Long Day

March 27, 2009: Colby's trip to WA

Started off with a bang this morning with the alarm going off at 2:30 and a very obnoxious bright light turning on over my head. D&B arrived within 10 minutes and we were pretty much all set to go! Everything had been packed the night before, so mostly it was just a matter of getting our brains to thaw out enough to function properly before operating a motor vehicle.

Stopped for coffee in town just after 3 am and as we paid we were told to “Have a good night!” I laughed as we walked out to the car, telling Colby, “You know you are up way too early when you are still being wished a good night!” Still didn’t seem all that out of the ordinary for us. Yesterday morning I was up at 3:30 and we’re typically up at 4:30 or earlier even on the weekends.

The drive went quickly and we were at the GR airport just after 5. We did the curbside drop-off but I ran in to use the restroom before we said goodbye so I wouldn’t have to stop somewhere back up the road. I got a lot of strange looks as I quickly tried to locate the ladies’ room and it took me a while to figure out that it does look kind of odd to see someone rushing through the airport at 5 am with no purse, no luggage, no other people, etc. And then once I realized, I couldn’t help but have this sort of suppressed smile that I’m sure looked more like a smirk. If I would have just said the word “bomb” out of the side of my mouth my day could have gone awry in a hurry!

We said our goodbyes and I kissed him with his newly prickly chin and promised to be praying for him. It seems so very odd to be sending him out there without me. If someone had told me a year ago this is what I would do today, I would have laughed and never thought twice about it. That’s how it is with most things in our lives, though, isn’t it?

I was back in the north country before 8 and stopped for gas and ran in to walmart for some frozen pizza, eggos, and bananas. You know, the staples for a weekend of single parenting! Back in town I stopped at the car wash and vaccuumed out the back of the car before going over to D&B’s to pick up the kids and put the car seats back in my car. I’m sure I could have fed a flock of song birds for a month on the crumbs back there!

Ate breakfast with the family over there and took a quick 30 min. cat nap while the kids watched the backyardigans and then loaded up the carseats, the kids, and the myriad of blankets, cups, diapers, stuffed animals, and mismatched clothing that came with them.

At home I unloaded the car and put everything away, took Elayna up for a nap, and cleaned the kitchen. After lunch I sent Josh and Emmy up for their naps then tried to occupy Elayna with books while I went outside and brought in several armloads of firewood since we’re supposed to get snow this weekend. Fed the dogs, and then out to feed the horses. Stolen kitty has been missing for about a week now. Gave everybody their hay and grain, carried Fancy’s out to her stall and then had to go lift the fence for her to walk under to get back into her pen. She won’t stay in the fence, but she doesn’t wander too far and I just have to make sure the fence is unplugged before I go help her get back in! Crazy girl. Getting shocked doesn’t deter the old lady one bit.

After that I came back in and tried to get Elayna to lay down on the chair beside me so I could catch a few zzz’s. What she really wanted to do was sit on top of me and bounce around all giggly like. So I watched some of this new Netflix I have called 1900 House. Colby would be impressed with the renovation they did to the house to make it authentic. It was entertaining, I think. You know, the part that my fuzzy brain caught anyway.

Was talking on the phone with my mom and wondering where Colby was since he should have been on the ground for 2 hours or so at the time of the phone call, when I went upstairs to get Emmy up from her nap. I was hoping to possibly put Elayna down for a second nap, but not a chance. The shock of the smell and sight of a poopy 3 year old standing on her bed all gross like never fades no matter how many times you see it. Out of desperation I always seem to stand there saying, “Why? Why?” And the reply never fails to strike on that last nerve, “…because!”

I managed to get her downstairs without getting yucky myself somehow, and stood her there in the living room assessing the situation. Finally, because I am so very much at my wits’ end with her, I find I can do nothing but sink to my knees and pray (out loud) for the strength to get through the next 15 minutes without losing it and becoming a very bad mommy. And for some reason, my kids think this is HILARIOUS. Raucous laughter erupts from them and for once that actually helps me get through the moment. 30 disposable wipes later Emmy is ready to get into the bathtub.

I love the inventor of disposable wipes.

I stuck Elayna in the bath tub too and then ran upstairs to remove whatever was poopy from the bedroom. 2 minutes later I came back downstairs to find a tiny little naked rear end streaking through the house! Apparently the little one was done with the bath. I stuck her back in there and dunked her around enough to get her clean and soaped up, then went through the chore of washing her hair. She’s her Daddy’s girl and doesn’t really like water all that much. Every time I wash her hair and rinse it she thinks I’m trying to drown her. It doesn’t matter which way I do it, it’s always the same story. After that I got her out, dried her off, brushed her hair under protest, and dressed her in her jammies. Then I ran back upstairs to clean and disinfect the surfaces and spray the carpet in the girls’ bedroom. Yes, it really did require all of that.

Funny how I can clean my kid’s poop from who knows where all I’ve cleaned it from without gagging one bit, but if I see my little lap dog puke on the kitchen floor I am guaranteed a few good dry heaves. Sorry. I know that’s way too much information, but I’m getting a little tired as I sit here and write this!

As I come back down after the second cleaning trip upstairs, I see the second little girl streaking around all dripping wet and have to send her back into the tub to finish cleaning up. After she is clean and dried and dressed in her jammies I sat down and set about the task of combing through the rat’s nest she has grown over the last 24 hours. How she manages to do that I’ll never know. Finally I threw the little hotdog into the old bathwater and scrubbed him up with some of that leftover baby shampoo. He gives me a look that says, “yep, the degradation is now complete.” when I finish him up with some pretty smelling conditioner. Oh well. He gets to sleep upstairs all weekend. He’ll get over it.

Colby finally called and said he’d made it after having to switch planes in Minneapolis from the one with the bum engine to a new one that had to be fueled up and prepped for passengers and all the luggage switched over. Apparently they were taxiing when they realized the engine was out and had to go back to the terminal. I’m so glad they found that out BEFORE they took off. Took some of my stress off to hear his voice and know he was on the ground safely.

Dinner came next, which made me deliriously glad I had a few frozen pizzas to throw in the oven! I washed dishes while that baked, then we picked up the living room and vaccuumed while it cooled off. After dinner was cleaned up I swept and scrubbed counters, then put away a bunch of folded laundry before worship. Bedtime was nice and peaceful and now it is nice and quiet up there. No worrisome noises! I put up one last load of wash on the living room line to dry overnight so I can wash those poopy things as soon as possible, and stoked up the fire because it was starting to snow.

I’m enjoying my Fernando Ortega cd and the Lilac Blossoms candle, but I think it’s now time to go to bed. It truly has been a LONG day.