Thursday, January 31, 2008

216

216. What is 216? That is the number of hours I have been continuously with Mason, taking care of him while he was sick. Morning, noon, night, and middle of the night. 216 hours. That is 12,960 minutes without the ability to be by myself or go anywhere other than the doctor's office or hospital. I'd like to say nap time I could be by myself. But I really couldn't. "Nap" time on steroids equals about 20 minutes. Less than that if you check on Mason every time his pulse oximeter alarms.

Some may say that 216 hours is not much. Perhaps they are with their children even longer than that without a break. Last summer my friend Meghan endured 21 days with her kids. Her somewhat saving grace, is she was able to be "in public", have playdates, go out to eat in restaurants, etc. Not so for us. Quarantine means just that. Stuck at home, unable to have playdates, be "in public", go out to eat, etc. (unless you count the drive through Starbucks). Others may say, 216 hours "oh that's a LONG time". Those are the moms who have time to themselves daily or every few days. To those, I say, congratulations. I hope you are saner than me.

What did I do with my "free time"? I drove 20 minutes to Lauren's school and waited 30 minutes in the lot to pick her up. We then had an outing. Where? Let me tell you where. The only place I have frequented in the past 2 weeks. The doctor!!!! Luckily, this was a "well check". But, yes, my 50 minutes of "free time" (in the past 12,960 minutes) was spent waiting for my other child....to take her to the doctor.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Let it snow

Being that I was housebound with sickly Mason anyway....the snow was a welcome sight this morning! I saw the snow coming down at an early hour (3:30am when I was awake giving Mason another breathing treatment). It was beautiful. I was shocked this morning when I woke to 1+ inch on the ground. And, I was more shocked that school was actually cancelled, versus delayed. Either way, I was homebound with Mason, and today with Lauren too.
Once the snowplow and sanding truck did their jobs on the main road, it was time to hit the drive thru Starbucks. Yeah!

Now, I must backtrack a bit. My last post was a rather irate post towards my husband. I now feel convicted that I must sing a few of his praises. Last week Mason was hospitalized while Mark was out of town. He offered to cut short his business trip and return home, but Lauren was taken care of and Mason & I were stuck at the hospital. My parents, and Meghan were a tremendous help. Anyway, once Mark returned, he offered to stay at Children's, which I too declined. For me, I just have to be there. However, he brought in coffee in the mornings. He brought in lunch or dinner (from wherever I requested). He toted bags of dirty laundry home to wash, and brought me whatever items I needed. He was a great help. When we were told Mason would be discharged on Sunday afternoon, he scurried home and cleaned the ENTIRE house; changed all the sheets; etc. He even picked up dinner last night so I didn't have to cook.

Monday, January 21, 2008

I'm too busy to talk now

Just a follow up to my earlier post. I call the husband to ask where the checkbook is. Lauren's school book order is due tomorrow. He promised her she could order this month. Since he's been "unavailable" at home, I placed the book order in his section of the desk, where he places all the bills. In the few moments he was home and napping last weekend, he didn't have a chance to look through it & didn't see the book order. Well, guess what? He has the checkbook with him. I have asked on MORE than one occasion, to please leave the checkbook at home for these kind of issues. So, as I ask him for the checkbook & to discuss it, he says "can't we discuss this later. I'm downstairs in the hotel having a glass of wine".

A few reasons I do not work out


As we all know, January is a big month for resolutions. Pretty much every year, mine is to get back to the gym (or at least take a walk). It's now January 21st. I've gone to the gym twice. So much for my resolution.

My dear sweet husband has been traveling - which limits my "non-child" time. Let me just shed some light on the degree of travel - and when I say "week", I am speaking of Monday thru Friday. My "free" time would be M,T, Th, and F from 9:05-11:15 (while Mason is in school). Wednesday's Mason has no school & I watch Jack.


January

Week 1: 50% - January 1st was a holiday; Friday was my "free day"; I worked on Saturday

Week 2: 80% - I worked Monday,Tuesday, had a meeting on Thursday, and "free" on Friday. I was in Texas with Lauren from Saturday until Monday night

Week 3: 80% - Mark was "mandated" to be home Monday, as I was out of town. Tuesday, Mason had no school due to ice; Thursday I worked; Friday I worked and Mark's dad came into town for Lauren's birthday weekend.

Week 4: 100% - January 21st was a holiday. I work on Tuesday, Thursday, and have Friday "free". I also work on Saturday.


Upcoming trips:

January Week 5: 80% (next week) - Mark was "mandated" to be home by Thursday night, as it's Kindergarten orientation. I work on Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday. Friday is "free".

February Week 1: 100% - I work on Monday; have my own doctor's appointment on Tuesday; have Thursday "free"; and get my haircut on Friday morning (rescheduled from an evening appointment - since I'd have to pay a sitter). Work on Saturday.

