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I’m. Grumpy.

I’ve got nothin’ but another rainy day and another rescheduled shoot. My kid’s got a bloody, fat lip after a playtime accident last night, and the wall near my patio got tagged yet again by delinquent neighborhood high schoolers. I’m tired of waiting for summer to finally arrive. Tired of my husband’s ridiculous commute and never having enough time to relax and reset. Tired of temper tantrums about wanting to watch a non-existant Teddy Ruxpin cartoon or leaving my hair down instead of tying it up. (I’m not even kidding.) Tired of feeling tired. I’m bleary-eyed, frustrated, and staring into a weekend of uncertainly because of yet more predicted rain. And it’s only 8AM. Anyone else out there sharing my mood today?

So, what am I going to do? Allow myself this moment of gratuitous complaining. (There is a more apropos, but not so PG, word that I restrained from using there…can you tell?) Pop on a second placating episode of Sesame Street, have another cup of coffee, take a deep breath, and concentrate on anything good that happened this week. Because that’s the exercise I signed up for. And, I am sure, buried beneath all of the mundane crap that definitely took center stage this week, there were things that were good.  Right?

*The Little Gym Medal Ceremony. It was Eloise’s last class at The Little Gym this week and they finished by playing the Olympics theme song, calling each kid onto a stage, and draping medals around their necks. It was adorable, and Eloise is thrilled with her medal. She’s insisted on wearing it all week, wherever we go. I’m proud of my kiddo and how much she grew during the course of this class. No, we didn’t master the art of the forward roll. But she tried. She showed real gumption, and gained an incredible amount of independence and confidence. I think that deserves a metal.

*Cheese grits and a Mississippi Mud at Wishbone. Eloise, Vovo, and I enjoyed a post-Little Gym brunch at Wishbone. It was a real diet-buster and worth every delicious calorie.

*Fun Day at The Field.  We hid out at the Field Museum the other day to avoid yet another cold and rainy day. Eloise loves seeing Sue the T-Rex and all of the stuffed animals.

*Photos between the storms and my amazing clients. Another thing to do on a rainy day? Edit. One thing that always hits me as I sit down with the photos that I’ve had the pleasure to take in between rain storms this Spring is how much I love my job. How great it feels to be back behind the camera and catching up with my clients again. I’ve regained that important piece of myself, and I don’t have the words to describe how wonderful it feels. I’m also grateful that my clients have been so cool about the rain delays. As disappointed as I’ve been every week when we’ve been forced to reschedule sessions because of bad weather, the most important thing is that that we have a fun, stress-free time and that I capture the moments we envisioned together. So, for those of you who have had sessions rescheduled…take heart. In the grand scheme of this year, it’s early days, still. There is still time for the sun to come out, and we will capture some beautiful, happy moments. That’s a promise.

I learned a new word recently. “Threenager.” It’s a funny (if you aren’t trying to raise one), eerily accurate word to describe a three-year-old who suddenly possesses all of the nasty mood swings, stubborn, know-it-all attitude, and volatile temper of a full-fledged teen member of the entitlement generation. We completely skipped the terrible twos, so Ellie morphing into a threenager two months shy of her third birthday caught me off-guard. I don’t want to bash my best buddy in the world by giving too much detail into the crazy behavior that has been happening in our house in the past week. Incidents that might be hilarious had they happened to someone else, or if I didn’t feel like I was losing my mind on a daily basis. So, let’s just say the piece-de-resistance of last week was the deadly mix of sleep regression and excessive separation anxiety. Mike picked an outstanding week to be in Japan for business. (You owe me a huge date night, Mr.) It was definitely dig-deep time, trying to recognize Gold Stars this week. After more sleep-deprived nights than I can count, my mom, who was staying with us while Mike was away, found a magic solution: Mike’s old Teddy Ruxpin. Mike had recently taken the broken, 30-year-old toy completely apart and put it back together again in working condition. (I know…he’s pretty amazing like that.) For the past two days, with Teddy singing her lullabies, Eloise hasn’t fought me about going down for naps or at bedtime. She hasn’t called me in a million times for a million different reasons. She’s slept through the night.  Amen, Alleluia, God Bless Teddy Ruxpin! Because, as they say, “Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds.”

* “Come dream with me tonight!” Teddy’s lullabies are magic. But now I’m wishing we had bought a modern version of the toy that was less creepy, more reliable, didn’t suck the life out of four monster batteries on a weekly basis, and didn’t rely on cassette tapes. I had to explain “rewinding” to Eloise…and it didn’t go over well.

*Mom’s helping hand. I can’t thank you enough for putting up with all of the temper tantrums this week. Mine and Ellie’s.

*Welcome home, Mike! I’m not kidding about that date night.

*Making friends. We were at the playground the other night when a little girl came over to Eloise and said, “Would you be my friend?” Ellie said OK, and they proceeded to have the most adorable little conversation and play together for the rest of the time we were there. It was the first time she’s ever played with another kid that way. I learned a few things about my daughter, watching her through teary eyes. (I’m not kidding. I choked up. It was incredibly sweet.) She uses hand gestures…a lot. She’s not a push-over. She laughs when she’s nervous. She’s got Mike’s talent for immediately forgetting people’s names. She’s picked up the phrase, “I know, but…” from me. She knows how old she is. She thinks our house is called “Chicago.” (As in “I live in Chicago.”) She’ll forget she’s climbing something and jump/fall to the ground if her new friend calls to her and wants to play with chalk. (Oops.) She’ll abruptly stop playing with chalk if she wants a snack. She isn’t willing to share her Teddy Grams.  It’s not possible for me to love this little human being more.