Summary

In light of all my recent complaining, I have summarized the good stuff for a change:

• I am 9.5 months pregnant, and looking forward to ending this thing once and for all
• I peed less and slept more last night than I have in the past month
• My basement is gutted and unfinished but my contractors are showing up to work
• My steps at the front door look unfinished but seem to be progressing as well
• My plumber is coming tonight to install the dishwasher and fix the kitchen sink
• My husband is getting paid from his new job
• Our extended health care coverage is kicking in today, which means I could technically speaking have access to things like drugs, vision care, hearing care, hospital care etc as of right now
• The new washer and dryer are in house, just need to be hooked up
• The crib, which was missing a screw, will be put together today since I went out and bought a screw today
• My cold is still here but better (or so I tell myself)
• I got my eyebrows waxed today
• Benjamin tried (TRIED) to poop in the potty today but didn't. Trying is all we ask.

Running around first thing in the morning

I was hoping I didn't have to run around this morning, first thing.

I had to run around this morning first thing.

Why?

Oh....I could go on.

The gist is the difference between men and women. Or more precisely, between him and me.

I am the kind of person who wants things to run smoothly, and without stress or the potential for delay.

He is the kind of person who either relies on someone else to deal with the details, or then waits until the last minute to get something organized or done.

The fact that less stress would appear in both of our lives with a little bit of advanced planning seems lost on him.

Case in point.

Nick, our duct guy, said on Thursday he was coming by Saturday morning early, like 8 am, to finish up a couple of things and to collect the money.

He's been on time and proactive in getting the work done, and I believed him.

Besides, I like early.

So Friday afternoon arrives and there is a big fat last paycheck sitting in our mailbox from hubby's previous job. Attached to the paystub there is a printout of how the calculations were arrived at.

I ask hubby to give it a read through so I can deposit the check and take some cash out to pay Nick on Saturday morning.

I even open the paperwork for him and leave it in a place where it is not likely to be misplaced.

For some reason, between that moment and the moment we leave for a dinner invitation, there was no time to deal with it. Although I suggested that getting it done prior to leaving for dinner might be the proactive thing to do since the bank is on the way to their house.

But it didn't work out that way.

We come back from dinner and I handle the toddler's bedtime. I remind hubby, prior to turning in myself, that maybe he could review the paperwork prior to going to bed so that one of us can do the bank run and have enough cash on hand for when Nick shows up.

At least sign the check so I can deposit it first thing.

Nick did say he would get here early.

Saturday morning, I notice the paperwork still in the same place.

While hubby's priority is to figure out why the newspaper wasn't delivered on time, I ask him to review the paperwork since Nick is coming early.

Hubby isn't too interested, but reluctantly starts reviewing the papers.

I'm standing in front of him with my jacket on, keys in hand, and he says "I'd be surprised if he shows up at 8".

Hm.

Apparently hubby's plan is to go to the appliance store at 9 when they open and do the bank run at the same time. He is convinced that Nick won't show up at 8.

At this time it's ten to eight.

I say "we need X amount of cash to make up the difference, and if you are not ready to deposit the check, I need to move money from the line of credit into the account so we'll have enough to withdraw for Nick".

Whatever. He's not stressed about it.

I'm getting stressed about it.

I take off my jacket, continue feeding the incessantly noisy child breakfast, and pour a second cup of coffee.

I'm just about to sit down with my own breakfast when the dog starts barking like a maniac.

Can you guess who's here?

So hubby goes down to talk to Nick in the basement, and I run around looking for the check, follow hubby downstairs, make him sign the back of it, run back upstairs, pile more food on Ben's plate, order him to stay seated while I run to the bank, yell downstairs to hubby that the toddler is alone upstairs, drive 3 minutes to the bank, do the banking, come back, count out the total amount of cash we need to pay Nick and make notes as to who got paid what amount on what date.

Then I leave the envelope at the side door and come to the computer to blog about this.

My question to myself is this: WHY does it have to be this way?? Who exactly is stressed now? Me, or hubby?