February Week 2: 60% - "Free" Monday & Tuesday; work Thursday & Friday


Needless to say, with all my "free time", the last thing I want to do is go to the gym. After all, who else will do the laundry, run the other errands, grocery shop, etc?! I have approximately 2.25 hours to myself once a week. Even on the weekends, he's able to "fit in" a nap. I'd LOVE a nap. However, as I've been told, I can catch up on my stuff when I wake up from my nap. What sense is there in me taking time for a nap, if the workload would just accumulate while I was sleeping?


I suppose the good news in all of this, is I get the bed to myself for the majority of the time. Unfortunately, when Mark comes home, I no longer sleep well. Why? Oh, because of the earth-shaking snoring. Yes, he's seen the ENT. But, no, he hasn't scheduled the sleep study yet. Why again? Because he's gone too much. So, when he comes home and falls asleep as soon as he's in bed, the jet-engine motor (a.k.a. the snore) begins. Apparantly, as he was leaving at some awful hour this morning and said goodbye, I mumbled "I'm mad at you". I didn't even recall saying that, but when I was conscious some 2 hours later, he reminded me. The reason I was mad, was due to the snoring! I don't know if I was even able to have 1-2 consecutive hours of sleep last night.


Anyhoo - these are the reasons I'm continuing to let myself fall further and further apart. I have NO time! And, yes, I actually do enjoy going to the gym. But, again, what point is there in going if no one else is going to help with all the household chores, events, errands, etc?

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Poor Mark


After Mark left last night, I received a call from a relative who took pity (and I quote) on "Poor Mark" - for his having to travel last minute. So, here are my top 10 reasons on why I don't truly see it as "Poor Mark".
10. He is able to stay in a hotel where someone else makes your bed.
9. He is able to go out to eat wherever he wants.
8. He is able to eat his meals as slowly as he wants, with the benefit of not preparing someone else's food; not listening to whining about the food; not cutting someone else's food; or having to share his food.
7. He does not have to do any housework at home.
6. He is able to fly on an airplane with none of his family, and is able to read, sleep, or watch a movie in peace.
5. He is able to take a shower without small children barging in to say "hi".
4. He is able to urinate in private.
3. He is able to drive in a new rental car and listen to the music he wants to listen to.
2. After work, he can watch TV all night long and not tuck anyone in.
And the number one reason I don't see it as "Poor Mark": He is able to poop in peace!

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

100 minutes

100 minutes. That's about how much advance notice I have to prepare for the rest of the week with the kids and without the husband. Today he calls me at around 2:20 to inform me that he will be traveling to Denver TODAY. As you all know, I do like a bit of preparing. This, I don't consider preparing!!!!!! Anyway, he shows up home at 2:50 (approx. 4 minutes ago) to let the kids know he's leaving for the airport in 1 hour. Isn't that nice? Let's also not forget that he'll be out of town for the next 2 weeks in a row; I have a mom's dinner out tomorrow night; Lauren has a Brownie meeting tomorrow night; Mason has speech; etc. Not to mention, I have to pack for myself and Lauren to leave for Texas on Saturday morning to see her new baby cousin.

The new safe


So, after finding out the husband removed the safe, I decided I'd take care of the problem. So, I went to Home Depot today and purchased a water-resistant, fire resistant (up to 4 hour) safe. It was $17.97!! I think that I will store the children and my personal information in said safe. The husband can store his personal information in his "haven't been used in over 1 year" golf clubs!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

A discussion


I have good intentions. Sometimes, however my intentions take awhile for me to actually complete them.

Case in point. A few years ago we purchased a very small, fire "resistant" safe (after saying we needed one for quite some time). My intentions were to photocopy pertinent information and store it in the little safe. We're not talking jewels or anything like that. I mean things like a copy of birth certificates, passports, list of home contents, etc. The safe was stored (in it's box) under the bed. It took up virtually no room. And, we had other things stored under the bed too like bins of seasonal clothes.

So, today, I actually took the time to photocopy all the "stuff" on our printer/copier. After making sure it was all in order, I went downstairs to FINALLY put the items in the safe. The originals could now go to the safe deposit box at the bank. I climbed under both sides of the bed to get the safe. Guess what?! No safe. So, I called the husband to ask where he put it. He said "I got rid of it - I think I took it back awhile ago". I was none too pleased! I voiced my displeasure with said husband. He said "well you didn't do it". I said, "it didn't mean I never would - I wanted it". He continued to argue that since it hadn't been used in "his time frame", then he had the right to get rid of it or take it back. So, after continuing to "discuss it", my view was that husband should have discussed his intentions of getting rid of something I had asked for and wanted, regardless of if I had used it or not! His view was that he wasn't sorry, since I hadn't used it in whatever period of time he thought I should use it in. In the end, I suggested that if I saw things of his that I didn't think he was using or going to use, I should just dispose of it without telling him too!!!!!