So I overslept this morning, and we missed the bus. It was completely my fault; I forgot to bring my phone to bed with me, and so I didn't hear it go off at 0700. I snapped awake at 0800, too late to get to the bus by 0805. And as usual when I oversleep, I closed my eyes up tight and, for a full minute, tried to ignore the fact that chaos was about to reign and pretended that I didn't need to be anywhere.
And then I woke up for real. Sophie was in the kitchen already, so I sent her up to get Jack an Chloë. I gave them bananas for breakfast and decided to let them buy lunch today, rather than scrambling to pack lunches. They were excited; they like to buy. And off we went.
No sooner did we get within 100' of school, than Chloë realized she had forgotten her backpack. Argh. I continued on, and stopped at the preschool in back of the main school. Sophia had picture day today, so I kept admiring my little dressed-up cutie while I led her by the hand into her classroom. She looked adorable in her red plaid dress and pigtails!
After signing her in, I brought the older kids to school and signed them in. Jack didn't even so much as wave, let alone say good-bye to me; he just walked away to his classroom. Chloë, of course, was all hugs and kisses.
I ran home and fetched her backpack and then back to school to drop it off. As soon as I got there, I remembered that I'd forgotten to give her an after-school snack before her first math tutoring session today! Jeez... what an idiot.
I went home and fully planned to do that. And fold the laundry. And go out and see Stephanie and Luke for a couple hours.
What I did instead, though, I lay down on the couch "for five minutes." Which ended up as a nap from 1000 all the way to 1500, when my alarm went off for the bus.
What?! I was in shock. I can't explain it; I slept a full night last night. Must be the iron. Three more days...
The Littles came off the bus and demanded to know where their Big Sister was. It amused me that they were only then aware that she was missing; don't they look for each other to get on the bus at school? I guess not.
We went home, got their snack (Jack insisted on popcorn, since I finally bought some in yesterday's coupon spree) and talked about their days. Picture Day went well, but she came home with a huge hole in her tights. Into the garbage they went. Jack didn't have a whole lot to say, but he was in a good mood, so I suppose the day was okay for him, too. Unless he was just happy that there's no school on Wednesday!
Soon, it was time to go pick up Curls from tutoring and take her to soccer practice. I brought along the soccer bag and a bottle of water, and l let her change in the back seat while we rushed over, late.
The sky was ominous, though, and soon tiny drops started to trickle onto my windshield.
Sure enough, we finally made it to practice, 15 minutes late, and everyone was heading to their cars. Practice was canceled due to rain. Well, I'm so glad I drove all the way out there for nothing! At least we made the effort, after Saturday's lame skippage of the games.
At home, Rob met us, having worked all day instead of going in tonight. It's really messing with his schedule, these crazy shift changes. I told him I'd make dinner if he'd clean up the kitchen first, so he did that while the kids and I hung out. Chloë was going to do her homework, but our pencil sharpener sucks and kept eating the pencil. It's very frustrating. I have nothing but ill will towards that damn thing.
The kitchen was clean, and so I cooked. Mashed potatoes with a whole package of goat cheese for me, inspired by our dinner at the Hilton the other night. Omagosh, it was yummy. Pasta with sauce for the kids; no sauce for Jack, please. That plus sausage and onions for Rob. Oh, and a cauliflower/broccoli/carrot mix that inspired the following conversation:
Jack: What is this stuff? White broccoli?
Rob: No, it's cauliflower.
Sophie: What-flower? I don't see any flowers!
Rob: Not flowers. Cauliflower.
Sophie: What's cauliflower?
Chloë: It's the white broccoli!
I giggled. These conversations always tickle me.
Oh, and during dinner prep, the girls (later Jack and Rob) talked to their grandmother, my MIL, who turned 70 today! Happy birthday, Mom! They were so excited to talk to her. Chloë had a good long conversation, but Sophie handed me the phone after about two minutes, telling me "Grandma hung up." Which she didn't. Sophia was just DONE. (Note to self: Work on phone manners with four-year-old.)
Later on, I had the kids sit down with me in the office and make Thanksgiving cards for all their grandparents and aunts and uncles. (By the way, we pronounce "aunt" as "ant," but Chloë keeps saying it as "ont." What's up with that? Funny.) They actually really got into it and had a lot of fun. Even Jack, who I thought would give up after two minutes, worked hard on his pictures. I hope everyone likes their cards! They kept talking excitedly about their recipients opening the mail and finding homemade cards, so we'll have to do that more often. I think tackling my Christmas card list this way will be too huge an undertaking, though!
And I, I knitted. As you can see. I finally finished the first bootie for Luke. I'd have been done days ago, but I worked my yarn into the most horrible knot, and as you can see, this alpaca is quite the fuzzy stuff. More fuzz = more, and more stubborn, knots. I did a number on it!
Thankfully, I have a fresh, new skein for the second bootie, which I plan to begin tomorrow sometime. The little feller is not getting any smaller, and I want him to be able to wear them at least once! Then I'll have to see if I have enough alpaca to make the next size up in the trousers... eek.
So I'm out. My bed is calling my name...
Fin.
P.S. Buzz off, KS.
White broccoli! :-) They are the cutest.
Posted by: Nadine | 11 November 2009 at 11:48
Mel, I get some of the biggest laughs while reading your blog! Thanks for keeping us with a smile on our face. :D
Posted by: Erica | 11 November 2009 at 15:16