You: The Peeping Tom Seeing My Morning

I don't really know if my family and friends know what happens during a typical Heather morning. I can't imagine that they do know. So, just in case anybody cares (and to make myself feel a little better), here's how my morning went. Today was an easy one, because we didn't have to leave the house at all. Well, just a quick run to the bus stop. So, here it goes:

• 4:30 am - Wake up to see 3 year old in front of my face, asking for milk. Realize that I'm in Becca's bed, and fell asleep around 9:15.
• 5:00 am - Think that it's a good idea to wake up and get some stuff done. And I actually wake up.
• 5:00-5:45 - Spend some quality time with the husband, who has not gone to bed yet. He also thinks that it is currently still THURSDAY. I continue to correct him, telling him that it's FRIDAY.
• 5:45-6:00 - Watch 15 minutes of the news. Wish I looked as good as Sonni Abatta.
• 6:00-6:25 - Watch 'The Office.' Laugh. It was a good one.
• 6:25-7:00 - Make large pot of coffee. Check e-mail. Log in the numbers from the restaurant last night. Prepare deposit. Figure out the change order. Update our POS system for Friday specials.
• 7:00-7:05 - Drink more coffee. Smoke another cigarette
• 7:05-7:06 - Start vacuuming a plethora of nerds candy from the family room. Realize that it's 7:06, and decide I need to shower
• 7:06 - 7:35 - Wake Becca. Iron her outfit. Wake her again. Brush teeth, shower, greet crazy-haired Chloe, help Becca into her tights and dress. Come downstairs. Finish vacuuming aforementioned nerds.
  
• 7:36 - Yell upstairs for everybody to hurry - we have 19 minutes
• 7:36-7:55 - Pack a lunch, make a waffle, drink more coffee, have a smoke, find missing glove for Becca, brush Becca's hair, grab almost-forgotten library book for Becca. Pack one pretty-looking sweetheart and one bed-head, pajama-clad, slipper-wearing sweetheart into car for 1 block ride to bus stop (it was cold!)
• 8:05-8:10 - Turn show on for Chloe, sit down to write blog post for Downey's House
• 8:10-8:11 - Get Chloe a banana
• 8:11-8:30 - Finish blog post, check some forums and twitter. See that CafePress is down. Complain about it on twitter
• 8:30-8:31 - Put another television show on for Chloe
• 8:31-8:45 - Hang out with Chloe, tickling her until she begs me to stop
• 8:45-9:05 - Finish up with checking sales and stats online. Look up code numbers for the liquor I'm about to order
  
• 9:05-9:06 - Get Chloe some strawberries
• 9:06-9:15 - Order the liquor, enter amount into Quickbooks
• 9:15-9:45 - Help Chloe make Kool-Aid for her 'Lemonade Stand.' A lemonade stand where there are two customers: Me and a small stuffed bear. Play lemonade stand.
  
• 9:45-9:55 - Start dusting and cleaning the glass in the family room. Decide I'm not in the mood to really do much more cleaning right now.
  
• 9:55-10:05 - Spend 10 minutes searching for a copy of our new menu that Tony wrote revisions on. Finally give up, and hope I remember the revisions.
• 10:05-10:10 - Take phone call from the restaurant
  
• 10:10-10:11 - Start menu revisions
  
• 10:11-10:12 - Cut up an apple for Chloe
  
• 10:12-10:20 - Work on the revisions some more
• 10:20-10:22 - Help Chloe in the potty
• 10:22-10:30 - Finish with the revisions. Hope I got them all.
  
• 10:30-10:33 - Re-wash the laundry I left in the washing machine overnight. Freshen up clothes in dryer
• 10:33-11:00 - Print up a copy of the fixed menu. Remember that I also need employment apps printed up. Do that. Deal with my desktop and what my security scan found.
  
• 11:00-11:20 - Fold the laundry with Chloe. Yes, it takes that long.
• 11:20-11:23 - Sit down to sign our corporate tax returns
• 11:23-11:24 - Get Chloe some carrots
• 11:24-11:30 - Decide to boil some eggs. Smoke a cigarette
• 11:30-11:45 - Fart around on the internet. Still annoyed that CafePress is farked up.
  
