teaching a child how to self-calm is a crash course in self-calming for myself. Of course, logic would say that finding patience would be easier with each child, but unfortunately, I just haven’t found that to be true. Whatever the case may be, I’m pressing on, and doing what has worked in the past – even if I don’t see results immediately!

Ok, EG – you’re presenting quite the challenge to your mamacita!!!!!

I think that maybe the only advantage that I have from all my experience with other kids this age, is that I know that they grow out of it. Eventually, with consistency, they figure it all out…and turn into a person who knows how to compromise, knows how to listen, knows how to communicate, and knows that sometimes it’s best just to do what Mommy (or Nanny) says! I can’t wait for that! Hurry up, Ellie, hurry up!

Other than all that, I managed to make a Target run (they’ve got the greatest boyfriend style v-neck t-shirts for $8), stir up some spaghetti sauce, weed the vegetable garden, walk the dogs (who were going absolutely crazy after spending the last three days locked inside from the rain), pack for my trip to LA, and dream up a scheme to take over the world (that I think will actually work!).

Here are the photos from the day:

The front yard - I think it was still sprinkling!

ridiculous

Don't know what these are. They look like Viburnum, but have red berries in the fall

Leaves, flowers and berries in the background

chives

Something about this bark called to me

Sage

I have to put these ugly red cups around the lilies that are coming up...Jax runs like a mad woman through the flower beds and has broken 3 already! With these, she goes AROUND rather than on top!