Marsbarn Designs...

Sometimes change comes with struggle

I think Little e may have a career in banking ahead of her.

She tried to charge me a $1.50 transaction fee today.

I let her hand the money to the vendor at the Farmer's Market, and then she refused to give me back the change.

Little e: "It's mine. If I buy something, I get to keep the money that comes back."

h.:"But you paid for that with my money."

Little e: "It's mine."

h.:"No. It isn't."

Little e: "Fine. I'll give you the fifty cents."

Um. That didn't really fly with me.  That girl can walk an 18 minute mile while she cries, shrieks, argues, and generally carries on. (Life is supposed to be about gaining knowledge, right?)  I now know that Little e has very impressive breath control. 

I am pleased to say that I didn't loose my calm.  I didn't even get sarcastic or mouthy.  Apparently spending 4 days in bed really improves my patience.  Either that, or I was so happy to be out and about I would have put up with anything.... except being fleeced for $1.50.

(For the record, she did later admit that she knew the money wasn't really hers, she just wanted it.)

It's a healthy cough.

I think I'm getting better, but Big E doesn't buy my "Coughing More = Improved Health" argument.  

(He's a strange duck, my sweet man.)

Sure I'm coughing more, but I prefer this productive cough to the heavy lung sensation I had earlier.  

Tomorrow I'm planning a jail break in the morning.... Shhhh.. don't tell the warden.

The first day was fine, but now I'd better be recovering.

I have a cold.

It's a chest cold, not a snotty sneezy one.  

And not the kind of cold that totally knocks you on your butt so you don't really notice the days creeping by... 

No,

it's one of those gaspy, raspy, coughing dealies that makes you tired, and keeps you from doing much of anything except catching up on daytime TV.  

Holy schmolly there is a whole lot of crap on TV.. and the commercials.. so many gorram commercials.  (I've also been basking in some Firefly.)

And resting...  

Can I tell you how overrated spending more than one day resting is? (Grumble, grumble.)

Luckily, I didn't succumb until after the Book Fair was set up,  and I don't have a shift to work until later in the week.  Hopefully I'll be all right and shiny for Friday's breakdown of the Fair.

It's a good thing that it has been about a year since I was sick enough to be confined to bed..  otherwise I'd really be grumpy.  I have stuff to do, and this whole "sick" business really puts a cramp in my style, not to mention my aching back.

Mommy daughter time II

Sweetheart G: Mom, there was this flower and it had a one of those huge things that sticks way out from the middle.

me: Like a hibiscus?

Sweetheart G: It wasn't a hibiscus.

me: But was the stamen like a hibiscus?

Sweetheart G: It wasn't a hibiscus.

me: Should I just start saying "uh-huh" instead of words when you talk to me?  Would that be easier than my joining in?

Sweetheart G: It wasn't a hibiscus.

me: uh-huh.

Sweetheart G: Knock that off, MOM!

Mommy daughter time I

Little e: Mom, remember that time when I was in preschool and two kids had their sandwiches smooshed so Teacher Tracy had to share her sandwich with them so they would have something to eat?

me: No. I don't remember that at all.

Little e: Oh, you wouldn't. You weren't there.

me: Um. Then why did you ask me if I remembered that time?

(Pause with large blinking eyes.)

Little e: Whoops.

From the Desk of Sweetheart G

Sweetheart G's third grade class is working on a large, end of year project.  It has a non-fiction essay aspect, an art component, a math portion, a short oral report, an art display, and a bibliography.  Personally, this is the type of project I wish I'd been able to do in school.  Sweetheart G has not been especially excited about this project (being sick made her anxious about running out of time), but she really ran with the creative writing bit.  You can see the entire Pioneer's ABC Book here.  All of the text and illustrations were done entirely by Sweet G. 

Yesterday was a day that could have been longer.

You know those visits with friends from out of town, where you find yourself wishing that this could happen all the time, instead of once every couple of years?  That's what our visit with Tammy was like yesterday.  So fun, so short, so mindbuzzingly interesting.  It was a day that I could have stretched into a week.

In other news, I only have four more volunteer slots to fill for the book fair next week, so I'm not feeling as anxious as I was.  Sweetheart had her spacers installed this morning.  The sewing room is about halfway back together, and I'm working on restocking my little Etsy shop.  Tomorrow Auntie O is coming over for some collage time after we set up the book fair.  I'm looking forward to some freeform creative time; it feels like a long time since the last time we did this.

What's goin' on?

So. 

What's going on?

I am asked.

The same old stuff, I answer.

Sweetheart G is recovering.

I have sewing for profit to catch up on.. 

Tomorrow my dear, dear friend Tammy, who writes the most wonderful books in the world, is in town, and I (fangirl "squee!") get to have lunch with her.

Thursday Sweet G enters phase one of braces, 

and Big E and I begin yet another financial adventure.

Friday... Book Fair Set Up.

Then it's a quick visit with Big E's folks, 

and an artsy fun class from another dear friend.

And then, the week begins again.

More Book Fair, more sewing, more laundry.

And yes, when I am asked what's going on 

my mind goes completely blank.

The annual Mother's Day Snowball fight

The day starts like this...

and ends like that.

Because this happens...

and these...

end up here..

and here..

and the day is so very, very good!

Next year, wanna join in?

In the grand tradition of saying too much.

Sweetheart G's mystery fever continued through the weekend. It still seems to be her one and only symptom.  Grandpa Dave's crew bravely came to do battle with the microbes, and in the way of germ warfare we won't know if they've won the battle until next week.  Oh, I hope they've escaped back to California without "cultural" souvenirs.   

I have fun things to share (totally cool new yarn, snowball battle photos, exciting plans for the week) and... um.. other things to share (like stories about sleep walking children that are only interesting to Moms)*.  But right now, I'm off to bed.  

Happy Mother's Day all you Mommas out there!

*Okay, the story about sleepwalking children?  It is after the cut, but I warn you that this story is only interesting in the way children's illness are interesting to their mothers, not in a truly interesting fashion that would score you friends at a hip bar or a funky coffee shop.