Atropa Belladonna~ Raven (a.k.a. Nightshade)'s Weblog ~
These are the ARCHIVES of August 2003. For more archives, visit the Archives page. For the current Weblog entries, check the Main page.
Atropa Belladonna| Fri, Aug 29, 2003 (1:00pm) All packed & ready to go to September Crown Tournament at the Quad War site! Seeya Sunday or Mon. Accomplishment of the Day: Finished the last bits of that one cloak i'd been working on. Not very fond of how it turned out, but it'll have to do. Plus, Myke was over last night while I was at BP's and finished another small cape. That's 15 items we've made for sale. Not bad! |
| Thurs, Aug 28, 2003 (2:35pm) Heh. I don't usually post the pics from these quizzes even if I take 'em, but RealityDeviant is right - it's a nice pic. And I stole the quiz link from her web page, btw. And I am, like she was, a smirk.  You're the smirk,a frown-smile hybrid that's a little bit cocky and usually associated with evil or arrogant,but attractive people.You probably just don't give a damn,but it's everyone else's fault if you don't because you're too awesome to have any real faults. brought to you by Quizilla Accomplishment of the Day: Another day of cloak sewing. We've got another black full circle cloak done, and I'm most of the way finished a large fleece lined claok which was a custom order. Hopefully I'll finish it still today. If I do, that'll be 14 cloaks. Yay. |
| Wed, Aug 27, 2003 (6:00pm) Ah. I napped today. That was good. Accomplishment of the Day: Myke came over this morning. We've got another two cloaks done: a full circle black cloak, and another square cloak. That's 12, now! Plus we've got three cloaks cut out. Don't think we'll get around to sewing them all by Friday, tho. |
| Tues, Aug 26, 2003 (7:30pm) Wow. My day did not go as planned. (Warning: This entry involves graphic descriptions of automotive diagnostic procedures and explicit technical language. Parental discretion is advised.) Ya see, I'd hoped to spend the morning hanging out with Boris & Anastasia and doing some shopping, and then spend my afternoon involved in some serious napping. But all this changed when my 'Service Engine Soon' light came on while driving to Londonderry Mall. I was faced with a dilemma. My Dad, ya see, is a mechanic. When anything goes wrong with my car, I'm supposed to call him. But whenever I call, I get the "Look - my time is valuable! Do you think I'm gonna drop everything to look at your vehicle?" lecture. Then again, if I don't call him, or if I go to a service station for repairs, I get the "Why on earth didn't you come to ME with this problem? Do you not care about your car? Or am I not a good enough mechanic for you?" lecture. The 'My time is valuable!' lecture comes with free automotive service, however, so it won out eventually. No matter how busy my Dad is, he'll rearrange his schedule to take car of his kid's cars. (It's his way of expressing his love for us, ya see. He doesn't go in for that mushy "I love you. Give me a hug." stuff. No - he says, "Your transmission needs work and the water pump is acting up again. Don't you take car of your car? I s'pose this means I'll have to use the rebuilt waterpump I've been keeping in my garage for just such an emergency... and maybe I can pick up some tranny parts at the bashers. Bah! My whole week will be shot. Gimme that screwdriver!" But really, he means the same thing. So I called him. He was out at the bashers picking up parts for the neighbor's car, but I left a message. Then I went shopping with Boris. A couple hours later I came out of the mall, and got a call on my cell from Dad. He'd been trying to call while I was in the mall, but the reception sucked, so he was annoyed. He was more annoyed when I told him my car's 'Service Engine Soon' light had come on. "What am I supposed to do about it?" he grumbled. "My time is valuable, you know. I've been working on Mr. VanShloopenHeimer's car all morning. Am I supposed to drop everything I'm doing to look at your car?" No, I assured him, I'd only called to inform him. I wouldn't expect him to rearrange his plans for me. But he insisted I'd better come over today, and started mentally rearranging his to-do list to make room for my car. So what could I do? I said I'd try to be there in an hour or two (I had Boris and Ana to drop off yet, after all) and I'd hope