Notting Hill tonight

Even with my mother in law in town, movie night continues. After putting my little one to sleep, I was off to the movies to see Notting Hill. Unfortunately, I was a bit late since leaving my two children with Nonna took a little longer than anticipated. What a very strange and deeply saddening night. My heart broke many times for many different reasons.

The night started as so many do, frantic attempts to figure out what she is trying to do. Usually I try to convince her that a bath was needed but tonight there was no arguing with her or getting her into the tub. She was adamant about it being too cold (we live in Florida where the low is in the 60's). She could not stop thinking about how late I arrived without gum drops. She paced back and forth from kitchen to bedroom to kitchen again asking what she was doing more times than I can count. We spent about half an hour trying to fix the bed. That bed has driven me almost crazy. Between my father and I, we have played musical beds with all three of the ones in the house in attempts to find the perfect fit. Luckily, today I did not have to move a bed but I did have to figure out how to make the bed. It is not as simple as putting on sheets and then a comforter. This week she is sleeping on a blue velvet type material blanket that we safety pin to the bed. She is afraid that the safety pins will pop and kill her so I remove them. She decides that it is too hot for the blanket and wants to sleep on the bed with nothing over the mattress. After stripping it down, she gets confused since it does not look right. We remake the bed and stack the five pillows in corresponding order three different times and add the blue blanket, a comforter, two quilts and five mini blankets to the bed in certain order in certain places since the dog needs her own. Mission is accomplished and it is back to the gumdrops and those things that dad eats in the freezer but are not the things he eats. Luckily she believes that my brother knows what they are so a phone call later and deciphering the code we realize it is strawberrry shortcake ice cream bars (which I must admit are delicious). It is faster to run to the store to get the items than to watch her fixate on it for the entire evening.

Before I go, my mom realizes she needs to change her undergarments. She removes her two shirts and proceeds to put her undies on her head. After putting both arms through the holes, she says it is not right and removes them. She than steps into them putting them over her pants. My heart breaks for the first time. She allows me to help her out and she shows me her chapped lips. I offer her some chap stick and she tries to put it on her lips. Unfortunately, the lips she puts it on are the ones in the mirror-chapstick is now on the bathroom vanity mirror. She asks me what she is doing and I explain. She asks how and I try to show her. Again the mirror and then to me. Five more minutes of explanations and we manage to put some on her lips. Heart break two.

I head to the store and arrive back in ten minutes. She actually smiles for the first time that night and begins to inhale gumdrops. We get ready for the movie and she is fixated on the bed again. Luckily I am able to distract her and the movie starts. She no longer can sit and watch the movie-she is up and down from room to room trying to figure out what she is doing. She turned on the air and heat over ten times as she became hot and cold. Movie finishes and we take the dog out. She is confused as to why the light in the pool came on. She tells me that it always turns on when she comes outside. I try to explain that she turned on the switch yet she is convinced that it is on a timer. I let it lie and herd her back inside. The bed becomes another 1/2 hour issue and I am able to leave with her content for now. She starts obsessing about the dog and how she is really sick. I convince her that the dog is ok that all she needs is allergy pill and that problem is solved. She brings me back into the room and hands me her boots. For five years, she has guarded them not wanting anyone to ever borrow them. Today she tells me they scare her and she wants to get rid of them. Heart break three. I am a very tired person tonight and so I am off to bed.