Updates from a Temporarily Single Dad, Day 1

Alone.  Outnumbered.  Bring it on...

As you may know, April is busy this week.  As her birthday/Christmas present, Rob is watching the kids for a week.  During exam week at seminary.

April left the house Friday at 430am.  Trey woke up at 440am.  It usually takes a quick snuggle from Mommy to get him back to sleep for another 4 hours, but lacking that, he was up.  I was already up (seeing April off), but had hoped to study for a few hours, since I had a final exam at 9am.  Instead, I spent the next 2 1/2 hours with a 2-year-old clinging to my arm. I wrote a haiku:
Watching eyelids droop
Please, oh please, oh please just sleep
Lullabies in vain

Around 7am I started making breakfast and packing school lunches.  Around 715 Cosi, who had made her way into our bed during the night, came out to find me.  Her arms were over her head and she was waddling.  I thought she was being silly, but then she said, "I'm wet."  She was covered from neck to ankles in urine.  Added to my morning to do list: wash sheets, put Cosi in the shower.

730-830am: Breakfasts, packed lunches, showered Cosi, dressed kids, loaded car, grabbed flashcards so I could study at stoplights, off to school.

9-10am: This was my only chance to take an exam, since both kids were in school, so I flipped through flashcards for 10 minutes, then hoped for the best.

1030am-12noon: Studied for and took another (online) exam while eating lunch.  Savored my last few solitary moments of the week.

1230pm: picked Cosi up from school early so she could go to a rescheduled occupational therapy appointment.  As I strapped her in to the car, the therapist called to cancel.  Re-routed us to the playground for 20 minutes to eat lunch and play on slides.  I know, that's usually a bad combo, but no problems this time.

1pm: Picked Trey up from school and took Cosi to her speech therapy.

1:15pm: Knowing that Trey was a nap waiting to happen, I tried to keep him awake with promises of hot tea (caffiene...), because if he naps, he doesn't go to bed until after 11pm.

1:20pm: Trey is asleep.  I rush in the house and heat up some tea.  Trey wakes up long enough to drink the whole cup full, and then falls back asleep.

2:00pm: Pick Cosi up from speech therapy, Trey sleeps through the whole thing

2:15-3:45pm: Cosi watches Lion King, I do laundry (remember those sheets?), pick up toys, clean kitchen floor (small ant problem lately).  Trey sleeps.

3:45-4:45pm: Cosi helps me chop vegetable for dinner.  If this sentence had been "I chop vegetables for dinner," it would only have lasted 15 minutes.  Trey sleeps regardless.

4:45-5:15pm: Cosi plays dress-up, I finish making dinner (pasta with a meat and veggie sauce), Trey still sleeps.

5:15pm: After trying to wake him up every hour since 2pm, I finally succeed in waking Trey up.  Cosi starts looking sleepy.  I feed Cosi, I eat, I try to convince Trey to try the pasta.  He only wants  brownie.

6:00pm: Trey asks for a compromise (and he actually uses the word "compromise")- can he have a PBJ sandwich instead?  I tell him he can have a PBJ, a brownie, AND a trip to see animals at the pet store if he'll just eat 3 bites of pasta.  He refuses. 

6-7pm: Cosi and Trey play around the house, needing parental arbitration every 3-4 minutes.  Mostly, I am playing the role of an ambiguously "bad giant," which involves roaring, chasing, and sometimes hiding.  And if they pretend to lock me up or (pretend, hopefully) to spray me with water, I am incapacitated.

7pm: Cosi and I are very sleepy.  Trey is stubbornly hungry.  He eats 2 bites of Cosi's pre-bedtime yogurt.  I tell him one more bite gets him a PBJ and a brownie.  He politely refuses.

8pm: Cosi is dressed for bed, teeth brushed, etc.  Bible story read, prayers said, and all snuggled in.  She's nodding off.

"SURPRISE!!!"  Yells her brother, bursting into the room.  I ask him to be quiet.  He says OK.  He says it very loudly.  I realize Trey doesn't know how to whisper.  This process is repeated 3 or 4 times.  Finally Trey asks for some chicken nuggets.  I remember that we have some leftover in the fridge and convince Cosi to wait a minute while I heat up Trey's dinner.  This is clutch- if he'll eat, she might fall asleep.  But if she gets scared while I'm heating up food, she'll be up and out of bed for a while.  I make it back just as she is climbing out of bed.  She lies back down, songs recommence, her breathing gets heavy...

"SWPWISE!!!"  That's what 'surprise' sounds like when you have a mouthful of chicken nuggets.

8:30pm: An angry Cosi mutters something best left unintelligible.  I remind Trey that if he can't be quiet, he has to leave the room.  Trey lies on my lap, and says (loudly) "I'm being quiet now so Cosi can sleep."  He says this 3 times until I tell him that he needs to leave.  With his hand over his mouth he yells "SORRY DADDY."  He keeps yelling this as I shush him, but he says "You need to say, 'I forgive you'."  After I forgive him, he sits quietly, but restlessly until Cosi finally falls asleep

9-10pm: Trey keeps eating all the bagels and sweet potato fries I'll give him.  Around 10:30, I realize I'm done for the day.  I get Trey ready for bed, bring the computer into the bedroom, pop him on the bed with me and let him watch a tv show while I fall asleep.

10-11pm: I get some naps in while Trey hops around the bed.  At 11 he tells me he needs to use the potty.  As soon as we get back, I hear Cosi coming towards the room.  I shut the computer just as Cosi shows up.  I put her in the toddler bed and go to get her blanket.  When I get back, she and trey are cuddled up together.  Cosi is out.  Trey is ready to lie down with me.  I'm asleep in seconds.

midnight: I wake up to the sound of Trey snoring.  I'm not sure when he fell asleep, but thank God he did.  That 4 hour nap could have been disastrous.

Tomorrow morning: Cosi gets blood drawn before breakfast, afternoon dance practice, will I manage to finish another exam?