Day 30--Not Cut Out to Be a Single Parent

I am impressed with myself for even having the energy to write this post, I have to admit.  Today was quite a day.  After waking up late, we rushed around ready to go to the doctor's office for our 19 week visit and sonogram, where we learned that we are having another boy!  Then, while we were there, we got a call for another showing for today between 2:00-4:00.  So, we finally got to go home only to have to get the house ready for another showing.

While we were getting ready, one of Barney's brothers called to see if Barney would come over and spend the night with the two brothers before the youngest leaves the country for five months.  I knew that he would really want to go, even before he hung up the phone.  So despite being completely behind in work due to being sick and the events of the morning, I immediately agreed that he should go.  He was suspicious that it was a trap or that I would be mad later even though I said yes, which made me sad.  But, hopefully I will be able to change that perception throughout the course of this year.

As soon as the house was showing ready, he headed off to see his brothers, and I headed off to Barnes and Noble to get some work done.  After an hour and a half or so, I decided to grab a kid's meal chicken salad sandwich from Zoë’s and an iced tea from Sonic to be my dinner later, and then I headed to pick up the kids.

George wanted to go play at the park, and we compromised on playing at the playground at the mall, since it was too cold to play outside.  After about half an hour of that fun, we headed home for dinner.  I fixed Olivia a bean and cheese burrito and got her situated while I made George's peanut butter and jelly sandwich and strawberries.  I got him situated and started getting out my own food, which I was very excited about, not least of which because the last thing I'd eaten was oatmeal for breakfast at about 11:00am.

Before I could even get my food on a plate though, I realized that George had decided he was cold and thus brought in my favorite cream-colored throw that was a wedding present.  He had put his strawberry on top of the throw which he was using as a mitten to keep his hand warm.  Needless to say, the red stains were very large and apparent.  I may have slightly overreacted to what I saw, based on the reaction from both kids: immediate waterworks.  So, then I had to smooth over that episode, go stain treat the blanket, and then get my food ready. 

By this point, Olivia was finished eating, so I let her get down to go play, and George and I sat down to eat.  He was still upset from being yelled at and wanted to sit in my lap.  Of course I agreed.  This of course immediately led to a strong need on his part to eat my chips.  Only, I didn't want to share--they complement the chicken salad perfectly.  Being the strong mother that I am, I did what any good mother would do.  I went and got him Cheetos of his own to eat.  But of course, then Olivia needs Cheetos too.  So, I convince them to share the little bag.  This consists of George laying across my lap with the bag in his hand, while Olivia toddles over from time to time to get one or two more, each time appearing more and more orange in stranger and stranger places.  Like her ears.  And rump.

However, they are happy, and I am eating my sandwich and chips in a mood of harmony.  I even think to myself that the night has gotten pretty smoothly all and all and congratulate myself on handling everything so well.  Fast forward approximately 15 seconds.  George decides to sit up in my lap, in the process knocking over my still full Route 44 unsweet tea and breaking it into several pieces.

I go to get the towels to clean this up, very distraught at my sudden lack of an enjoyable beverage for the rest of the night, to find Olivia happily smashing individual Cheetos into as many clean Tupperware containers as possible.  I get things into a semblance of an order and declare dinnertime over.  It is now bath time.  Happily bath time was very smooth.  After bath, Olivia was placed into bed, George got to watch a little bit of Curious George and then followed her to bed shortly thereafter.

Finally, I could eat my dinner in peace.  Except, somehow, what was left of my sandwich, chips, and pickle (almost all of it) are still sitting right there in the fridge where I deposited them before bath time.  The chocolate cake that was my extra special treat is sitting right here beside me though, almost half eaten.