• 11:45-11:50 - Sew up the back of Chloe's Build-A-Bear
• 11:50-12:00 - Get the eggs from the stove. Decide to write this post.
• 12:00-12:03 - Make toast for Chloe
• 12:03-12:10 - Continue with post
• 12:10-12:11 - Get a hard boiled egg for Chloe
• 12:11-12:16 - Continue with post
• 12:16-12:17 - Make witty remark on Twitter. Well, I thought it was witty
• 12:17-12:20 - More blog post
• 12:20-12:22 - Get Chloe some Kool-Aid
• 12:22-12:30 (now) more blog post.

So, there's my morning so far. The thrilling life of a work-at-home-business-owner-mom. You know, throughout this time line, there's the conversations I have with Chloe. Well, they're not really conversations. It's more like a question and answer period. That lasts, um, all day. These kinds of mornings are actually my favorite. I get some business stuff accomplished, get some housework (sort of) accomplished, I get to be social with my online friends, and I get to hang out with my Chloe.

Now, I'm gonna go and make myself some egg salad. I did sneak a granola bar in sometime around 8:00. But I'm hungry!

Want to follow me on twitter? I'm at twitter.com/hdowney

One Child? You Have No Idea!

I had a conversation with my nephew this weekend. Mind you, my nephew is 30 years old. He is married with a two year old son. He and his wife are wondering when to have that second one. Personally, I enjoyed having mine so close together. But hey, I'm just saying what worked for me.

Then we started talking about how different it is having TWO kids. I can only imagine how difficult it is to have MORE than two, but I'm gonna stick with what I know. I'm hoping that I didn't scare them. I didn't mean to be negative at all!!! I was simply stating how MY life changed. But anyway, I told them that the transition going from 1 child to 2 children was much more difficult than going from zero kids to 1 kid. And my friends tend to agree, so I felt comfortable saying this.

When you're having your first child, the only time you're sacrificing is your own. When child number two rolls around, the juggling begins. My girls are exactly 2 years apart. Two year olds don't really understand the whole 'taking care of the baby' thing. Not for more than five minutes, anyway.

There's the emotional part of trying to be even with each child. When they get older there's the fighting.

Yup, lots of fighting.

My girls DO get along. But there's always the fighting, too. I'm constantly breaking up arguments. Reasoning with one or the other. Or trying, anyway. I don't think you're really knee deep in parenting unless you're breaking up fights.

Don't get me wrong, there are other challenges with just one child. Challenges that I don't really want, either. When you have only one child, YOU are the playmate. When I tell my kids to go play a game, they go play a game. I only need to give them some guidance. I don't have to be an actual player. Sometimes I do play games with them, but at least there's an option. Plus, I play by the rules, and that must not be cool with 3 and 5 year olds. They make up their own rules.

So, I say yes to nephew. Have that other child. I say have it soon. Because even though the work increases exponentially, so does the good stuff like kisses, hugs, and cuddles.

My Difference? My Personalities All Know Each Other.

As you might know, I'm not a huge tv girl. There are a few shows that I will record on the DVR and watch when I get time. But Tony and I do have a Sunday night ritual. It's been going on for years. Back when Sex And The City was on HBO, we started watching shows together on Sunday nights. Sex And The City was obviously my find, but I think Tony actually enjoyed watching it. Or maybe it was Oz. We've been through The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and Deadwood. Sometimes we watch Entourage, too. But most times that's when we sit at the kitchen table and chat.

But anyway, back to the original reason for this post. I really like the newest show I've found...The United States of Tara. This is the first Showtime series we've really gotten into. We've only had Showtime for a year or so. And honestly, I was about to cut back on the cable. And, cue Murphy's Law. That's exactly when I found this show. Nothing against Showtime, but we just don't watch that much television.

