While the cats are away...

So Rich and I offered to watch Maddy for a couple of days so Rachel and Ash could go to Winter Wars in Springfield. They met in person for the first time at Winter Wars, so it's like an anniversary.

They left around one yesterday, and I was at the apartment with Maddy all afternoon while Rich was working at home. RA came over and brought lunch for us, and was very entertained by the ThinkGeek catalog she found on the table. She had never seen one before, and found it very amazing!

We fed Maddy some french fries and after we ate, when I picked her up from the high chair, her diaper felt a bit squishy, so I bravely started to change her diaper. I put her down on the floor and pulled off the old one, and as soon as the air hit her bottom, she surprised me by pooping on the floor! Eeek!

I reached behind me for the box of wipes, but it was empty! I yelled for RA to grab some wipes from the bedroom, and she hobbled in there to get some (her back is acting up), but there weren't any on the changing table! Oh noes!

I was still on the floor with Maddy, holding her legs to keep her bottom up out of the poop, but when RA couldn't find the wipes in the bedroom, I shifted into desperation mode! I picked up Maddy, and, holding her away from me, I ran to the kitchen sink. That's right, I hosed her butt off with the sprayer!

By then RA was on her way back to the living room, carrying a towel she had dampened in the bathroom, so I used the dry end of the towel to dry off the baby. We got her into a clean diaper, and used paper towels to clean the carpet. Whew!

After all that, RA decided we needed some ice cream from the Culvers around the corner, so she went out to get some for us. I finished cleaning the floor and changed Maddy's clothes. By the time RA got back, Maddy was in the high chair, all ready for a treat. I was exhausted.

Week three of chemistry

Last week I didn't realize how much homework there was going to be, so I left it to the last minute and didn't finish it all before class. Thanks to Laura, I did manage to finish and submit both quizzes on time, though!

This week I planned ahead and divided the homework into equal parts, planning that if I did six problems a day, I would finish all of them by today. Hmm, well you know that didn't happen, but I came close, and I only have six problems left to finish tonight. I can do those at work tonight, and if I get stuck on anything, I still have time to study at Rachel's before class tomorrow.

One of the things that slowed up my homework, was the weekend knitting challenge that I got into with Karin! We both had some stalled projects that just needed a little effort to finish, and we just needed a little nagging to do it!

I worked on that a little bit every day, and I still didn't finish, but now I'm really close! Really! I would like to finish Carolyn's sweater before the end of the week, and the other thing to finish is the fingerless mitts I made for the Pay It Forward exchange on facebook.

Tonight I sat down to watch a little TV before work, and I wove in the ends on all the mitts except one - because when I picked it up to weave in the ends, I found that I hadn't finished the thumb! So that one I'll finish tomorrow.

My real incentive to finish these projects is that I want to start some new projects! One is a sock of the month club that Karin planned for herself, as a gift to her sister, but it looks fun so I'm going to make them too. The other is a white sweater that Rachel needs because it's cold on her unit when she's at work. She picked out a couple of patterns, and I'm eager to get started on one of them!

So that's what is going on here. Chemistry and knitting. And the dog peed on the floor this morning, but that's hardly news, is it?

I need a backpack, like the cool kids have.

I was going to try to get through this semester without carrying the big heavy book to class every week, and I still think I can do it, but I'm just not going to be able to leave it at work like I planned to. Damn.

Diane texted me while I was shopping with RA, and she said she was working on the Chapter 2 homework, but it was hard, and what did I get for number 59? Oh yeah, like I have that done! It's not due until tomorrow, so I was planning to do it at work tonight!

I told Diane I would talk to her about it tomorrow after I have a chance to look at it, but then Laura texted me, also about the chapter 2 homework, so I started to get a little concerned! What was in chapter 2? Maybe I'd better look at it!

Then I remembered that I cleverly left my book at work. Oh well, I can stick to my plan about doing the homework at work tonight, but then Laura mentioned the chapter 2 quiz! Oh man, I forgot all about that, and it's due tonight at 9! Crap.

So I logged on to the website and started looking at the quiz. Question 1, no problem. Question 2, had to think about it, but okay, did it. Question 3 - oh man, this is hard, but I'll come back to it. Question 4, hmm, I think I need to review some of this. I'll call Rachel! Oh. Rachel is taking a nap before work.

Well, I called Laura to see how she was doing on the quiz, and she was all done with it, had submitted it electronically, and had cleverly cut and pasted the questions, so she could refer to them later. Like when a friend needs some answers help.

After I finished and submitted the damn quiz, I decided to be more organized, like Laura and Diane. I need a bag to carry my book and some paper (so I don't have to mooch paper from Diane, like I did all of last semester), and my flashcards, because I need flashcards!

I didn't want to go shopping again, so I thriftily went shopping in Kim's room for school supplies! She has saved lots of stuff from high school and college (I found her day planner from junior high!), and she has pretty much everything I ever need! That's where I got my calculator when school started last year!

She didn't have a spare backpack in her closet, but I did find her bluetooth thingy that she has been looking for. It was in the pocket of the purse she was using before the one she is currently using. She must have transferred her stuff to the new purse and missed the bluetooth thingy - it was in a zipper pocket.

