Wednesday, November 09, 2005

The only cure for cranky is busy

I think I need to call FEMA to help us with our post-party cleanup. I can’t get it together to attack the danger zones – both because I’m tired and busy. Noah has been really, very cranky and high maintenance the last couple of days. Uncharacteristically so. I think we can lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of teething, or maybe demonic possession. If he is fully engaged in something he’s fine, but the moment he isn’t 100% focused he’s a mess. And he's so easily frustrated. When he’s like this the best thing to do is to get him out of the house. The only break in a really LONG, weepy Monday was an hour and a half watching the boy teeter around the playground equipment at Liberty Lands Park. And it’s official that he’s a little boy now and not a baby. He’s already climbing up and over the equipment, going down the slide and playing happily in the dirt. It made me both proud and sad to watch him.

Since our outing on Monday was our only crankiness break I decided that on Tuesday we should go to the zoo. The warm, sunny fall days are on their way out, and I intend to make the best of them before my energetic little boy is trapped in the house by the blustery cold. The zoo trip turned out to be a very wise decision – Noah was so captivated by the animals and the people that he forgot he was miserable. We hopped a trolley just before 11 am and hung out at the zoo for three hours. We watched a plethora of primates, a bevy of birds, and a smattering of small animals. And Noah seemed to enjoy our trip even more than the last time. Now he walked around, stood in front of the displays, pointing and grunting – trying to make eye contact with the nearby older children and point them in the direction of the lemurs. I felt kind of bad for him because he obviously wanted to connect with these older kids but they paid him no mind because he’s so little. He toddled around the primate house walking up to four year old boys who nearly mowed him over. Poor little guy. He so badly wants to play with the big kids. Someday… too soon.

Today we went to Julie’s salon to discuss some business and as a bonus Noah got a quick trim. Thank goodness too – he was approaching entry into baby-mulletdom. Julie’s older daughter was at the salon because her school had no water as a result of a water main break. I guess it’s a bad idea to have a hundred or so small children and no operating toilets. It was a blessing though - Noah was so captivated by her four year old beauty that he was quiet while Julie and I had an exciting discussion about media kits.

Tonight I have to run to Staples, pick up some of this hell hole, help take out the garbage and then settle in for Lost. Damn ABC for making us wait two whole weeks for a new episode. I’d like to fool myself into believing that I’ll also start on the thank you notes – but not even I am that delusional.

6 comments:

hazel said...

you have to give me an update on the salon thingie.

he's playing! that is fun. I can see that it's sad, too, but still fun. I want to go to the zoo instead of work, goddamn it.

Kathryn said...

Man, he's already hit little boydom and he's just a year old. That seems so fast, I guess what they say is true.

Anna said...

I'm sorry he's so cranky right now. I'm sure having your teeth come in can't be much fun, but that was a great idea to take him to the zoo! My aunt gave em some more suggestions for you: she said put some of his toys aways (I guess the ones he doesn't play with as much). She said to put them somehwere she can't find them, and ina few months (when it's cold out and he's in the house), take them out again. Since it's been a while they'll be like new and he'll be entranced (this is what she says!), and then you can hide some of his other toys and keep circulating them. I hope it works - let me know, because I'll certainly try it when our boy is old enough!

BTW, did you know someone dies tonight on Lost? My husband knows who it is but he's been good about not spoiling it for me.

Anna said...

Oh good lord - sorry about all the spelling mistakes!

Missuz J said...

NME--Everytime Soph started acting like that when she was 1, it turned out that she had an ear infection. I'd put off going to the doc, because she never had a fever, and then after a week, I'd take her in, and sure enough--ear infection. Just an idea.

Party clean up is such a downer. You don't have the deadline of the party--or the excitement of it to motivate you to do the work--but it's just as much work to clean up as to set up. Send Noah out with dad, put in some heavy duty punk, and just go to town one night.

Shit--sorry to be spouting off advice. It's just what came to me today.

hazel said...

okay. I fear that you are so busy that you've fallen off the face of the earth.