Don’t wake sleeping babies

That’s the general word of advice, not to wake sleeping babies.  But Grace has been asleep for almost three hours, so I think it’s just about time to get her up.  She probably won’t fall asleep till 9pm tonight at least, and since Kurt has duty, that makes for a somewhat long night for me.

Grace is quite a handful, she really is.  Every moment she’s racing around the house.  It’s one of her favorite things to do, to run around and around and around the house.  This morning she was dragging her telephone behind her (the phone on wheels that Fisher-Price has been manufacturing for generations), and as she would round a corner, the phone would fly out and whack into the wall.  Everywhere she goes, she runs.  And then she never, ever, ever stops talking.  The problem is, you can’t just look at her for her to realize you are paying attention to her.  She’ll say, “Mommy!  Mommy!!  Mommy!!!  Mommy!!!” over and over again, even though I am looking directly at her.  It’s only after I say, “What???” that she’ll say her piece.  And even then, I don’t normally understand the story she’s telling me.

She loves to narrate what I’m doing.  This morning I was putting away her clothes, and she would say, “Folding shirt, Mommy?  Mommy, folding shirt???” every time I folded a shirt and put it in her drawer.  Then it was, “Look, Mommy!  Skirt!  Skirt, Mommy!  Pants, Mommy!!  Mommy, fold pants!!”

Now I understand what my father was saying when he told me he regretted ever teaching me how to walk and how to talk.

I was noticing something earlier today.  When Kurt has duty, he’ll call me every so often to see what I’m up to.  He’ll ask me what I’ve done that day, and initially, I’ll say, “Nothing.  Just chillin’.”  Eventually I’ll ‘fess up to what I have actually been doing.  Like today — I changed the sheets on the bed, did two loads of laundry, and folded a load of Grace’s clothes.  It’s not that I did very much today, but if the roles were reversed and Kurt were home alone, if he said he did nothing, that’s what he had done!  Absolutely nothing!  Yet I’ll do a bunch of housework and to me it’s nothing.  Why is that?

And I’m not complaining about Kurt not doing housework.  He does probably more than his fair share, as he’s the one going out and earning a paycheck.  But my point is, if a guy says he’s doing nothing, he’s doing not a thing.  A woman will say she’s doing nothing, and she’s done all of her normal daily chores.

It’s a gender thing, I guess.

Yet another meme, this one courtesy of the lovely Amanda:

1. It’s 4th of July – do you have plans?  Not for the actual holiday.  Kurt has duty that day, and I don’t really like to leave my dog alone that night.  He’s desperately afraid of fireworks, and since I live on a reservation, they’re not illegal.  People will start shooting them off in the late afternoon, and they probably won’t quit till about 2am.  Plus you can hear the professional fireworks from where I live.  My town has a 3rd of July celebration each year, though I don’t know why, and that’s probably when our family will go watch the fireworks and do all the Independence Day festivities.

2. Is there a tradition you follow every year?  Not really.  Last year was the first year Kurt had been home for the Fourth of July since we moved here.  I generally just try to plan on having bbq-style food for dinner, but that’s about it.

3. Are you patriotic?  I am, though I don’t agree with our current administration.  But I have hope that whoever comes into office next, whether he is a Republican or a Democrat, will help us get back on track to being a highly respected nation by the rest of the world.

4. Do you think our country deserves its freedom nowadays?  I do indeed.  Our nation has worked hard to be a beacon of freedom to oppressed nations throughout history.  I do think we’ve sort of fallen off the wayside lately, but I believe we can recover.

5. Some say our military troops are fighting for our freedom in this war…do you believe this war has anything to do with our “freedom”?  This particular war never had anything to do with the freedom of the US.  We went in to try to liberate the Iraqis from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with protecting the US as a nation.  If we really wanted to protect our freedom, we would be concentrating our efforts in Afghanistan to try to locate Osama Bin Laden before he launches another attack on us like September 11th.  The war in Iraq never has had anything to do with the terrorist attacks.  President Bush would like us to believe that, but it’s not so.

6. Do you buy fireworks for the 4th of July?  No, I don’t.  I live on a reservation, so I could set them off in my front yard if I wanted to.  However, I am highly afraid of fireworks, and fire in general.  But I usually end up cleaning the debris left behind by others setting off fireworks.

7. Do you have a day off from work for the 4th?  I don’t work, so this question doesn’t really apply to me.  When I did work, I usually worked on the Fourth.  My husband has duty this year, so even though the military has the day off, Kurt will be on the 5:05am ferry to get to work.  Poor Kurt. *wink*

8. Do you wear RED, WHITE, and BLUE on the 4th?  Yes, I do.  I even have a couple of cute choices for Grace.

9. What does the 4th of July mean to you?  The Fourth of July reminds us that our freedom is what makes this country great.  We’re also supposed to be the role model for many nations aspiring to be free as well.  However, I think we’ve sort of lost our way.  But again, I am optimistic that the next administration will bring us back to where we want to be.

10. If you could show your appreciation to our military, how would you do it?  I may not support this war, but I do appreciate all the sacrifices the rank-and-file troops have had to make.  I definitely support our troops, and I don’t need a magnet on my car to show it.  I show my appreciation to the military by being the best Navy wife I could possibly be.  I don’t run around on my husband, I don’t spend his money while he’s deployed, and I take the best possible care of our child and our house.  And I know he’s appreciative of my efforts.

And now I hear the baby starting to chatter, so I guess it’s time to get her up!  Have a great one!