It frustrates me to no end.

But, I have to keep telling myself that this is how it's been for eight years, and likely it will not ever change.

But neither will I.

Positive karma

I'm TRYING to stay positive. Really I am. But it's not easy.

So here I'm going to attempt to rationalize my complaints in a different way, instead if just listing the issues:

- no activity in basement renos
+ but the mason showed up in late afternoon, after his union-job, to continue with the steps

- contractor/friend called to ask what the scoop is about the basement while not coming to work on some of the simple things that could have been done
+ contractor/friend shows up at 8 pm with the electrician to get an update from hubby, promises to be around next week

- no duct work is confirmed
+ hubby took morning off on Friday to meet yet another guy who will come to move the gas line and discuss our wish list re the ducts/vents etc

- hubby is still working long days and continues working when he gets home
+ hubby made attempt to not only be home for dinner yesterday, but he stopped off at the butcher to pick up meat, AND did all the dishes after supper on his own accord

- baby in womb is still hickupping regularly, causing me insomnia between 3 and 5 am.
+ I'm beginning to feel a bit more excited about the reality of this baby being born in less than a month

- toilet training the toddler is an on-again/off-again saga
+ he makes an effort which is all I can ask

- my friend's baby was born recently but swallowed some meconium which was in the amniotic fluid, which ended him up in the intensive care for a little while
+ my friend's baby was born, one week overdue, which means both our second babies will be less than a month apart in age!

So how's that for a start?

Portable dishwasher

We are seriously considering a portable dishwasher.

Theoretically it would be better to have an installed one, but the kitchen would require some remodeling. Since there's aleady construction going on downstairs in the basement, and the baby is coming in a month, and a toddler lives here, and the husband has a new job, and I would go INSANE at the sheer suggestion to have another room in the house disrupted, we're considering the portable option.

But for now, we continue washing by hand. Just like both of our mothers did for all these years...

Rearranging furniture and associated dilemmas

I measured the crib today. And the dresser that fuctions as both storage for kid(s) clothes and diapers and change table.

Benjamin accompanied me to the basement to measure the crib where we are currently storing it, amongst all the construction down there. He has his own measuring tape. Afterwards, he imitated me as I used painter's tape to mark down where I want to place stuff up in his room.

The kids will have to share the only other bedroom in the house. Since that room presently functions as both Ben's bedroom and playroom, I would like to have minimal disruption to this arrangement. Meaning that when the crib goes back in there, I would still like for him to have access to some of this stuff that he uses fairly regularly (as during naptime when he doesn't nap). Like books, cars, some other toys. Keeping it organized and clutter free will be the challenge.

Hopefully people will respect my wishes to not bring the baby, or the toddler, any more stuffed toys. I may have to shove those up their uknowhats if they do...

Theoretically, it should work. If I keep decluttering, getting rid of outgrown things quickly, focusing on cleaning up before taking out more stuff...seems a prevalant theme in the MomBlogWorld out there.

Trying to keep it together is going to be interesting considering that the basement is nowhere near complete.

I'm sick of complaining about this. So I will stop here. For now.

Better day

This and that

I cleaned. Disinfected. I just couldn't take it anymore.

This is not a big house. It is a two-bedroom bungalow with a HUGE basement that is bare down to the studs due to renovations.

But the dirt that migrates upstairs, or through the windows from the dismantled porch at the front door (an extension of the basement) has finally reached the point of no return.

Cleaning and mopping and dusting with a big pregnant belly isn't very fun.

But I do feel better today. Sort of.

Tomorrow Benjamin starts daycare again. I will have a few toddler-free hours for the first time in a long time, and I have a long list of things I want to accomplish, most of which probably won't get done. I may just end up sitting on this couch blogging, or doing email, or something of that sort.

* * *

We applied for short-term health insurance since hubby's new insurance won't kick in till October.

