I did take Chico to the museum yesterday, and he did enjoy the Jasper Johns exhibit. In fact, he squealed at the first painting, whipped his head around to look at several others, and finally lost it close to the end and had to be whisked to the Courbet exhibit to nurse. Vigorously. He was pretty cranky for a bit, but settled down in time to come home. The downtown 6 wasn’t running so we hoofed it 14 blocks to the F. I could barely stand upright by the time we got home but miraculously, am fine this morning. Which is good because today is another outing.
After that, it’s back home to make necklaces for Lucy’s friends, who are having a birthday party tomorrow. I’ll have to face down my phone-terror again to find out the details. And then I have to launder a batch of diapers so that they are dry tomorrow. And then my MIL is dropping off Lucy’s old Exersaucer for Chico. There is a large pile of dishes in the sink from dinner Thursday and last night. There is baby detritus strewn about the living room. I have not decluttered, nor cleaned, a single item since Thursday. And, frankly, I’m feeling a bit down about it. I like momentum, and I like forward movement. I get very angry with myself when I feel like I’ve been slacking, even though intellectually I know it’s important for me to get out of the house and for the baby to be exposed to new things to look at (I’m not, despite how I may sound, turning into one of those NYC parents who think my 5 month old needs exposure to great works of art and music to get into a proper school; I just like looking at art and taking the baby places with Lucy.)
Sigh. I wish I could believe myself when I say that the house will always look torn up because we have 2 kids, 2 cats, and other shit to do but I still cringe every morning when I walk out and see stuff everywhere.
With that, I’m off to get things picked up and figure out what I’m going to wear. And Lucy. And Chico who has no pants that fit because he won’t stop going through a clothing size every two months. Goodwill on Monday if it’s the last thing I do!
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On a side note, I walked Chico through the Museum store yesterday and came to a realization. There is a lot in there that I really like, that is attractive, and I would probably have bought a couple of little things for Lucy a month ago. In light of the Buy Nothing challenge, though, I was able to really think about why I would buy something. Sure, I like getting new things for Lucy because I love her and I love to feed her mind. But we are drowning in ‘educational’ toys. There are many really cool things at the museum store, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I want them in my house. This last part is such a huge deal because for years I have been picking up things for Lucy and then wondering why we have so much crap lying around. And I always blamed it on other people buying so many gifts for her because hello? I’m her mom. I get to buy stuff. It’s not the workbooks I bought her, it’s the ones her grandmother sent home with her. It’s not the picnic set I bought, it’s the one she got from school. Its not the million and a half stuffed animals her father and I have picked out for her, it’s the six rabbits my grandmother sent up because they were so cute together.
I had a talk with the MIL about not buying and Affluenza and decluttering on Thursday, and interestingly enough, she’s also going through a getting rid of period. She’s recognized that she has also contributed to the amount of stuff we have around here and is not bringing anything by. It’s a huge thing for her since, like me, she likes to show she cares by gifting. It’s tougher than it should be to recognize that the best gift is always an experience shared. It’s fun to get gifts and all, but memories are nicer.
That’s great that your MIL was so receptive to your requests. I hope you all can find fun ways to create memories together.
It really was wonderful to talk about it and not feel like she sees me as some wacko