Flying Solo

A couple of weekends ago, my husband had a continuing education course that he needed to take out of town.  He left Thursday evening and got home at 10pm on Sunday.  Let me just say that those 3 days and nights were very helpful in giving me perspective and appreciation for the importance of having a partner to share parenting responsibilities with.  I missed having my best friend here to hang out with, but also realized how much I need him to help me be balanced in dealing with our kids.  For example, when our son was praying on Sunday evening, he actually said, "Dear God, help Mama not to argue with me so much, and help me not to make bad choices to Mama."  I was a little saddened and convicted with that one, but was impressed that he also realizes that we are getting on each other's nerves a bit.

But just for the sake of documenting the weekend, here is how we managed to survive.  It wasn't all horrible.  We did have some fun moments & big accomplishments as well!

Friday proceeded as most regular days.  We had our final day at VBS, which included lunch (one less meal to prepare and clean up after) and the kids had such a great time all week.  I really enjoyed teaching the preschool Bible storytime, and both kids loved their "classes" (that's what our daughter called her nursery!).  Friday evening, my mom invited us over to her place for dinner (rock on, another meal taken care of) and that was relaxing to just hang out there afterwards.  We all got to bed a little late on Friday, so I was hoping for a late morning on Saturday.  We had absolutely no plans and nowhere to be at a certain time, so it should have been a great chance to sleep in and lounge around...

...wrong!  Both kids were up at 6:30am (normal wake-up is 7:30), one screaming in her crib to be picked up and the other complaining of a bloody nose.  I confess, I did not have a good attitude at this point, and was snappy with both of them even though it was I who had the unrealistic expectations.  My head was pounding with a sinus headache, so I started the day with a latte (yes, ironically, I've started drinking coffee with this pregnancy.  Long story, but the caffeine helps my headaches since I can't take any effective pain-killers.  Also, interestingly, I've become lactose intolerant to some degree with this pregnancy also, so I make my lattes with almond milk instead.)

Saturday morning I was kind of ambitious, deciding to have a "fun" breakfast (maybe to make up for my grumpiness) & make pancakes.  All out of flour, I went next door (where we've been house-sitting all week) and grabbed their Bisquick.  Two hours later, as I was still cleaning up the griddle and the kitchen and decided that it wasn't really worth it.

God sent a small blessing in that my dad decided to stop by at about that time, so he colored & played with the kids so I could at least wash my face, etc. and feel a little more human.  Halleujah!  Ready to meet the day.  It was only 11:00am, but it felt much later.

As I mentioned, we've been house-sitting, but since we'd been so busy all week with VBS, we hadn't really taken advantage of the amenities at our neighbor's house.  Namely:  a pool, a swingset, a dog, a hamster & a Wii.  So, we headed over to their house for a couple of hours, and my kids were pretty entertained.  It would have been longer, but we were all getting hungry, so we went home for lunch.

I kept it really simple for meals (like unhealthy simple) and even got out my paper plates so that I wouldn't have to hassle dishes.  (Am I lazy or what?)  Chicken nuggets, pizza, jiao zi...my kids' dream meals.

My daughter & I napped Sat. afternoon, and after that, we did a little bit of painting at the table to go along with the ocean animals we're learning about this summer.  My dad and step-mom offered to pick up a pizza and come over for dinner with us, so that was another mercy.  Just having someone there to help clean up the kitchen while I gave the kids baths was a huge blessing.  That meant that when the kids went to bed, I could just relax and enjoy some time alone.  Ahhhhh.

Sunday went OK.  Normal wake-up times and simple breakfast.  We even managed to get to church on time (allbeit through a lot of tears and nagging).  It was nice to have someone else taking care of my kids for a couple of hours and for me to have the chance to sit quietly, think, worship and pray.  My soul really needs it.

Sunday afternoon and evening were pretty uneventful.  We had naps & quiet times and then the incentive of watching a movie together in the evening.

Survival strategy--movie night!  Toy Story (the original) and Cheetos!

 

But the most significant thing about this weekend though, is that our daughter is now officially being potty-trained.  This was NOT my plan for the weekend, although it has been on my mind for awhile now.  I wasn't sure when we were going to finally commit to the process and take away the diapers, but it ended up being Saturday.  In retrospect, I guess it made sense because we were pretty much home all day and I was obviously able to closely monitor her.  I sort of approached it as an experiment starting Friday afternoon (let's see what happens if I let her run around with no pants or diaper on...) and she surprised me by making frequent trips to the potty and actually doing what she's supposed to do on it.  The M&Ms were a HUGE incentive for this little girl.  Whenever she saw the potty chair (which was a lot because I moved it into the center of our living room/dining area--on the linoleum of course!) she would sit down and squeeze a few drops out just so she could get an "emmy-em."  We blew through those over the weekend and are now onto colored goldfish crackers, which seem to be just as effective.

Taking her to church on Sunday in "big-girl" pants made me very nervous, but we'd come so far, there was no way I was sticking diapers back on her.  She did a great job at church, going potty with me at regular intervals, and the pants were still dry on our way home.  Yahoo!  I'm so proud of our big girl.  This just adds to the thoughts that I have each day that she is growing up SO fast and that she is really no longer a baby.

Imagine my husband's surprise to come home to a girl no longer in diapers!  Next kid, he gets to potty train!  (j/k love, you know that I appreciate all that you do for us...you are the best!)