Curses, foiled again!

Last night I was feeling a little restless.  It was late and the house was quiet, so I figured I would take the opportunity to invest in a little "just for mommy time."  Nothing complicated, but perhaps in light of the last several weeks just catching up on mommy maintenance to make myself feel a little better about life in general.  For all of you who are mommies, or who know a mommy, or who have 25 hour days constantly you know that of which I speak.  It usually involves immersion in some manner in hot water (for as long as you damn well please), then an assortment of product applications that you maybe you save for just such an occasion.  Ambience can be candles, incense, anything that does NOT smell like diaper cream or mildly used formula.  Add perhaps a glass of wine, a good book and music or dvd of your choice and you have maybe the best hour or so of your life thus far.  Yes yes yes, don't laugh.  Just because I wear combat boots for half my life does not mean that I cannot appreciate a little femininity now and then!

So go check on the kids, including the loaner kid sleeping downstairs while his mom works, everyone's asleep.  Slip upstairs to the bedroom with a bottle of white russian and something for a Hugh Jackman fix and close the door.  All my treasures lay before me, including the Aveda moisturizers, the "Buffy" bar from LUSH, and my "save for when you need a boost" batch of new hair color (black with red highlights).  All will shortly be right with the world, it's roughly 2am.

Now when I do decide to color my own hair, and especially if I'm changing the color -- it's not an easy task.  My hair is somewhat long, but very thick.  For me to change the color I need to saturate the ends and I can't do the whole thing in one shot.  So two boxes and ALOT of mess later I've accomlished the task.  I've piled the darkening mass atop my head and am rigorously scrubbing the purplish residue from my skin ... the floor ... the sink ... the walls, etc.  I'm about to go on with my regime when I can  hear it, faint at first but undeniable -- The Skootch is rousing.

I hurry into her room and do the usual things that can counteract the Awakening.  I sing my silly tuneless song, I rub her back, play with hair, cover her up, the works.  And nothing is working, she's still all over the place and the little cries are getting a bit stronger.  Oh lord now we have eye fluttering, "Please please please honey, don't do this to Mommy."  No such luck.  The little diva begins to holler and will not be soothed.  Keep in mind that I'm covered in hair dye and totally unable to give her the attention she's counting on.  But if I let her holler she will eventually wake the entire house up.  So I swing her under my arm and lug her into the bedroom.  I figure laying on the featherbed in a dark room will help.  Nothing, no good -- she's up and that's that.  Meanwhile time is ticking and the dye is now starting to dry on my scalp -- visions of eggplants now dance in my head.

Eventually I end up waking up the poor au pair at 3am just to have her hold the Divine Ms. M so that mommy can go do a quick rinse in the shower.  With a tiny sob I put away my exfoliating / moisturizing / good smelling treasures.  Ahh perhaps next time my dear Buffy bar and Philosophy body souffle, until then fare thee well.  I will say that she is teething right now and is utterly miserable as a result, so I will cut her some slack -- this time.  She did proceed to stay awake and cling for four full hours, and succumbed to sleep only after the first grey light appeared at the window.

And despite all of that the hair color came out great.  I still have dry skin and could use a scrub, but then again I knew what I was getting into when I signed on for the tour of duty.  Besides ... they all have to sleep sometime, I'm sure I can find another hour to myself, someday.