Oy vey.

Zoe's finally better. We used a vaporizer in her room, gave her Benadryl and Motrin and basically just sat it out with her. There has to be a reason why she keeps coming down with all of these illnesses one right after the other. I would have thought that The Tornado would have been frail, considering that the placental abruption put him here six weeks ahead of schedule. Instead Zoe's the one who's always sick, and it's the worst feeling to not be able to keep them all healthy at once.

For now, though, she's better.

Whew!

Not much has happened in the last few days. I designed this layout, took some new pictures I haven't uploaded to my PC yet and got some things done that had been sort of sitting around and piling up. I also adopted some new Cabbage Patch Kids. Now that I can do that, I seem unable to stop. I've discovered that even though having mint versions that are still in the box is great, I love the ones that are minus their papers and boxes too.

Since it's never been covered in this or any other place, I have this advice for people who sell vintage toys via Ebay:

* Please make sure it's clean. I know I've mentioned this before, but common sense should prevail on this, thus making it needless for me to say it even once. If you don't want to buy something that's in filthy, poor condition, why do you assume someone else does?

* Decent pictures, please. If I can't see it, I won't buy it.

* Honest description, please. Tell me what pieces, if any, are missing. When listing Cabbage Patch Dolls, tell me they still have their boxes, papers and if it's a paci doll - tell me if it still has it's pacifier. Tell me what color their eyes are and if the resolution of your photo is cruddy, what color his or her hair is. Does it come from a home with a smoker or a pet? I don't smoke and I'm allergic to furry or feathery animals so this is information I need.

I don't expect people to do these things just because I asked it, I expect people to do them because it's common sense and good business. Think about the ads that stand out to you and write yours accordingly.

Jeez!

In a few minutes I have to go call Fuckface's house and see if I can get John home early. The movie starts at 1:10 and we both have to get showers, which I can't do if no one else is here to watch the babies. If I put Trent in the playpen and Zoe in the swing sometimes I can manage a quick one but that doesn't happen often without some kind of screamfest. My children dislike confinement. Larry has gone out to the shooting range this morning and won't be back until 11 or 11:30, so shower time is going to be limited indeed. I wish he'd wait to do that until mornings he knows I don't have something going. As always, my schedule depends on someone else's. If I don't have help watching the babies, things don't get done, and since there are errands to run today after seeing the movie and my folks usually drop by on Sunday nights, catching a later showing is out of the question on this, the fourth weekend in a row that John and I have tried to see LOTR.

Dammit, this whole waiting around on other people thing sucks.

There was an episode of Law and Order: SVU on last night and since I usually can't get enough of the show, this made me very happy, but in it John Ritter played a man who attacked his wife and cut her child out of her (thinking the baby belonged to her lover), and beat it to death. The baby turned out to be his. I love both the show and John Ritter, but this episode has been eating away at me since last night. It reminds me of the Baby Michael case, the baby boy who was beaten to death right after his birth and put into a Hefty bag with the placenta and umbilical cord and dumped at the side of the road in Fayetteville, NC. It was a little too real for me, I guess and I can't seem to stop thinking about it.

The struggle to understand why people hurt the most innocent and helpless among us tears at my insides sometimes. It's really tearing at me now, because even though the baby in the show wasn't real, Baby Michael was.

I have to stop thinking about it.