gripes.

I have approximately two hours to decompress before I'm off for the first half-hour of a spring coaches' meeting and a full night of the SAT preparation course I teach.  The things that I need to move on from are really no big deal; they are just added to a stupid week already, and so all together, I really know what that Calgon lady in the commercial meant.

1.  Todd apparently walked around the kitchen and mudroom dripping honey from a peanut butter sandwich before he left for school today.  So I kept stepping in something sticky, wiping it up, and then finding more sticky while I was trying to get out the door this morning.  Plus I probably spread it around a bit, too.  I wiped down the floors three times with wet paper towels before I admitted floor cleaner was going to have to be involved.  So then I was full-out Cinderella on my hands and knees.

2.  Rudy is on her third day of frequent, foul, wet poops.  I think this is because of the phosphorus she takes for her rickets.  I'm not really sure what I can do about it.  It stinks.

3.  Rudy wailed for over an hour (I know - those of you who've had colicky babies or - I know - twins - are rolling your eyes) today while I was trying to straighten up, make Bean's lunch, and clean the sticky floor.  She was exhausted and just needed to sleep but was fighting it.  Don't fight it, Rudy!  You've got a serene, quiet room upstairs all to yourself, for napping!  I dream of such a thing!

4.  It's gross outside and at the library today all the moms looked defeated while stumbling after their toddlers and having pretend conversations with them.

5.  I only have two more hours before I'm going to a coaches' meeting and a full night of SAT prep with mostly sullen teens who, let's face it, need my help to improve their scores but still sneer at me from underneath the hoods of their black sweatshirts because I pepper my vacuous encouragement a la Randy Jackson with harsh reality a la Simon Cowell (My three-year-old could come up with better examples for this essay.)?

On the bright side:

1.  Rudy is finally sleeping and Marley is upstairs having Quiet Time with her new pile of library books.  Simultaneously.

2.  The other day, Marley and I watched Rudy waving her nuh-nuh around and trying to get it back into her mouth.  I cheered, "Go, Rudy!  You can do it, Rudy!"  And then, Marley started up by herself: "Ru-dy!  Ru-dy!  Ru-dy!  Ru-dy!"  Beautiful.

3.  For the past several nights, Marley has asked to be tucked into Rudy's bathtub because she thinks it's funny.  And then she falls asleep in it.