24

I've had a messy last 24 (well really 36 hours). I'm feeling a little irritated and mostly tired. So, since this is my personal forum for being a whiner, here we go:

March 25, 2008 11:48 a.m.
I'm in ABQ, feeling good after having had a haircut. I have some extra time and decide to get the Excursion detailed. The windows had been left down during a wind storm about 2 weeks ago - yes, it took me that long to get it washed - and there was a good, thick layer of dirt, leaves, brush and part of a tumbleweed inside. They tell me it will take 40 minutes (took 90). So, being the hip child-free woman I was, I head down the sidewalk to Chilis for some soup and queso. I'm walking down San Mateo (think Corrall Hollow at 11th street for you Tracyites) and some very skilled city employee has left one square of the sidewalk about 3 inches higher than the rest. I totally eat it. I fell on my knees, getting some pretty good road rash while my purse flies out of my hands and promptly dispenses its innards all over for the world to see. I actually saw a man cover his mouth in an attempt not to laugh at me.

March 25, 2008 10 p.m.
I have insomnia. BAD. Sleeping for me is a total privilege. However, I went cold turkey from all medications to see what would happen. Sleep was elusive for the first few days, but since, has been easier for me to achieve. I'm feeling good and tired and ready to take advantage of my window of opportunity when Allen and I start having a "discussion". It ends without screaming or cussing (I think?), and he goes to sleep by 10:30. However, I am now a live wire. Midnight comes and goes, 1 a.m., 1:45 Lexi is up crying for milk, 2 a.m. Lexi is down, 2:45 is the last time I checked and knowing that the next day was going to suck.

March 26, 2008 7:30 a.m.
CRAP! I totally turned off my alarm and overslept. I get Lexi up, give her some milk, change into my work (riding) clothes, get Lexi's clothes, get her hair products rounded up, pack the diaper bag, put the extra groceries for the babysitter in the car, get Lexi dressed, try to catch Lexi to do her hair, open the front door and shoo Lexi out, scream out the front door for the stupid dogs to get back inside and finally get her to the sitters (10 minutes away) at 8:20. I race home, run out, try to hook up the trailer only to realize my stinger is no where to be found. I find one with the right ball size, wrong drop length, throw up my hands and hook up. I take out Smokey (a client's horse) saddle him up and tie him to the fence. I grab I Be Streakin, saddle him and lunge him since he the last time I rode him was January 28 (the day I got bucked off Diablo) and I'm planning on hauling him out to Polocrosse practice. It's 8:50 and I have to leave at 9:20. I un-tack him since I can't haul him with the saddle on since I have to put another horse in the trailer, realize that I don't have the time to work Smokey, un-tack Smokey, put I Be Streakin in the horse trailer (9:20) and go to get Gypsy. She decides she doesn't want to load (9:24). After a few minutes, we're on our way. I leave the gates open (a big No,No, but I'm short on time and everyone is put away anyhow) and take off to get Amy M.

March 26, 2008 10:00 a.m.
We made it to Polocrosse. As I step up onto I Be Streakin' my jeans rip in the ass. Yes, I said ass. Finally start riding at 11. I have to leave at 11:45 to get Lexi. It's a 1/2 hour drive to the field from my place so it was not the most effective way to spend the morning. But, we had a great time. I Be Streakin' rocks at everything he does. He's soft, supple, broke, and quiet around all of those other horses. I love him!

March 26, 2008 11:50 a.m.
Speeding down the road to get Lexi. We're still 15 minutes late. I put her in the car seat, get a whiff of something awful. Yeah, we got poop. And lots of it. After that special moment, we head off to home. We get to my house, unload horses and I have to take Amy M. home. Of course, Lexi falls asleep.

March 26, 2008 12:45 p.m.
Lexi is totally out. If I tip toe, she might stay down. I creep into her room, set her down, and POP! she's up and happy as a lark. Great. Well, gotta go to Walmart so we're out.

