A Mother Knows. . .

We've all said it. "Mother's Intuition" gets a lot of high marks around here. There's just that sense when the house is too quiet. . . or the door suddenly closes . . .or you hear that splash. . . and you know that your presence is needed in another portion of the house.

Mark and I have walked a very fine line the past 3-4 days with Child #1. We're having a hard time knowing what is genuine fatigue, pain, distress, etc., and what is exaggerated. The mounting piles of homework have only multiplied the stress level around here. He doesn't seem nearly as stressed about the homework as we are, but I suppose that's natural.

But yesterday morning, knowing that he was still hurting, but according to the textbook should be on the upswing. . . .I lost it. That's right. I lost it. One hour after taking a mega-dose of Tylenol, he was sitting on his bed, watching "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo."

sidenote: I never liked that show. I love the original Scooby-Doo. I love when Velma says, "Jinkies." I love when the old man (wearing the rubber mask) is revealed and talks about how he would have gotten away with his crime if it weren't for those "pesky kids." I even liked the episodes where they mysteriously met up with the Harlem Globetrotters. I love Scrappy-Doo, Scooby's nephew. And, Scooby's cousin who is a bit, uh. . . . dim? Hilarious. But, the "young" version, when Scooby is a puppy? Not so much.

Sorry for that digression.

Anyway, I went into E's room. . .found him watching an annoying cartoon. . .and I lost it. I reminded him of the time he's wasted watching mind-numbing TV (SpongeBob fits in this category). I also brought to light the fact that over the past week and a half, we had purchased many, many, many items for him to eat. . . .and he's touched NONE of them. I pointed out the fact that when he goes back to school on Monday, he'll be given a couple more days' worth of makeup work--and the work for Monday. I also pointed out the fact that I knew what it felt like to recover from surgery. And yes, I pointed out the fact that my surgery included an incision and his didn't.

Yep. I went there. It probably wasn't fair.

I told him that the TV was not to come on again yesterday. He was to work on homework, and when he got tired from doing that, he was to take a nap (something else we've recommended that he hasn't done).

Yeah, I lost it. But, it worked. I turned in two envelopes of school work when I went into "town" to pick up Caroline. The school secretary was dully impressed and pleased that he's been so fastidious. I guess it was when I rolled my eyes at her that she realized I needed a hug. I told her that we would gratefully be sending him back to school on Monday. I think, if he's honest, he's looking forward to going back, too.

Anyway, back to my point. . . a mom knows. I knew. . . .and my mom knew.

Mom called yesterday, and offered to keep the kids either last night or tonight -- because she could sense that Mark and I needed a break in a big, bad way. We opted for last night. Wow.

What a difference four hours can make. We went out to dinner at a place that could (almost) become a favorite for me. Green Hills Grille. Fun food, nice atmosphere -- except for the meeting that was taking place in a semi-secluded room adjacent to the dining area where we were seated. There was the loudest woman I've ever heard in that room. She laughed loudly. And, apparently Tyler Perry or Billy Crystal. . .or you fill in the comedian blank. . . .was in there with her, because she never stopped laughing. The couple next to us asked the waitress to close the ineffective sliding doors just before we did.

Dinner was delightful. My favorite part was the salad I chose. . . . Granny Smith Blue Cheese Salad. . . .Mixed greens with thinly-sliced granny smith apples, blue cheese (TONS of it), spiced pecans, and a blue-cheese vinaigrette. Oh my word. It was the bomb. The Reuben sandwich was the SOTD (sandwich of the day). It was good. The bread was a bit too wet for me. . .and if you know me, you know that's not a good thing. But, it was still an enjoyable dinner.

Because we were dining on gift certificates we'd won at the Buddy Walk Silent Auction, we opted for dessert too -- splitting a Creme Brulee. OH MY GRAVY. I love creme brulee. This was very good. Washing it down with a cold Diet Coke was a bit odd, but it was fabulous, nonetheless.

The neatest part of the night was the fact that this restaurant, unbeknownst to us, was having a fundraiser for Breast Cancer. The entire wait staff had voluntarily agreed to sacrifice all their tips and gratuities for the Susan G. Komen foundation. We left a hefty tip. Neat night.

After dinner, we went on the hunt for our new entertainment center. We found it. Mark's going to purchase it tomorrow. While looking for that, we also found our new computer hutch. It coordinates well with the E.C. -- which is good, because they will be about 10 feet from each other.

They will, hopefully, be delivered and installed before our family descends from places west and north for Edison's birthday and Thanksgiving.

We rounded out our evening by going to Target. We don't have a Target here in our part of town -- so whenever we are near one, and need things, I gravitate there because I love it so much. Found some fun trinkets for a care package that's heading north. Also found new PJs for the girl, and a few new long-sleeve shirts. Our one ceremonial bag of H-ween candy was purchased, as well. We're going to be at church, so I doubt we'll see many trick-or-treaters.

Just a good night all around. Today's Friday. I have lots of work (real work) to do today. I also have two kids at home. I don't know what type of score I'll get for effectiveness, but I'm going to try. We have rediscovered the bliss of Caroline taking a nap in the afternoon, so I have that to look forward to, as well.

Happy Friday!!!