Beat

Sometimes you just have to say - I give up, give me the cookie dough.

First off the days are rushing past me like crazy special effects wind. I do not have the time to do all I am supposed to do in a day - particularly with Abby... A bath and now the dentist wants us to brush once dry and once with toothpaste (pffft), all the skin stuff we try to keep her from itching, playtime with Daddy, dinner, clean up (yeah right - no TIME), books and on and on and on.

Let's see - why was this day hard? Well mostly because I was already close to bone-dry on mom-power to begin with. The little site Sandra and I have was hacked twice over the weekend (the second more vicious as they surely knew the first hack would put us on the list for higher security) so last night I was frantically trying to shut the site down without having an identity on it since the first thing they did, of course, was delete all the admins.

That was disheartening and frustrating. Then there's Abby's itching... it's so horribly hopeless. The bath seems to dry things out - which is great - except that causes more itching - and as soon as something looks like its finally calming down (rash wise) it will flare up. I am thinking now she may be allergic to all fruit.... (and possibly air). Doctor has no help (though he's very nice).

Jack was restless. Which reminds me of that song. You know - the Allison Krause one. I didn't worry too much about that except at some point he must have started crying because when I was conscious at 3:35 he was already next to me in bed and I felt like it was the second nursing try.

When Jack wasn't restless (which was seldom) I was dreaming about Jack being restless - and about having his twin who was born three months later, three pounds which huge eyes... looked kinda like the Dr. Seuss "look how wet they let this wet pet get" in One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I also kicked a wall in I was so frustrated (this is still part of the dream).

By six I was beyond fried. I just kept trying to calm myself down, calm Jack down, and wait calmly and lovingly for Steve's sleep to be light enough that all this commotion would wake him up. But of course as soon as the magic moment of rescue came, Abby woke up and wanted to go into her sleeping bag at the foot of our bed. And talk.

Steve took Jack downstairs, when Abby said she wanted to get up I helpfully suggested she join them. And I got... fifteen minutes or so of beautiful sleep.

Then it was off and running. Getting Abby ready, making sure the site mess was still getting worked on, getting Abby's bike in the car (for she MUST ride her new bike at school people), had nice tension loosening walk with Maggie and off to the races again as I drive to bring the big car in for service, bring Steve back to work in his car, go home for ten minutes, pick up Abby from school - find her bike helmet which had been put away with the community helmets, bring her home for some "quiet" time before her first dentist appointment...

Get her food, go to the office to eat it, then rush up to dentist which was AWESOME but took SO long. Abby was so brave and the office was so cool and sweet and fun. Then completely had to renig on my promises that Abby would be able to color with Grandpa after the dentist because we had to pick up the car.

Jack is not happy. I am learning slowly but surely he does not, absolutely, positively, does not like being shuffled around from thing to thing. He likes some face time with me or people and when he doesn't get it, he is not a happy camper.

See? yet another positive in the hermit column. In fact, as long as people come to him, Jack may be a little hermit in the making.

We pick up the car (free! whoo hoo) go home, Abby the mighty-out-and-about-girl is SO tired she actually falls asleep in the car like old times so I seize the day (my way) and just sit in the car in the shade of the driveway and let my mind wander until it eventually goes blank.

We have a few minutes before Jack is up and needing to go back to sleep again. Daddy gets home and to the rescue wraps Jack-the-cranky. I make spaghetti, feeling really warm about it because Abby had wanted it last night so it is always fun to make her something she wants. She is totally excited about it. Until she takes a bite and her lips burn out of control - not from heat - but probably from all the "open wide" at the dentist so the sauce burns and she only takes a bite before soaking her lips in milk (true).

SO another dinner bites the dust.

It's time for bed ! Abby still exhausted... Jack, however, ready to party. Steve goes off to a meeting.

After having a fabulous time watching Abby play with a slinky and reading her books with her, Jack does his usual super-baby-down-to-sleep routine which, quite frankly, makes everything better. How does he DO that?

The day ended up generally great, though the tension in my shoulders is sitting there like big chunks of mud.

I think a shower may help.

And laying it all out like this helps me see how everything went well - if I just had had a little more Jack time, I think it all would have felt better.

Stretch.

Night.