The Day the Child Went Ka-Boom! or A Peek Into My Day

Disclaimer:
Let it be known that when a certain toddler heard Mommy was going to be blogging about their day, he rubbed his little hands together and with an evil grin whispered "Most excellent." This toddler then proceeded to plan an offensive attack that, quite frankly, blindsided this mommy.

Such is the case when we decide to show off our lives for others to read. Murphy's Law is never more present than when you want to make a good impression.

Also, the same Mommy and Toddler were recovering from a nasty flu bug at the time of this bloggie chronicle; therefore, the Peek you are about to receive should NOT be taken as the gospel truth, normal Tuesday-ness we usually experience. Usually, there's a lot less coughing. Thank you.

Ahem.

7:16 am - I'm awake, but I don't want to be. The sky is pitch dark outside. Who wants to get up while it's still dark? Hubby, that's who. Hubby is up and getting ready for work. I strain my ears for sounds coming from the other bedroom, but hear nothing. Ahhhh. I close my eyes and allow myself a few more minutes . . .

7:45 am - The Alarm Clock is up, banging around his room, knocking at his door, begging to be set free. That's my cue; good-bye pillows! Good morning, Caleb!

We settle out on a chair in the living room for a rare morning snuggle. My son, most of you may recall, is NOT a snuggler, so the few minutes he spends sitting on my lap while I rock are precious. They are also my chance to fully wake up. While the sun has risen by now, the day is pretty gray. I do notice, however, that the howling wind from the night before has calmed down. The outdoors are quiet and cold and still.

8:00 am - Caleb's done snuggling and wants his customary morning banana. I pour myself some water and the two of us sit on barstools drinking and munching and rubbing the last of the sleepies out of our eyes. Then I change his diaper, get him dressed, and we're ready for breakfast.

Caleb has waffles, I get toast and canned peaches. While we eat, I let my mind wander . . .

What should we do today? Laundry? I look around the kitchen. It's trashed. A unintended victim of the flu bug. Nah, no laundry today. The kitchen is gonna take priority.

As breakfast winds down, we hit our first snag of the day: Caleb's decided he wants an apple. Mommy says no, you already had a banana and what do you think I am, a fruit vendor? Caleb whines. Mommy huffs. We have a discipline moment.

8:55 am - I grab Caleb and his little preschool bible and we sit down in the living room for devos. Today we read the story of the widow who gave her two small coins to the temple treasury. When we're done, Caleb flips to other stories, looking for pictures of fish and animals. We end with a prayer, asking Jesus to help us be loving nand gentle and patient today.

The prayer is as much for me as it is for him.

Serious time turns into tickle time, and for a few minutes I chase Caleb around the living room making him giggle and laugh. . .

. . . until I start hacking up a lung. That darn cough hasn't gone away yet, and so I have to cut the chase short. I put on a Veggie Tales movie for Caleb instead, and head into the bedroom to have my own devos.

10:00 am - The wind is starting to pick up outside as I take chicken out of the freezer for dinner. Grrrrrr. Guess I'll get dressed and try to get Caleb outside while I can. I am soooo not ready for winter.

Snags #2, #3, and #4 occur. More whining ensues. So do more disciplinary moments. I am getting frustrated with my precious little angel. He's fighting me on everything today: putting on his shoes, putting on his jacket, taking toys with him in the car.

Doesn't he know I'm trying to blog about today? Doesn't he know I need him to be good and sweet and perfectly obedient???

Obviously, someone didn't get the memo.

10:32 am - The park is cold. The only other family we see leaves shortly after we arrive, so we have Ft. Nugent all to ourselves. Caleb runs and plays and seems to be enjoying himself. He loves slides. Unfortunately, today the slides do not love him back.

Fifteen mintues into his play time, he slides backwards, down a particularly long and slick slide, only to slam his nose on the ledge at the very bottom. Bashed nose. Much blood. Loud screaming. Worried mother. Caleb is NOT happy, and I'm beginning to realize that we're in for a tough day.

I clean him up as best I can. He doesn't want to walk, so I carry him back to the car and try to get him settled comfortably in his car seat. I don't really want to head home just yet, so I turn on Caleb's favorite Baby Einsteins music cd and go for a drive.

We drive west until we hit the ocean, then turn south to follow the coast. In the distance, I catch glimpses of the Olympic Mountains. The clouds have lifted and the mountain peaks display the first snow of the season. They are breath-taking. Beautiful. I wish I had my camera.

11:50 am - Back at home, I get lunch going: grilled cheese and apples. Jason comes home from work, and we take our lunch downstairs to the den. Caleb watched some Bob the Builder on the lap top while me and Jay sit at our respective desks, on our respective computers. I check my email, look up some scrapbooking stuff, and do other assorted fun computery things.

1:06 pm - Jason heads back to work. I put Caleb down for a nap and get dinner started. Tonight, we're having chicken and dumplings ala crock pot. This is one of our old favorites and one I haven't made in a while. I cut up chicken, slice potatoes, add spices, and set the whole thing on High while an old Michael W. Smith cd plays in the background.

Time to get to that kitchen. Gulp. What a mess! Remind me never to get sick again. I can't stand the clean up afterwards.

While I clean, I talk to Linds on the phone. Then I sort through bills and junk mail.

More dishes. I'm feeling kinda lonely today (another repercussion of being sick all week), so I call my mother-in-law and invite the family over for dessert later. I'm elated when she says yes, they can all make it. Woohoo!!!

Lonliness is something I've struggled with since we moved here in June. I am (slowly) making new friends, but that process can take a while and you can't rush relationships.

4:30 pm - Caleb is up from his nap and in a much better mood. We read a book together about Grover, the cute furry blue monster, then I put on Madagascar for him so I can put the biscuits in the crock pot and finish cleaning up the kitchen.

5:12 pm - Jason is home!!! We sit down to eat and talk about our day. He checks out Caleb's nose, which is still oozing blood; doesn't appear to be broken, just sore. Poor little guy.

After dinner, Caleb finishs his movie while I clean up the dinner dishes and make room on the table for cards later. I indulge in some more tickle time with my son, but that pesky cough gets in the way again. It's ok, I tell Caleb. Uncle Mike will be here soon. He'll chase you alllllll over the house. :)

7:10 pm - The family shows up, bringing cheesecake with them. John and Jason talk about work, Kim and I talk about canning, and Michael plays with Caleb, as promised. We laugh and joke, chat and cajole. I cough, and cough some more. I love seeing my house full of people. There's just something about it that fills me up inside and makes me happy, cough and all. After Caleb goes to bed, we play a round of cribbage. Mike and I play partners, but John and Jason win.

9:06 pm - Our company bids us good-night and Jason and I once again head downstairs to the den. He messes around with an old game on his system while I just sit and stare at mine.

"Jay? I'm thinking about getting back into WoW. . ."

For the next twenty mintues, we talk about computer games and how he would feel if I wanted to re-activate my account. I still have friends in the game who I would love to reconnect with. Not to mention, I have a feeling this winter will be hard on me as I adjust to life with no sun, and I'm thinking the game might help get me through.

We end our conversation with me deciding to give it some more thought. Thought, and prayer.

I realize that I am pretty tired and kiss my husband good-night. Upstairs, I put away leftovers, give the counters one final wipe down, then head to bed. I hear Caleb whimpering next door and wonder if his nose is hurting him.

10:15 pm - I'm in bed, snuggling down under the flannel sheets. Caleb lies next to me, apparently much happier in our bed than his. I just hope he doesn't kick. :)

Good-night!