March 29, 2004 - 8:11 p.m.

Color Me Tired

What a Monday! I went upstairs to start work this morning, and was "greeted" by B telling me to go away. He had gotten up early, as he often does, and to keep him from waking up the girls and allow themselves to get ready for work, R & S let him watch some of a movie. B knew that my arrival meant it was time to stop watching the video and get dressed, and he was none too pleased. I tried several tactics to get him to cooperate. "Let's see who gets upstairs first!" didn't work, nor did offering a piggy back ride. With the assistance of the "twiddle bugs" (my tickling fingers) I finally managed to persuade him to head up to his room. Then he wanted me to dress him, so that battle took more creativity, patience, and cajoling. It wasn't even 7:30 AM and I was already feeling worn down by this kid!

Luckily, by around 8:3o all three kids had headed off to school, and I was able to go to the gym. I really busted tail today. I did 45 minutes at a moderately high resistance on the elliptical machine (covering the equivalent of about 3.5 miles), a 5 minute cool down on the treadmill, and 10 minutes of stretching. I was surprised at how energized I felt for the rest of the day. It wasn't easy to keep up my pace for that long a workout, but it was really worth it. And I didn't even use it as an excuse to indulge in sugary or fattening food.

With some exercize and some computer time to relax me a bit, I was mostly ready to face B again when I picked him up at school. We made it through lunch uneventfully, though he complained about the fact that I always make him eat fruit with lunch. Then we played a silly game of his own invention that resembled bocce ball with tiny beads. That was actually kind of fun. Then I decided it was time to have him clean up the two main messes he'd made over the weekend. He managed to put away his blocks with almost no complaints. Not so with the legos... He kept asking me to help, despite me repeatedly stating that it was his job. Even with the incentive of a trip to the playground when he was done hardly sped up the process and didn't prevent the recurrence of his favorite question of late, "Why do I always have to do everything?" Dealing with his mood swings is really beginning to take its toll on me.

This evening was more of the same. He was mad at the dog for bumping into him, mad at me because we ran out of milk and he was deprived of his "hot chocolate milk", and mad at his dad for being late. At one point this afternoon it dawned on me that there was one upside to how aggravating B's been. Compared to that, the incessant, frequently off-key tooting of the girls on their new ocarinas didn't bother me at all. Oy! All joking aside, though, I am starting to worry that B's mood swings may be more than a phase. I've rarely seen a kid who can so quickly move from laughter to tears to rage and does so on a daily basis. At least he seems to be getting a handle on his aggression.

Enough about my wee tormentor. Rehearsal for NCV yesterday was great. We are starting to get a handle on a few of the newer pieces. It feels so good to finally conquer them, since some of them are so challenging. Being in this chorus is definitely making me a better singer. We may even be ready for our big concert provided we ever find a date that works for all of us. It should happen sometime in late May or June.

This weekend I also started a new book, The Life of Pi. It amazes me that no one has recommended this book to me, since it seems right up my alley so far. A zoo and its animals are key components of the plot, it's well written, and the story is surprising and intriguing. So far I love it.

After my crazy day of intense negotiation with a five year-old, I am exhausted, so it is time for me to veg and try to mentally prepare for more of the same tomorrow.

today's project: not strangling my youngest charge

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consecutive workout days: 1, but it was a good one

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