And How Was Your Morning?
Just putting this here so I can read it in a few years ... and laugh.
Morning started off as usual. Get dressed while Leah gets dressed. Leah insists on getting Molly, her American Girl Doll dressed, too. Alice doesn't want to get dressed, which is normal.
Head downstairs for breakfast. The crockpot full of chicken bits that's been simmering all night to make chicken broth is ready to be put through a sieve and frozen for future use. Triumph!
Make toast, open smoothie drinks and get everyone eating. Crisis: Alice's Netflix isn't working. I turn on the radio and let her pick a song. Crisis averted.
I make my breakfast smoothie, pour out some of the broth through a sieve and pack Leah's lunch. While stowing lunch in backpack, and taking a cursory look to make sure math book is in there (as I asked her to do last night), I notice there is only one gym sneaker in there. She wasn't allowed to do a gym activity yesterday because she forgot her shoe ("it was the worst afternoon ever!"). I'm back in the kitchen reminding her to make sure there are TWO gym shoes in her backpack and there is five minutes left until we go to the bus.
I pour out more broth through my mesh sieve into another bowl. This isn't cooling quickly. Can I put them into the freeze still warm?
I have a minute to ponder before our bus alarm goes off. As Leah and I get outfitted to be outside, I ask Alice to put her lunch in her bag. She finds her reading folder, and Crisis! she forgot to do her reading last night. I'm walking out the door. Argh! Fortunately, David walks in from the gym. Saved! "Do your reading with Daddy." Yay! I attempt to lace my boots but Benny keeps jumping up on my legs excited about the prospect of going out to the bus stop. "Not today!" Yesterday, during our walk to the bus stop in 1degree cold, his paws got cold and he sat and shivered, thus I had to carry him most of the way home. NOT AGAIN. It's 10degrees but there's a significant wind chill. Dogs stay inside.
Leah's whining about taking the car to the stop. Fine. She gets onto the bus with little fuss. But crisis: After school babysitter is not available this afternoon. Hockey game. Neighbor and I (who share the babysitter) spend two minutes strategizing. Who has late meetings? Can we call another neighbor? I'll ask Dave.
Back home, Alice is in a foul mood. Dave is on his laptop and paying 24% attention to her reading. I let dog out, who has been crying since I left, and sit next to Alice hoping to bypass a meltdown. She gets through her reading. I ask her to put folders in backpack. Crisis: She remembers her Take Home folder has a rip and she must have the purple glitter folder right now. I negotiate: She gets dressed while I look (despite the fact I looked last night and didn't find it.)
She has no clean leggings in her drawer. She pulls out a pair of pink size 5 sweatpants. She's a size 7. How are they still in her drawer!?!! I run downstairs for the clean laundry -- that hasn't been folded yet (four days later) -- for two pairs of size 7 leggings. She still wants the pink sweats. Fine. They are capri length.
Did I find the folder? No. I'll keep looking. No, I need it now. Right now. I keep looking while she brushes her hair -- angerly.
I run downstairs and quickly pour all the remaining stock into Tupperware (silently wishing I had larger glass pyrex containers available. Oh well.) The crockpot full of chicken carcass, bones and used up veg will just have to sit on the counter all day -- nothing to do about it. I throw food in a bag for my lunch. Luckily, I have a frozen soup ready because I don't have the time to pull together anything else.
We've got about five minutes until we need to head out to the bus but suddenly I realize the second floor has gotten very quiet. CRAP. I call up "honey, time to get your shoes on." No answer. I finish packing up the few things for my lunch, including a package of rice cakes because I can't get cheese or a salad prepped fast enough. I notice that there's a holiday decoration I missed last night when I was putting them all away. I mentally berate myself. How did I miss that?!
I jog upstairs. Her toy ponies, that she was playing with last night, all need to be woken up. There's probably 8 of them. Oh no. I find Dave, he will be in a meeting until 5 tonight. So not available to help with the after-school situation. Fudge.
Bus alarms sounds. I get her downstairs but she's just remembered about the purple folder. Chaos ensues. She goes into defcom-4 and melts down. Things are thrown. I somehow pull her into a jacket. The hat pulls her headband down, so I'm reprimanded for ruining her hair. It's 10degrees out. She pulls on her Vans and I know they'll get wet in the snow but I allow it. She's not up for negotiation at this point. She crying and whining and I get her out the door with her backpack (god-willing packed with everything she'll needs) but she's just mewing at this point and totally non-verbal. She makes it to the driveway before she realizes it's freezing. So I pull out the car from the garage, and carry her into it, because now she's upset that her Vans are wet. But she's still nonverbal, so I can't really tell.
In the car is her bag of snow gear, including snow boots. I suggest she change her shoes. Only response is crying and mewing.
We're at the bus stop and I'm trying to get my mind to switch gears, because she works better with distractions but I can't. And friggin Taylor Swift isn't on the radio which almost always works. I'm as stuck as she is in whatever is making her nuts. My only thought is to get her outside. The bus arrives and I'm still motivating her to get out of the car. She does, because she knows deep down she can't miss the bus. We get to the bottom of the bus steps and she's sobbing. She's realized that I'm probably angry, even though I'm showing my "understanding" and "sympathy" face. And she's also realized her hands are freezing. I suggest again the gloves, no response.
I hug and kiss her and pick her up and place her on the first step of the bus. She's crying. She climbs the rest of the step. The bus driver and I exchange a knowing look, because this isn't the first time I'm placing my child into the bus. Off the bus goes to school with me waving like an idiot in the freezing cold.