This show just cracks me up. But it's serious, too. In a nutshell, it's about a woman who has multiple personalities. She has decided to go off her medication and just take one day at a time. She (and her husband) want to figure out WHY these personalities are coming out. It has John Corbett as the husband, and I just like him. Ever since Northern Exposure. Now if you haven't watched the show, don't read the next paragraph.

SPOILER: When Tony and I saw the writing on the mural a few weeks ago, I nailed it. "There's another personality." I said matter-of-factly. I can't wait to find out more about the peeing red poncho gremlin! ::END SPOILER:

I think that we all have multiple personalities. I have mommy-me, wife-me, bar owner-me, I'm just meeting you, so I'm going to be really fake-me, and on and on. But I realize that I have these personalities. And I can pick and choose them as I wish. So, I'm looking forward to our Sunday night tv time tonight! If you haven't seen the show, watch it! Grab it on On Demand, go to a friend's house with Showtime...whatever. And I think that True Blood is coming back on HBO some time late summer. I've started reading the first book that this series is based on. Maybe I can read the next one before the series starts up again!

Anything's better than Spongebob, Baby Looney Tunes and Scooby Doo. Although, I have to admit...Phineas and Ferb is pretty funny.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Fitty

Well, I finally got back into my exercise routine on the Wii. When I turned it on and saw Fitty, he not-so-politely reminded me. "Did you know it's been 10 days since you last checked in?" Um, yeah. I know. Bite me.

I was about 10 minutes in (did some yoga and strength), and the telephone rang. Needless to say, I got a little distracted and didn't quite finish. But I don't feel completely bad. I've found that there are some really cheap Nintendo Wii games out there. I bought one with some family games...and I can't remember the name of it off hand. But it has lawn darts, bocci ball, basketball and some other games. It was only about twenty bucks, and the games are easy enough for the little ones to play around with.

Unsupervised.

Which is fantastic. I think it was the best twenty bucks I've spent in a while. I can't believe that I'm going to say type this, but I'm really glad we bought the system (and the board). I get double alone time. Well, sort of. I'm sort of alone when I'm using the Wii Fit. And when the kids are playing (again, unsupervised), I get some more time. I'll just have to be nice to my spending cash and pace myself on picking up some new games.

As as for Fitty? I'll see you tomorrow, ya bastard.

What a Difference a Day and 30 Degrees make!

Wow. If you read my last post, you know that the kids and I were having a rough and crabby day. One day and some warmer weather later, we were three happy chicks. After school, we ran to our corner convenience store, got some treats, and went to the neighbor's to play outside. (Well, I didn't play...but I did drink some caffeine). Fighting? None. Happiness and togetherness? Lots. Bedtime went smoothly, no crying and whining.

Same thing today. The girls got to play outside at a family birthday party. They really do need to burn off some energy (and cabin fever). Aside from a huge knee scrape (and a big hole in some tights), there were no major incidents today. All is good again in Downey-ville.

We did have a little funny tonight with Chloe. As I was making some scrambled eggs for Becca (and talking on the phone at the same time), Chloe walked up behind me. I was at the stove, and the carton of eggs were behind me at our island. Chloe loves eggs. Hard boiled eggs. You see where this is going, right? As my back is to her, Chloe grabs an egg...tightly...in her hand. I hear screaming, and turn around to see egg goo on the floor and one very confused three year old. It was a mix of terror and confusion. This is exactly what I saw above her head:

I felt bad (a little) laughing out loud. But I just couldn't help it. So, now my two little angels are sleeping quietly. And I have this quiet house to myself. I just enjoy the peace so much. So much that I stay up much later than I should. Especially today, when we lose an hour of sleep. So, short post just to let everybody know that we're back to our happy selves. Maybe I'll post something more meaningful and/or entertaining next time!!

Not a Typical Day (Hopefully)

Let me tell you about yesterday. There's lots to tell. This is becoming a typical day, but I'm hoping that warmer weather will make it better.

