random ramblings

Recently, Odysseus fell at work (one of the mentally differently-abled individuals he works with slopped water on the floor, and didn't clean it up).  He wasn't hurt badly, but did torque his hip badly enough to need prescription arthritis medication.  It's been...interesting...trying to sort out the best times for him to take it.  Especially since he starts work at about four p.m., gets off at ten, can't get to sleep before the pup's midnight walk, then gets up to walk her at five so that I can stand to get up with the kids at seven. 

We think he's got it figured out.  He worked Thursday, last night, and will be working through Monday.  He works six hours a day, four days a week.  The place he's working is pretty safe from Obamacare requirements.

The imp is starting to understand that setting his body against the pixie and pushing is still pushing her.  It lost them their playing with blocks privilege, yesterday.  But most of the time for the past two weeks, he's come running in, leaned on the arm of my chair to put his face right in mine, and said "Both play nice."  Sure enough...they have been.  Though it usually doesn't last too long past the announcement.

The imp is so darn cute when he's sleeping that it's almost enough to make me forget what a little beast he can be (though he's an angel by four-year-old-boy standards) when he's awake.  When I go in to make sure he's still covered up and warm enough, he wakes up enough to reach up and pull me down for a hug.  I cover him up, tuck him in, and give him a kiss--to which he goes "T'anks!  I love you, Mama."

It's one of the few times he says that without being in trouble, first.

The pixie is having a devil of a time with those last four jaw teeth.  One's partially erupted, two aren't near the surface, yet, but are causing her a lot of pressure-pain in that jaw, and in her ear.  I'm having trouble getting her to eat--it hurts to chew.  All I can do is keep her dosed up with Tylenol and ibuprofen, and Benedryl when the swelling in her jaw interferes with her ears draining. 

She's so funny with her baby dolls, despite the crankiness, and sometimes having sudden pain in her mouth that makes her squeal, grab her mouth or jaw, and start crying.  She wants her babies to eat whatever she's eating, carries them around like I used to carry her (before she hit 25 pounds), and sometimes will sit on the couch with a pillow in her lap, the baby on her pillow, cuddled with its face to her chest, rocking the baby, and going "Shh...go sleep.  Close eyes, go sleep."

It took me a while, but I figured out that she's trying to nurse her babies like I do her. 

The pup has been stir-crazy for the past few days.  She wants to go outside but it's so damn cold in the mornings, and the wind has teeth sharper than hers, so she's down from most of the day spent out in her pen to about three or four hours.

The kitten that just got fixed has the run of the house while the pup is penned up, and is penned up while the pup has the run of the house.  We're still trying to keep her from straining her still-healing tummy too much.

The other kitten--the one that borrows two-thirds of her brain from her sister--is much happier, now that they're not separated.

It's been a nice break from grading, this week.  Back to the grindstone for two more weeks, then I'll be done after I turn in grades--which I plan to do no later than noon on December 12.  And yes, I will be alerting my kids to that fact. 

Then, I'll be free for about five or six weeks.  If you want to know how my writing's going, visit The Godshead Tavern.  I talk about writing there, since I was afraid I was boring y'all talking about it here.  I haven't posted any new stories this week, but there will be one posted on probably Wednesday of next week.