We have had the best experience with sitters. All three of our long term ones have been just amazing.

Right now, with Dr. appts slowed down a bit, I have her 3 mornings a week. 2 are just for me to work. I plan them so as soon as I get home, Bella has had lunch and after a few minutes together she hits nap. This means that I often get 4 hours of nearly uninterrupted working time – you have no idea how much I can kill in 4 hours.

When I close the Twitter/Facebook tabs.

Our sitter gives Bella the creativity and energy that I simply can’t do much of right now. I mean, I’m having trouble getting off the floor when I sit down. So chasing her around the backyard is out. And it’s hard to prep for a craft when I’m passed out on the couch during her nap.

Let’s call a spade a spade: having a high energy sitter makes me feel 100x less guilty when I sit on the couch and zone off for a half hour while Bella chases Charlie around the house. I see that craft on the fridge they made together and my third trimester exhaustion thinks, “Well, at least she did that today.”

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You want to know what the worst part of this is?

Not the heat.

Not the lack of any moisture.

Not that it’s MID MAY and the hottest is yet to come.

Not even the fact that I can’t cool off in a pool thanks to pelvic rest.

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Today?

I went to the spa.

It was amazing.

Still in El Paso. Just the nice parts.

I could end it right there and that would about sum things up nicely, but since I don’t go to the spa on a monthly (or bi-annually) basis, it is blog post worthy material.

I booked a half day but it almost was a full at 9-2. I went with my girlfriend Tanya, and first up was a prenatal massage for me. I could have melted into the bed. The masseuse kept saying, “And you do a lot of work on the computer don’t you? The tension is all in your neck and shoulders.”

YES.

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Some days. Are just – well. Memorable. Here’s mine so far:

Wake up to Bella sobbing. Ask her to take Charlie out. She loves doing that. She can’t get his cage open. She’s done it a billion times. Sobs. I get up. Dog out. Make breakfast. Dog pukes twice on the rug. I clean it while gagging. I shower, she falls in the tub next to it while I’m repeatedly telling her to get down. Hurts her hand. Charlie starts barking his head off outside. Clothes need washed. I have no underwear. 1 hour till we leave for her therapy. Cat litter changed. Another meltdown. Cat gets outside. He turns up 20 minutes later madder than heck. I give him his medicine and he foams it back up in anger. We leave. Bella drinks a half gallon of water from her sippy and screams when I take it away telling her we’re not stopping to pee. In a moment of genius I buy her a chocolate milk. 15 minutes later we’re stuck in miles of traffic due to a massive car accident. She has to pee. I can’t exit. I tell therapist we’ll be late. Bella’s bawling she has to pee so bad. We finally pull off and there are no gas stations. Anywhere. We pull into a parking lot and she pees by the side of the car while bawling about the pee going under the car. Back in. Chocolate milk explodes all over her. More sobs. I hand her a wipe but it does nothing. Traffic lessens. We get to therapy 15 minutes late after a solid hour in the car. She has to pee. Again. We go. Therapist comes out and Bella announces to the entire room she’s peed her pants (it’s chocolate milk) and bawls when I tell her she didn’t. Everyone stares at me. She heads back. I collapse in chair. I write this while waiting for her because it’s just too much real life to pass up.

Mornin’ y’all. Here’s to a barf/sob/pee free afternoon.

The sitter we interviewed this week wanted a lot more hours than we really needed someone here for. We really liked her, but I just don’t need 20 hours a week. I don’t know what on earth I’d do with that much time.

So after agreeing that it just wouldn’t work, we’re back to the beginning. Sam leaves in a little over a week for 6 weeks. Our current sitter’s last day is Monday.

I’m not going to lie. I will do the ugly cry when she goes.

Not that I won’t miss Sam tremendously, but you all know. He works a lot, he’s coming home in March, I’m used to really doing most of it on my own. But our sitter has filled in those gaps for me to go to therapy, to the doctor, she’s always willing to take Bella for an evening so Sam and I can have a date night, and to have a morning where I can take off and write. She’s been so dependable and wonderful – blerg.

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