It was bound to happen at some point…

Today Vera had her first official “blowout”, or in other words, a poop explosion. You know, she was cooing away in her chair and gnawing on her hands while I did some dishes and started making breakfast. Her brow furrowed, her face turned a pale red, and her eyes glossed over. “Eeeeuuuh!” I looked down lovingly, giggled a little, and mumbled “Ooooh, are we pooping my love?” (don’t judge, you’ll be amazed at what you say when you have your own.) And then it was over. I finished what I was doing, swooped her up and took her for a change. When I opened her diaper it dawned on me that it had not contained all that was deposited by my darling little sprout. Where did it go, you might ask? Straight up her back. There was poop EVERYWHERE. I was stunned for a moment and just stared at her, unsure what my next move might be. How do I keep this from getting all over my hands? How can I possibly get this diaper two feet to the bin without losing it all on the floor? How do I get her clothes off without smearing poop all over her head? And then I did it. I changed her with minimal damage, and I swelled with pride over my… finesse. Yes, it’s true, it’s possible to finesse a poopy situation. Remember that.

Gretchen was just over and we had delicious whole-wheat-oatmeal-blueberry-pecan-pancakes with strawberries, bananas, and pure Michigan maple syrup. Yum. I think I may have a new favorite pancake recipe. Then we planned her spring garden. It was a delicious morning. I mean, minus the poop.

May 6th:
I finished planting my perennial herb garden yesterday. I’m pretty sure we won’t have another freeze, although I’ll be checking the weather every night just in case. From left to right- front row- lavender, lemon balm, sage, chives, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley. Back row: more lavender (taller), thyme, oregano, rosemary, pineapple sage, dill. In the very back I’ve planted echinacea and calendula, and they are just sprouting now. I’ll take another picture when the flowers are up.

May 7th:
My little poop monster right after she was cleaned up. Don’t give me that innocent “what did I do” look! You know what you did…

There are things that I can’t seem to get really motivated to do. For example, I could cook or play in the garden all day long, but ask me to organize my clothes and stuff- can’t seem to buckle down and do it. There is a list of things like this that I really need to do, but I just don’t have the motivation… So Jeff suggested a point system. Basically I assign a number of points to these things, and then when I get a certain amount I get prizes. It all sounded very much like what you would try with a stubborn child, but I figure it’s worth a shot. I kind of am a stubborn child in some respects. So, my prizes so far are as follows- 50 points- I can buy a new plant! 100 points- a used book off amazon or something, 250 points- Jeff takes me out to dinner. That’s all I can think of that I’d want, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something else at some point. Anyway, the points will apply to all sorts of things- exercising, cleaning, organizing, projects, practicing guitar or banjo, etc. I feel hopeful about this idea. Jeff said he used a similar reward system (although for him the reward was chocolates) when he wanted to practice the drums more often, and he felt it worked really well.

Quote of the day:
“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be, for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.” -Martha Washington

Gracie
Gracie

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