Oddities of the Mind

Just some random thoughts for today:

1. Tousle. I think the Herbal Essense commercial that created a great discussion on the word is just now airing in the Pacific Northwest/Canada because in the last few days I've had a couple of random comments from that area of the world on that old post.

2. Guilty. The jury found the SOB guilty of the murder of his 7-month-old son, and to their credit, they did take an hour to deliberate. This means that Eli will not have to work on Saturday as we had at first feared.

3. Friday. TGIF. For some reason, it was a long week at school. We have one class that is giving us extreme headaches. They didn't get to finish their lab today in science. They didn't get to go to the library today in English. They didn't get to participate in the team vs. team challenge in math. All because they couldn't get it together and shut their mouths and be respectful to the adults! I don't know what they're doing in social studies, but he never complains about them. They did mention watching a fil about the Civil Rights Movement, which made them cry.

4. Nightmares. My nightmares last night seriously included my student who (probably) has Aspberger's. I don't dream about students. Last night, ALL night, she kept following me around, asking me questions, telling me how to do things, and I remember that I had an office referral in my hand trying to figure out how to write her up so that I could have some peace and quiet! In real life, this same student has been driving me crazy this week (go figure) and I'm very much looking forward to our 2-day week next week just so that I don't have someone asking me questions all the time! (And when I say no to something she wants to do, she re-ASKS the question, justifying why she wants to do it, or giving me a way to make it work. I'm really having to work on not being mean when I'm annoyed with her. Didn't I just say no? What did that mean to you? Ugh.)

5. Cuteness. Elsie Jane vs. the Gerber Baby. I'm pretty sure my baby is cuter. And she's finished with the growth spurt that had her waking up 2-3 times a night to eat over the past two weeks or so. That's my girl.

6. Caretakers. It was quiet for a while, all going well. On Wednesday, I went to pick Elsie up and J had her in a hideous outfit without any explanation as to why she changed Elsie's clothes. I'm pretty sure my first question to Elsie was, "What are you wearing?" J inferred that I didn't like it. I told her that it made Elsie look like a little old lady with her pants pulled up to her armpits. J told me she thought it was cute and that Elsie looked like a Victorian baby. I said okay, but it probably came out more like ooookay. End of it. I was going to take the baby into public (church) and she would not be wearing that, so when we got over to visit the judge's wife, I pretty much immediately changed her clothes. I did really think about it because I didn't want to hurt J's feelings, but she told me she wouldn't be going to church that night, so I figured it couldn't hurt. Except that she asked me on Thursday morning whether I changed her clothes. And I didn't lie to her. She keeps going out and buying these clothes for Elsie--from the thrift store and also brand new. It's just not necessary. That kind of bothers me.

7. Thanksgiving/Iron Bowl. The plan is to take Elsie to the biggest football game of the year if it is warm enough. Otherwise, not. But J sort of thinks it is her right to keep the baby if we don't take her. "Elsie told me she wants to stay with us during the Auburn/Alabama game," she says last week. "Have you reconsidered?" on Monday. "I hope you'll change your mind," on Wednesday. "We're really sad that you won't let her stay with us," on Friday. Ugh. And when I told her that I had Wednesday through Friday off next week, she said, "We'll only get to see her two days? That's so mean!" And she was serious. And I'm serious in saying that this is getting annoying. In fact, if she doesn't go to the football game, Elsie will probably stay with my friend Meredith who lives within healthy walking distance of the stadium, and not J. And it's not because I'm vindictive, though there's a part of me that wants to be.

8. Floors. The house cleaners came back to redo the floors. They look great! Exactly what I wanted the first time. The supervisor came with to oversee the circumstances, and Eli was here. I'm pretty sure his exact e-mail words were, "She was really a...but you talked to her on the phone, so you already know." Eli tipped the girls, since they weren't getting paid for this job.

9. Neighbors. As I was taking Elsie to check the mail, our neighbors by the swimming pool were out trying to get their live Christmas tree into a stand (I guess it is close enough to Thanksgiving...) and needed a wrench. I was happy to oblige. We stood around talking for a while, and she helped me bring everything back to the apartment (baby, mail, wrenches). First thing I thought was that I was not embarrassed to have someone in my house (woohoo!)--and that was a relief. Thank you house cleaners! And then she asked how we got our floors clean. I told her about the cleaning company, and gave her a coupon that I found for them in the newspaper. And invited her to church, since I told her we go to church with the owner. They may come on Sunday. :)

10. Sleep. I've been running late to work most days this week. I really need to catch up on my sleep. And that's easier now that Elsie is sleeping better again.

Cheers.