Seven quick... wow, I'm tired

I don't feel like I do my kids justice on this blog. Whenever I decide I am done with this website gig, I'll print out the entire thing (1100+ posts and counting!) (wait, should I have admitted that out loud on the internet?) and my Old Crotchety Self is going to be super ticked off that I wrote so many whiny dithery angsty things about ME and hardly anything about the amazingness of my KIDS. 

I was just upstairs helping with pajamas and teeth brushing. Jack didn't want to have his teeth brushed, he wanted to sit in the chair and read himself a story. I've never seen him do this before. I mean, he's "read" to himself, but he narrated the whole story out loud and the whole time I'm like, "Self, have you written anywhere that the boy is speaking in PARAGRAPHS now?" And Molly is teetering around with mischievous and lit up cheeks, shouting "YAH" and "NAAAWWOOO" and acting like a PERSON with way more than her share of personality and I'm all, "Self, have you written down all the words Molly is saying at almost seventeen months old? Not because there are a lot or because they're difficult, but because a walking talking Molly is the funniest thing you have ever seen?" 

It was another good day, but I'm beat. Possibly because I decided to walk us all down to the lake after naps, and the walk back is mostly uphill. I'm supposed to be at a church thing tonight, but instead I am in my pajamas and my glasses and thinking about a glass of wine. I'm going to fork over the cash for a PC owner's poor substitute for Scrivener and then I'm going to write. I think my evening will end up rather well. 

In the meantime:

1. Jack skipped his nap four days in a row, a fact I bemoaned at Parenting this week. He took one today, thank goodness, although it was very short, and I dealt with a MOST irritating boy all evening. Does your child wail and sob and howl, on and on and on, until you think you will have to make yourself deaf just so you won't have to hear it anymore? Dear GOD.

2. I wrote about what I'm going to wear to my party next month on Style Lush. And then I went to buy the thing I decided to wear, but [STYLE BLOG WRITER FAIL!] the back of the dress is quite a bit different from the front of the dress. Bother. NOW what am I going to wear?

3. I'm going to keep writing for Parenting for another year and because of various things, including the time I met Kathryn and she said, "Gee, you're MUCH cuter than your PICTURE!", I reeeeeally need a headshot. Like, a professional one. And right after Kathryn said that, Mona came over and TOOK my picture for this EXACT PURPOSE, but I'm wearing white and standing against a white wall and my hair was doing that growing-back-in thing and I'm also totally embarrassed and... yeah. I need to suck it up and be an adult, right? I can't take my own picture (believe me, I have TRIED) and this is my way of holding myself accountable for emailing Mona already and begging her to 1) take my picture and 2) make it look like I am a J Crew model. She will probably hem and haw, but I will say, "MONA! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" And she will do her best and I will come out looking like a JC Penney catalog model but that will be okay, it will still be nine thousand steps above the picture I took with Photobooth. 

4. I also have to rewrite my bio. Most of it. I also (I KNOW I KNOW) need to update my about page on THIS website, which doesn't include my second child. For shame! But this is my way of holding myself accountable for the redesign I work on for ten minutes every evening until I get frustrated with TypePad and go pour more wine. One day! 

5. I am not kidding about a week of food posts. You might want to put this website on hiatus.

6. I have found a real estate agent and have drafted a "We'd like to talk to you and this is why" email. I have not sent it. Why not? Because then it will turn into something REAL instead of something I whine about on my BLAWG, that's why. GAK.

7. Same thing with a preschool, only that's even more frightening for some reason. I actually emailed a preschool earlier in the week and the response I received... well, let's just say I am easily put off by tone. People are always saying that emails can have unintended tones, they can be easily misunderstood, blah blah blah. And I get that, as a BLOGGER, but if I were a preschool owner and teacher? I would be nothing but positive and professional and bright and cheery. This email was not those things, so now I am biased. Phillip really hates this about me (oh, the discussions we had when I was hiring for my own position and throwing out resumes left and right) but I remain unmoved. Anyway, preschool is an entirely different post, one I might feel like telling you after I brainspew my collected thoughts on GROCERIES. You = frantically hunting for the unsubscribe link.

more quick takes at jen's site

Comments

[lindsay]

your ability to come up with seven solid quick takes impresses me each week. well done.

[el-e-e]

I know you asked recently, in the throes of no-nap-dom, when did others' kids stop napping. And I'll tell you how I managed to put it off (sometimes) with AJ, when he was in the late twos and threes. I'd let him nap on my bed. With the TV on to start (naturally). I made a rule that he had to stay lying down, and usually I would lie down with him for 20 minutes or so, to start with. Which may not work for you if Molly is awake (we did it before baby sister was born).

Anyway, a thought. Pile the pillows around the perimeter to stop him from rolling off (AJ never once rolled off but I was scared about it).

happy weekend!

[Tracy]

that dress certainly does look different from the back, doesn't it?

The transition from nap to no-nap is so hard. I think I actually cried whenever Mac quit napping. Of course, I know now that he was the most phenomenal napper ever (quit at 4 1/2, took a 3 1/2 hour nap every day from 1:30 to 5.). Lest you come and murder me for having had such a great napper... his sister quit at 20 months. Sob.

[Jess]

Yay, so excited for you with the real estate thing! Also, you may not write down every detail about your kids, but I definitely know from reading your blog daily that those kids are AWESOME.

[Jen @ The Short Years]

First of all, I am excited for a week of food posts. I of course pretty much have my own system of food shopping and cooking in place, but I really like hearing about other people's systems. And sometimes I even incorporate them into my own system. So please share!

Also, preschools: I based my preschool choosing 100% on recommendations from other moms. When they all spoke highly of the same one, I signed up for that one without ever even doing a classroom visit. I sort of wondered if that was irresponsible of me, but then I reminded myself that is was just PRESCHOOL, for goodness sakes. And we were totally pleased with our choice.

[HereWeGoAJen]

You know, I've worked at a couple of different preschools and the owners/teachers? Not always the brightest. But that doesn't mean they weren't great preschool teachers. The best kindergarten teacher I've ever met was such a terrible writer that I insisted on proofreading all the notes she sent home to parents.

Bring on the food posts.

[Redbecca]

Ick, my 2.5yo is done with weekday naps as part of his new year's resolution, apparently. I feel your pain. Our solution is moving bedtime back by at least 30 minutes - closer to 60 if he is a zombie. We had finally gotten to a good system of 1.5 - 3 hours a day of napping and then... poof! At least on weekends he will still take them. A small but needed consolation!
In short, I feel your pain.

[Kate P]

Very interested in your thoughts on "poor man's version of Scrivener." I shudder to think what I'd have on my Scrivener corkboard--"Stop reading blogs and get back to work!" Also, "Will you get rid of all those scraps of paper with story ideas now?" Hee.

[Acai Optimum]

Wonderful post Maggie! Awesome picture with your kids... I enjoy reading your blog and keep up the good work!