Single Mom

     Every so often, Josh needs a weekend away from daddy- and husband-hood. He takes off to hang out with his childless, unmarried friends, usually for a weekend of partying and rock 'n roll. These opportunities provide me with a taste of what it would be like to be a single mom, and frankly, I don't like it. It always reminds me of how much respect I have for moms who do it on their own, and how lucky I am to have a partner to help me with all the responsibility we have, even though we often struggle to agree on how much time is appropriate for Josh to spend on extracurricular activities versus how much time he should spend with his family. This weekend was no different. And on top of it all, it would seem as though the troops have rallied against me. 
     Laura has somehow been sick this week. I have no idea where she picked it up, but for two-and-a-half days straight she sneezed about every 2 - 5 minutes, sending copious amounts of boogers all over the place. I seriously didn't know a person so small could make so much mucous. 

poor, sick baby
(This picture is misleading, she wasn't nearly as upbeat about it as this photo would have you believe)

     Josh left on Friday morning, and the rest of the day was filled with thundershowers. My busy child is hard to keep entertained at the best of times, and when we are limited to indoor activities only, it's just that much harder. We went outside in the rain anyway, since it was still reasonably warm.

     Friday night was, well, brutal. Usually we lock Sage in the laundry room overnight because she comes and picks at the carpet outside our bedroom door (or some other equally obnoxious behaviour) in the middle of the night . So, as I was getting ready for bed, I was looking for her to put her away, and couldn't find her. I assumed she was already hiding in the laundry room/ crawlspace since she spends most of her time in there anyway, and shut the door. We also usually sleep with our bedroom door open a crack so it is easier for me to hear when Laura wakes up. However, since Josh was gone, I guess Chester felt I needed extra protection, and nosed his way into our room to sleep with me (usually he sleeps in the living room). So, between Laura waking up her usual three times, Chester being the loud and wakeful sleeper he is, and Sage springing out of our bedroom closet onto my head at 2AM, I was up about every hour. 

     Saturday it rained all day too, but it was much colder, and no fun to play outside. Marisa was out for the day with her uncle, and Laura and I spent a very long and boring day at home. The one ray of sunshine in my weekend was that Marisa came home for dinner to keep me company instead of going out. :) We had a girly sort of night with ice cream and Friends, which she had never seen before, and then went to bed early since we were both tired. 

     This time I made sure Sage was in the laundry room, and didn't let Chester sleep with me. Laura was still up her standard three times, though, but Willow didn't think I should get off that easily. I woke up in the morning to this:

     my basement covered in pancake-batter-consistency diarrhea. Lovely. Thanks, Willow. So I spent a good 45 minutes with my dear friend, The Green Machine, this morning cleaning it up. Now our house smells like tea tree oil. I guess it's better than poo. Maybe I should open some windows.

     The dogs, of course, wanted to romp around in the yard, even though it's a huge mud swamp after two straight days of rain (reeeallllly looking forward to some sod back there soon!). I took them and Laura for a long walk this morning instead for some exercise, fresh air, and a fresh perspective. Still very much looking forward to my man coming home. Love you!