Updates from a Temporarily Single Dad, Day 3, Part 1

650am- woke up 10 minutes before my alarm, decided to turn it off so the kids could sleep in a bit.  Realized I had never set my alarm.  Disaster averted.

720am- blogged on yesterday while munching on Lucky Charms.  April made sure I had happy cereal for while she was gone.

730am- Cosi awake, and on my lap, wanting to snuggle.

745am- Cosi's breakfast is ready, my guitar and music is in the car, ready for church, and it's time to wake up Trey. I text a reminder to Randy, my pastor, making sure he knows not to pick me up this morning.  I see him sitting outside in is truck, looking at his messages.  Oops.

800am- I wake Trey up and put him directly in front of his breakfast bagel and an episode of Little Einsteins.  He has nothing to complain about.

801am- Trey wants breadsticks from last night, not bagel.

802am- My intention of teaching my son to eat healthy food this week bends, buckles, and breaks.  He gets breadsticks for breakfast.

810am- Time to get Cosi dressed for church.  She freaks out at my selection of a dress.  Breakdown ensues.  She asks for a compromise and is allowed to wear a different dress of my choosing and in return, I allow her to wear her ill-fitting ruby slippers.  She's content with my second choice of a dress.

825am- When Trey declares HIS unwillingness to get dressed and enforces that stance with a screaming plea of "Cosi!  Help me!  Daddy GOT me!!!"  Then I start to think I should have taken this week off from work at the church.

845am- 2 crying kids, 2 sippy cups of OJ, 2 packs of fruit snacks and one tired daddy head out to the car.

9am- We arrive at church and a blessed angel (Holly C.) is waiting in the nursery to watch the kids.  I head over to band rehearsal.

915am- My tuner and capos are not in my guitar case.  That will require some adjustment...

915-1015am- Worship team practice.  So peaceful.  They sounded great today.

1030am-12noon- Sunday worship.  Oh, the tranquility.  Pianos could have fallen from the ceiling and I would still find it more peaceful than how the morning had been going at home.

1205pm- Gather the kids.  Cosi is trying to have John Frame teach her how to wind up a yo-yo.  Trey thinks the art project in Cosi's classroom looks like cookies.

1220pm- Wee-wee-wee, all the way home.  I heat up leftover pizza for Cosi and me.  Trey gets chicken and sweet potato fries.

1235pm- Trey wants breadsticks instead.  I hold firm.  He eventually eats chicken.

1255pm- Last second look at my fantasy football team.

1pm- The kids are tearing down and rebuilding their "Christmas tree," though with slightly less cooperation than they used the other night.

2pm- While I'm doing dishes and other housework, the kids are playing nice.  Then they get quiet.  The I hear water running.  I go into their room and they have the lid to their doctor kit overturned on the floor and filled with water.  They're seeing what toys float and what toys sink.  They call it "an experiment."  I don't know how to react.  Pride and frustration battle for expression.

2-3pm- I spend almost an hour cleaning up the experiment.  The lid wasn't water tight, which is why they had to keep adding water.  Which is why their floor was soaked.

3pm- Kids are playing outside, so I head out to the patio to keep an eye on them.  I end up shelling pistachios with help from Trey.  I catch a lizard in a bucket for Cosi- the crowd goes wild.

330pm- Trey insists he wants apple juice, but we're fresh out.  He doesn't want orange juice.  But we DO have a bag of apples and a blender.  By the time I'm done, Trey has changed his mind, now he only wants orange juice.  Cosi, however, enjoys the homemade applesauce.

430pm- Trey declares that he wants a bath- a flimsy excuse to continue the experiment of floating toys.

5pm- Cosi wants a bath, and Trey informs me that he wants to brush his teeth and go to sleep.  Say WHAT?

515pm- Getting Trey into his PJs, I notice large bumps all over his legs.  Bug bites?  Hives?  Benadryll!



550pm- Trey fills up his belly and falls asleep as I brush his teeth.

600pm- Trey is asleep.  Choirs of angles sing.

620pm- Cosi disappears from the dinner table while I'm refilling her drink.  I find her curled up in the bed, almost asleep. All she needs is her stuffed rabbit and then she's out.  Were people praying that the kids would fall asleep early so I could take an exam?

7-10pm- Took an exam and had dinner. Kids slept through it all.

 to be continued...

O Lego Tree, O Lego Tree...