I'll start at the beginning. Thursday. We all wake up and get ready. Chloe doesn't want to go to preschool. That happens about half the time. I bribe her with a promise to stop at Starbucks and get her some vanilla milk. Fine. OK - we all have everything (although I didn't eat breakfast - normal). I get Becca to school, get to the Starbucks drive thru, and get 2 vanilla milks (I promised Becca that she could have one when she got home) and a big honkin' iced caramel macchiato (sp?) for myself . Yum. Chloe was just sort of blah. But the sun was shining, it was getting warmer, and all was good. As I take Chloe to school, I see that her eyes are watering and she's sniffling a bit. No fever, though. I warn her teacher and tell her to call if she gets any worse.

So, off to the bar. Payroll day. I do my office work there, get payroll done, and have no major happenings at the restaurant. I have just enough time to get the birthday presents for this weekend and next weekend, plus stop at the dollar store for some gift wrap and bags (BTW - this is the best place for gift bags). All is good. Sun still shining. I pick Chloe up from school, and she has a fever. But she's a trooper. She's not a whiner. She informs me when she feels bad, takes her medicine, and that's about it.

***Let me interject a little ditty about how we've been feeling lately. We're all a little bit on edge. I think we ALL have a big case of cabin fever. There haven't been many chances to play outside for the kids. I'm completely DONE with winter. I need it to be 70 degrees. And sunny. Now. This has been going on for about a week, and we (meaning me and the girls) are driving each other crazy. Little things will set Becca off. Chloe just wants to watch television. I feel like a drill sergeant - except for the fact that my 'troops' aren't doing a very good job of obeying orders. Plus, I haven't exercised all week...and I've fallen back into my bad sleeping habit, which consists of me falling asleep with the kids and then waking up at 1:00 in the morning. Then I don't make it back to bed until about 3:00. OK, interjection over**********

At this point of the day, I'm in a fine mood. I clean up the house a bit, eat a little lunch and get ready for my debut at Kindergarten. Today is the first day I am helping Becca's teacher with their computer class. Off I go, driving in the sunshine. When I get to class, Becca is happy to see me, and the other children were very curious - but nice. I chat a bit with her teacher and we head off to the computer lab. Each child has their own computer. Becca's teacher shows them what to do on a projection screen (they're typing a sentence that they wrote earlier, using Word. They'll also add a piece of clip art, but the adults will do that). It was a great experience! It was a bit crazy...18 5 and 6 year olds, each at their own computer, and each needing some help. I couldn't imagine Becca's teacher controlling that class on her own. I could never, ever teach kindergarten. But it was good, and I get to do it for 2 more weeks. I sneak Becca out of school about 15 minutes early, and we head home.

Then it starts.

It happens every day after school. Becca comes home, says hello, and then the evil is released. My theory is that she holds in all of this bad behavior while she's at school. And she's not a bad kid. But 8 hours of holding in ANY bad behavior can be tough. So she lets it all out. I usually give her at least a half an hour to just 'de-stress.' But during that half an hour she fights with her sister, whines about stuff, and is just crabby. Earlier that morning we had devised a plan for the evening. I told them that if Becca did her homework right after school, we would have an early dinner and bath, and then play a new game I bought for the Wii. After 20 minutes of bickering with Becca to start her homework, I had to turn into 'Mean Mom.' First, I threatened no Wii. Didn't matter. I yelled. She cried. I hugged her and explained that she wouldn't want to go to school the next day without her homework done. She cried some more. Ugh. We finally get the homework done - but it took twice as long. While Becca was doing her homework, Chloe fell asleep on the couch. It was quiet...on to dinner.

We had all agreed upon spaghetti (shock!! We agreed!). I cook, Becca chats with me. I'm dishing the spaghetti into bowls, and I ask Becca whether or not she wants sauce. She's just recently started eating pasta with sauce, but still sometimes likes just butter. She wants to taste a little, so I slide my bowl of spaghetti with sauce over to her. I get her a small fork full, and she tastes it. And then proceeds to spit it back in the bowl. And then spit some more. More like drool. Lots of drool. Right into my bowl. I take a nutty. 'Why would you do that!?!? What makes you think that it's OK to spit a bunch of spit into my dinner?!?!?' She cries. I throw my dinner in the trash.

