Some Tidbits: Basketball, Clothes and Bottles

Mother's guilt was at a high level yesterday and has spilled over to today. Nico had a basketball tournament this weekend and truth be told, this has not been a great season for his team. Even Nico, who always talked about playing in the NBA (Hey, don't knock it...it's what drives him to get straight A's...he doesn't want to mess up his chance at a basketball scholarship and then his chance to get picked up. Whatever drives him, right?), has lost his oomph. Anyway, it has been so hard to get to his games with Gia being at the age she is. I am going broke from paying babysitters and because his attitude has become increasingly more negative about playing, I have not been going to the games. This has been the worst season with bad refs, unsportsmanlike teams, nasty fans (parents from the other teams) and a decrease in either energy or heart for the game. Apparently Downers Grove parents don't have to sign a waiver saying that they will behave at games and Elmhurst teaches their players to get away with as much dirty play as they can. So you get the point that going to these games has been painful. Normally, I don't have to feel that bad (I still do) because Leo coaches so he goes to all the games. Well, he was gone yesterday so I was going to go. The game was at 5:15 and if they won, then they were going to play in the championship at 7:15. I didn't go because Gia wasn't up in time and I didn't see how I was going to make it to Geneva and keep track of her when all of the other kids that normally watch her were not going to be there. Of course they won (damn, Murphy) and I feel awful that Nico didn't have anyone there watching him. Ughhh...

Apparently my low standard of how I will leave the house has rubbed off on Isabella. With all the cute clothes my mom and I buy her or the cute hand-me-downs she has been given, she chooses clothes that make her look like she is an immigrant coming straight from Ellis Island. Someone told her that curly hair doesn't need to be brushed so she has stopped brushing it and when I tell her she needs to put it in a ponytail, she rolls her eyes, stomps her foot and puts it in what can best be described as a bird's nest. Tommy came downstairs this morning in an outfit I bought him and I said, "You look so cute!" Belle yelled out, "So you are saying I'm not cute?!" Ay yi yi. I made the mistake of laughing and telling her it had nothing to do with her (I was going to say she looked cute, too but she was wearing a t-shirt that looked like it had seen better days and the same blue sweats that if she had her way, she'd wear everyday) and now she is furiously writing in her journal. Hmmm...topic for today..."How My Mom Loves Tommy More: Part 12".

Gia is finally off the bottle!!! See, I have been trying for months to get her off of it but Leo kept sabotaging it. I would hear her cry and let her cry to see if she could go back to sleep on her own when all of a sudden he'd show up at the head of my side of the bed with Gia, a clean diaper and the bottle. I explained how that wasn't the plan anymore and he'd explain that he was tired and if we gave her the bottle, she'd go right back to bed. Well, the last bottle she got was last week and she slept through the night up until Saturday night. She didn't ask for the bottle or milk and even if she did, I was afraid to go downstairs in the middle of the night because of the Mickey issue. I rocked her, put her back to bed, she cried, she worked it out and went back to bed. Last night she slept through. I am not so naive to think it will be that easy but it is a start and with Leo away, it might just work.

Crazy week flying solo: Self-maintenance stuff that I don't like, dance carpool, Nico's basketball game (where I can get rid of some of this guilt by going to the game), Nico's baseball practice, Tommy's baseball practice and Nico's basketball practice. Somewhere in there I have to have a mammogram that I was supposed to have in December (have I mentioned how much I hate medical tests to make sure "everything is okay") and the cleaning lady is coming. I have a feeling I'll be back to blogging full-time this week because it keeps me sane while I can't sleep because Leo is away (God, I am a wimp).