A mother and a lady.

The problem with getting rid of the port-o-john in your driveway and having a working shower in your house is that it kind of takes your bathroom remodel off the fast track and puts it on the 'Yes, I'll get to it after this....' list. Only you never really get to it because 'this' is about one hundred things you need to get done.

Once you get to the drywall and more horrifically, the mudding, taping and sanding of the drywall you just can't seem to get motivated to create a bigger mess once again. Especially since you have a working sink, toilet and shower. What else do you need? Maybe it's just our society's 'More More More' attitude that makes you think you must have smooth painted walls not showing studs, lathe strips and plaster.

But then no, because even the Amish finish the walls of their home.

I left the house at 6:30, the drywall guys were here at 4:30, when I got home at 8pm...they were done. And our bathroom is now ready to be primed and that makes me want to cry. (Because mostly everything makes me want to cry.)

At this point you're thinking, 'Is this a Mommy Blog or what?'

Okay, drywall and a bathroom finally nearing completion doesn't make you in particular slightly aroused. Someone here finds it arousing but okay everyone is different. I appreciate you for not finding dust free drywall finishing arousing. I don't understand you, but still I appreciate our differences. We (you and me) are a quilt of human experiences. (My quilt square will be embroidered with young men mudding a piece of sheet rock...just so you know.)

The other day Max climbed on my lap and said, "Sometimes....I read your website before I play games on the computer."

Enh.....

Enh.....

Max is a very good reader at five and a half. When he reads books he uses different voices for the dialog, he exclaims when there are exclamation points (!!!) and he questions the logic the little bird uses when asking a cow if it was his mother*. He can read and comprehend, believe me I tried to dumb him down with formula rather than breast milk, but still he's ended up smart against all chemical laden odds.

*If you love MommyBlogging you're going to want to read this: When Max and I finish reading 'Are You My Mother?' you know the part where the baby bird says, "You are a bird, and you are my mother."? Max likes to say to me, "You are a lady, and you are my mother." I win sappiest mommy blog post of the day, right?

But don't worry about him reading this site because he knows 'Fuck' is a junk word, don't you Max? (Remind me to get Net Nanny or something installed on Logan's computer. Or at least tell Logan to take Suburbanbliss off his toolbar bookmarks. Also all that porn.)

Friday Madison came home and said, "I'm being published! My teacher said we can put our stories in the class newsletter and so I turned in my story about a leaf and how he was afraid to fall and the other leaves tell him to let go and fall and my teacher chose it to be published."

We talked a little more about the leaf and why he was afraid to fall and I, being therapy literate, asked Madison if she thought about what the little leaf was afraid of falling into. She said, "He was just afraid he would get hurt. It's a story about doing what everyone else wants you to do."

Which, as you might imagine, didn't make me feel very good. Because I don't want her to do things simply because I/we/her peers want her to, I want her to pick up that sometimes you do things and you realize they're not that bad. I also don't want her to be a leaf succumbing to peer pressure. "Mom, I got pregnant because everyone told me to try it!"

I suggested, because I'm That Mother, that controlling bitch of a mother, "Maybe the leaf learned to fall and then realized sometimes you have to do the things you're afraid of and it turns out they're not as bad as you imagined."

Maddie's reply? "Wow. Mom, you should be a writer."

[Dear Melissa,]
[Sarcasm lessons working too well. Ease! Up!]

Maddie's excitement about having her name and story in her class newsletter reminded me of my excitement upon seeing my name in a book (but with less 'junk words').

Mommyblogging is changing for me. I feel unsure about this new turn and the first person who suggests MaddieSummers.blogspot.com gets a punch squarely in the face.

Comments

[Birchsprite]

And there was me thinking you had already got it for her!

[Karen Sugarpants]

You're going to hate me by the end of today. I have before AND AFTER pictures coming of our bathroom, complete with paint! trim! and here's the clincher: hung things like a mirror, cabinet and even a pretty picture!

Your kids? Absolutely priceless.

