Pity Party

So much for being green because today I feel blue. I know that is cheesy- but I am desperate here!  My husband has been traveling every Monday through Thursday for several weeks now. My belly keeps getting bigger making me more uncomfortable and the morning nausea is more debilitating than ever!  Our 4 year old hasn't been getting enough sleep and is not handling all of the changes very well. She oscillates between little devil, cry baby, and clingy mama's girl- all within minutes!  It doesn't help that when I feel crappy I am also cranky; I don't handle her changes very well either. We are not a great combination these days! So when my hubby calls to check in at the end of the day I feel like I need to decompress, but Emma has other ideas. Pulling the dog's ears, strangling the dog, asking me questions repeatedly, doing what I just said no to, etc- in other words she makes completely poor choices as soon as I start talking to her daddy. So much so that I can hardly have a conversation. I could just scream! But instead I firmly tell her after we get off the phone why her behavior is not okay. I thought she was going to cry.
After saying goodnight I came downstairs and balled. While washing the dishes. I tried to avoid dripping snot into the dishwater; I took lots of mini breaks to blow my nose (and wash my hands) in the bathroom.  I just feel so overwhelmed. After bed time my feet are aching and I am spent.  But the 3 days worth of dishes need to be done. The garden needs to be watered. (The rain barrel water smells icky, which makes me cringe. But the outside faucet that just got fixed yesterday is turned off so tightly I can't turn the damn thing on!)  The projects that are usually fun for me require energy I just can't muster.  And then I cried harder when I remembered how much I wanted ice cream for dessert. I stupidly told Emma about my craving during dinner, and she promptly lost the privilege with poor table manners and behavior, including pinching my arm when she got mad at me. Oy! So I checked the status of cocoa powder thinking a chocolate overdose in the form of brownies would be in order- no such luck. So now I am tear-stained and emotionally drained with no sugary mental fix in sight. And there is no one around to join this party! No one to bring me a soft serve cone. No one to sit on my couch while I go devour a brownie sundae. I have no friends. I have no sweets. How is that for feeling sorry for myself?

Painting Party

            People usually don't get a baby shower for their second (or third or...) child. Although I didn't have a traditional baby shower for baby-on-the-way (number two), I had an awesome ladies-only party to celebrate my huge belly.  And I have my best friend, Emily, to thank!  She got the whole ball rolling by asking my other best friend about baby shower protocol. It morphed into a small get together of girl friends around lunch, followed by a creative outlet of play-room-painting. I don't know if anyone else had a good time, but I had a blast!  All the ladies brought delicious foods and we stuffed ourselves and chatted for an hour or so.
               In the basement it took a little bit of encouragement to get everyone to grab a paintbrush and a pot pf paint, but then they all did their own thing- beautifully! The play room walls are looking really awesome!  Darcy and I filled in spaces with 5-petaled flowers. Holly created curvy flowers and butterflies.  Chenoa did large yellow flowers and filled in a lot of the grass, stems and leaves.  Emily painted two squirrels and a caterpillar on one wall and a few flowers I think.  Last night I had the jolting thought that the shelves might hide the caterpillar. Unless I rearrange the room...
            The funny thing about the squirrels is that in high school Emily, Chenoa, and I painted a surreal window scene on a teacher's classroom wall (with his permission and instigation). It was a lot of fun. Emily, a squirrel fan, tried painting one cloud to sort of look like a squirrel and ended up painting a rather large squirrel-shaped cloud. It took a lot of effort to discguise the squirrel.  So when my husband got wind of our painting plan he made a joke about not letting Emily paint any squirrely flowers. Well, she showed us all!  Those squirrels are stinking cute and fit right in!

Even Emma and a friend's daughter got a chance to paint a little. Emma did a "group of roses" that Chenoa added some detail to using her artistic talents. (I will add an after shot at some point!)

I know that Emma will love sharing the space with her new sibling. I might even hang out in the underground garden! The best part is that every time I look at the flowers and butterflies I think of each of my friends. This "shower" was the best gift I could have ever asked for. (I did end up getting a couple of gifts on top of the party that Emily coordinated. Chenoa brought a backpack for Emma that had a new kids music CD plus a couple of toys that Emma can show the baby how to play with (a recycled plastic boat and rings). Plus, Chenoa gifted us with a brag book, a Sandra Boynton book, and an adorable duckie outfit.  Holly brought a gorgeous sunflower and rose hip arrangement. Darcy brought her car seat and base.) Thank you friends!