my kids would tolerate spending some extra time at Grandpa's house when they would be better off napping. Things being things, however, I did not get Anastasia back home until much later than planned. Then I needed to bring Boris to an LRT station. And before that, we needed to gas up my car. So I was running way late. Dad called to bitch me out about that. I apologized and daid I'd try to come over right away - but by this time the kids were intolerably tired, and really needed to go home for a nap. So Mom offered to come and watch the kids at my house, while I brought my car to Dad's. So I got to my Dad's. He looked over my car. He showed me how to use a paperclip (bent into a 'U') as an improvised tool to cause the diagnostics computer to flash the fault codes. It flashed 3 times, then four times, then paused, and repeated the same. Code 34: something wrong with the air intake. So Dad lifted the hood, and went at it. Apparently my PCV valve was all glooped up with oil. The computer was not measuring the oxygen intake properly, and not giving the engine the right mix of fuel and air, and thus causing it to occasionally flood the engine, or not give sufficient gas when the gas pedal was pressed. But luckily my dad had a spare PVC valve kicking around. So he fixed things up for me. This took about 45 minutes of my dad's very valuable time. Then my Dad checked a few other things on my car. He repaired the broken buckle cover on my seat belt. He loaned me a torque wrench and showed me how to unscrew my driver's side airvent to retreive a metal file and 3 BP's toothpicks which Kalen had shoved into the system. We checked my oil and various fluid levels. Dad helped me skim some floating oil out of the coolant reservoir and reminded me (yet again) that it is not good for the car to accidentally pour oil into the coolant system. We discussed the fact that my car desperately needs another oil change, and scheduled one for tomorrow evening. All this took an extra 45 minutes of Dad's valuable time. He pointed this fact out to me. I pointed out that I loved him, too. He grumbled a bit under his breath and lit a smoke. I think that means he feels loved. Anyways, parental bonding and vehicular maintenance out of the way, I was able to get on with my day.. which involved hitting Home Depot and IGA, and getting home in time to have absolutely no nap. In fact, the kids are ransacking the house while I type this. So I'm gonna go be a good parent now, and think of something supper-like to feed tothe kids. Before I strangle them. |
| Tues, Aug 26, 2003 (9:35am) Heh. I've got links for Corin and Zarobi's livejournals, now! And on a random note. I liked this quiz: What movie do you belong in? ... apparently I belong in The Nightmare before Christmas. Mmm.. I like that. Not gonna post the pics and stuff here, 'cuz that's not my thing. But go take the quiz (if you're the quiz-taking sort). It's got lots of cool results. |
| Mon, Aug 25, 2003 (2:50pm) Not dead. Just felt like it the past few days. Thurs & Friday at the cabin were remarkably enjoyable. I thought it would be a trial to get anything done with the kids along, but they were surprisingly good (and even slept through the night with no waking & screaming). I'm pleased with the amount of work we managed to do on the cabin - painting all but the back wall, doing some fake timbering on the front (so it looks less like a plywood shack and more like a medaevil cottage), putting up shelves, repairing a cabinet, and hanging a shingle for 'Cloaking Devices'. Still, it was lots of work. I discovered in the process that I don't really know how to use a hammer. Just swing it at the nail and pound tings together, right? Not so simple. Apparently, it works better if you hold it far enough down the handle to get some good leverage and momentum. But I tend to 'choke' the hammer. No - not so much 'choke' really, as strangle it well into its next lifetime. I tried to do it the right way, but my arm has muscle pains where I didn't even know I had muscled before... and this is 3 days later. Came home late Friday intending to play D&D. Instead, I took a shower and then went to bed. There was a beautiful woman in my bed, apprarently... but I don't think I even noticed her presence until she used my ribs as a pillow. And even then I just rolled over and fell asleep