March 26, 2008 2:35 p.m.
Made good time at Walmart, but only got 1/2 of the stuff on the list because the cart was full. Because my favorite riding jeans were cut off of me in January and my second pair totally betrayed me today, I must buy some jeans for work tomorrow. The kind I bought have a W next to the size. Nuff said.
Lexi is beginning to melt down so we book it to the register. Thankfully, it's almost empty in the store. As luck would have it, I pull into the lane with the girl who likes to "shop" out of the cart of her customers. Oh, this is cute, oh that is nice, oh Alexis isn't overused like some names blah, blah - just hurry the crap up lady! Gosh. Lexi gets really frustrated, cries when I put the bags in the cart saying, "No momma, no!" like it was just killing her to see the bags in there. She asks for the toilet paper and proceeds to hold it like a baby. Then, it somehow manages to offend her and she throws it out onto the floor. On our way to the parking lot, the items under the cart come running out like they're making a break for it and one carton dumps it's contents on the ground and they proceed to roll around and down the road.

March 26, 2008 3:15 p.m.
Lexi is close to being totally asleep, but still alert enough that we may have a chance to get a little bit of a nap in. She is totally excited and eager to get her babies and blanket. I notice that her stupendous diaper has leaked so I change her and put her down and...Silence! Yee haw. I unload the groceries and decide to sit down and watch a few minutes of the boob tube. MAAAAMMMMAAAAA! Uh, uh. No way. Not going to acknowledge the child. MAAAAMMMAAA! Yuck! NOOOOO! At this point, my sanity has evacuated the building so I head back there to see what is up. Lexi, crying, pants off, diaper on the floor, and pee everywhere. I pick her up and she is saturated. Her socks are drenched. Her blanket is smelly. Into the bath we go. Bath was good. I get her out, get her dressed, and pick up the dirty laundry to wash it and she comes undone. BLANKET!!! She screamed so loud and for so long, Allen heard it outside even though he was doing construction work. She was especially pissed when the washing machine ate the blanket. UH.

March 26, 2008 5:15 p.m.
I'm in charge of mutual tonight. Smoothies and pedicures. The house is a mess, Lexi is still screaming, and I'm fraying by the minute. Mutual is cancelled. Sorry.

March 26, 2008 6:30 p.m.
We decide to head to Home Depot to get electrical wiring so Allen can finish the power for the new A/C. We stop at McDonalds on the way so Lexi can play a bit. All is well and good. Home Depot proves to be a nice family endeavor. As we're wrapping up, I hear Allen say, "Nice." Lexi has had a total blowout and there is this putrid smell and yellow stuff oozing through her pants. He runs out to change her and I go to the checkout. The only lane open is the self checkout. Only 1/2 of the plants are ringing up. It took me 15 minutes to get out of that abyss.

March 26, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Get Lexi inside and into bed. I run out to feed the horses. I find that my panels have been bent to crap. Looks like good old I Be Streakin' has been helping himself to Gypsy. I don't think he actually bred the mare, but she's not my mare! Not to mention, my panels are all screwed up. I fed the horses and head back in to do the dishes that haven't been done since the last time I did them. I guess the house elves are on strike again.

March 26, 2008 8:15 p.m.
Allen is running wire from the electrical box to the A/C unit. He has to snake 25 feet of wire through the conduit. He has this neat little metal fishing wire kit that makes it seem like the job is something we can do. We get about 2 feet from the end and the fishing wire comes out sans the electrical wire. We try again, only this time we slap Vaseline all over the place to help aid in "lubricating" the pathway. About 6 inches from the opening, the fishing wire comes popping out without the electrical wire again. Have I mentioned that in the last day I've fallen on my face, only had 4 hours of sleep, had my kid pee on her bed, and had my stud horse breed a performance mare that can't be bred because we need to use her! I tell Allen this is it. The $500 we're saving is starting to seem like a mistake and we better get this done. I suggest a way to anchor the fishing wire through the electrical wire and tell him to say a prayer. He does and as he says, "Amen" I add my own dash of hope. "This bitch better work this time." Yeah, I said it. This is only a family show most of the time. It worked!

March 26, 2008 9:00 p.m.
This is the day that never ends. It just goes on and on my friends. I get the dishes done and put away the last of the Walmart stuff. Inside is a collar for Chilli since his is way too tight. As I cut through the zip ties with the letter opener, I stab myself in the joint of my thumb. A fitting end to a not so horrible but pretty crappy by my standards day. And for those of you who say, "It could be worse" my advice is: Don't borrow trouble.