A day in the life

So I survived. Ha.

I was right--the day did go well. This was because my baby slept. You know, when you close your eyes, slip into unconciousness and rest? Yup. The boy starting snuffling around in the crib at 5am (still longer than his usual stretch) and as I was about to get him, I thought to myself, "He's not unhappy. He may not even be awake. Why are you getting him out?" I snuck back into bed and he slept until almost SEVEN AM!!! So when I fed him and played with him a little, he was only too happy to go back to sleep in his bouncy seat after his sisters were out the door, which meant that I got a shower, plus the bulk of the day's cleaning/picking up done before anyone else was even awake. Nothing like a little progress to change a person's view on just about everything. As for the rest of the day...

10 am Feed and change the growing boy.

10:57 am Leave (late) for baby therapy.

11:11 am Arrive (late) for baby therapy. Q gets his workout.

11:50 am Traipse upstairs from baby therapy to OT department for splint fittings.

12:15 pm OT finally arrives. Daytime splints fit, sort of. She takes them and says that they'll be fixed by that afternoon, will I be in the area? Sure. The nighttime splints are still not right, plus he's growing, so we're trying that fit out again next week.

12:30 pm We're off to counseling for G and E. It is determined that G's turn is first this time, so I offer him the only granola bar and juice box I have and take his order for Trader Joe's. (Grocery with nicely prepared, mostly healthy deli type stuff.)

1 pm G heads in, E, Q, and I head off to TJ's. We encounter traffic. And construction. And it's a gorgeous Friday afternoon, so everyone that can is heading out for the weekend. Argh. We speed shop, grabbing salads, sandwiches, and veggie sushi to share, pack up and go flying back to the counselor's office. Through more traffic. E eats on the way. We are 15 minutes late. E heads in, G enjoys his lunch, Q enjoys his second lunch, I sip the organic Ginger Limeade which has now become my new favorite thing, next to breathing. G is noticeably more calm and "centered" than he was when we arrived.

3 pm We load up and head out. The therapy folks have called and Q's splints are ready to pick up. I call my aunt and we arrange to meet at the therapy unit so I can get the girls.

3:40 pm After more traffic, I load the girls' seats and the girls themselves in and off we go--with grapes and carrots and bags of fun stuff my darling aunt found shopping secondhand. Love that. Only free is better than gently used, but with free the quality tends to take a serious dip.

4 pm Arrive back at the house, unload TJ's stuff into fridge and freezer (it was a cool day, it was tightly packed, the groceries were fiiiiiine). Grab library cards (on stretchy keyring wristband thingies) and head out again. The books and DVDs were already with us, but we needed the cards because how can one go to the library for any reason and not check something out? Unless they're closed, of course. En route, call pharmacy to inquire re: violent Zantac flavoring.

4:15 pm Having gotten mail, started the dishwasher, and put away some groceries for a friend, we're now on our way to the library. Call other friend and arrange time for dinner and exercise.

5 something pm Grandma meets us at the library. Having nursed the baby in the same old rocking chair, we amass the selections (the young ones met the history section re: the fall of Rome--wheeee!), get everyone checked out, get bookmarks stamped. A bookmark full of stamps is part of the summer reading program and results in a Subway meal coupon. G had already found and checked out four dragon books before the girls had even decided which section to start in. E discovered the fairy tale section, finding The Red Fairy Book particularly appealing, deciding to leave the yellow and violet tomes for future trips. S, as usual, had made several selections from the Spanish video section, but cheerfully put them back after I pointed this out. I'm sorry, that much Disney in any language is just obnoxious. If we could just pick something not Disney, I'd be thrilled to let her watch--there are worse ways to learn another language.

5:30 ish pm Get gas with local grocery deal that allows ten cents off per gallon. Proceed to drive -thru pharmacy (in same parking lot) to get Q's Zantac flavoring adjusted. Nice pharmacist adjusts it on the spot and off we go. Bummer. It was clear, now it's purple. Ugh.

6 something pm Arrive home. Haul stuff in. Friend and kids arrive. Open cans of refried beans, nuke beans, nuke tortillas, grate cheese. Open jar of sweet corn salsa from TJ's and inhale. Yum. Find the low-fat sour cream, assemble burritos. More salsa (this for the mommies only), some avocado, good chips. Send kids outside with food.

7 something pm After staring at the wall for long enough, we've finally worked up the energy to corral the kids and head off to walk. We get to the track and start kicking soccer balls around with the girls and end up walking only one lap. My darling mom walks Q around and around so I can keep kicking balls. He loves walking and seeing the trees. The boys have "played basketball" while we were "playing soccer" but I never heard the balls being dribbled. Hmmm. Must remember that for next time.

Arrive home a few minutes before 9 pm. Chuck kids into showers, nurse Q while catching a few minutes of Bill Moyers' Faith and Reason. He was interviewing Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale). I so enjoyed their discussion. She asserted that she'd been raised a "strict agnostic" which Moyers' questioned. "Not atheist?" "No. Atheism is it's own religion." They went on to address dogma, etc. He asked her if she would, given her upbringing, if redesigning human beings, remove the desire for God that we have. She said no, and that to do so would require a removal of language. (Interesting assertion, no?) But she thought she would remove the desire to use God as a weapon. Yes. Though I certainly don't agree with all she had to say, I wish I'd heard more. I love to contemplate this kind of exchange. Ah, well. Life goes on.

I put Q down, sucking his thumb (a big deal--after about five hours in the splints, they came off and he put his thumb into his mouth! and kept it there! through the move into his bed!!), and went to get the girls down once and for all. Despite the unusual noise of rare Friday night activity in the neighborhood, all were soon asleep. Last night didn't go as well for Q. E ended up in my bed too. I had a nap this afternoon, though, which is why I'm still up now, I'm sure. Oh well. The boy didn't go down until after midnight, so I'm hopeful he'll be so sleepy that I'll get a few consecutive hours before we go at this again.

So that's how that day went. It's good to have written it all down. I don't know how much of this I'll believe later, when the memories of this season of life begin to fade.

Quotes for the day: (from Chicken Run)

Behind every thieving garden gnome is a chicken with a plan.

Over in America we have this rule. If you wanna motivate
someone--Don't--mention--DEATH!

So laying eggs all your life and then getting plucked, stuffed, and roasted
is good enough for you, is it?

I wasn't on holiday, Babs.

If they come at you, the best thing to do is roll into a ball to protect
your vitals.

Mind you, these may not be in the actual movie (which I do recommend). The quotes above are from a book K picked up at the library: Chicken Pies for the Soul. A girl after my own heart.

'night.