She chooses butter.

I eat the left overs.

I'm just crabby at this point. But, I tell them to just give me five minutes to get happy. Bath time goes much more smoothly. We start playing with the Wii, and everybody's happy. They're doing well. They're actually enjoying playing lawn darts, and getting pretty good. Then it happens. Chloe gets a little too close to the table (of course, I kept telling them to stay in one place-away from the table) and smacks her hand off the table. Tears. I console. In the middle of all this, Becca keeps on playing. She accidentally hits the power button on the remote. Well, not really accidentally. She just feels the need to press all of the buttons. After I told her which buttons to press. I announce that we're done with the Wii for the night. Becca cries. Chloe is still crying. Well, while you're already crying and miserable - we may as well have you take your medicine. Because that makes you whiney and miserable, too. (Becca has started taking Zantac - in the liquid form. I'll admit, it's gross)

FINALLY, it's time for bed. We all love each other again. We cuddle. I smell their sweet hair. Chloe does a good job of letting me out of the room before she falls asleep, so I go and cuddle with Becca as Chloe drifts off. We talk about how much we really do love each other. And that's OK if we get mad with each other sometimes. We talk about our upcoming trip to Florida. We'll swim. It will be warm. Becca drifts off to sleep....and I do, too.

At 12:30 I wake up, decide to watch The Office and 30 Rock from the DVR, clean up a bit, and head back to bed.

What a day.

I wonder what life will be like when I have two teenagers. Then I decide it's best not to think about that now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm wondering if I'LL be the one who needs medication when we get to that bridge.

I Got My Roller Boogie On!

What a fun day I had with the family yesterday!!! Sundays have become our 'family day,' and we've been trying to do some different activities. Three weeks ago, it was the museum. Last week we stopped at the North Park Clubhouse in Robinson (meh.), and yesterday we went....wait for it....roller skating.

When I thought of going roller skating, I wasn't sure about the whole idea. I mean, the kids are only three and five, and they've NEVER been on a pair of skates. Ever. When I mentioned it to them, they seemed very excited about skating. They had even recently watched an episode of Ni Hao Kai-Lan where one of the characters learned to roller skate. So, the decision was made. Tony was up for it, and I was in charge of the details. But where to skate? Roller skating isn't really the most popular activity right now. There's a roller rink in Bridgeville...but they don't rent skates, and I think that they're only open on Friday nights. Then I remembered it....the place I used to go when I was young. I wondered if it was still open. I did a quick search online, and yes, the Neville Island Roller Rink was still open. My mind swam in a sea of pre-adolescence, bell bottom pants and Mork and Mindy suspenders (yes, I had a pair. Or maybe they were my brother's. But I very much remember them)



So, off we went. As we pulled up to the building, it looked just how I remembered it. Tony was a little surprised. 'This is it?!?,' he said. Yuppers, this is it. As walked through the door, it was like stepping foot right into the late 70's and early 80's. EVERYTHING looked the same. Everything. The orange paint. The yellow/gold shag carpet on the wall (well, there wasn't too much of the SHAG quality left). We walk over to rent the skates. And yes, they MUST be the same rental skates. I, of course, had graduated to my own pair of skates when I was young. They were blue. With red and white stripes on the side. Very patriotic. I think they were from Sears.

So, we all get our skates on, and the girls hare hanging on for dear life. I got quite an ab workout. Holding up a 40 pound child with one arm while on skates works your abs. Trust me. The girls went around once or twice, falling quite often. We stopped to get a drink, and I just had to do it. I had to fly around like I used to (or at least try). So, I head out by myself, and it was just awesome fun.

The girls got better as we went along. Chloe pretty much just stood still and let us pull her. Becca started moving her feet a bit, and gained some more confidence. They're not ready to go on their own quite yet, but they do want to go back again.

And so do I. A lot. It's kind of scary.