Problem #1 - we can only apply for two months, not one, since we have to pay first and last, like rent.
Problem #2 - entire process requires 5-7 weeks to be complete, something I found out today in an email. Nowhere on the application did in mention that this was the case. We thought it worked like travel insurance, you know?
Problem #3 - I can't cancel it because the guy at Customer Service said I need the new ID numbers to cancel the policy. I said I didn't want them to go to the trouble of even processing the policy. He insisted on explaining to me how it works anyway, which I didn't really care about, and then, when I suggested that in 5-7 weeks I'll be in the hospital busy giving birth and I won't have an opportunity to deal with "welcome packages" and "ID numbers" and what have you, he said there was nothing he could do.

I'm debating if I should write a letter, or drop the whole thing on hubby who will not be impressed to have another thing on his list of things to do to deal with.

* * *

Pregnant people can be quite clumsy.

Last night, when I dropped, for the upteenth time, something I was washing at the sink, I got so pissed off I threw the salad spinner on the floor. It broke.

This morning, when I was looking for the 2% milk for the toddler, I had to move some stuff around to get at the container. As I reached for the milk, which is in a bag, I dropped the entire thing on the floor and the milk spilled all over the kitchen. Including beneath the fridge, which then required hubby to get up out of bed on his first day of his new job, wipe up the spilled milk, move the refridgerator, wipe up the milk there, then open the door and wipe the inside of it as well.

I stood there with the toddler, not enjoying my first cup of coffee, listening to Benjamin repeat over and over again "the milk is soaking wet!".

* * *

I hope things are looking up tomorrow.

End of summer ramblings

Yes. I'm here.

No. I'm not posting much.

I'm a post-neglector. A blog-neglector. A bad blogging-mommy.

I have no time.

I have lots to say though....so I'll keep this short.

Hubby went for first staff meeting today. New job officially starts after Labourday, which is on Monday.

Renovations are well under way and progressing at a rapid speed. This makes up for the lack of progress for the past three weeks...

Tot has been soooo good. He likes the guys with the tools...go figure. He's such a boy!

Pregnancy is starting to impede me in ways that I find a tad annoying. I can't move fast, I get winded fast, I have this freakshow going on in my belly whenever the babe stretches...it looks like she's still breech, but when she moves, or stretches, her head moves a lot slower now than it did even just a few short weeks ago. It's getting crowded in there...

Grandmother is coming with Rusty today...he's been staying at their house for a few days. Benjamin will love visiting with her, and Rusty will be nice and stressed surrounded by all the noise and debris from the construction...but, c'est la vie.

Joined Facebook. I have a love-hate relationship with that thing...

Later.

Today, the stone mason showed up, without notice, to measure our crumbling front porch. Sign of things to come in terms of basement progress?

Today, the tot decides to not only nap, but has done so an hour prior to the normally scheduled naptime, and he is still napping several hours later. Goes to show that he DOES still need those naps. Darned kid.

Course, he and I were up for how many hours last night tossing and turning and whining and squirming? Can't remember...too tired.

Had a powernap myself and feel less tired than I did this morning.

Tomorrow is hubby's second interview.


Friday we leave for luxurious cottage in Haliburton for 4 days.








Bought a new air mattress for child to use at luxurious cottage today. Paid 50 cents because the rest was covered by money on Mastercard. LOVE Canadian Tire Mastercard!

No action on basement what.so.ever.

Almost 8 months pregnant. Getting a little fed up with that...

Oct. 15 c-section date still a go after panicky phonecall to OB to get explanation about my 3 possible due dates. Feel less panicky now.

Grandmother back at her home in Switzerland after two strokes. She is anxiously awaiting my mother's arrival in mid September.

Blah.

More progress

Basement tear-out on other side has begun. I helped, along with tot and hubby, to move some stuff around to facilitate the destruction.

Hopefully B will come by next week and continue while hubby is back at work (or away fishing...his annual trip that was planned a year ago). B's cushy city job doesn't make him tired or stressed, and he's done at 3, and his commute is something like 3 minutes, so that will keep things moving for us.

