Lord help me

to be gracious and kind, always. Just not in a doormat kind of way, okay?

Yesterday was Sarah's half-day so she asked me to take Kayla for two hours. I knew the "two hours" part was bullshit, but I didn't know it would be seven and a half.

Then Kayla was sick so I tried to call Sarah at work but she wasn't there. Called Bob's cell phone (she spilled Coke on hers so it's out-of-order) on the off-chance she might have it with her, but no. She smelled like suntan lotion when she finally did show up. Took me all evening to quit twitching with rage.

If you say you're gonna do something, do it. If you're not gonna do it, just keep your mouth shut. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Anyway, I woke Sarah up this morning when I went to get the baby at 9:00. This is a daily thing, because she stays up all night and can't wake up in the morning and gets repeatedly reprimanded because she doesn't make it to work on time, which is even more embarrassing than it oughta be because she doesn't have to be there until 10:00.

So who do you think rang my doorbell at 10:00?

Uh-huh. Wanting to know if I could keep Kayla today, because she didn't have time to take her to day care, which is in a whole 'nother town that neither she nor Bob goes to except to drop off and pick up Kayla from day care. I've asked her repeatedly to enroll Kayla in a facility closer to home, but Sarah's mother pays half and that's where her mother wants her so that's where she is, and I say her mother can just damn well chauffeur Kayla to and fro then, but...oh, never mind.

So I had to explain to Sarah that no, I could not do it because Sherri's coming over to do some last-minute wedding stuff, plus we have to leave for the rehearsal and dinner at 4:00 and we'll have to take Brittany with us because nobody will be off work yet and if I kept Kayla I'd have to take her along, too, and keeping Kayla entertained doesn't just fit into my schedule today. Plus I'm tired of bending over backward.

You've seen that sign that says, "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"? Yep, that's how I feel about it.

She acted totally exasperated with me when she left, but you know what? I didn't create her problem. She did. And if she loses her job, it won't be because she was late today; it'll be because she's late nearly every day.

(**sigh**)

Sorry, y'all, but I just get so aggravated, you know?

Ever notice

how people who use the word "classy" usually aren't?

Head Cheese

Grandma used to make head cheese, so whenever we'd get a hog butchered Mom would save the head in a clear plastic bag in the big freezer until we could take it to her.

It was a bit startling to open our freezer door sometimes, if one hadn't been properly briefed beforehand.

I don't remember eating any head cheese, though. Do you?

(Link via Biomes Blog)

Bridal finery

Picked up Sherri's gown from the seamstress yesterday, and it looks just gorgeous on her. She's going to be a beautiful bride.

Found my matron-of-honor dress--it's lilac and lovely and not terribly matronly, so I'm pretty happy with it. Plus I only had to pay 1/3 of its original price, so Mikey's pretty happy with it, too.

Got shoes, jewels and undergarments, so we're almost all set. Still have to decide what to do with our hair, though--I vote beauty shop.

Happy birthday, Phil!

You're still my favorite brother.

Eight months old today

I asked Brittany today if she was the cutest thing in two counties and, right on cue, she said, "Uh-huh."

Bluejay tragedy

One day two years ago there were two fledgling bluejay chicks running around my backyard with their parents hovering nearby; I took a few pictures and left them to their flying lessons:



The next day there were no longer any bluejay chicks running around my yard; just a pile of little blue feathers, courtesy of the local stray cats.

(By the way, if you like to adopt stray cats: for Pete's sake, take them in! Don't just feed 'em and let 'em wander the 'hood like my neighbors do--it's damned inconsiderate. Either keep them inside or don't feed them at all.)

Anyway, there were three or four little bluejay chicks running around the backyard yesterday with their parents hovering nearby. Thinking of that pile of little blue feathers and the cats we regularly chase out of our yard, we debated on whether or not to do anything.

This one looked like it hurt its neck falling out of the tree:



It just sat there instead of darting around the yard like its siblings were doing, so Mikey put it back in the nest (and got dive-bombed by angry parents in the process), but the poor thing was soon back on the ground again. It was dead this morning.

There's still one chick running around back there; I sure hope it learns how to fly before the cats find it.

What a screwed-up day

I'm tellin' ya, I was not in the mood to be holidayed today.

Finally shook off my inertia this afternoon and went out and found a nice planterful of purple petunias and helichrysum for Sarah's front porch. It was too late to get anything for Mom, so I just called her.

Mikey did pretty good--he bought me a nice dinner and gave me one of these; it's about 3 feet tall and looks almost like a pot plant. Seriously, check out the leaves.

Waited all day to hear from Bridgie. Finally called her about 9:30 and she said, "Oh, I was just about to call you." Uh-huh.

Sarah called earlier and said they would be over after they went to her mom's. She finally came alone around 10:00 bringing cards and a vase of flowers, so I didn't get to lay eyes on any of my offspring today.

Love my flowers and all but, really, I wish this had been just any other Sunday: no guilt, no expectations, no stress. I'm so glad it's over.