So I got a couple of her old spiral notebooks, and some mechanical pencils, but no backpack. No problem, I have a Project (Red) totebag that used to be Rachel's. I cleaned out the assorted half-done knitting projects and put in my chemistry stuff and blammo! I'm organized! Except for my chem book that I left at work, but I'll get that tonight. (I put a couple of those little knitting projects back in the bag, too, just in case.)

I'm all prepared now (well, except for that homework I have to do at work tonight), so I can relax and eat some chili. Ahhhh. It's a good feeling.

Back to school - let the complaining begin!

So this semester I'm taking the second chemistry class, Chem 120. I swore I would not take another morning class because that would require me to go straight from work to school and sit through class half-asleep, so this one is an evening class. Once a week. For three hours. Ugh.

What's good about the class is that three people that I know from Intro are in the class and we all sat together. I met Diane in the parking lot and we went in to find the classroom together. It's in a lecture hall with long curved tables, and that's a good thing, too! In the Intro class we sat at those little school desks, and there was just that tiny desk top, so I was always juggling all my stuff, my big chem book, notepaper, calculator, my knitting and a Diet Pepsi, and something was always falling off!

Tonight I was lucky enough to sit by the cutest kid in the class! He had pretty curly hair, just like Darren Cri$$, and he smelled fantastic, too! Sadly though, by the time the class ended, the fumes from his bodywash had given me a huge headache. I'm sure my knitting and the fact that I am probably 10 years older than his mother made me fascinating, and now all the girls his age are jealous of me.

The instructor is cute in a chubby nerdy way (you know you want him), so that is another good thing about this class. There is nothing sexier than a PhD in Chemistry, I tell you what! (Diane is already making plans for Laura to flirt with him, hoping it will get us all As!)

On the downside, the class is three hours of lecture. On the upside, I got a lot of knitting done. Also, well, it is chemistry, so it's hard to leave there without my ears ringing with boredom, and have I mentioned (today) that chemistry is all math? You know how I feel about numbers!

It's going to be another long semester, not only for me, but also for Rachel, my chemistry tutor.

In which we give a dog a bath.

The dog has been smelling, well, doggy, and Kim discovered why - his hairy dog butt is caked with poop! We gave him a bath today and he is much more pleasant!

Kim and I took him upstairs and put him in the tub, hosed him down with the shower nozzle and soaped him up with dog shampoo. We wore rubber gloves, because I am not interested in touching a dog's junk with my bare hands! Kim worked on his nasty bum, soaking it with water, then soaping it, and finally trimming it with scissors. Sonny stood patiently for all of that, because he is a good boy!

Then we toweled him off and would have dried him with a blow dryer, except that our ancient blower was dead! Oh well. He shook himself all over us, thanks, and then went downstairs to find his daddy. It has been horribly cold here for the last couple of days, but Rich took the damp dog out for a walk! I hope he won't get sick from going out with his hair wet!

Kim is going back to school tomorrow afternoon, and I'm really going to miss her. She took me to a late lunch at the new sushi place today, and that was a nice ending to her winter break. The food was really good, by the way, but we were sitting by a big window, and we were both freezing by the time we finished eating!

We went home and got into bed to warm up and Kim fell asleep right away, as she slept over at Ana's last night, and they must have stayed up really late. I read my book and knitted for a while, and then I took a nap too, so I would be ready for work tonight.

So that's all the news for now. I'll let you know if anything exciting happens.

Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

I woke up this afternoon and went grocery shopping with RA, and when I got home, Kim was in the living room watching Pretty Little Liars, a kind of soap opera with teenagers who have Secrets, and also, dress like hookers. I sat down at my laptop to check my email, and I was sucked into the show, too!

I kept watching it because it was a mystery, and because everyone was so pretty! We watched it all afternoon - it was a marathon, just one episode after another - and we watched and watched, and then Rich came downstairs to walk the dog and have some dinner (leftovers), and he started watching it with us.

The marathon was leading up to the first episode of the new season, so when that ended at 8, I was free to go to bed for a nap before work, in which I dreamed weird things. When I got up again, Kim and Kyle were watching cartoons while they used their laptops. There was leftover pizza, so I had a piece before I came to work.

Kim said she ordered the first four books in the Pretty Little Liars series, so we can read them and figure out what's going on!

In which I was a bit tired.

I'm tired today, but it's not from partying last night. We did have a family party, in which we watched Rear Window and had root beer floats (well, everyone but me - I hate root beer). Kim and I were the last ones to go to bed around 1 in the morning.

No, I'm tired because Maddy spent the night at our house, and although she went to bed beautifully at 8:30, she woke up at 2-ish in the morning and didn't want to go back to sleep. Rich got up with her first, because he had gone to bed about 10, so he was more rested than I was.

She still hadn't gone back to sleep by 3:30-ish, so I got up and took over so Rich, who was getting sick with the cold that I just had, could go to bed. Carolyn got up to try to help, and I was so grateful, because I couldn't find Maddy's binky, and Carolyn found it!

There was a Dr. Who marathon on the BBC channel, so when Maddy fell asleep in my arms, I didn't try to put her back in the porta-crib, I just sat in the chair and watched television and let her sleep.

When Rachel got off of work she stopped at my house, where Maddy was just waking up a little bit, and I went with them back to the apartment, where Maddy went right back to sleep in her swing and I slept on the couch until she woke up, three hours later!

Happy New Year!