Readjustment.

Oy, today was rough.

We had company the entire week of Spring Break, and then a two-week stay in Michigan, which means Piper has had grown-ups paying attention to her, playing with her, and generally catering to her every whim for three straight weeks. I was worried about how she would do when we got home and went back to our days alone. Today wasn't as bad as it could've been, but she went to bed early (by choice) and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when she did.

I don't know if it's because she got used to having someone constantly there to play with, or if it's because I did. I don't know if it's because the trip wore her out (she didn't sleep very well last night, and her nap today was half what it usually is) or her schedule is all messed up or she's just confused and angry about where all the fun people went. Maybe it's because I am so exhausted (see post below) and I woke up stiff and sore from changing beds or because now that I'm back here I can't push the looming spectre of unemployment away anymore.

Whatever it was, I was grouchy today. I didn't feel like indulging her requests to nurse every 20 minutes, and when I offered drinks or snacks she came unglued. I spent more of the day than I should have catching up on email and my fat stack of unread Google Reader posts; she spent a lot of the day destroying the house Ryan cleaned while we were gone and whining. Dear Lord, the whining. Nothing was satisfactory to her today. She wanted mac and cheese for lunch and when I didn't have it on the table in two minutes flat she started to scream "MAC and CHEESE!! MAC and CHEEEEEESE!" at me and wrap herself around my legs. "Waaaaant mac and cheeeeeese!" she whined, and kept whining as I explained that it wasn't done yet. When it was done, she took about three bites and then demanded more of the strawberry-yogurt-covered raisins she had been eating all day. I tried unpacking our bags, but she took the things I unloaded and scattered them throughout the house. I tried to sit down and pay bills, but she wanted to sit with me. She wanted up on my lap to look at LOLCats, then two seconds later she wanted down. While I was wiping down the bathrooms (my husband's self-imposed "to do" list while I was gone apparently did not include items like 'clean up beard hairs I have sprinkled all over bathroom counter' or 'wipe out sink so that wife does not gag the first time she washes face after arriving home'), Piper unloaded the stuff from the cabinets and got really pissed when I told her to stop sucking on perfume-bottles or to stop dipping my toothbrush in the toilet. She didn't want to play with her new dishes and serve pretend coffee to me and her dolls; she didn't want to cook me any play-food eggplant-matchbox-car-doll-bootie pizza. She wanted to read books, but none of the ones I suggested. She threw herself on the floor and howled when I said that two episodes of Kipper was enough TV for one day and we were going to listen to music for a while.

When Ryan got home for a break between jobs, we went out for sushi and she was pretty good for about 20 minutes, eating a half a lemon wedge (she loves them, rind and all) and 1.5 potstickers before starting to shriek and demand to get down. After he went back to work, I gave up any hope of getting something useful done. I filled a bucket with water, gave her a soak-proof baby doll (naked, of course; she has decided that no doll in our house should ever wear clothes), and turned her loose in the back yard. 45 wet minutes later, she was muddy enough to warrant a shower and in a marginally better mood. That didn't last long, however, and she dissolved into whining, fighting, and sobbing. She put up a huge battle when it was time to brush her teeth; I'm sure the neighbors heard her screaming "NO NO NO! NO WANT BRUSH TEETH! I JUST DON'T WANT IT BRUSH TEETH NOOOOOO!"

She passed out around 9:15, which is totally unheard-of. She woke up after an hour, but settled back down. I am hoping that a night of good, solid sleep will cure both our grumpies. Which reminds me, I should be in bed...