I've been in a haze all week, suffering from writers block and a general lassitude. I have no real explanation for it so I've decided to blame it all on Daylight Savings. Why don't we stay on Daylight Saving all year long? Why do we subject ourselves to voluntary bi-yearly time-disorientation? Doesn't make sense to me. But it certainly does mess with my internal clock.
Even all the cute things the kids have been doing have had to filter through a haze this last week. Posts start to form in my head and then dissapate before I can latch onto them and write them down. I've lost count of how many times I've gone to 'create a new post' and then drifted away in confusion; not sure if I even had an idea to write down in the first place.
As I stepped out of the shower this morning I had my first sense that the haze might be lifting; I actually wanted to get downstairs and write something. I could hear the kids somewhere outside of the bathroom; their voices raised and growly, yet no sounds of conflict. Strange. What could they be doing? As I tip-toed out of the (fabulous) bathroom, I peeked around the corner and spied two tow-heads side by side half way down the stairs. It was Batboy and the Purple Princess and they were saving the world from the evil plots of the super villians. Two days of the 1960's Batman Movie video has certainly changed the play landscape of our house (last week they were jousting - Knights Tale).
As much as I want to continue writing, the kids and I are due to take the Bat'Copter to Home Depot in a little while to buy some much needed items for the raising of our new back fence. That's what Steve has been doing all the while the world has unknowingly been in danger and subsequently saved by our two fearless super-hero children.
Later... MUCH later...
Somewhere enroute Batboy and the Purple Princess were replaced by their evil twins, Screech-Maiden and Sir Whine-a-lot. There I was, stranded with a list of much needed tools (Home Depot) and food items (Thrifty's) (plus the extra bits phoned in to me - Zellers) and no back-up in sight. By the time I pulled into the driveway I was and hour and half over-due, starving, and ready to explode. Three Thrifties chocolate chip cookies and half a beer later I passed out on the sofa from sheer exhaustion and nausea.
Waking from my apparently much-needed nap I had an epiphany; it seems thaty part of my haze for the past week has been due to lack of sleep and, more importantly, the fact that Zoe has had a head cold (thus the lack of sleep - you see? It's all making sense now). The thing about Zoe is that she can be the most charming and adorable little girl when all is well, but if she is pissed off, then everyone around her must be miserable too. And Nothing pisses Zoe off more than a runny nose (since she was weeks old - I'm not kidding)! This last week has seen the addition of the 'snotty nose dance' - very similar to the renowned 'pee-pee dance' of children everywhere - where a very pissed off Zoe dances, shrieks and runs to the nearest tissue source for a quick wipe as often as every five minutes. As long as we are at home and the hallway kleenex box is at hand, all is well. But as soon as you take her away from her comfort zone (and hallway strewn with single use tissues) her 'snotty nose dance' transforms into the high-pitched non-stop shriek-that-could-numb-a-banshee. Very fun in public places - NOT.
The by-product of all this Zoe-induced insanity is that Liam, feeling left out, and also not appreciating the deafening noise his sister is capable of producing (not to mention the walloping he is the most likely recipient of when she is so generally pissed off with life), ups his whine-and-cry output to match his sisters volume -no easy task, but the wallopings do tend to help his cause in this case. The only bright side in this wierd sibling behaviour dynamic that I can see is that Liam is in the process of learning how to deal with bullies before he even sets foot in a public school.
Maybe the mental haze hasn't been all about daylight savings afterall. All I know is that it's been a long week and Zoe's nose is still runny. I'm looking forward to more adventures on the stairs with Batboy and the Purple Princess - if we manage to survive the exploits of Screech-Maiden and Sir Whine-A-lot.
P.S. the fence is coming along nicely...
