Things that are Annoying Me

• driving and bad drivers - I have to go get Joseph every day at school and I feel like I see too much, like I drive for a LIVING or something.  I have to go into a very crowded area of town at the height of rush hour, and I always have the three girls with me, and ugh, ooh, it's a pain.  Every day I think, 'well this is it, this is the accident that will kill us'.  It's stress inducing.  
• Facebook.  Oh, Lord, save me from Facebook!  People who are never on Facebook will come on just to shame their friends about not voting or not voting the way THEY want them to.  The wrist slapping is insane, I mean really.  How is that social?  Would anyone do that at a party?  Show up late and start finger wagging:  "I voted today - DID YOU?"?  And not for nothing but it's a freaking primary, so shut up.  SHUT UP.  
• My kids and their weak immune systems and their strong vocal chords and tongues and mouths.  OH LORD the talking from my four year old would kill a strong man.  Lately I've been listening to comedians on Pandora and I find it really helps my mood.  It cheers me and reminds me of when I was a kid and we used to listen to comedy albums, like George Carlin and Bill Cosby.  But Kathleen can't stand to see me listening to something else, so she badgers me with questions when I am trying to listen.  
• Which brings me to my next point.  The other day, this mom I know posted on FB this link about "how to miss a c h i l d h o o d" and it was, of course, shaming.  Don't talk on the phone when you are with your kids, don't think of anything else, don't ever take your eyes off them, don't have ME time you selfish harpy, etc. etc. etc because - wait for it - that's How To Miss A Child Hood.  UGH.  Shut UP.  I mean, raise your kids however you want to but why do you have to tell me what to do?  I read this OTHER thing on Blogher about how this woman does NOT need me time, she doesn't need social time, she gets social time at playdates and can see her kids while she talks to other adults.  I just - I don't buy it.  It doesn't make sense to me - how is it enough for you to spend all your time with children when you are not a child?  Where does all the adult stuff go?  
• Toilet training.  Lucy is toilet trained, I'd say.  But she still will have moments where she just doesn't want to stop what she's doing and she will come to me and say solemnly, "I pee".  I can't wait until it's over.  Joseph is mostly trained, too, but it's a different kind of trained.  He just gets taken to the toilet a lot.  We are going back to the beginning on it and hopefully we'll get it worked out.  
• Oh, again with the Facebook.  A friend of mine posted about Betty Draper from Mad Men and I said I kind of feel for her.  I said it's boring now to be a housewife, let alone 40 years ago.  Some FRIEND of my FRIEND said, and I quote, "It doesn't have to be boring to be a housewife!!!!!!!  Whether it's 40 or 60 years ago!!!!!!!!".  Now.  I don't want to throw down with this asshole but rilly, shut it.  I can't believe she didn't just tell me that bored people were boring or something equally pithy.  Of course I don't mean boring.  I mean isolating.  Soul sucking.  Hard.  Unappreciated.  But whatever, lady!!!!  Enough with the exclamation points!!!!!  

Things that are making me happy

• The weather is good, not that it was ever bad, really, this winter, but it's summer time now and I like it.  
• Todd and I are going away for two nights which we haven't done for two years.  I hate to leave the baby but I think it's important to get away.  It's been a long seven months since she's been born.  Ha, it's been a long seven YEARS since Joseph's been born.  
• The girls are through with preschool as of next week.  I am hopeful we can have a somewhat laid back summer.  
• The baby is super cute.  She is sitting up and eating some and she had tubes put in after six ear infections in six months and she's doing great.  I didn't even realize how draining it was (ha ha, draining) for her to be so sick until she got better.  It's a relief beyond words.

I should just get off Facebook but I can't stand not knowing.  I always think, well I'll make one tiny comment and then some jerk has to go and ruin it.  I don't know if I'll make it through the Presidential election.