So It Is

Two guys came over today to install a radon mitigation system in our basement. According to our home inspector, the radon levels were too high. For those of you unfamiliar with radon, it's a colorless, odorless gas that comes from the natural decay of uranium, and is found in nearly all soils. Colorado has a high percentage of it in the soil. Our radon level registered at 10. According to the EPA, the acceptable level is 6 or below. In Canada the acceptable level is 10. However, since we are not Canadian, we needed to get to the US levels, and thus I spent 4 hours listening to hammering in my basement and crawlspace. It was better than listening to my whining children. Brandon wanted to see what had been going on, so I took him downstairs after the guys left to show him all the pipes. One of the guys had drawn the naked torso of a women over the largest pipe, which Brandon pointed to right away. Why? Why do that? Is it your trademark? Do other radon mitigation system installers say "oh, Tom did your system originally."? Who is going to see that? Just me. 'Cause we all know I love a naked female torso.

Caitlin has caught yet another cold. Her nose runs all day, and she is whiny. At least she can tell me "icky nose" and will blow her nose when you hold a kleenex up to it. The routine is that I hold a kleenex to her nose and say "blow". Then she says "blow." Then I say, again, "blow". Then she'll blow her nose. It sounds cute and all, until you are the person saying "blow" for the 50th time in one hour. Lately she wants me to rock her to sleep. I'll rock and sing, but only for a few minutes. My kids have never needed me to rock them to sleep, or any other crutch to get to sleep. It cannot start now. I've been leaving her room as she's whining. She'll whine and whine and whine and cry and whine. But I can't go to far because she learned how to crawl out of her crib the other day. Fun! So now I have to stay close so I can go in when I hear the thud of her hitting the floor. I love sitting outside her door listing to her cry. I hope this phase passes.

I hate how I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel when I'm in the middle of something. It's especially true with the kids. It's like I'm stuck, and all I can do is get frustrated with what they're doing. I feel so emotionally drained sometimes that my only response to their whining and crying is anger. It's like I don't have any other type of reaction. I just get frustrated. I use to have other emotions, but they've gone bye-bye. I don't want to yell, so I use a soft voice most of the time. But now that voice drives Brandon to tears. He knows that it's the voice I use when I'm upset. He had to have a time-out today for talking back, and I could hear him in his bedroom crying "I will obey you, Mommy. I will listen to you." So I had to go in and tell him to listen to me now, and that his time-out wasn't going to start until he was quiet. Then he cried more. "I don't like that voice, Mommy! It's not nice!" But he did listen, and he did stop crying, and his time-out did end. We'll see how long Mommy is stuck in soft-voice land. It would be nice to feel like myself again sometime in the near future!