An E for the day; A on my Paper

So, if I had to grade myself for my work as a mother yesterday .... E. In Utah, or maybe it is a college thing, they give E's instead of F's. Oops.

I saved the grading for all 6 courses I taught this semester until the very last minute. They are due on Tuesday, but my mom is coming tonight, and so as I fell asleep Friday, I knew I had to hit the ground running in the morning. So I did, but poor Quinny was the casualty.

You know Quinn is very polite by nature (not nurture.) It comes from her Quaker roots. So at first she was very nice about it. But then she got more bored and more bored and more bored. Poor thing. She just wanted a little attention, so the least I could do was give her all the chocolate milk she wanted. However, I think her diaper only got changed twice before 7 p.m. Exhibit B. E.

I snapped at her a few times because when I would say, "Sit and eat," she would say, "Come play with me." E.

She watched the same episode of Sesame Street about 4 times before noon. E. (But it was all about weather, and since it was raining yesterday, I felt like she was ... learning...)

I made her cry a few times, and I put her time out a few times. It was rough. E.

By the end of nap time, I knew we needed a change. My amazing friend Melissa told me to bring Quinn by to play with her little girl so she could get work done too. Perfect. Quinn marched into their house without looking back. Peace out, mom.

I picked her up at 6 p.m. with a pizza dinner.

When we got home, I had to paint the closest in the guest room. She watched from the baby gate. It was cute at first, but then she wanted to paint too ... with the green paint. So she repeated the same phrase, which meant something like, "Get that green paint for me mom, please" for 45 minutes while trying to climb over the gate. I probably snapped a few times. E. (Don't you want to go upstairs and watch a show?) E.

When Tim got home, he took over. But I couldn't leave things alone, and I was telling him how to parent. Big E. (He forgave me, and we had a nice night.)

Anyway, some days are just for the learning and not so much for the grading, I guess.

I hope.



But on a happier note. I got a HUGE A on that big paper I have been writing for abnormal psychology. I think I impressed my teacher. Let's be real. No need for humility here. She wrote, "Oh my gosh!! What an amazing paper!" I am very pleased. I ended up with an A- in the class, which is fine with me. It cost me nearly $200 in babysitting fees, but it was worth it. I feel like my brain was been well exercised. I guess I am free to go all maternal for the next little while, and then I will start applying to graduate schools in social work and counseling programs in the fall to start in 2010.

Unless we've got more angels on the way by then. I'd have my work cut out for me. I'd be delighted either way.