After a 2+ week "break" I am looking foward to the continuation down there. Getting fed up with living among boxes and crap piling up everywhere I look.

* * *

Toilet training is continuing but I've slacked a bit. If he's without pants, it's practically done. He feels it coming, runs upstairs or to the potty, and does his business. Although, the new habit now is to "go pipi in the grass like Rusty". Yesterday, he ran to the neighbour's yard and peed on her grass....

Pooping on the potty/toilet has ceased mainly because I'm not coherent enough in the morning to keep up with him. Couple of cuppas a little earlier may bring that back on track.

Of course, since he's completely changed his pooping schedule, that has become a little bit more difficult. Once in the morning and once at night was a great schedule for me to keep up to date on...now, three times prior to lunch?? It makes things a tad more challenging.

Of course, he's eating like he's starving. His appetite is HUGE! And he's eating things like cous cous salad, lentil salad, potatoes, chicken, knackwurst with mustard, kashi cereal, berries, yoghurt...definitely good eating habits!

* * *

Second interview for hubby is scheduled for Wed. He's unofficially been hired by the dean of the program, conditional on getting his class 1 instructor rating back (aviation stuff). He's held it before, let it lapse when he joined the airlines, and now needs to get it back since he's returning to the world of aviation academics.

He anticipates a month and a half of getting it, and the flight test, completed prior to being able to give notice at the airline.

His company superiors are ecstatic for him, they all gave him glowing references. Career move is about to begin...right at the same time as the impending birth of our second child.

* * *

My 90-year old grandmother in Europe is in the hospital. She's suffered two semi-mild strokes. My mom is supposed to visit her soon, she may go earlier than planned.

* * *

There is something wrong with our toddler's sleep schedule. Not only did he give up naps, which does not please me in the least, but quiet time that is supposed to replace the nap is rather noisy.

Despite the lack of napping, he doesn't go to bed until 10 pm.

Or insists on falling asleep in my bed, preferably with me in it.

Without naps, I am done closer to 7:30 pm than 9ish...so do I go to my bed with him in it and encourage him to fall asleep earlier? Or do I sit up and listen to the noise until he learns to go to bed at a decent time in his own bed?

He's done it before, but now, two weeks before school starts, may be a good time to re-introduce a more normal, child-friendly bedtime.

Must remain up later at night, and force quiet time to happen, to preserve my sanity.

Or else, I'll just check myself into the looney bin now and be done with it.

Progress - I think

So things are moving along, somewhat:

• electrician and B are here to do the switches, RIGHT NOW
• c-section date booked (can change it if I change my mind) for Oct 15
• hubby's interview went well today, and if/when they want a second interview he'll know by friday. THAT'S THIS WEEK.
• new chick at bank who didn't know how to do our mortgage adjustment not only figured it out (had a snarky remark for her when she called, maybe that helped a bit), but she sent the documents in the mail to prevent us from having to trek up to timbuktoo to sign the papers, and we signed them and put them in the mail today
• my blood pressure is normal, and the baby's heart beat is still normal too
• received a copy of the magazine in the mail a couple of days ago with my first published article in it! It's weird to see your name in print like that...

Let's hope we can keep the momentum going...

I'm all alone

Just sitting here. Thinking about how silent the house is. Although I'm surrounded by silent clutter...every single thing that we had in the basement, save a few items in the still-standing cedar closets, are now in my livingroom. Or at my parents' place. Or at the storage which is mostly full now. But mostly in my livingroom.

There is a single bed in the livingroom where the couch used to be.

The couch is next to the desk where I had my laptop.

The laptop is now on the coffee table because the desktop computer from downstairs is on the desk.

There is a huge bin of stuff that needs to be sorted and brought to the storage in front of the desk. Stuff like winter boots, photo frames, odds and ends we can't/won't get rid of now are in it. I can't move the bin because it's too heavy, and hubby hasn't moved it because I keep telling him I have to sort through it first. I haven't. Sorted. It. Yet.