again. In the morning she was gone, and Shades was in bed. I don't remember the switch. I was up at 7:30am on Saturday to go to work. Got home 8 hours later to watch the kids so Shades could go out to the cabin to hang some doors. I meant to blog, but couldn't even sit a the computer without dozing off. Managed to get to bed shortly after the kids did, so I could get a good night of sleep and work agains the next morning. When I got home from work Sunday, Mom was making dinner for the extended family. I got to hang out with Jodi for a while and that was cool, 'cuz I miss her. She and Damon took off right after dinner to drive back to Saskatchewan. I sewed for a bit with Mom. Then I got a call that Star's birthday party would be appearing at my house around 8pm, so I cleaned up (and cleaned and cleaned) from Sunday dinner, got the kids off to bed, and managed to still be awake by the time most people showed up... including Shades, having returned successfully from his door-hanging mission. I'm not sure if I was awake or asleep for most of the rest of the night. I recall making out on the basement floor with a sexy blonde. Or maybe that was a dream... nobody could really have a body that lithe and nimble and shaped so perfectly right, could they? And I remember Shades demonstrating how to remove a bra from a woman without taking off her shirt... but the subject of that demo wasn't me, I'm certain. Then again, I was missing a similar article of apparrel the next morning. And i remember cake and icecream, and a spattering of incriminating misquotables which I threatened to post on my blog, but can no longer remember the wording for, nor the source of. But I think Starling is having an afffair with Lazarus in a jaccuzi suite, or something. It's really confusing. Today I slept in. Lucky, lucky me. Then Myke came over and we worked on cloaks. Now the kids are in bed, and I'm gonna go do some more of that sleep thing. Ooooh, beautiful, beautiful sleeeeeeep. Accomplishment of the Day: The 10th cloak is finished! Yay! We've got another 1 cut out, and two more in the planning stages. |
| Thurs, Aug 21, 2003 (1:50pm) Spent the morning shopping for camping supplies. I hadn't realized how hard it would be to find something like fly-paper! I searched Zellers, Walmart, Safeway, and eventually was directed to a hardwre store... which did, indeed, have them. But I spent more money at Walmart than anywhere else. Ya see, while looking for fly-papaer, I wandered past the DVD's (that happens, ya know)... and picked up a few choice finds. We now own First Knight, the latest Veggie Tales video: Little Joe, and (drumroll please)... Soylent Green! Anyway, I'm off to the Quad site, now. Seeya tomorrow |
| Wed, Aug 20, 2003 (8:20pm) Kay - I did some layout changes on the blog. I'm not entirely sure I like it, 'cuz the Quick-Comment form to the right means there will always be some odd blank space under Today's blog entry, or some space under the comment form. And I hate blank space in the middle of a layout. However, it puts the Quick Comment form into a noticeable place rather than hiding underneath near the older entries. I'll leave it like this for now, and see if I can think of anything else to do with it later. Mmm.. I also added a True Dungeon link in my top bar, 'cuz they've got a message board I want to read, and 'cuz once they get pics up from GenCon 2003, there might even be some of me on it. Maybe. |
| Wed, Aug 20, 2003 (4:45pm) Painted a sign, yesterday, for my cloak shop at the Quad War site. The shop is called, "Cloaking Devices". Heh. I've thought about it for a few months, and how corny it is, but it's been growing on me... so I'm gonna keep it. Gotta get a lot of packing done tonight for going out to the site w/ kids tomorrow afternoon. And I want to stain all those boards in my garage. And I want to RP. Hmmm.. might be a busy evening. Accomplishment of the Day: Another cloak. That brings our total to 9. |
