Day two of my “no morning carpool week” dawned. I could feel the weight lift off my shoulders. I didn’t have to leave the house at the crack of dawn with my two kids and pick up two other kids en route to first one school and then a second school before heading home. Now don’t get me wrong…driving Child #2 is a necessary part of my morning routine. Carpools make my life immeasurably better. After years of taking the school buses for granted this year I had to join a couple of carpools to get #2 to and from school. While it seems that I am never out of the minivan, the other moms and dads in my carpool save me from having to drive to and from school twice a day. I heart my carpool moms and dads!
Not having to leave the house extra early gave me more time to make a breakfast sandwich for #1 and #2 and lunches for #1, #2, and #3. Once #2 was picked up by her carpool and #1 had hopped on the schoolbus, I took a moment or two to clear emails. Actually that “moment” turned in to about 30-45 minutes. Once I came to my senses and looked at the clock, I had a moment of panic. #3 could not be late for school as it is state testing week. I have had it drilled in to me by the schools that Students.Cannot.Be.Late.on.State.Testing.Days!! And to add a wrinkle today was cello day. Hmmm…what to do, what to do. First things first was to get the boy up and going.
He and I met in the hallway…coming from our various screen locations…me coming from the dining room computer and him from an early morning Minecraft session…ahem. He wasn’t dressed and I was in jammies too. I dispatched him to get dressed. He was more than a little miffed that I was more than a little miffed that he had come downstairs without dressing for school and brushing his teeth. This kid SO needs the Wallace and Gromit “getting out of bed/trouser machine.”
No breakfast sandwich for him. Instead I made each of us oatmeal with vanilla extract. Uh…I don’t know where I heard about adding vanilla to oatmeal, but oh my was the oatmeal utterly hideous tasting. Blech. Patooie. Sugar was the only saving grace. Heaps and heaps of sugar deadened the taste of the vanilla. For me at least, the boy insisted on pancakes and syrup. I don’t blame him. While mom is an “eat anything sort of person,” the boy is having none of the eating anything.
In the end, the boy had a decent breakfast before his morning of state testing. I took a gamble that cello lesson would be called off due to testing and opted not to drive him and Mr. Cello. As his bus pulled away with him on it, I heaved a sigh of relief. He’s a good companion in the morning, but I like my work…uh…free time.
I cannot say that I was particularly productive. I’m still coming down from the high of planning my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary Lunch with my sister. Most of the planning was done in late summer and fall, but the heavy duty final prep work happened this past week. We had to assemble a display board, create a slideshow, make party favors, and put together an album. Thank goodness we have 5 minions…uh 5 children between us…who could be put to work pputting together the display board and party favors.
Today was a get-it-together day. Just like yesterday…oops. I napped, I watched CSI, I did a bit of work. Tomorrow I’ll get more done…I have to…but today was a necessary respite day. I was a tad embarrassed that it was 4:30 p.m. before I showered and dressed for the day. Ooops. Today was the perfect lounge in pajamas and do nothing day.
From 4:30 p.m., it was battle stations and a far cry from this morning’s doldrums. Dinner, homework prep, and driving #1 to sports practice all in the space of an hour. I didn’t know what hit me. Where’s my jammies, blankie, comfy couch?
What did you do today?