There is an extra bookshelf in the livingroom housing the goldfish we didn't want but had to accept as a pet for our 2-year old. Guess who cares for the fish?

Then, there is still all the other stuff that actually belongs in the livingroom, like the huge Billy bookcases filled with books, the tv and associated technology, the fan to help circulate airconditioned air that doesn't reach this room very well due to inefficiently placed furnace ducts, the brand-spanking-new shredder which he insisted on getting but only used once since its purchase, and two chairs which I prefer not to have in this room but are here anyway.

The plans I have for this room.

Ideally, this room will be emptied completely so I can repaint it, reshine the hardwood floor, and then redecorate it as our main dining area. I already have a fantastic table picked out that I want to situate in front of the bay window.

Of course this is going to get done before the baby is born. We have about two months left...

Ha.

Child-less

Mom is kidnapping my baby tomorrow. For 2 nights.

It's going to be strange. But I have plans....the floors desperately need mopping. Will I do it when he's gone?

That is the ultimate question. Oh...the plans I have.

But I will miss him. I am endlessly entertained by this toddler, and with him gone for that long, and hubby out of town, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Which is why I say I should take advantage of all these absences and mop.the.floors.

Too hot to do anything

Really. Getting a few cherry tomatos from the garden with the tot in tow, carrying his little basket, was enough to send me back inside. And I like summer! But I can't bear it today...been up since 3 am. The baby is a ferocious kicker and had no intensions of slowing down it seems. Sign of things to come??

Good thing my toddler is a good kid...

* * *

So I harvested my second zucchini. Two the size of bats. Ok, I thought, we'll have some zucchini cake. Make them into little muffins so we can enjoy them from the freezer in the months to come. Except...my little swiss recipe asked for 300 g of shredded zucchini. 300 g is the approximately equivalent of about a cup or so. Got a lotta zucchini left now...

* * *

The basement is stalled. Electrician hasn't come. Furnace guys haven't come. We're heading into a long weekend...hubby has been playing with his new heavy-duty shredder. His plan is to lighten the useless paper in the 4-drawer file cabinet in the basement to ease its move while we tear out the other side down there...currently he's napping. So much for that. He's got one more day off before going back to work...don't see much progress happening down there between now and then. Hm.

People are idiots

So this morning we hear something beeping incessantly.

I check to see if it's a car alarm (no), our phone (no), or my senior citizen neighbour's smoke detector (again, no). My husband notices it's coming from the low-rise apartment building across the street, and calls the landlord to tell him that it's been beeping for a while.

Husband leaves to pick something up at the hardware store, comes back, and the thing is still beeping.

He walks over and realizes the beeping is coming from the garbage bags.

???

The bags should actually be placed in rigid, closed containers as per the bi-law. Not to mention for hygiene reasons. We live close to the lake and there is plenty of wildlife that likes to go sample the goodies in the garbage bags.


But of course the renters in that apartment building do not use the containers. Even though they containers are there, right beside the building.

But I digress.

So my husband decides to actually go through the bags to find out what the heck is in there making this racket.

He digs out a smoke detector.

With the batteries intact.

???

Most of us know that batteries are hazardous materials and should not be thrown in the garbage. I know that people do it anyway, hence the title of my post.

But to leave the batteries in the smoke detector and then to throw the entire thing out along with your food waste....again, hence the title of this post.

(Apartment buildings do not compost their food wastes).

The food waste emitted some sort of odour, which attracted the wildlife, who ripped open the bags and made a mess, which inevitably set off the detector.

Hence. The. Title. Of. This. Post.

Aren't smoke detectors radio-active? At the very least, they're hazardous and are supposed to be disposed of appropriately.

My husband repacks the garbage in new garbage bags (ours) and then proceeds to continue with his day.

And I debate on what to do. I'm already all worked up about the noise and idiocy of some people, for various other reasons I won't get into now, so I know I have to do something.

I decide to leave a message on the side door of the building explaining what has happened. Hopefully this will alert the offenders, or at least their neighbours.

I would think someone in that building would care.