| Tues, Aug 19, 2003 (8:35pm) September Crown is in only 10 more days. Ack. I feel rather unprepared. Shades is gonna try make it out to the cabin this weekend to do some more work. I called my Mom to see if (a) she could sit the kids while Shades was away, and I was working, and (b) to see if she had plans to go out on a weekday, and if so, could I go with her? She said yes to all. So I'll be headed out (kids and all) on Thursday to get what work done that I can, stay overnight Thurs-Fri at the cabin, work some more, and then come back Friday evening in time for D&D gaming. Shades will go out Sat, come back Sun, and then we'll have most of a week to get our act together for going out as a famly on the Labor Day long weekend. In preparation for all this cabin-work, I spend much of today acquiring boards, paint, screws, hooks, and other things for taking out to the site. But first I want to stain the boards, and paint a sign, and assemble some stuff here, so I won't have to do it once I get out there. After all, I've got more free time at home (in theory) than at the cabin. At the very least, I'm home more often, so it makes sense to get as much work done at home as I can. Accomplishment of the Day: Another cloak. That brings out total to 8. |
| Mon, Aug 18, 2003 (5:25pm) I cut myself, this afternoon. With a knife. But not just any knife, noooo. A butter knife. And a really good cut, too... over half a centimeter deep, with blood pouring all over while I tried to serve lunch up for the kids. Kalen was thrilled. Her comment on Mommy's misfortune? "Red! Blood is Red! Look, Mommy! Red blood from an owie! Show Kalen more red blood!" ...Did I mention she's learning her colors? Accomplishment of the Day: Two more cloaks done, between Myke and me. That's 7 so far. We have less than 2 weeks to go 'til September Crown. I think we'll meet our goal pretty handily. I wonder if we can overshoot it by a good percentage, or just a cloak or two? |
| Sun, Aug 17, 2003 (11:55am) I woke at 7 this morning to delighted squeals emanating from my bedroom closet. Luckily, I remembered that we had Cassandra sleeping over from last night, and my brain didn't get too far with imagining what might be causing those sounds. (Hey - it's not what you think. My first thoughts were of the tube of exploded toothpaste in the bathroom and the green paste liberally decorating Shades' shaving brush. I'm sure that there were some squeals of joy accompanying that bit of mischief, too.) 'Sana amused herself for a bit, and then got more insistant about her state of wakefulness. Luckily, she was content to drink a bottle of formula and go back to sleep. I got another good half hour of doze in, myself. At 8am, I woke to the less-than-delighted cries of a 3-year old as Aria woke and discovered herself in unfamiliar environs. She woke connor with her wailing, but he settled again once I set Aria up with a video. I went back to bed, and got another half hour of sleep. Then Aria signalled the end of her video by shrieking inconsolably. I got up, figured I might as well call it morning, and got soem breakfast ready. Kalen woke during this and came to eat as well. Connor heard the commotion and wanted in on it. And I figured I might as well get 'Sana up as well so we could all eat together. The day has gone pretty well since then. The kids have been well behaved (most of the time) and a lot of fun to play with. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I think I could handle this sort of thing more often. In small doses. Accomplishment of the Day: Cleared a couple months worth of old entries into the archives. |
| Sat, Aug 16, 2003 (11:35pm) This was one of those days when, while getting ready to go to work, I found myself hoping to receive a call saying that the building had burned down, or the doctor was ill and we had to close for the evening, or that there'd been a local blackout and we couldn't operate the clinic today. But no - all was well, and I had to go to work. About half an hour into my shift, I was wishing even more that something would force us to close early. It was just one of those evenings. I survived. I got home. My world became a much better place when I discovered Star and Eric loitering in my basement gaming with Shades. (See - not all my friends have deserted me to go to the Con in Calgary this weekend!). I'm gonna go join them in the basement, now. it's cooler down there. Accomplishment of the Day: I weigh 125 pounds! Yay me! (I haven't weighed that much since... well... last time I was pregnant.) |
