5/24/08 The faucet

What a day...really, what a night. I had a meeting with the kitchen designer today, so spent some time last night getting ready for it. Unfortunately, a headache that I thought had been kept at bay greatly intensified, keeping me up late, and made worse by an early-morning attempt at drugs (codeine) which pretty much fended off any remaining chance I had at real sleep.

So I was a wasted mess today...but well-prepared for the meeting. Somehow, inspiration from the only 10 minutes I've seen all year of Divine Design on HGTV pulled together the entertainment area together quickly, and we're all thrilled with it. Now the only major decisions left are the kitchen sink and faucet.

Dave took the three to Stanford this morning for a follow-up session for the language study we volunteered Katrina for, then brought them to Melissa's and joined me at the kitchen design place. Dave doesn't care all that much about every detail, but he's much more decisive and clear-thinking than I am, so a cabinet style for the entertainment area was finalized easily.

Dave and I went to lunch, and then walked to the nearby window and fireplace store. On the way, we walked by a plumbing supply place, which happened to have a faucet on display I'd wanted to see in real life. It's perfect. And I don't say that lightly. The handspray thing feels great, and the button to turn the spray mode on and off works fabulously. (Dave prefers a single-handle faucet, and since I want him to use the faucet, a lot, then single-handle it is!)

As I basked in the glow of a major decision made, I marvelled again at a mom friend who is so relaxed about her kitchen faucet that she told her husband to just pick whatever. Such decisiveness and flexibility is as utterly foreign a world to me as is, oh, say, optometry. And what would I do with all that extra time?

Back at home with the bunch, the boys went straight to play games on www.lego.com (this is starting to become a problem), and Katrina went straight outside to play on the tricycle. She can reach the ground well enough to push it around with one foot, saying "whee!" when she pushes it in a circle.


Katrina says "whee" on the tricycle
She played like this on the tricycle for at least 40 minutes, and on and off many other times throughout the afternoon, getting off only long enough to try out another tricycle. She probably could pedal one now if she'd let anyone show her how, but she loudly rejects any offers of help.

Katrina wasn't too keen on dinner tonight, but I did get her to eat some vanilla soy yogurt, a favorite. I took this video so you all could marvel at my bravery, allowing a 19-month-old to eat something on her own that is so drippy and with such huge potential for splashing. And usually without a bib; this was a rare occasion that she permitted one.

Katrina and drippy soy yogurt

Truth is, I have no choice. Katrina will sometimes accept bites of food if I'm holding her and impulsively offer her a spoon, but sitting and spoon-feeding her is a thing of the past. The mere offer can be a serious offense punishable by throwing, screaming, kicking and potentially, a meal-ruining tantrum. So now, even the goopiest, messiest food, she eats on her own, whether I like it or not. I do.

Last night as I tossed and turned with visions of kitchen sinks bashing my head, a moment of lucidity prompted the question: "what will keep me awake at night when all my remodeling decisions are made?"

5/24/08