Animal House

Oy. The animals are driving me nuts!

With Jeremiah out of town I'm having a terrible time playing the role of single mother to one and a half children, three dogs and a cat. It started last week. Late Wednesday Jake started his monthly puking spree so we had to lock him in the bathroom with his litter box, food and water. He finally stopped sometime Sunday and seems like he's back to normal. Friday was Jeremiah's birthday so we had a birthday party to go to with his friends from work...there was another guy in the department whose birthday was Friday also. Since we were going to be out pretty late Brady went to spend the night at Mom and Dads. He had been at daycare all day then came home took a quick nap and then it was off to Nana and Papa's. We went over to get him around noon on Saturday. We stopped at the store on the way home then I had to rush off to work. He and Jeremiah got to spend the rest of the day around the house. He went to bed a few minutes after I got home from work that night and then as soon as we got up Sunday it was off to Stacey's house. Jeremiah was leaving for Iowa and I had to work. The plan was for him to be at Staceys during the day then Mom would pick him up and take him over to Jenns where she was spending the night and would then watch him and Logan on Monday since I had to be at work at 6:30 a.m. Monday. When I got off Sunday night I headed over to Jenn's. It was about 8 p.m. when I got there.

I watched Brady and Logan play for a while. It was funny because Logan kept getting irritated with Brady. "He keeps messing up my toys," Logan kept saying. I laughed and said, "Well, Logan, that's what you used to do to Ryan. Now you know how it feels for Ryan to be a big brother!" He wasn't amused. Around 9 p.m. Brady was starting to get tired...this became apparent when he quit listening and chucked a dinosaur at Mom's head. I tried to stop him but couldn't get close quick enough. So he went into time out for a few minutes. After that I tried to get him ready for bed and sat with him for a few minutes with his blanket and monkeys. This is when things started to turn south. I tried to put him to bed and he flipped out. He threw his monkeys out, he threw his blanket out, he threw his pacifier out and he screamed. He wailed. He yelled. He beat on the wall. This went on for 15 minutes. I tried the whole sitting with him bit again to get him calmed down. It seemed to work until I put him back in the bed. The above mentioned tantrum repeated. I gave him 20 or 25 minutes this time to no avail.

Shortly before 10 p.m. I loaded him up and we both headed home. Somewhere along the way sweet Brady reappeared and by the time we got home 30 minutes later he was ready to go to bed without any drama. It was a short night. I got him to bed then had to eat dinner since I had yet to do that. Then I had to bathe and sit up in bed for a while so I wouldn't die from heartburn. I guess I got to bed a little before midnight. My alarm went off at 4 a.m. and I slowly rolled out of bed. I got my breakfast and lunch together, fed the animals, checked on Jake and discovered he had not puked over night, and then at 4:45 went in to get Brady out of bed. I quickly put his coat on him, threw on his hat, grabbed the blanket and monkeys from his crib and loaded him back in the van. It was back to Jenn's house.

Mom was waiting for us when we got there. We both hoped Brady would go back to sleep, but he didn't think that was a good idea. So it was off to work for me and playtime for the two of them. He finally did take a nap for mom later in the morning and then again in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, I got to work on time at 6:30 a.m. and worked until about 4:30 that afternoon. I tried to get out a little earlier but got stuck dealing with silly junk at the last minute. Of course I got tied up in a little bit of rush hour traffic getting to Mom and Dad's where Mom and Brady were now. I got there after 5 and spent a few minutes chasing Brady up and down the stairs. Finally we loaded up and headed home exhausted, but glad to be going there. This is where the excitement with the animals starts.

So when we pull in the driveway I opened the garage door. I get Brady out and set him down so he can walk inside. Instead of going into the garage he decides he wants to go in the front door instead. So I go over and unlock the door. Guess who's head pops out the door when I push it open. Ginger. Ok. This is not good, I think. When I left the dogs were in the kitchen and the gate was up so they couldn't get in the living room with Brady's toys. When we get inside I look around quickly to see if Brady's toys were safe...yep. She didn't eat any. That's good right? Ok. So I look over and there is a huge pee spot on the carpet. Lovely. I still really don't know how she got past the gate. It was only partly open on one end on the bottom. I think maybe Jake tried to hop over it and caused it to buckle a little and then Ginger wiggled her way in but couldn't find her way back out. So I let the dogs outside and the night goes on.

At bed time the dogs are hyper as all get out. Brady decides he doesn't want to go to bed either and throws another fit like he did at Jenn's house. I finally threw my hands up and said go ahead. I knew he had no monkeys and no pacifier and no blanket in his crib with him but that was his problem. I was exhausted. So I sat down on the couch at 9:30. Around 10 I didn't hear any more screaming so I started getting ready for bed. At 10:30 I went in to check on Brady. I put the monkeys and blanket back in the crib and put the paci on the edge of the top of the crib. I locked the dogs back in the kitchen and headed for bed. After listening to the elephants whine and moan and groan and click clack for a half hour I decided they could sleep on the floor in my room as long as they would just shut up! They did thank goodness once they were in there.

I got up four times to use the bathroom, each time climbing over a pile of dog to get there. This morning we woke to thunderstorms and pouring rain. I let the dogs out for a minute so they could pee. Of course when they ran out all three ran right through a giant mud puddle. When they came in they went straight to the garage to dry. This was what they did all day. Outside, then to the garage. Outside, then to the garage. Finally tonight they were dry for a while so I let them in while I was getting Brady in the tub and then ready for bed. Well, I put Brady in bed and turn around. There's a pee spot on his rug. Where the heck did that come from? Who knows. Then I walk out into the hall where I had a pile of laundry waiting to get in the wash...it's soaking wet when I step on it. Lovely. More pee. So now it's snowing and I had to toss the dogs back out in the yard and then the garage once again! Argh.

It's 10 p.m., Brady is in bed - he went pretty quietly this time, I'm sitting in Jeremiah's arm chair and the dogs are all curled up on the couch and the floor. What a couple of days. We can't wait for Jeremiah to get home!

To make matters more frustrating Brady went back to daycare last week so big surprise he's sick again. His nose has been running non stop and he's got a little cough every now and then. I am feeling much better after finishing that antibiotic I finally got. My nose is still runny, but it's just that...the sinus infection is gone. Now my only problem is heartburn and lots of it. I go to the doctor tomorrow for my 37 week checkup. Last week I went and Mackenzie's heartbeat was 138. I wasn't dilated at all although I was having some contraction like cramping...the doctor said it was just her moving herself down and her head putting pressure on my pelvic area. I've been having a little more pelvic pain lately, but I think it's all the lifting and carrying Brady. I picked up the laundry basket today and thought Mackenzie was going to plop out onto the floor.

Other than that things are going well. I'm having some swelling in my arms and legs, but it gets better when I lay down and drink lots of fluids. I am off work this weekend so we're going to put the finishing touches on Mackenzie's room. She'll be here in two weeks! Can you imagine? Geez. At least Jeremiah will be off work for a few weeks when she gets here. He's going to Iowa again though when Mackenzie is four weeks old. That will be fun for me I'm sure. I think I'm going to have to recruit some help. Maybe hire a dog walker so they won't be so psycho!

Well, I'm going to go get a snack and a drink since I haven't drank near enough today and then I'm going to work on Soduko puzzles, watch the dumb election coverage and go to bed. Good night!