But probably not.

Reading labels

I take my little toddler to the newly renovated Toys R Us this morning. We see the whole Thomas the Tank Engine set up and I thought I'll buy him a new train for his wooden train set.

We select Gordon with a trailer and pick up a video as well (VHS).

We get home and unpack Gordon.

Gordon doesn't fit on the wooden train tracks.

The package has a little blurb on the back, which I neglected to read. It says:

Not compatible with Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway or Erti Diecast.

So we're back to reading labels.
___

I have issues with labels.

We are living in a society of label-readers.

- No food should be purchased without the reading of labels. (Never mind teaching people to eat whole foods)
- No food should be consumed without the memorization of nutritional information. (Never mind about the additives and flavour enhancers)

- Apparently, no toys should be bought without reading the compatibility disclaimer.

I could rant, but I have to go back to Toys R Us and return Gordon.

Ramblings

Lost pants

Stress of the morning:

He's getting ready to go fly his airplane.
He's putting on his uniform.
He's all stressed out.
He can't find the second pair of pants.
Apparently, he saw me wash them.
Weeks ago.
But he can't find them.
They are ripped at some spot and need to be fixed.

What I wonder is why he can't find the pants.
It's not like this is a big house.
Or there is a lot of closet space.
Where do I normally put the washed pants?

So my list of things to do today includes the entry:
-find his pants


* * * * *

No pipi no poops

This is what the little guy says whenever I suggest we
change the diaper
or
go sit on the potty.

No matter if there are yellow streaks of liquid dripping down his leg.
No matter how offensive the odour surrounding him.

It's always:

no pippi no poops

Annoyed

Yes, it's true. I'm annoyed a lot. Seems Chris over in the trenches talks about it as well...she chalks it up to PMS.

Well, I don't have PMS, I'm 6 months pregnant. And as hubby, as much as I hate to admit it, mentioned correctly yesterday, I seem to rarely be completely happy. Something always annoys me.

Especially after 4 pm. That notorious time of:


-toddler wake-up time from nap
-toddler cranky-time because of no nap
-dinner hour approaching
-cooking, which means dirty dishes (I like cooking, I hate cleanup)
-that natural slumpy feeling adults get around this time of day
-hubby coming home from somewhere and bringing with him all his clutter
-the general mess of the day's activities looming to be cleaned up

We're also renovating. In the basement, not upstairs, but since a lot of the bulky stuff from downstairs is now upstairs in our not big house, the place feels even more cluttered. And confining. Suffocating.

Did I mention clutter annoys me?
And dust?
Dog hair?
And why does the dog shed so much? Why does he shake at the door? Can he not wait 5 seconds with the shaking until he steps outside?

I have to work on this. I hate being in a bad mood.

Perhaps using nap time to my advantage and getting some of the dinner hour activites prepared will help keep the after 4 pm time slot a little more manageable. I do this sometimes, and everytime I do I intend to do it again tomorrow.

But some days I want to sit on the couch and watch Frasier. Or some soap. Or read. Or sit. Or doze. Or eat.

Better get in the habit before the second kid comes along.

Blah.

PS As I type this, it's early morning and no one is up yet. It's dark and gloomy and rainy. The renos downstairs haven't started yet. It's quiet. I have coffee and peace. I am currently in a VERY good mood.

Auntie Ingrid

Well, Auntie Ing came for a visit. We sat outside on the steps and waited for her to come. We had a spray bottle and some bubbles to keep ourselves amused as we waited for her Subaru to drive down the street and into our driveway.

She finally came. She was a little late. But she arrived with a surprise.

A glass bowl with two guppy fish in it.

Benjamin's first pet(s).

Unfortunately this morning, I noticed one of them floating. Not sure if my little guy will notice that there's only one fish left. Or even ask.

Not sure what killed it either. Might be the fact that Ben dumped a rather large amount of food into the bowl last night after we demonstrated how to sprinkle a tiny bit in the bowl.

Wonder how long the other fish will live.