| Fri, Aug 15, 2003 (6:10pm) I found out at BP's last night that New York was blacked out. And large parts of Ontario, too. Man - I really need some sort of a regular news feed in my life. Unless I happen to be driving somewhere and catch the CKUA News Update in my car, I don't have a clue what's going on in the world. So, to this end, I've added an Edmonton Journal link at the top of my page. With luck, I'll remember to check it once in a while. And while I was adding links, I added a weblog link which I've had for a while, but the poster wasn't sure if she wanted it public. Now, I have permission to post the link. So, without further ado, may I introduce: Fingerprints on the Window: Stained Glass with an Attitude. Since I couldn't fit that all on one quick-link line (nor even the first half of it) I've abbreviated it a little. Star does warn people that her weblog isn't updated very frequently, but hey - since when has that kept link off my list before? And on that topic, my days of patient clicking on the Blue Revolutionist's link have been rewarded! It was the same entry from last month when I clicked early this morning, but this afternoon, it's actually been updaed! Yay! (I'd email Don and congratulate him for posting, but he's off to ConVersion this weekend.) He'll just have to catch my congrats the next time he reads my weblog. Life is not entirely bleak for me, though. Myke was over last night to watch the kids so I could go to BP's and she did some more work on cloaking. I helped her a bit more when I got home, and then she came this morning again and we continued working on cloaks some more. We've got 3 more cloaks made, and two more cut out to work on next week. Admittedly, we're doing the relatively simple cloaks right now - single thickness, unlined, and quick-sewing cloaks - but there's a good market for those, too. Not everyone wants to buy a fleece-lined cloak in 30 degree heat. Accomplishment of the Day: 3 more cloaks done... that bring the total to 5! We're half-way already!! |
| Thurs, Aug 14, 2003 (2:30pm) Shades is off to the Quad War cabin today and tomorrow. He's gone with my Mom and Dad to paint the buildings, and maybe (time and weather allowing) put up some of the cross-timbering which will make the modern buildings look like medeival dwellings. I envy him, just a little. I'm taking cre of the kids all by myself for two whole days. Then again, he's done the same for me in the past, so I really can't complain. Much. Myke came over today and we sewed the two cloaks which we'd cut patterns for last week. Then we cut two more patterns. It looks like our goal of 10 more cloaking devices by Labor Day long weekend will be achievable. It was also good to just hang out with her. We haven't done that enough since... well... our last bout of cloak-making. Accomplishment of the Day: 2 cloaks done. Just 8 more to go in the next 2 weeks. Heh. |
| Wed, Aug 13, 2003 (12:25pm) I have three cell-phones. Only one is mine, actually. The other two are foundlings. Ya see, Boris lost his cell phone here yesterday when we had the kids playing in the basement. He tried phoning it a couple times, but Fido reception sucks in Sh. Pk., so it wouldn't even ring. He tried again in the evening, and James came up from the basement, saying, "Uh... look what I found downstairs. The chair was ringing and vibrating." And Boris called our house line seconds later to ask if we'd located it, so at least he knows it's been found. Then, at something horrid in the morning (like 8 am, I think), my doorbell rang. I hauled my lazy butt out of bed to discover my neighbour holding a cellphone. "I found this on the road in front of your house. Is it yours?" Well, no - it wasn't mine. But it sure looks like Star's. I skimmed through the phone directory, and found many of my friends listed. So, yep - I bet Star & Eric lost it when they were leaving my place shortly before 3 am (Did I mention that being woken at 8 am was horrid?). Anyway, I decided not to call Star at 8am to tell her I had her cell-phone, 'cuz she must have got to bed even later than I did. If you're reading this, Star... your phone is in good company at my house. Gonna go nap, now. |
| Tues, Aug 12, 2003 (10:10am) Found (in the depths of our livingroom): A small brown wooden? ring with three little flowers painted on it. Does it belong to anyone who reads my blog? I vaguely recall someone asking about such an item a month or more ago. 7th Sea gaming was fantastic last night. We're currently stuck in Deona, suffering attempted assassinations in the middle of the night by a bunch of irate Vodacce Inquisitor-types. And I'm finally getting the hang of some of my sword-school knacks. |
