Casting call

Oh man. What a day yesterday. It all started off fine, but if you can tell by the way we're looking in this picture, things went bad around noon and just continued to get worse and then they got better again.

Ira broke his arm at preschool yesterday. He apparently fell off of a ledge around the play structure, which is about a foot off the ground. He landed on his right arm and it just fractured a little. I wasn't there at the time, but showed up to get him about five minutes later. As soon as I held him, I knew something was wrong. It wasn't just at bump. I rushed him home to get some ice on it and to call the pediatrician. Luckily I was able to get him in to see the doctor just an hour later. This is where the stress level just spiked up! Ira has a super bad fear of his doctor and is prone to throwing MONUMENTAL tantrums there. It's embarrassing, sad and frustrating to handle on just regular check up visits, but to actually have to see the doctor for a broken arm just sent him through the roof! I was crying, he was screaming mad and the doctor kept her cool, but I could tell she just wanted to get through to him. It took a long time, but she finally got him to calm down so they could put a splint on his arm and from there, we went for x-rays. The visit to the radiologist went much more smoothly and we were sent on our way to wait for results. A couple of hours later we found out that he did have a small fracture on the elbow. Fortunately, the break was not out of alignment and we were able to land an early morning trip to the orthopedics office. The rest of the night, Ira was in great spirits. He ate well, he laughed, he talked to a bunch of relatives about his broken arm and honestly, I think he was taking it all better than me.

Then, after dinner, I got a phone call. It was a tentative state job offer. The real offer comes on Monday, after they verify my eligibility. I think they want me to start next week. Did you hear that? After three years of not working, I AM GOING BACK TO WORK. Probably. I mean, I do have to wait until Monday to be sure. I didn't even know how to react, so I did what anyone who just had a day with a 3 year old with a broken arm would do, I politely accepted the job offer, hung up and burst into a geyser of tears. I still feel pretty torn about it. One one hand, having a job will allow us to afford the fancy preschool that Ira is signed up to start in January. But on the other hand, I'm incredibly sad to end my time at home with him. I'm also majorly stressing about what I'll be struggling to get done at home while I'm at work all day. Nutritious vegetarian meals won't cook themselves! I'm also worried about the trip we have planned next month. I am not sure if my new employer will sanction a week off in my first month and a half of work.

This morning, Ira got his cast. It was still tough to get him to sit still and stay calm for the doctor, but I was super glad Leon was there with his magic iphone and mellow dad vibes. Before long, he had Ira completely absorbed in a game and the doctor was able to get the cast on very quickly. The doctor said that the fracture is pretty minor and probably doesn't even hurt as bad as when he first fell. In fact, they are going to remove it in ten days! After our appointment, it really started to sink in that holy crap, I'M GOING BACK TO WORK, so I took Ira to the train museum for a couple of hours. This is something that we're totally not going to be able to do often when I am working. Sigh.

My poor baby and his cast! He looks so, so pathetic. But his mood is great. Kids in casts are probably sadder than dead baby seals. Moms crying in the shower because they have to start leaving their kids in daycare is a pretty close second.

A little bit of everything

I want to make a work out video called Highwater Bungalow Fitness. It will not include any jogging or jumping of any sort. While I don't have a true highwater (it's high enough) and I like my 30 Day Shred work out DVD, if I do everything it wants me to do, I end up shaking the entire house. Sometimes I can find a nice, sturdy floor joist to do my jumping jacks over, but not always. This poor little house. She's going to be 100 next year. Don't mention it to her, she's sensitive about her age.

Aww, look at Ira here. Yesterday was his first day of preschool. So sweet! He had a great time. Our next class is Wednesday.

How about Top Chef Las Vegas?! I'm really cheering for the tough Philly chick. She's really good, plus if I don't root for her, she'll beat me up.

I'd like to give a quick shout out to WebMD, which gives me the power to diagnose myself with awesome things like ganglion cysts. Hurrah!

Just get me through today and I'll be fine

Check out me and Michael!! We met up at the fair for a quick photo op. I was all, don't be so stiff! That guy works so hard.

Duuuude. I'm so over today! No patience left. Between trying to fill out tedious job applications online with a toddler hanging off my mouse arm and having to clean up more kid pee than I've seen in a long time, I've just about exhausted all my patience reserves. You know you're a parent when you find yourself saying "show mommy how a Transformer pee-pees in the potty!" It's kind of ridiculous, but it works and these days I might try anything that works, including bribe by jellybeans and chocolate chips. I'll be glad when bathroom breaks don't need the big sell anymore. It's one of those things that I try to put into perspective. Like, when Ira is away at college (please, please, please I hope he goes to college), I won't be reminding him every 30 minutes to take a bathroom break. Or at least, someone please stop me if I feel the need to do this.

It's only 3PM and my brain already feels so exhausted. I'd take a nap, but I don't think my mind would stop racing long enough to get some rest. Nor do I think Ira would let me sleep. He's been talking nonstop since he woke up this morning. This kid is the chattiest guy I know! I have no idea where he gets it. Plus, I've got more job searching to do, so I better get on it. One job posting I found today asked for a picture to be emailed with your resume "to facilitate a phone interview." It was for a construction company. For real. I did not apply!

Tony, Tony, TONY!

I've read this blog post from Anthony Bourdain a couple of times now and it's still cracking me up. Warning though, it really is funnier if you have a general awareness of preschooler television programs. Can this guy do any wrong? Eh, probably. Though I love his show, his books, I do not see eye to eye with him on a few key things. For instance, his stance and utter dislike for non-religious vegetarians (hi!), or his disdain for Billy Joel. Hey, there are a few Billy Joel songs that are guilty pleasures of mine. And this is a deal breaker for us: I once saw him on his show, do the thing with ketchup that I can't stand. He poured it all over his fries, not a neat blob in the corner, but all over the fries like toddler gone scribble crazy with a crayon. I can't go for that and that's why it would never work out between us. But otherwise, this is one non-religious vegetarian that loves some Tony Bourdain.

On the job front: I'm still looking for something. Lately I've had a handful of interviews, all going pretty well, but nothing really coming out of them. Can't do anything but keep trying, I guess. What's killing the control freak in me is this state of uncertainty I seem to be in. I have no idea if I'm going to be unemployed for days, weeks or months and the inability to plan certain things right now is making me NUTS! Like, I wonder if I should keep shopping for Ira's daycare. He's going to need it when I get a job. Should I even show up with my $180 check in hand to register him for his parent participation preschool (meaning I have to be there) next week? If I get a job two weeks into that, there's no way they're going to refund my money. What the eff am I going to do when my unemployment benefit runs out? Pressing questions! The only solution is to probably just ride this out, try and hope for the best. All of this uncertainty and inability to control my fate just makes me want to bake bread. I know that sounds weird, but I just want to do something challenging and see success come out of it. LET GO AND LET DOUGH, MY CHILD.