Sheer Folly

I obviously angered the parenting gods yesterday by reveling in my afternoon off. A., who has slept through the night for the past 6 months, woke up about 6 times last night, sniffling, coughing and whining. He fell asleep quickly each time, but not for long.

And we've had no less than 6 complete meltdowns today (ooooh, 666 - obviously those Methodist 8th graders put a hex on me). You know the kind: he gets so upset and has so many tears and so much snot running down his face that there's no way he can indicate what's upsetting or what he wants. He does not, however, want anything to do with me or G. at the time and dismisses us with a hand-push (I don't know what else to call it when they're mad and mime pushing you away). But eventually he forgets what he was so upset about and can only collapse on my shoulder and moan. Poor guy. This is unusual for him. Usually he's got pretty strong frustration tolerance for an almost 2-year-old.

I sort of figured out most of the meltdowns, but one where he was sooo upset about not getting his macaroni and cheese quickly enough ("macky-cheese!") that he wasn't even consoled when I put it right in front of him (I forsake the boil method and pulled out the precious but quick microwave single servings). He still criiiiiieeeed and whiiiined and we could not figure out what the hell was wrong. A different spoon? Too hot? Milk? It soon became clear that he didn't know what was wrong either, so we ignored him until he chilled and started eating. Then he ate it all. ::::shrug::::

Went to Food Source today - our local cheap grocery place. The clerk was a fairly cute teenage boy who was quite personable. We discussed the coupons available in their recent ad, and I lamented that I'd missed the one for free cereal. He confided to me that employees don't need to actually have the coupons to get the deals. Then he said, quite regretfully, "but we're not hiring right now." How did he know I was looking for work (albeit in Oregon)? Is this a sign that I should seek out opportunities in grocery retail outlets? Hmmmmm.