V is for Van Gogh

For the past three days I've been working at an art supply store, a Mom & Pop business that has been there for 35 years. Such a change from the retail stores worked in in my youth.  Everything is handwritten, from the price stickers to the records.  The owner is also a painter and her work is displayed around the store. I can count on my hand the number of customers I serve during a shift. Most of the time my boss is teaching an art class in the downstairs of the building.  Since I'm new, a former employee comes in to help me, but next week I'll be on my own.

This leads me to wonder, would my boss notice/care if I brought my laptop in and wrote?  So far, I've had more downtime in the store than even a good day at home with the kids. At the end of my first day, my boss said "You must be tired", and I had to stop myself from laughing.

Thanks to my Mom, who has been watching Will and Jadzia all this week, my friend Columbia who will watch them when Mom can't, and my nephew Hunter who agreed to walk William home from school.  I'm not going to be making enough to give a babysitter the going rate, so I'm very grateful for my supportive family and friends.

And yes, I realize that this post has nothing to do with Van Gogh, but he did paint in oils, which we sell, so he could have shopped at the store if he had lived an extra ninety years (and immigrated to Canada at some point).   

Extra Children: The Sequel

Natalie's boys are here again.  They'll be here over dinner today, which should be interesting due to a shortage of both chairs and dinner-enthusiastic children.  I have no delusions that any of the boys will eat supper as William, Luke, and Patrick are currently eating the sandwiches Natalie brought (and it's only 3:30).  Also Willliam never eats at dinner anyway.

Natalie has been gone about fifteen minutes and there's already been some hostility centering around William's Buzz Lightyear car that he got in California (and has recently resurfaced).  Some of the conflict I presume was the result of low blood sugar.  Hence, the sandwiches.

Tomorrow will be pay back time as I pawn my children off on Natalie so I can go to the dentist.  It's my first appointment in a decade, which I thought was long enough to forget how much I really hate the dentist.  It's not.  I'm not afraid or anything; that would be silly.  I just don't like when someone pokes at my gums with a pointy metal object and then claims it's my fault when they bleed.    And we pay good money for this.

I'm hoping I can convince them to take off my permanent retainer.  The secretary already tried to talk me out of it.  Apparently as soon as the thing comes off my teeth will sproing out of alignment and I'll be as buck tooth as I was when I was ten.  Instead, they'll cheerfully give me some floss threaders and encourage me to use them to torture myself every day, so that the torture in the dentist chair won't be so bad.

Mom/Auntie Jen duties I've performed since beginning this blog entry:

• Comforted Luke because Willliam "hurt him".  I determined that this was another fight over the Buzz Lightyear car (even though we have a hundred similar hot wheels).  Suggested to William that he really doesn't need to hold on to his car while he uses the computer.
• Moderated a disagreement between Luke and Patrick after Patrick claimed the chair that Luke was sitting on.  Since we only have two child-sized computer chairs, I stacked some throw pillows for Luke.  He seemed happy with that, though he stole the chair back at his earliest opportunity.
• Put the Buzz Lightyear car away after the boys continued to fight over it.
• Played blocks with Patrick.
• Played Elmo videos on my iPod for Jadzia.
• Changed Jadzia's poopy diaper.
• Changed Patrick's poopy diaper.
• Helped Luke on the potty.
• Helped Jadzia brush her teeth (at her request).

The boys have now gotten the Buzz Lightyear car out by themselves (a process that involves climbing on a chair).  I told them if the can't share I'll take it away again. And now I must go.  Patrick is on the dining room table.

Edit: the boys won't be here for dinner after all.  Their sister's parent-teacher interview was finished early.  Both William and Luke were crying when Natalie walked in the door. Luke pushed William off a chair as his way of enforcing the "don't eat the cookie batter" guideline.  I was hailed babysitter of the year.

All work and no play makes Adam not here

Adam has been working late all this week.

Which means I've been working late too.

Picture me as a juggler, only instead of balls, or bowling pins, or fire, I have a baby and a toddler.

Which is especially difficult after 6pm.

Usually Adam puts William to bed, and I put Jadzia to bed.

Sometimes, Adam comes home from work just to put William to bed, then drives back.

Tonight I had to do it.

Of course I had to put the baby down first.

William just went to sleep now, more than an hour after his usual bedtime.

Adam is still at work, but he says he'll be done soon.

I miss him.