It's 630pm on Sunday night, and, I'm not joking, the kids are both asleep.  more on that in tomorrow's blog post.  I'm withholding judgment until I see what time they wake up (1am?  3?).

Anyway, I mentioned the "Christmas Tree" that they built yesterday evening.  Here they are, posing with it.  For some reason, it was very important to them that they both were holding their cups of OJ in the picture.

Updates from a Temporarily Single Dad, Day 2

6am: Wakey, wakey.  Cosi has a blood test this morning, and she needs to have fasted for at least 8 hours.  The only reasonable way to do that is by going as soon as the lab opens- at 7am.  I feed myself and get all sorts of edible and entertaining incentives in the car for after the blood tests.

630am: Wake Cosi up.  She immediately asks, "Is my mommy home?"  No kiddo.  Not yet.

645am: I get a text from our dear friend Agnes, who is coming to watch Trey while we're at the lab.  She is on her way and bringing her dog.

645-655am: Cosi and I try to clean all the toys off the floor.

7am: Agnes and her dog arrive, Trey is still asleep.  Cosi and I get in the car.

710am: We sign in at the lab.  We've been getting Cosi ready for this for 2 days now.  We're not sure how it's going to go, but I'm ready for the worst- screaming, thrashing, biting, yanking...But Cosi seems eager...for now, at least.

715am: Cosi charms the lab technician with her questions and commentary.  When we're given an empty jar for a urine sample, Cosi asks, "Is this for an experiment?"  Glad I didn't make her use the potty before we left.

7:20am: Urine sample complete, head over to the blood-drawing room.  Cosi needs a lot of tests to help determine how we can best help her development.  They need so much blood, we're supposed to have two appointments.

7:40am: Cosi was a champ, didn't even complain or cry.  She was fascinated the whole time and even asked if she could hold one of the vials ("uh...no").  The technician (phlebotomist?) offered her stickers.  She said she'd rather have some of those nice purple rubber gloves.  She got two pair of gloves and a LOT of stickers.  And the bonus is, they got all the blood in one appointment, no need to come back on Monday!

8am: We arrive home, Trey is still asleep, Cosi gets to play with Agnes's dog.

815am: Agnes leaves, I reluctantly wake Trey up.   I don't like being outnumbered, but if I don't wake him, he'll sleep till 930am and then not fall asleep again until super late.  And I have work to do tonight!

815-1000am: Breakfast, getting dressed, running around the house using our imaginations

1000-1030am: We go to Lowe's so I can get some drywall anchors to fix the baby gate at our kitchen door.  Trey tears down baby gates, and he's quite dangerous in a kitchen.  While in Lowe's, I notice I'm not the only dad there with kids in tow.  I can picture the conversations at home, "Sure, honey, you can go to Lowe's on your day off...as long as you take the kids with you."

1030-1115am: Having done very well at Lowe's, the kids are rewarded with a trip to the pet store.  The pet store, it turns out, usually doesn't have dogs and cats.  But it's a special weekend promoting cat adoption, so we gets to pet some cats.  Hooray for us.  So sorry for the cats.

1130am-1230pm: Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.  Lunch is PBJ with a side of sweet potato fries for my picky boy and carrots and hummus for my herbivore girl.

1230-230pm: Kids play inside and outside the house.  Adventures ensue, some involving dirt.  Cosi catches a slug in her bedroom, happy screams ensue.  Around 130pm I am flat on the couch.  The kids continue to play, trying to involve me, but I'm trying to get a cat nap. 

230-250pm- I must have actually dozed off- time to get Cosi to dance practice for the church's Christmas program.

3-4pm- Cosi dances, Trey and I wander around the parking lot, re-enacting Little Einsteins adventures.  I pre-order a pizza for dinner.

430pm- Practice went late, but we get the pizza and head home.  If you were in Oviedo around that time, the scream you heard echoing throughout town was me, when Trey fell asleep in the back seat.  If he naps, especially this late in the afternoon, he'll be up until midnight.

445pm- The kids are huuuungry.  Me too.  Trey is groggy until he sees the breadsticks.  The kids eat and watch Curious George while I blog yesterday's adventures.

530pm- A friend comes over for Greek tutoring.  We talk for an hour, then study.  Good conversation- thank you kids for being well-behaved and playing together.

730pm- My friend leaves.  The kids have built a 2-foot tall lego tower in the dining room.  They put a shiny bracelet on the top.  Cosi gets her camera and photographs Trey standing next to it.  Trey tells Cosi, "I'm so proud of you Cosi, you did a good job."  I ask what they built, and they tell me it's our Christmas tree.  Cutest moment ever.