I didn't plan to, but I drive home to see what else I need before I have to sit in 40 minutes of traffic. I glance around the family room and realize I didn't grab my purse. I would have left without my purse. Oh hell.
My day could only get better from here, right?
Head downstairs for breakfast. The crockpot full of chicken bits that's been simmering all night to make chicken broth is ready to be put through a sieve and frozen for future use. Triumph!
Make toast, open smoothie drinks and get everyone eating. Crisis: Alice's Netflix isn't working. I turn on the radio and let her pick a song. Crisis averted.
I make my breakfast smoothie, pour out some of the broth through a sieve and pack Leah's lunch. While stowing lunch in backpack, and taking a cursory look to make sure math book is in there (as I asked her to do last night), I notice there is only one gym sneaker in there. She wasn't allowed to do a gym activity yesterday because she forgot her shoe ("it was the worst afternoon ever!"). I'm back in the kitchen reminding her to make sure there are TWO gym shoes in her backpack and there is five minutes left until we go to the bus.
I pour out more broth through my mesh sieve into another bowl. This isn't cooling quickly. Can I put them into the freeze still warm?
I have a minute to ponder before our bus alarm goes off. As Leah and I get outfitted to be outside, I ask Alice to put her lunch in her bag. She finds her reading folder, and Crisis! she forgot to do her reading last night. I'm walking out the door. Argh! Fortunately, David walks in from the gym. Saved! "Do your reading with Daddy." Yay! I attempt to lace my boots but Benny keeps jumping up on my legs excited about the prospect of going out to the bus stop. "Not today!" Yesterday, during our walk to the bus stop in 1degree cold, his paws got cold and he sat and shivered, thus I had to carry him most of the way home. NOT AGAIN. It's 10degrees but there's a significant wind chill. Dogs stay inside.
Leah's whining about taking the car to the stop. Fine. She gets onto the bus with little fuss. But crisis: After school babysitter is not available this afternoon. Hockey game. Neighbor and I (who share the babysitter) spend two minutes strategizing. Who has late meetings? Can we call another neighbor? I'll ask Dave.
Back home, Alice is in a foul mood. Dave is on his laptop and paying 24% attention to her reading. I let dog out, who has been crying since I left, and sit next to Alice hoping to bypass a meltdown. She gets through her reading. I ask her to put folders in backpack. Crisis: She remembers her Take Home folder has a rip and she must have the purple glitter folder right now. I negotiate: She gets dressed while I look (despite the fact I looked last night and didn't find it.)
 |
| In Calmer Times |
Did I find the folder? No. I'll keep looking. No, I need it now. Right now. I keep looking while she brushes her hair -- angerly.
I run downstairs and quickly pour all the remaining stock into Tupperware (silently wishing I had larger glass pyrex containers available. Oh well.) The crockpot full of chicken carcass, bones and used up veg will just have to sit on the counter all day -- nothing to do about it. I throw food in a bag for my lunch. Luckily, I have a frozen soup ready because I don't have the time to pull together anything else.
We've got about five minutes until we need to head out to the bus but suddenly I realize the second floor has gotten very quiet. CRAP. I call up "honey, time to get your shoes on." No answer. I finish packing up the few things for my lunch, including a package of rice cakes because I can't get cheese or a salad prepped fast enough. I notice that there's a holiday decoration I missed last night when I was putting them all away. I mentally berate myself. How did I miss that?!
I jog upstairs. Her toy ponies, that she was playing with last night, all need to be woken up. There's probably 8 of them. Oh no. I find Dave, he will be in a meeting until 5 tonight. So not available to help with the after-school situation. Fudge.
Bus alarms sounds. I get her downstairs but she's just remembered about the purple folder. Chaos ensues. She goes into defcom-4 and melts down. Things are thrown. I somehow pull her into a jacket. The hat pulls her headband down, so I'm reprimanded for ruining her hair. It's 10degrees out. She pulls on her Vans and I know they'll get wet in the snow but I allow it. She's not up for negotiation at this point. She crying and whining and I get her out the door with her backpack (god-willing packed with everything she'll needs) but she's just mewing at this point and totally non-verbal. She makes it to the driveway before she realizes it's freezing. So I pull out the car from the garage, and carry her into it, because now she's upset that her Vans are wet. But she's still nonverbal, so I can't really tell.
In the car is her bag of snow gear, including snow boots. I suggest she change her shoes. Only response is crying and mewing.
We're at the bus stop and I'm trying to get my mind to switch gears, because she works better with distractions but I can't. And friggin Taylor Swift isn't on the radio which almost always works. I'm as stuck as she is in whatever is making her nuts. My only thought is to get her outside. The bus arrives and I'm still motivating her to get out of the car. She does, because she knows deep down she can't miss the bus. We get to the bottom of the bus steps and she's sobbing. She's realized that I'm probably angry, even though I'm showing my "understanding" and "sympathy" face. And she's also realized her hands are freezing. I suggest again the gloves, no response.
I hug and kiss her and pick her up and place her on the first step of the bus. She's crying. She climbs the rest of the step. The bus driver and I exchange a knowing look, because this isn't the first time I'm placing my child into the bus. Off the bus goes to school with me waving like an idiot in the freezing cold.
I didn't plan to, but I drive home to see what else I need before I have to sit in 40 minutes of traffic. I glance around the family room and realize I didn't grab my purse. I would have left without my purse. Oh hell.
My day could only get better from here, right?
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