Who would have thought that I would be able to survive? After this morning, I didn’t think I would.
I got up at 6, as usual, to shower and get dressed, with plans not only to take Abby to school, but to take Riley over to Nana’s. One of the reasons for this was the inpending snow storm that had been plaguing the news over the previous day. But things were already going strangely even before I hit the snooze the second time.
I was up too late playing XBox with Pat the night before, after the kids were in bed. I realize this is my fault, but it’s the first time we’ve both been on at the same time, and even though we didn’t play the same game, we chatted for a while via the weird wired wireless headsets. So when Abby came stumbling into the bedroom around 5am, that was a bit unexpected.
She said she had a bad dream, and I just told her to climb in our bed. I rolled over and was asleep pretty quickly. Riley, thankfully, stayed asleep for the bulk of the night, and only woke briefly when I finally finished playing/talking with Pat and made my apparently too noisy way upstairs.
So, yeah, an hour after getting up from Abby’s bad dream, the alarm went off. I did eventually get up and showered. Out of the shower, I heard some noises coming from upstairs. It seems that Riley had woken up a tad early.
That was all ok. I put Riley on our bed to bounce around Abby and eventually wake her up, while I got dressed. I turned on the DVD of Veronica Mars that Berta left in the player, and was put out that time continued to progress rather than allow me to see the end of the episode.
With both kids awake, I towed them downstairs. Riley ate a whole banana and a bottle of milk without so much as a word, but a lot of pointing. Abby was typically weird picking her breakfast. She layed on the livingroom couch until I asked her to pick, then she ran in, pulled out the Rice Krispies, and then ran back to the couch. Trying to get her to sit still (or at all) at the table is a trial even when Berta is home.
I then remembered what Abby told me yesterday about going outside at school. The teachers didn’t let the kids go outside because none of them had snow pants or boots. So I packed up her snow pants and boots (which I had to find in the closet - who knew?) in an oversized (for her) empty backback.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I got both kids dressed and combed and ready for travel. I also made Abby’s lunch, which I hadn’t done the night before due to the lateness of disconnecting from Live. Anyhow, I did finally manage to get it all together, and drove to drop them off.
Abby’s school dropoff was less than I expected. I had to unbelt Riley from the car and drag him inside. Miss Robin asked Abby, “Is that your baby?” instead of the typical “How’s your baby?” that we get every morning. Lauren’s Dad had pulled up just next to us in the lot in the morning, and didn’t exactly wait for us to follow. Too much snow-gear and baby in tow, I guess.
With Abby safely in someone else’s hands, I took route 100 to West Chester to drop Riley at Nana’s. I don’t know if that’s the best way to go. If I have to do it again (another snow storm on Friday?), I might just go back through Downingtown. It’s just that those stinking school zones are in the path slowing everything down.
Anyway, today went off pretty well other than the hectic morning. I drove all around to pick up the kids after school was over. And although I left every pacifier from the house (I found them all) in the diaper bag that I left with Nana, I was able to get everything done as needed. Both kids are in bed, and now it’s just a matter of getting me there, right?
Hopefully Nana remembers to bring all the stuff I left over there, otherwise we’re going to be a little short on bottles.
I’m leaving a bit out of the story, and perhaps I will fill in as time allows at the end of the week. It’ll probably be a new post rather than editing this one, though, so you’ll have to figure out how to fit all of these things together in the end. We’ll see how that flies.
I didn’t hear from Berta in Ireland today, so I’m hoping things are still well over there. She called yesterday, but I was kind of overwhelmed by the driving Abby home from school and the snow and the hopping on the couch and the Riley grabbing the touch-screen cell phone on speaker and… Anyway, I probably could have been more attentive.
She said something about getting to visit a couple of places, like these cliffs she wanted to see and a cave of some sort with strange colored walls. I hope she remembered to take pictures. I hope she remembered to use the flash, or none of them will come out. Use the flash, Bert!
Her work’s Blackberry has service over there through Cingular, which is nice, and that’s how she called. The quality wasn’t fantastic, but I don’t know who’s service was causing the problem. The conversation was a bit choppy. It could have been the distance, of course. It’s amazing how you can instantly talk across the planet now, isn’t it?
I hope she calls or contacts me tomorrow, not that I’m really worried (ok, I am a little), but that I kind of miss her voice.
Alright, I’m determined to get some reasonable amount of sleep tonight. Perhaps I should accomplish this by climbing up the pole outside my bedroom window so as to avoid walking through the living room and past the XBox.
Yes, I’m doomed.