830pm- Kids are fed again, dressed, and ready for bed.

9pm- We all snuggle into bed, the kids fall asleep pretty easily.  Trey's 15 minute nap makes him a little reluctant to sleep, but getting to lie down next to Cosi is very motivating for him.

10pm- I wake back up and start working, getting music and slides ready for church tomorrow.  No time to work on any exams, though.  I'm done at 1am and finally head to bed.

I'm developing a strong appreciation and sympathy for single parents.  How do they do this every day?  This strikes me as one area where a church could develop a great ministry- reaching out to single moms who need to balance work and family and who have no time to themselves.

Tomorrow- church.  And maybe we'll go to the YMCA so I can put the kids in child care while I work on a take-home final exam...

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?

Where we're at

It's 2am and I'm in the living room helping a wide-awake 2 year old build towers with wooden blocks.  I think our little boy has some sleep issues.
And maybe that partly explains why we haven't posted much lately.  Blogging takes a back seat to rare opportunities to catch some zzzzzzzs.

A Good Day

     Part of our late afternoon routine has become playtime in the backyard, usually me (Rob) and the kids.  This serves several functions- if Trey has not napped that day, it keeps him awake until bedtime.  If Trey HAS napped that day, it wears him out so there's a chance he'll go to bed before 10pm.  It gives the kids a lot of exercise, especially since their favorite activity is for the three of us to hold hands and run around the yard until we fall.  Or we pretend to be airplanes until trey decides where we land in one big heap.  And they usually spend a while doing one of their favorite things- digging in dirt.  Sometimes they write on the fence in chalk, which gives me time to study while sitting out there with them.  And usually it gives April time to make dinner, check facebook, or whatever.
     Today was different, though.  We did a little of the usual stuff, but most of the time (at least 45 minutes) we crammed inside the playhouse and talked about whatever was on Cosi's mind.  Cosi sat on my lap holding a ladybug she had found, which entertained her for 30 minutes straight, and Trey just kept peeking out the window at the clouds and diving into my arms for spontaneous hugs.  For 45 minutes.
     Today was a good day...

This Side Up

A brief thought occurred to me (Rob) while studying for my Hebrew class:
In some languages, you can tell how much progress you've made by how long it takes you to realize that you are holding the flashcards upside down...

Cosi and the Details

Cosi got a Christmas gift in the mail this week (thank you, Jeff and Melinda!), and was very happy to see a soft, rainbow-striped jacket.  Because it's a little chilly this week- down in the 60's- she put it on right away.  After wearing it for a little while, she suddenly looked down at it and in a concerned voice asked Rob, "Is this Joseph's?"
Now she had called Trey "Joseph" and herself "Mary" all through the Christmas season, so at first I thought she meant Trey.  But no, she was wondering if she had somehow obtained Joseph's coat of many colors!  We know she had heard the story of Joseph in preschool, because she told us she had learned that she shouldn't sell her brother (we're glad she understands that it's wrong to sell family members, and people in general).  But it's also nice to see she is picking up on details.
On a related note, this morning she heard the opening bars to Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and was very excited to tell me that the someone was about to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

I Could Just Watch this All Day

Trey is all boy. Observe the dirt on his shirt and face (he may have tried to eat some of it)...

'Welcome to Miami' - Children's Museum, that is!

One of the fun things that we got to do in December (pre-illness, except shingles) was drive to Miami for a weekend!  Rob was asked to speak (in Chinese) at a Christian conference.  The kids & I tagged along.  I liked Miami, even though our 3 minute walk on South Beach led me to believe that our fully clad conservative family with children didn't fit in with the beer-drinking thongy tanned-bum scene (think Will Smith video, then tone it back a tad).   

One of the high points of our trip was the Miami Children's Museum, so I've included a few pictures from our time there.  We'll start with some Trey pictures, because after viewing my last post, my dad asked, "who's that boy in the picture?"  My mom said, "I think that's your grandson." :)  Trey is looking a bit older these days.  I think it's his hair - the party isn't just in the back anymore!

Don't worry turtle - this won't hurt a bit!

Trey's favorite room = fishing!

Cosi is looking a bit South Beach with her short shorts...

Get ready dog - this will probably hurt a lot b/c this girl means business!

Right after this picture, Trey threw sand in my face.  Awesome.

Thank you Publix for providing a fun grocery store section - the kids both loved it!