| Sun, Aug 10, 2003 (10:55pm) People are Stupid: Part 2 Ya know... you'd think that if someone was going to doctor a prescription for pain-killers, they'd be smart enough to use the same color pen as the doctor used when, say, adding two refills to an other-wise refill-less prescription. But no, druggies are a stupid lot. On a completely unrelated note, Star makes goooood melted chocolate cake. I think I'll get her to make my birthday cake, if I ever decide to get older again. |
| Sat, Aug 9, 2003 (2:25pm) Tired today. And that's after Shades let me sleep in 'til noon. Then again, I was up 'til 4 am on Wed eve ('til 3 playing Tierel, and then another of hour just not getting to sleep), up 'til 1:30 am on Thurs (doing LRPS) and 'til 4 am last night, playing D&D with Friday night gamers. Up every morning by 8:30. I've been racking up a sleep deficit, I guesss. At least there's nothing major going on tonight... I can probably get to bed by midnight if I don't get distacted (by something like Sims, say). And I s'pose I'd better not let myself get distracted, since Shades deserves a chance to sleep in tomorrow, and I'll be the one to get up early with the critters. Just a random note: some people are stupid. We had someone come in to the clinic where I work who didn't know how to spell her own name. She signed in as (the name has been changed for client confidentiality) Taria Smith. We didn't have a file on anyone by that name, but we had a Taira Smith. so I asked her to spell her name for me. T-A-R-I-A, she said. I asked her address and birthdate, and they matched tha chart. So obviously, it was the right person... just a minor mispelling on our part (or so I thought). So I asked to see her Alberta Health Care Card (that's usually where we get our spelling directly from). It said T-A-I-R-A. I pointed out that her AHC card was wrong. She said no, it's right. I asked to see her driver's license. It said T-A-I-R-A. I asked her if this was the correct spelling. She said yes. I asked if the name she had signed in under (with the 'i' after the 'r' instead of before it) was wrong, then. She said no. That spelling was right. I asked her WHICH spelling was correct: TAIRA or TARIA?. She smiled and nodded. Some people. |
| Fri, Aug 8, 2003 (10:35am) Kay - there's now a quick-comment box on my weblog. It doesn't automatically post your comment for everyone to see - it just mails 'em to me. I might post some if I feel like it. Dunno. But basically, it saves you the hassle of opening up your email program and hunting up my address if you just want to send me a quick message. And, since it's MY server emailing me, I know the mail won't be accidentally thrown into the junk folder. Which reminds me... Anna: I never did get any mail from you after you were trying to contact me and I responded to the poke on your blog. Was there still something you wanted? You can quick-comment me if ya want. I'll reply. Really! Hmmm. I don't like the layout now. I tried to fix it a bit, but then the computer ate my revisions, and spat out the program, and they were all gone when I restarted it. So... it is the way it is, for now. |
| Thurs, Aug 7, 2003 (3:00pm) Kay - my survey has been up for nearly two months. I got a lot of repliesfor it (which is cool!), but I have no stunning ideas for the next survey, so I'm gonna do something different with that sidebar. Make a quick-comments box or something, maybe. But first, the results... How many Dice do you own? Out of 18 respondants: 6 said "10 - 25" 4 said "25 - 50" 6 said "50 - 100" 2 said "100+" Lots of people volunteered amusing dice rituals. Here's the ones which made me smile, or just shake my head: "Losing many scores of dice to the Abyss of Jeff Elder's closet. Throwing the 'bad' ones into the freezer, before throwig them in the microwave for a melting death." "I have a pair of grey d10's that are freakishly high-rolling. Sometimes I arrange the dice in a pattern and wave my hands over them to draw some of the 'juice' into the other dice." "I talk to my dice and explain why they need to role the number I want. I point out the other people at the table and explain that, if the dice are bad, I will