what a day

There was a lot of waiting yesterday. A lot. I managed to successfully ignore all inauguration activities. We recorded everything, and I waited to watch it all with M. As S was a holy terror yesterday, the task wasn't as hard as you might think.

First, S. She was such a toddler yesterday, that I am declaring myself officially over it. Can I fast forward her out of this phase? At one point, during a diaper change, I'd finally had it. She was flipping all over, playing with the light switch. After repeatedly asking her to stop, I put my face in her face and told her that if she touched the light switch again, she was going to get a spanking. She did it again. I didn't have the heart to spank her, so I warned her again, somehow secretly hoping that she hadn't heard me the first time and that warning number two would strike fear into her heart and her angel halo would magically appear. No dice. I spanked her leg. She hit me back. That's all I can really say. It's pretty hysterical, but it once again proves that I have no power...absolutely no power...over my daughter when she's in one of her moods. It's a toddler thing, right? God, please let it be a toddler thing.

Second, passing time. During S's waking hours yesterday, it was easy to ignore the fact that my man Barack was becoming president. Naptime was another story. I kept myself busy by finishing the kitchen playmats for S and L (including some seriously homesewn looking food and it's container that doubles as a bowl), making a table slipcover for S's party, and finishing up the container I made for her Lincoln Logs. I think the sewing machine deserves a day off.
Third, duty calls. Feather Nester and I judged the county 4-H speech contest last night. (I realize how funny that sentence is.) She has 8th graders, I had 7th. It was quite an experience. There were eight speeches in my room, and the topics ranged from cotton candy to mission work to tae kwon do. Of course, these kids were amateurs, and I finally made it to the big show...

Fourth, Barack, Barack, he's our man. M and I crawled into bed to watch the day's festivities around 9:30. I loved every second of it. I am so, so hopeful, and I feel somehow renewed. Trust me, I know how insane that sounds. I love that his message of hope was tempered with a call for personal responsibility and sacrifice. I think too many people expect the government to fix all of our problems without their active involvement. I want people's grandparents to rise up and smack them and remind them that hard times call for hard decisions. There has to be a collective push to make this work. I'm not saying that people should revert to living like they're on Little House on the Prarie, though I applaud anyone who might, but maybe we should think about not getting the newest phone or the biggest house or the best whatever...maybe we could scale back a little. Our scaling back would still leave us all better off than a vast majority of the planet's inhabitants. Anyway, off the soapbox. Bottom line...I'm thrilled. I can't wait to see what the future holds in Obama's America.

By the way, the kitchen playmat idea came from here. Clearly, mine looks nothing like it, and I am certain that has everything to do with my complete disregard for following instructions. Someday I'll learn that instructions serve a valid purpose. Anyway, the food and bowl/holder are all me. I should patent this stuff:)