Looking to exchange my "Grumpy" hat...

Sleep drama continues at the house of Dirt Makes Fat. Daniel has begun fighting his nap, and he is one persistent kid. After a few days of struggling to get him down for the nap, I finally picked a day to just... go without. Maybe he doesn't need it anymore, I reasoned. He got a tot crabby and frustrated, and we were butting heads more than usual. He also crashed around suppertime which made bedtime more of a bear.

The next two days he napped of his own accord at 11 and 11:30am, setting up a nice amount of space to get him off to bed in the evening at a reasonable time and without too much ado. The next day a nap struck at 2:30pm, and today held off until 1:30pm. Once he goes down, the kid also power-naps until I decide enough is enough and I start trying my darndest to wake-im up.

No matter what time he gets to bed in the evenings, he is up at 6/6:15am. Lately I'm woken by him draped across my bedroom doorway, kicking his feet against the jamb while he waits for his parents to rise.

I am starting to give up on the idea of schedules for him.
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In the car report, after replacing the fuel assembly and spending much moolah, the frakkin' light was off on the dashboard of my frakkin' car for almost exactly 48 hours. And it's baacck! I suspect there will be additions to this report very soon. (Stupid deer.)

Mired

Remember our encounter with Bambi? Turns out when a deer smacks your car the ripple effect lasts LOONNG after.

A month after the accident and my lovely red jeep is finally in the shop for repairs. Much haggling has ensued with the insurance over just what is really covered. There is the $500 deductible (naturally)... the remanufactured bumper that the insurance has insisted we use (can't make the car better than it was - just back to it's pre-accident state) even though the body shop says that the insurance people know that no such "remanufactured bumper" exists for my model car. And we're supposed to eat 25% of the difference in cost.

Once the car was in the shop and being deconstructed they found an additional $1k worth of damage. Good news - covered by insurance. Bad news - it means ordering new parts, and not getting my wheels back until middle of next week instead of Friday. Which means out more money on the rental car unless I take it back and do without for a number of days. With a 2.5 year old to wrangle.

And none of the above includes the new light on my dashboard (vapor leak) and the squeak from the front suspension. Insurance is of course insisting that this has nothing to do with hitting a deer. Funny thing, though. None of this came about until we smacked into the *(&^&%(_*! thing in middle of the road.

SuperMommy - 0, DestructoKid - 1

Our condo can be a tight space. It has been great for a couple, and even worked pretty well for a couple plus baby. Now that we have a 2.5 year old in our midst I despair over ever catching up with the clutter cleaning.

How is it that toys can be strewn from one end of this place to the other, and the only help I can muster up from the little one is if it's a "grown-up" chore? Move the laundry from washer to dryer, and I've got a little assistant. Sweep the kitchen, and I've got an extra pair of hands. Don't get me wrong, I love that "little helper" part! But the rest of his time is spent leaving toy bits in his wake as he moves from room to room. I've started working the ol' vanishing act on some particularly pesky items. So far we are missing one set of legos and several Little People sets. The tool bench went MIA for a few weeks, only recently reappearing - and is in danger of going poof once again. Nothing seems to work about picking up toys, so I'm resorting to a little Mama Magic.

If only that could have saved our kitchen screen. Three weeks to get the re-done frame back from the local hardware store. It does make for a convenient way to get rid of any toys that Daniel decides to drop through the hole in the door...

Toddler Fashion

So my hair is finally long enough to be put into a real pony tail this summer. This has resulted in screeches from the toddler of: No Hair! NO HAIR!! ...until I pull the pony tail holder out.

And the kid who spent all winter taking everything off his body now hands me the following assortment of items when he wants to get dressed: sweatpants, long-sleeved tees, sweatshirts, his fireman rain coat. Stand back! Commence with the meltdown when I try and talk him into something just a tad bit on the cooler side.

And the kid who wouldn't wear a hat all winter now won't leave home without one. I'm a little more relaxed on this, as at least it gives him some sun protection. I do try and talk him out of the plastic Fireman helmet, however. The last time he took it off his head he looked as though he had gone swimming. Grandpa's fishing hat looks very cute!

The Itchy and Scratchy Show

H's family has a cottage up in York, Maine. York has beautiful beaches, although the water is just too cold for me. I grew up dipping my summer toes in Michigan and Wisconsin lakes (not the Great Lakes!) that are bath water compared to York. The cottage has been in need of some attention, and so several weekends so far have had Sundays devoted to heading up there to work. Today's excursion was combined with Uncle Bruce's birthday. It made for a generally happy chaos of yard and house work, cousins chasing each other through the yard and a cake and ice cream celebration.

It is also a big tick area, which makes it very hard for me not to get a little paranoid. Between skeeters and potential ticks I was finishing up the day itching and smacking at bugs. And Daniel is as twitchy about an inspection for ticks as he was about the splinters in his feet. We finished up our evening with showers and baths for the whole family. Begone bugs!