send them home with someone else. I have also been known to blow on them, and kiss them, and on one memorable occasion I took the die that had been rolling badly for me all night, lined up all the other dice to watch, and bashed it with a hammer. That'll teach em!" "Erm... does sacrificing my first born child to the blood gods to bless my dice count...?" (Editor's note: Yes, that counts!) "Stealing them back from my husband who insists on taking the dice primarily purchased by me for his games." "Excessive Shaking before major roles. Occasional banishment or execution." "I try to roll on my charecter sheet as much as possible. Also, color co-ordanating the dice with the atitude of the charecter is importent. Also, not mixing up dice from one charecter, with another, is kinda key. I also retired a set of dice after the charecter they were for died." "All dice must spend thier time in the dice city, until such time as thier worth can be noted, and be removed from it for constant use." "During game play, stored high-number-up. Must be rolled on a book. Dice that misbehave consistently are sent back to the bag. "Holy Dice" (my mother's original orange plastic D&D set) are used only for immediately character-life-threatening situations." Well. That was fun. Since I have no next survey topic, I'm gonna go fiddle with my weblog layout again. Accomplishment of the Day: Myke and I went fabric shopping (and I did a little of same with Boris yesterday) and we looted through the boxes of fabric which Myke still has at my place. We've now got fabric available to do another 10 cloaks/capes/hoods by September Crown. So be prepared for more 'Accomplishment of the Day' updates recording how close to our target of 10 we get in the next month. Ack - less than a month, actually. Better get to work. |
| Wed, Aug 6, 2003 (3:15pm) Perceptions I've been annoyed lately by one of Kalen's little habits. When she's caught doing something she shouldn't be doing, or when she's interupted in the middle of something which she's allowed to do but doesn't want to stop, she'll make this indignant little "Aawwk!" noise. Once or twice, this tiny squalk is nothing to get upset about. But repeated several times an hour (sometimes several times per minute) it gets very frustrating. Very frustrating indeed. So, in my usual manner of dealing with things which frustrate me, I decided that something had to change. (For reference: I do not deal well with regular frustration, even on minor levels. Someone told me once to just, "Chill babe. Adjust. Get over it." when I was irritated by the regular offense of someone's shoes in my way. So I glared icily at the offending shoes, picked them up and hurled them across the room and well out of my way, claimed the shoes had been "adjusted" and got on with things. I did this (and still do - be warned!) whenever the shoes irritate me beyond my tolerance level for minor irritations.) The question, in this situation with Kalen, was what to change? I tried at first to convince Kalen to stop squalking. If she made her little "Aaawwk!" noise, I'd take her by the shoulders, make her face me, and tell her that Mommy did not like that attitude. You do not squalk at Mommy when she's telling you to stop bugging Connor, or to bring your crayons back to the table, or to pay attention to her, or any other of many offenses. This, alas, meant that I was spending 3/4 of my time holding onto Kalen's shoulders and not getting anything else useful done in the day. And after half a day, it was still having no effect. Next I tried to avoid the "Aaawk" by not interrupting her verbally - merely to walk over and physically make her stop it when she was doing something inappropriate. This was short-lasted, as Kalen discovered quickly that she could get into mischief when Mommy was occupied with something else, and I wouldn't shout at her for it. Bad plan, overall. So I started mocking her every time she "Aaawk!"