Monday, April 03, 2006

Jammed and drunken

Another weekend flew by. This one was jam packed and we didn’t get any cleaning or household stuff done. But we did have fun.

Saturday we went to the World Café Live for one of their Peanut Butter & Jams children’s concerts. It featured Putumayo’s Asheba playing music of the Caribbean and was quite cute and not annoying like one would fear when they imagine concerts for kids. We’d consider going to another show except that the price was a bit ridiculous and the names of the upcoming acts sound a lot more kiddie kitschy and scary. Plus there was the fact that Noah enjoyed repetitively climbing the stairs outside the venue just as much as the performance itself. He was SO enthralled with them that he threw a fit when we made him take a break from his climbing routine. Who told him he got a say?

We got drenched in a downpour on the way to the El and had to change everything head to toe when we got home. I put Noah down for a nap and hit the grocery store – ALONE. Sweet. At 5 pm we went to a cocktail party over at Susan’s place and Noah hung with Frannie and Tripp while I drank a few cosmopolitans and Mark had some dirty martinis. It was fun for all.

The aftermath of the party was not so fun. To state it briefly - Mark is not accustomed to drinking martinis and they were obviously much stronger than he’d expected them to be. It was an honest mistake, one that we’ve both made in the past, but one that is a hell of a lot less acceptable when one has to share in the care of a toddler. After trying to hold it together briefly Mark went upstairs and passed out at 8 pm, leaving me to feed, entertain, and bathe Noah before bed. I wasn’t upset about the mistaken drunkenness, it was a freak accident, but I was rather pissed that Mark wasn’t able to confess he was too drunk from the get-go and go to bed. Of course he woke me up at 2 am absolutely horrified about what had happened. He grew up in an alcoholic home and the LAST thing he would want is to put his child through any of the scenes from that life – so I accepted his apology knowing it won’t happen again. Have you had an episode of accidental overinduldgence while parenting? How did you handle it? It’s super personal and a loaded topic – perfect for blogging. Please share.

Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL. My Mom came and took Noah to the playground while Mark and I went to the Standard Tap for brunch. As always the food was AMAZING. I had a pancetta and jack cheese omelet that came with a stunning side of potatoes gratin. It was so good I almost died. And the bloody mary’s were so spicy and mouthwatering. My God. I wish I was having the same meal right now. Anyway, after we ate we joined Mom and Noah at the park for awhile and then enjoyed a lovely walk home. And then Sunday TV was good to us.

Today is grey, yucky and boring. Noah and I went on our monthly trip to the price club to get mass quantities of staples (meaning essentials, not the clips that fasten paper) like soup, veggies and granola bars. And that brings you up to date.

7 comments:

hazel said...

you guys do know how to jam.

sucks about mark. sean's had a few times when he was in a similar situation. believe it or not, I have too. with trent. I was very...shall we say...not in my right mind once when brett dropped trent off and I swore then that I'd never let it happen again. it was scary and I felt horrible and I was certain that someone was going to come and take him away from me for it. what's nice is that you and mark both have each other as a backup, should anything happen like that. a safety net. it's comforting.

Anonymous said...

Patrice is right about the benefits of a 2-parent safety net. Getting a bit too tipsy and having to deal with a child on your own is tough - and probably twice the guilt. However, I did it more than once in your lifetime and I don't believe you were scarred for life. It actually gets worse when your kids are teenagers and they recognize you have been drinking - that is simply embarrassing!!

OMH said...

I (I mean a friend of mine) once was so bad off without realizing it that she passed out (lack of better word- went to sleep so hard that she couldn't /didn't wake up all night) and her toddler (13 months at the time) got sick during the night and Mommy never heard her. I deserved (I mean my friend deserved) having to clean up baby puck while trying really hard not to join it! Might add unsuccessfully - so it was an even bigger mess to clean up.

I swore then and there never again when the kids were home and were relying on me for care - found out later that the 2 Screw drivers I drank probably would not have effected me if I wasn't a couple of weeks pregnant. So I spent my 2nd pregnancy worried that I had damaged the baby somehow because of that episode!

lonna said...

That baby concert sounds fun. I'm sure that Dermot would prefer the stairs too.

We don't have any trouble with drinking at our house because Ethan doesn't drink. He's never had a drop, so I could theoretically do whatever I want. I haven't been drinking since Dermot's been born since I've been nursing him. If Dermot chooses to avoid alcohol as an adult I want him to be able to say that he's never had any at all. That sounds totally stupid when I write it down, but it somehow makes sense in my mind.

When I was little my dad liked to have several drinks, but my mom was pretty much always in charge of us anyway. I do remember once when my mom got tipsy at brunch (2 daiquiris) when I was about 5 or 6. We all just giggled at her, but she wasn't truly out of sorts, she was just slurring. We were also old enough that my dad was able to handle us.

Anonymous said...

My confession is I get irritated at my husband when he can't help out with Shmoo because he's sick. It's irrational of me I know and I should have more sympathy.

It just seems that I'm more functioning even when sick, and I get frustrated because EVERY time I get sick, my husband has to get sick too, but not just sick--he always has to be SICKER than me. (Although so far he hasn't managed to catch mastitis when I've had it!)

So not directly related to the situation you wrote about, but I suspect I'm not alone . . .

Missuz J said...

You know--this one is tricky. I generally don't start drinking until Sophie is tucked in bed and asleep. Most of our friendly drinking parties are at my house, so that works fairly well. Neither of us have ever been too drunk to care for Soph.

When not at home, one of us always stays totally sober, for driving and parenting purposes.

The next morning does always suck though. Weather just damn tired or hung-over, the little ones don't care; they still need to be fed and clothed and entertained.

Sigh.

Anonymous said...

I accidentally drank too much at a wedding and the kids were with me, BUT my husband was there too, so he did all the driving and caring for the children. The next day DID suck royally, so I really don't drink much!! Maybe if I got to sleep all day like I did before children, I could manage it.