At Home with Violet

So here's an update from pink eye central. The only pink spotted today is what you see on Violet's shirt (and all the cherry blossoms this wind advisory is intent on hurling to the ground behind our house). I thought pink eye was supposed to turn your eyes red... Violet's seem pretty normal to me. We've done a few rounds of antibiotic drops and they are doing their job.

So here's the thing about staying home with Violet. I just don't have the rhythm for it. I don't know how stay at home moms do it - maybe it takes a while to get into a routine? Here's how our day has gone so far: Violet insists I play with her. She follows me around as I attempt to get stuff done and cries if I move too fast. Finally I give up and devote myself 100 percent to her. We have fun and play for a while, and I manage to put in a load of laundry by pretending it's a game and giving her a snack (can't go in the laundry room/pantry (aka: snack repository) without coming out with some "nak! nak!" Bribery at its finest).

Violet insists on going outside. Which we do. Until I'm tired of it, but she is not. We come back inside, she wants out again. We go out again, since she refuses to do anything in the house except whine and point out the window and say "owdide wodide shuff shuff" which I translate into "take me outside, dern it, what kind of an idiot are you?" Because I'm tired and lazy, I finally put her on our porch swing and we have fun sitting and swinging until she decides it's "nigh nigh" and I jump on that cue and march her straight upstairs to her crib. She must have been legitimately tired (despite the fact that if she were at school today, not only would she have gotten up 30 minutes earlier, she wouldn't be due for her nap for another hour and a half - apparently I bore her) because she goes down without a fuss, one paci in her mouth and another clutched in her grubby little fist (because I didn't stop to wash her hands - I barely got her shoes off before I tiptoed myself out of there).

Now, I'm tired. I have a headache. All I want to do is sit and watch some DVRed American Idol and have my own "nak", but what do I do instead? I run around like a crazy woman, trying to take advantage of my kid-free time. I sweep the kitchen/sunroom floor, speed clean a bathroom, do some dust bustering, manage to get the clothes from washer to dryer, before finally grabbing a piece of bread with nutella and flopping into the chair to write this blog, one ear nervously perked up for sounds of Violet's awakening. I still desperately need to dust the living room, but it's suddenly very difficult to pull myself to my feet. And I know that as soon as this blessed nap is over, I'm going to be on again, the multi-tasking mom, cook, entertainer, housekeeper... And I'm only doing this for one day! Seriously, how do other SAHMs handle it?

And slightly off topic - I'm loving seeing how you're answering the poll! Sounds like most of you so far fall into my camp - once we find a good book, we'll read it over and over. If you haven't weighed in, jump on it! (And so far I'm relieved to report that all of you know how to read!) Also, I gained three new followers after yesterday's little pity party/plea. Welcome, friends! Hi Joyce and Jeanette! Keep 'em coming, folks, or I'll be forced to bore you with another request/demand/pathetic beg!