It's Coming Along!

After searching for a month for Gesso (a kind of repair/craft cement) to start finishing my pregnancy belly cast with, Michael and I finally found it at EuroBrico! We'd gone in the store to get new light bulbs for the kitchen and I decided to take a look, completely expecting to be disappointed again. When I saw the bag of dry Gesso on the shelf, I actually did a happy jig in the aisle, baby on hip. That night, as soon as Jericho was asleep, I got to work. Since Gesso dries incredibly fast - think 10 minutes fast - you have to work in small batches so it's not wasted. It's also easier to apply with your hands, making it more fun. Jericho decided to take an extra long nap today so I took advantage and got a lot of the base layer done. I'm waiting for it to dry now, and when it's completely dry, I may do another layer for extra sturdiness. If I'm lucky enough to have the car and the opportunity to leave Jericho at home with Daddy, I will probably use the studio space at the Arts & Crafts center on Post for painting.

This past weekend was a 4-day weekend for us, so Friday Michael and I spent the day in our personal heaven, Aviano. The scenery in that town is beyond-words beautiful - you can literally touch the Alps, it's that close. That evening on the way home, we stopped in Pordenone at a sporting goods/camping store where my wallet was stolen. We didn't notice it was gone until that evening, and luckily it was a Friday, so I was able to call all the important places and cancel the credit card and debit card. There was no cash in the wallet, but my military ID was in it, along with my Italian and Stateside driver's licenses. Those are three things you never want to lose! I've since gotten replacements for the ID and Italian license, but I have yet to fight with the NCDMV website for my Stateside duplicate.

Some of you know about the agreement Michael and I made with our friend Andrew to sit for his 3-year-old son Sean when his dad has Staff Duty. We are his emergency contacts and we're registered to pick him up from daycare. Andrew had SD Sunday-Monday, so he dropped Sean off Sunday morning before he left for work, and we agreed to take him home the following afternoon so that Andrew could get a few hours of sleep when he got home. Well, when he originally called a few days before to let us know he'd need us, he failed to mention that Sean was sick with a cold. Not only was Sean miserable and needy for attention the ENTIRE day, but he woke Michael up every 2 hours, coughing and crying because he didn't feel good. I felt so badly for Sean, but I was (and still am) absolutely livid with Andrew for doing this. Now Jericho and I are both sick with Sean's cold, even after I sanitized Jericho's toys and washed all the quilts that Sean slept on or touched during his stay. It wasn't Sean's fault that we got sick, but from now on there's a new rule that Sean does not stay at our house if he is not healthy. End of story. Jericho had just gotten over the cold he caught from me in Ireland.

Thinking about this little trick Andrew pulled, I've decided it's time to start putting my foot down more often. Sometimes I keep my mouth shut to spare feelings, but that usually ends in my being driven crazy or feeling taken advantage of. Now that saying "no" will sometimes decide the fate of my son's health, I will have no problems with it. Hopefully people will understand, even if it leaves them disappointed. I've decided not to be concerned when it comes to what people think about my parenting. I've got the skills of two good role models to look back on and pick from, so I come armed with confidence.