Pushing it to the Limit

Well, Athena is currently napping. She has probably had the busiest weekend she's had since we went on our cruise back in November. And she's weathering it okay, but not great.

Friday night, after a full day at daycare complete with a Chinese New Year Celebration (a parade of kids shaking rattles and some waving dragons), we tried a newish restaurant in Apex called Cheeburger Cheeburger. It's set up to resemble a 50s diner, and I suppose there are allusions to John Belushi's famous character on Saturday Night Live. However, I never saw the whole sketch (not a big SNL fan) and so I wouldn't know.

She did well at the restaurant, eating many fries and some of her grilled cheese. Oddly, she didn't really want any of my milkshake (which was the best part of the meal). We may go back there, but the prices were a little high for burgers that were only so-so. Abbey Road still has our burger dollar. It's a shame though, because this place is so close. I will say that when we crave a good shake, this place is the bomb.

Anyway, after dinner, we were off to Home Depot to select paint for Athena's new room. I was VERY glad that I had called Cathy (who is a graphic designer and talented arteeste!) before we left, because it turns out that the carpet samples I meticulously saved after we recarpeted the room almost two years ago (that is to say, the carpet scraps I threw into the garage) have completely disappeared. I'm fairly sure that in a fit of frustration one day when Chris was trying to locate something in our garage, he tossed them into the garbage. After all, why would we save something like carpet scraps?! *sigh*

So I called Cathy because I am completely clueless when it comes to color. I'm not color blind, but I have real trouble knowing what colors go with what. I can see two colors together and make them look good in my head, whether they actually do or not. Cathy, however, has the color wheel memorized, so I was able to vaguely describe the carpet color (a grey green... perhaps one might call it moss) and she was able to give me several suggestions of colors to look for. Her top choice was a lavender, followed by a yellow or a peach/apricot. The latter colors are all warm, however, and she recommended against using those in a bedroom.

I also knew we wanted Disney paint. This is because we used it in the nursery and it worked out very well, It's a Behr paint, so it's more expensive, but not much more, and the colors are true and even. Let's face it... Chris and I aren't professionals, so we can use all the help we can get. If only the paint were good enough to actually apply itself to the wall...

Anyway, while we are pulling lavender, yelllow, and apricot color cards at Home Depot (plus a blue one, which was what Chris really wanted), Athena suddenly, and without warning threw up (but you already know this from previous posts). So we quickly cleaned up as best we could, threw a few other supplies in the trolley, and headed back home.

She had quite a bad night as you know, but the next morning did well. I taped the room for painting, and Chris painted it while she napped. (We chose a light lavender, by the way... Cathy was right... it was the best match). Then we whisked her off to a birthday party, followed immediately by dinner out with friends and a very crowded hockey game.

This morning, I dragged her to a friend's house who wanted to give me a bunch of little boy clothes for He Who Must Not Be Named. Her son is now about six months old, and she is cleaning up. She also has a four-year-old daughter. They have MILLIONS of toys, so I figured Athena would be happy as a clam and Daddy could get some work done on her room without interruption. But she wasn't happy at all. She fussed and whined and generally expressed her displeasure at being dragged out YET AGAIN this weekend.

So we're home now. She is napping happily, and Chris has finished the second coat of paint in the nursery. It's lovely, by the way, and I can't wait until tonight when we can get the furniture back in there and arranged and start moving some of Athena's stuff (mainly her clothes) in there. I'd like to empty out the dresser in her room and start reloading it with all the little boy stuff in anticipation of our impending arrival.

So my lesson is learned. One or two activities for Athena per weekend. Period. Will make for a much happier little girl. And probably a happier Mommy and Daddy as well.