Tidbits

I think, and I am totally tempting fate for putting this in writing, I think that I am feeling a little bit better.  Not “go out and celebrate with a hot fudge sundae” (ew, gross, I just gagged on my own thought) better, but a little bit better nonetheless.  Enough so that I had a whole evening on Saturday without lying down take a 20-minute catnap through a bout of nausea even once. 

 

I still feel pretty much the same blech as before during the day, except that my overall level of fatigue has tripled, at least.  I am so tired sometimes that my chest hurts.  But in the evening, I can mostly make it through life without wanting to die, which is a big improvement.  I’m thinking I won’t be asking the doctor for those drugs next week, after all.

 

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We have begun potty training with Charles.  Right now we are taking it easy, being very excited and reading books, and I even checked out a couple of dvds from the library today.  Given that Charles rarely gets to watch any sort of television, he will likely be thrilled with those.  He hasn’t really gone on the potty, yet, but he seems to enjoy sitting there and saying “pee pee!” about a million times, so that’s good.  He also enjoys picking out an M&M from the jar each time he sits on the potty.  Bribery totally works. 

 

This is a pretty exciting step, and comes right on the heels of his “big boy” bed.  The bed itself we purchased on Craigslist, and is a taller captain’s bed with several drawers underneath (we added a railing for safety, no worries).  It is in the former guest room/office (the computer and desk are now downstairs in the basement with the new couch).  The futon is in Charles room, and he seems to like that just fine.  We considered, for a long time, having Charles and the new baby share a room, and I think that will ultimately happen.  However, given the fact that Charles was such a difficult baby and a horrible sleeper, I certainly can’t count on the new baby being any different, and I don’t want Charles to regress into not sleeping.

 

The mattress we have for Charles was my grandma Lorna’s, bless her soul.  She bought it shortly before doctors determined that she had cancer in her bones and she moved to a nursing home with a hospital bed.  So it was largely unused and is, quite honestly, nicer than my own mattress.  Having snuggled with Charles on it, I think I might look to upgrade my own sometime soon.

 

Charles has taken to the bed with minimal fuss and lots of enthusiasm.  He doesn’t get out on his own, and he really likes his Toy Story sheets.  Phew.  There’s a milestone crossed without pain.

 

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I was thinking today, as I took a break from Christmas music (I can’t stand The Eagles, and they were on the Christmas radio station, and commercials were on the other Christmas radio station), that there are few artists and songs from my adolescence that I still enjoy.  Take most of the 90s music, and while I loved it then, I can’t stand it now.  Tony does not share this viewpoint, so when he and Charles are in the car alone together, Charles gets a much different musical exposure than he does when I am there.

 

So anyway, one of the Seattle stations really has a hard-on for Bush.  Like, Sixteen Stone Bush.  And it drives me nuts.  I flip the station every time.  Which got me to thinking about the other bands I can no longer stand to listen to, like Stone Temple Pilots, Live, Pearl Jam…  And then I think of the music we listened to in early college, like my roommate who played Eminem and Limp Bizkit nearly constantly, and while it seemed normal to me then, I wouldn’t hesitate to change the radio station now if either of those artists came on.

 

The one exception seems to be Oasis.  I will always listen to an Oasis song on the radio, often singing loudly.  I’m not saying I dig up their albums and play them of my own volition, but I certainly still enjoy them.

 

Does anyone else shun the old music they used to love like I do?  Do you have an artist to which you will always listen from back in the day?