-ed at me. "Kalen! Get back on your chair!" I would shout. "Aaawwk!" would be her response. "Aaawk! Aaaawk! Raaawk!" I would pipe back at her. The first couple of times I did this, she looked terribly taken aback. How dare her Mommy "Aaawk!" at her?!? But after a while, she started "Aaawk"-ing at me just to get me to "Aaawk!" back. Rather counter-productive, I figured. But then Kalen began to make a game of it. She'd sneak up on me and say "Aaawk!" with a big smile on her face. Not doing anything mischievious (and therefore not irritating me), but just wanting to play with Mommy. So I would dutifully "Aaawk!" back at her. And we'd make these noises back and forth for a little while. But then my corvid nature took over, and the "Aaawk!" became a "Rraaawwwwk!" or a "Kaaaaw!" Kalen thought that was absolutely hilarious. "Mommy is a birdie!" Kalen laughed. "Is a crow! Mommy a crow! Raawk! Raaawk!" (Sigh.) So it went for the latter half of the morning. But the next time Kalen gave me her little squalk for interupting her, I caw-ed right back, and asked, "Is Kalen a crow?" and Kalen stared making crow caw-ing noises. And despite my irritation, I had to smile. So now, when Kalen is being a little mischief-maker and I shout, "Hey! Stop that!" at her, and she gives me a little "Aaawk!" in return, I just smile and say, "I told you to stop that, little crow!" and remind myself that I am lucky to have a corvid daughter who enjoys getting into mischief so much. It's all a matter of perception. And sometimes, ya just have to adjust. |
| Tues, Aug 5, 2003 (1:35pm) Worked yesterday. Got home. Watched the kids so Shades (who has been a wonderful person and watched the kids for the last 5 days out of 6 while I worked) could have some time to himself. Then made supper, fed kids, and went to Jeff's for 7th Sea RPing. Didn't blog at all (but I'm sure you already noticed that). So... I have made a discovery in the last few days: NOTHING is where I'm expecting it to be. Well, maybe not nothing... but anything I happen to be looking for. Nail clippers, tape, a Watership Down book, my favorite shirt, a barbeque brush, the hairbrush, soap, any number of kitchen utensils, sippy-cups, photos.... In the last couple weeks, they've all migrated to different locations in the house. I think its a combination of having had Shades watch the kids most of last week, and my Mom watch them the previous week while we were at Gen-Con. The kids move things around, and people put stuff back in different places, and it ends up that I don't feel like I even know my own house anymore. So I spent 3+ hours just tidying today. You can't actually tell that I've done any cleaning ('cuz I haven't, really) but things are now much closer to being in the state in which they belong. I can find most items without a 15 minute hunt. The house is mine again. I rule supreme within my demesne. Mwahahahaha....... But I still can't find the baby nail-clipper, or the barbeque brush, or the Watership Down book I want to read. Grrr. Domestic Supremecy is little over-rated, I guess. |
| Sun, Aug 3rd, 2003 (11:15pm) Mmmm. Sims.. Played much Sims tonight. perhaps too much. Must go put my sleep bar into the green now. Work tomorrow morning. That'll make 5 shifts in the last 6 days. Arg. I'm not used to working a real job schedule. Prefer part-time, only. |
| Sat, Aug 2nd, 2003 (7:20pm) Migraine. Bad. Work was horrid. flourescent light painful. looking at test results hurts - white is too bright a color for paper. Had to cut off a cast... the loud noise made me need to throw up from pain. Wanted to go home, but ouldn't find a nurse to cover my shift, since this is the long weekend. Got my replacement to come in a couple hours early. Needed to hide in a dark room for 15 mins before I could even calm the pain down enough to drive. Shades let me sleep for two hours when i got home. V. good. Then I had to get up so he could shower and go to Tempest. Not v. good. Connor is a weasel. Kalen is being babysat by the VCR. Typing is not so easy 'cuz just looking at the screen hurts, even with the brightness turned down. Forgive my lack of spell-checking. Gonn go hide in a dark place, now. |
| Fri, Aug 1st, 2003 (11:45pm) Ahh.. our house is full of gamers. The way things should be on a Friday night. Eric and Atwood came over to talk DungeonQuest stuff. I like the way things are progressing - this is gonna be a good Quest, by the time October hits. Other people came over the play D&D, or oggle Shades' MasterMaze minis, or just eat gently charred flesh slathered in barbeque sauce. Life is good. And I work in the morning again. (sigh). Ah, well... having a job is what makes the purchase of minis and steaks and trips to Gen-con possible. I can't really knock it. |