* * *

We had a nice visit till daddy came home.

Then the crying started. Auntie Ing, who is hubby's sister, talked about how Uncle John has been dealing (or not dealing) with this recent diagnosis of ALS.

Benjamin was exhausted but unable to go to bed while the visit was going on. He was a little confused about the crying and laughing that seemed to happen with regular occurrance (how can one not laugh when a toddler is around!), and he managed to flood the entire bathroom with water during bathtime.

He finally fell asleep against me, sitting outside on the deck, while the neighbour's fired off fireworks for Canada Day.

* * *

Can't sleep. Been up since 5 am. Trying to research about John's condition. Not much there that I don't already know.

Men, toddlers, routine and households

The purpose of this blog is not really to turn it into a bitch session about certain annoying habits other people exhibit.

But sometimes, when someone within the household does something that extracts annoyance in me, and I wait a day or so to digest and "get over it", I try to see a certain sense of humour in it.

Or at least, it helps me to reflect on things.

It's also funny in some ways when other people, like for example a certain neighbour, shares the almost identical experience with her own household member.

Then I came across this post which further inspires me to jot down some nutty notes about the following situation.

Heck, why not? This blog is my dairy and therefore, in some ways, my outlet, my sanity saver.

So here is what happened:

Mommy's scenario

• Morning. Get up. Change diaper. Serve toddler bottle of milk, then breakfast.
• Allow child to sit on potty, praise when peeing in potty, dress child.
• Get out of house by at the latest 10 am so as to get the daily dose of exercise, mostly for toddler.
• Get back sometime around lunch, offer lunch, and then wind down.
• Start and inisist on quiet time to lead (hopefully) into naptime.
• Enjoy naptime while it lasts. It does not happen every day and is considered precious time.
• Exercise child after naptime in some way or another and make it back for suppertime in time to offer food.
• Since it's summer, let child burn more energy after supper and metamorphose slowly, so as not to evoke temper tantrums, into bathtime and bedtime.
• Bedtime.

Daddy's scenario

Daddy has this annoying habit of HAVING to read the paper during breakfast time. For some reason, certain sections of the paper cannot be read after breakfast. Like, say, during naptime.

He does remember to give child a bottle of milk.
Child will drink milk on couch or bed and then begin to play.
Daddy will pour milk on his cereal, make tea or coffee, and then immerse himself into the newspaper.

By 10 am I'm wondering why
a) child's diaper is dripping/smells/leaving streaks
b) child has not been fed breakfast
c) child is not dressed
d) daddy is nowhere near ready to get out of the house with child to exercise child
e) daddy is annoyed when mommy suggests that diaper needs changing since now his cereal is getting soggy.

By this time, mommy wonders how this delay will affect:
1) lunchtime
2) naptime
3) playtime
4) dinnertime
5) bath/bedtime

Let it be said that daddy is just as much a fan of naptime as mommy is.
Let it also be said that most of the time, daddy is not only willing, but capable of doing mommy's scenario according to the loosely indicated schedule.

Only trouble is that mommy has to turn into some form of a dictator in order to assure the smooth running of the household.

I do not want to be the dictator.

And I do know that if I'm, say, on vacation in the Bahamas by myself for a week, that the child and the daddy will not only manage to survive, they will have fun along the way.

But, for the purpose of mommy's sanity, mommy's scenario just keeps things running smoother than daddy's scenario. Especially because when toddler becomes overtired or over/understimulated, he whines and cries "mommy do it". Thereby leading daddy to (mistakingly) believe that he is now relieved of his duty.

It's not like mommy's scenario is a strict, clock-watching regiment. There is lots of room for flexibility.

If mommy has to pick up the pieces because of a daddy's scenario, the rest of the day is wasted, unpleasant and a pain in the ass.

And mommy gets resentful.

Mommy threatends to hide/burn/throw the newspaper away until naptime. Or cancel the subscription.

I think mommy is entitled to her opinion if only for the fact that she is almost 6 months pregnant.

Thank you.