Mother's Day

I've let Grandma's birthday, Daddy's birthday, and Mom and Daddy's wedding anniversary pass without comment here on my family blog. Now it's Mother's Day and I've managed to do exactly nothing for Mom or for Sarah.

(**sigh**)

Add a layer of guilt to my current bout of depression.

No cellin'

The Defective Yeti says:

Just for the record, I, Matthew Baldwin, as of 7:30 AM, May 04, 2005, still do not own a cell phone.

I want to document this fact in case, at some future point, there's a dispute about who exactly was the last person on Earth to acquire one.

He's got some formidable competition, then. I don't have a cell phone because I hate talking on the phone, period. No way will I carry a portable one that's liable to ring at me anytime, anywhere.

(**shudder**)

The very thought of it gives me the willies.

I know my blog's been

pretty boring lately. Sorry about that, but I've been too agitated and distracted to do much about it.

Bob got his job back, starting Tuesday, so that should help; he's had me tied in knots.

I finally have some time to myself today, which will help more than anything, prob'ly.

(Oh, dang. The phone just rang and my heart dropped. Thought I spoke too soon, but it was a wrong number. Oh, thank you, Lord.)

Just went outside for a smoke break and was serenaded by a mockingbird, which was a delight. One of the rose bushes Bridgie gave me has produced a single perfect red bloom, beautifully scented.

So, you know, life's not all bleak or nothin'. I just need everybody around me to get their angst worked out so I can be peaceful again.

UPDATE: I did speak too soon. The doorbell rang at 11:30 and I spat and cussed all the way to the door. It was Bob with baby in tow, and it took an hour (and several not-so-subtle hints) to get him on his way again, baby in tow.

Jeez Louise! Now I'm feeling all jangled up again. Thanks a lot, son.

Uh, Sher...?

It's only two weeks until the wedding and I still have no matron-of-honor dress.

Whatever shall we do about that?

Sorry I haven't

been blogging more; I just haven't felt very talkative lately. You know how I get.

Anyway, in my few moments of computer time this week, I listened to bird songs and figured out it was a great-tailed grackle that serenaded Mikey and me the other night; looked at other people's garden blogs; read up on the Girl Scout murders because somebody (was it Phil?) asked if I ever figured out what really happened there; and played with the Big Red Button, which was mildly amusing.

That's all for now; I am seriously bummed out and finally have a chance for some quiet time, so I'll holler at you guys later.

Stacking the Kitty

Found this last night and yelled at Mikey to come and see.

We used to play this game with our Kitty, but we called it "Stacking the Kitty." In our version, we'd see how high we could balance stuff on him, carefully stacking assorted lightweight items until the whole pile fell over.

Didn't take pictures, though--didn't want any evidence that could be used against us.

(Link via Czeltic Girl, where I also found the Silly Sleeping Pose Olympics)

Still pouring

Bob lost his job this morning. I'm too drained to feel much about it yet. I'm sure he'll be by shortly and I'll remind him that a guy as broke as he is doesn't have the luxury of a smart mouth but, honestly, I wish he would just stay home today. I need a day off, badly.

Had both girls yesterday, and all three of us were sobbing by noon. Then their mom was three hours late picking them up.

Been worried about Cathy and not feeling very chatty. I hear her diagnosis was changed to an actual aneurysm; Sherri's posting updates on her blog, so go there for more info.

When it rains, it pours

Jenny's baby's in the hospital, too. The same one as Cathy, so that's one small mercy.

It's Piper's asthma; she couldn't get any air yesterday, so she's in the pediatric ICU.

Cathy's still camped out in the critical care section of the ER, because there are still no beds available in ICU.

Cathy's in the hospital

They think she might have a pulmonary embolism, which is serious, so everybody needs to pray.

Sherri took off work and went back up there; you can call her or Mom on their cell phones for updates.

UPDATE - 8:30pm: Not an embolism after all; it's a tear in the lining of her aorta. Still in the emergency room, waiting for a bed in ICU--can you believe it? She's been at the hospital since about 5:00 this morning.

Read about her condition here, if you want. I kind of wish I hadn't. It is very serious.

Just pray as hard as you can.

Margie's blog

is not margie.blogspot.com, unless there are aspects of her personality that have never before been revealed to us.

So, Marge, your user name is not "Margie." That's why your password never did turn up in your mailbox. It isn't "Marge" or "Margie" with your numbers after it, either, or "Margieblog" or "Margiesblog." Couldn't think of anything else to try.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Let us know when you get it figured out.

Chris & Sherri have been showered

And a fine time was had by all.

They did forget to add this item to their registry, though, so if you know anyone who hasn't picked out a gift yet...

Subversive diapers

Brittany's nappies have a colorful band of zoo animals printed across the front; the rest is decorated with little green lines of verse. And what do you think those verses might be? Nursery rhymes? Children's songs? Nope. Try John Lennon:

Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Isn't that cool? I love it.