Day Ninety-Three

I've been asked a bunch of questions about this monstrosity, so I guess I might as well answer them?

The question I've been asked the most is for the plans, which ... HAHAHAHALOLZ.

I'm not good at plans.

The basic premise for the project came from this. It's a pretty simple concept, though I did complicate things further by embiggening the whole thing.

Like, a lot.

It's 8' x 10', which is another question that has come up. It was strategically sized that way so that we wouldnt' have to cut as much wood. Standard lengths are my friend. The thing is also REALLY high up off the ground, mostly because I didn't want to "give up" the yard below it. That has worked out super well because there is now a giant tent swing thing hanging from the bottom and there's space for Mila's sandbox. As a bonus, I can walk under it without smashing my head.

Not having any windows or doors did wonders for making the project go faster. All told, it was about two weeks from the time we broke ground until the last of the stain was applied. I worked at my "real job" during one of those weeks, so it really was a quick project. The biggest reason it went quick was that I planned everything out in advance. I mathed the exact number of boards I would need for the floor, for example, and had them separated out as I went. Also, Alexis is officially old enough to help, so she did. A lot. She had a vested interest in the whole thing as she helped select the design and had plans to conquer the whole thing as her own.

Which she has.

It may have been Mila's birthday present, but Alexis is the one who lives out there. She has been spending hours and hours sitting in the tent/swing thing and reading. It's where she is all day every day, really. So far Mila doesn't seem to mind, so we all win.

Basically, the idea that a play structure would be a much better way to celebrate Mila's birthday (as compared to a party) was exactly right. I'm just not sure that the right kid is celebrating daily.

Day Ninety-Two

For the first time in over three months, I took Mila out in public. She literally has not been around other people this whole time. She had a playdate with a neighbor a few times and has gone on hikes, but that's it. No grocery store. No Target. No playgrounds. Nothing.

Her return to civilization went exactly the way I thought it would.

The thing is that she needs to figure out how to wear a mask all the time, which is a skill that has to be learned. It's not hard, but practice definitely makes it easier. So, to keep it simple, we went with the Zoo as our Big Outing.

For what it's worth, the Pittsburgh Zoo currently requires advance tickets, even if you are a member. You have to say what time you're going to be there because they're keeping capacity WAAAAAAY down and spaced out. It's about 90% outdoors and it's easy to skip the indoor stuff, so it's relatively low risk. Stay away from people, stay outside, it's all good.

A perfect re-entry of sorts for a slightly feral 6-year old.

Except, she's SUPER feral at this point.

The kid won't wear shoes. She never has been willing to wear shoes, but I generally can make it work because we generally go places. It turns out that falling out of practice made Mila forget how to pretend to conform in public. I fought with her about keeping shoes on her feet THE ENTIRE TIME OMG.

And the mask.

See, the thing is, we're "Mask People." That's exactly Alexis' explanation for why we wore masks the entire time we were at the zoo, despite being outside and socially distanced, because why not? If even just one less person contracts COVID-19 because we wear masks all the time, doesn't that make it worth it? Every single bra I wear is more uncomfortable than a mask and I manage that, so whatever. Wear the mask.

Did I mention that I think everyone should just wear masks? WEAR MASKS. If the one you have is uncomfortable? Try another one! Try lots of them! It's so easy.

ANYWAY.

We're mask people. Not everyone is. Want to guess how much that bothered the 6-year old? She was standing there flat-out refusing to wear shoes, but ready to tackle every stranger she saw because they weren't wearing masks. (Like, nobody was. Nobody at all. It was ... disconcerting.)

Somehow Mila has made up her mind that shoes are completely optional in life, but masks? She's totally going to wear a mask.

Day Ninety-One

There are a million more important things that I should write about, but sometimes the Tiny Human goes crashing through life swinging a baseball bat and I have to make sure I document it. While Alexis is absolutely the kid who I have entrusted to make sure I spend my final days at a good nursing home, what if Mila is still living with us then? What if she ends up being in charge? I need her to remember that she owes me.

You owe me, Mila.

At precisely YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME O'CLOCK, I was reminded that Mila seriously is never going to sleep in her own bed by herself. Never ever. She did it that one time so she could get a pet hamster, but other than that, it hasn't happened since she was barely able to walk. Five years? I think maybe it's been five years. Most of the time it's totally fine because Mila is the ultimate co-sleeper. She snuggles without smothering. She stays still. She doesn't steal blankets. She doesn't snore or kick. She's just ... comfy.

UNTIL SHE ISN'T.

4:30. It was 4:30 when she shrieked, "MOMMY!" at the top of her lungs. Little Miss Mila had a nightmare and she was genuinely scared. She didn't want to talk about it, which was kind of fine because I had only gone to bed 2 1/2 hours earlier.

Look, global pandemics make me more of a night owl. That's just how it is. It wouldn't be a problem if tiny people didn't wake me up at 4:30, you know.

ANYWAY. Mila shrieked, was scared, but didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted to scream and cry. Loudly. A lot. I tried reasoning with her and talking her down and all sorts of things, even going so far as to turn on the lights, but nothing worked. The poor kid was scared and sad and she couldn't figure out how to change her moment.

I did what anyone who was trying to function on 2 1/2 hours of sleep would do - I logged into Disney+ and handed her my phone. Mila can ALWAYS find a movie she wants to watch, so she did exactly that. She watched Inside Out while clinging to me for dear life because she was still scared.

I never did manage to fall back asleep. Mila eventually was able ot calm down enough to be human again, but she didn't fall asleep either. Because movie.

And then my alarm went off. It was 6:30 by that point and Mila was just wrapping up her movie. There was a bit of a tussle as I told her she would have to go downstairs to continue her movie spree, but I needed to go get in the shower. It was plenty light outside, so I didn't need to escort her down the stairs. She could get there by herself and she certainly knows how to turn on the TV herself.

But then she took a left.

Mila was supposed to take a right and go down the stairs, but instead she took a left. Less than a minute later, she had crawled up into her sister's loft, snuggled up, AND FELL ASLEEP. THE LITTLE JERK WENT BACK TO SLEEP LIKE *THAT* THE SECOND I HAD TO GET UP FOR THE DAY.

I'm bitter. And tired. Mostly I'm tired because I'm too tired to be really bitter.

Like I said, Mila owes me. I want a nursing home that has crafts daily, Mila YOU OWE ME AT LEAST THAT MUCH.