[Justbeachy]

I think mommyblogging is changing for everyone...you are a fantastic writer, so where ever the new change brings it will be fantastic! also, Maddie's story is sweet, but I would have changed the direction of it as well...so know that you are not alone in your controling bitch of a mother attitude...lol

I feel for you regarding the bathroom remodel, the DH decided the week after labor day that it was time to START! He had it torn out down to the studs- Now, six weeks later, we are finally getting the shower rebuilt. No shower, no toilet, no sink, no drywall, no tile, Ugh...maybe it will be my christmas present!!!!

[ChristyD]

I read your site every day, and I just love this post. What a sweet collection of the most wonderful things in life: smart, funny little kids and of course, completed drywall projects!

[Papa Urchin]

Of course it would not be MaddieSummers.blogspot.com, blogspot is so for the mommy set. All the cool kids are publishing their self expression at myspace.

[GeeseOPlenty]

Of course not--it would be much better to go with itsallaboutmeLOL.blogspot.com

[jgsearls]

I, for one, am aroused by walls that are ready to be primed. That's hot stuff. True confession: my kitchen? That which was done in time for House Hunters? Yeah..it's still not done. All those little things that I said, eh...they won't show up on tv...still not done. Still need to re-grout a couple of small areas. Still need to find oversized switchplates to cover up our crappy tiling job near the outlets. Still need to add some tiles here and there in the corners. Still need to caulk between the backsplash and the countertop. But..damn...if you look at it from afar. It's a hot kitchen.

Whatever direction you take this blog, I'll be a reader. I like your writing. Period. Mommy-related or not.

[Chelle]

My husband and I remodeled our entire house. It took three years. The thought of a dry-wall dust free home not only arrouses me, it causes spontaneous orgasm and leaves me with a craving for a cigarette. And, I don't smoke.

[Kristen]

Maddie's story is unbelievably sweet! I'm so impressed that she came up with it. There's a book my parents gave me when my great grandmother died (I was 4) called The Fall of Freddy the Leaf. Great book, and it follows the same story line almost exactly, from what I can remember. Just thought I'd let you know (I've never posted a comment, so I'm sorry if this is kind of random)!

[KarinGal]

When I was 18 my Mom took me over to the house of a friend who had just remodeled her kitchen. As Mom politely gushed about the new fixtures and finishes, I stood silently in my too-cool-for-kitchens, 18-year-old obnoxiousness and finally snarled, "I hope I never get to the point in my life when CABINETS take my breath away!"

Thankfully my mother and her friend are patient, kind women who just laughed at me. Because, today? 18 years later? I get giddy looking at the new coat of paint in my dining room and downright verklempt with new kitchen cabinets. Remodeled bathrooms send me right over the edge. So I understand your reaction. And I want to tell my 18-year-old self to take a walk.

[angie]

Had to delurk on this one. I can so relate to your bathroom. We built our own house 3 years ago and STILL don't have all the trim done or a railing on the stairs. It's like Fear Factor everyday around here for the kids when they go upstairs. Once you start living with it, you don't even notice it - until you are having people over - then it pisses you off.

Maddie's (I also have a Maddie) story was great, but it sent chills up my spine thinking of our kids having their own blogs someday to post about.....oh God,.....US and how badly we f*cked them up.

I love your blog no matter what direction you are going, so 'change' away - we'll be reading.

[m.]

Woo woo, that is one fine-looking salvaged sink! :D emily

[Spincerely]

Oh that last phase of construction is so hard to finish - after 7 years we still have work to do in our master bath - but who is ever going to see it? First you have to go upstairs, then through our bedroom, and then through our closet to get to the bathroom! Really - there is no motivation in that!
I'm been reading your blog for years now and recently I even started a blog of my own. I'm trying to write mine so my children can read it. They are older and I can't really pretend that I don't have one! It is hard sometimes to make sure that I'm staying PG! I've always wondered what you would do once your children were old enough to be able to read your blog. I love your honesty and I love your vocabulary so it is going to be hard to see it change...

[Melissa Summers]

I'm not torn on the swearing or writing what I want to about myself and my experiences. What I'm struggling with is writing stories about the kids.

The more they grow away from me the less 'ownership' I feel over their stories. They have a life outside of me now and that's creating some mixed feelings for me in writing about them.