This and That

It has been a whole week since my last blog. So please be prepared for a long post full of the mundane crap that is my life.

Now while you might think this lack of blogging was due to all the fun I was having over the holiday weekend, I assure you it was not. Rather it was due to my daughter's penchant for sharing. Normally this would be a desirable trait in a child, I am sure. But my dear Jillian prefers to share germs. Remember how we endured over three and a half weeks of diarrhea? Well lets just say that both my MIL and I can tell you that this bug is equally as delightful in adults even though it seems to last a mere one week rather than three. And just to keep you guessing it comes in waves and just when you get to feeling better, WHAM it hits you again. I managed to part with the bathroom today and drag my energy-sapped ass to work for a day full of meetings, so I'd like to think I've finally beaten this thing.

Jeramy is currently in drywalling hell in the addition. He has almost finished sheetrocking and next will be the ever fun mudding and taping. With my MIL sick last week he was unable to get very much done with the little Miss around. I had been hoping that he might step up and clean the house instead, but that was just wishful thinking on my part. One day after work, I enjoyed the following exchange:

JEN (looking around at a wreck of a house): So did you even consider picking up around here today?

JERAMY: I picked up the cans.

JEN: Do you mean the cans on the kitchen counter?

JERAMY: Yes. I picked them up off then end table and moved them there.

JEN: You know it doesn't really count unless you actually put them in the recycling. Did you do anything else?

JERAMY: I washed bottles.

JEN: Well you only did that because you were out of clean ones.

JERAMY: Sooooo?

Let's just say that Jeramy and I have very different tolerances for mess, and he will invariably put cleaning at a much lower priority than I do. On Monday, between trips to the bathroom, we both pitched in to get the house clean. And I find that if I am specific about how I want him to help he is a relatively willing participant. Usually though I just get pissed off, which seems to be a much less productive approach to resolving this particular marital dispute. When he goes back to work again, I am so calling a cleaning service.

The rest of the weekend fun is best shown in pictures.

Just prior to acquiring the GI bug, I manage to fall when getting out of the recliner. I didn't fall for any reason in particular unless you count me being the klutziest person on the planet as being a reason. Anyhow, my pinky toe was one casualty of my fall.

The walker was the other.

Jeramy managed to get it in working order, except that it now has a rather significant lean to it. It is as if one side of the walker is all pumped up on hydraulics or something. If Jillian starts blasting rap music and installs absurdly expensive and impractical low profile rims and tires, we will really be in trouble.

Among happier developments, Jillian is now fully capable of holding her own bottle. Perhaps it is lazy parenting, but I prefer to think of it as encouraging a healthy level of independence. And Jillian doesn't seem to mind either.

Among our continuing woes, Jillian proved that she still can vomit all over the place for no apparent reason.

Of course, Jillian seemed rather proud of herself afterward.

On the new house front, we are really enjoying ourselves here. I really like all of wildlife around, and it seems we have a pair of mallard ducks living in our pond. The are quite skiddish, and watching from the deck is about as close as we can get. I'm hoping for some ducklings in the near future. However there must not be any eggs yet, because according to wikipedia poppa mallard takes off once those are laid. A very bad baby daddy, it seems. I'm so disheartened. I loved the book Make Way for Ducklings so very much and now it seems that it was all just a lie.