Day 2

I drifted in and out of sleep. Then suddenly, I was awake. Cripes. Caleb was crying. Had I somehow turned off my alarm and gone back to sleep? No. Caleb had chosen today to get up extra early. You know, get a head start on the day. I sat up. It was nearly painful. 5:45am? What? You can nearly set a clock to his 6:30 wake up. He'd even been to bed late the night before because of a late trip home from Oma and Opa. The crying wasn't "distressed", merely "is anyone there?" kind of noises. All my will got me to the bathroom. Once he's up, there's no going to the loo. A little foresight meant I had showered the night before. I shaved absurdly quickly-- the combination of a dull blade and my speed meaning I basically just Edward Scissorhands myself--while the kettle boiled for his bottle. Bleeding, but with a warm bottle in hand, I ran upstairs.

Caleb and I cuddled while he sucked back his milk. I dozed. And then with a start, I came to. Anna was singing to Chai? Seriously. Anna normally has to be dragged out of bed prior to 8am. It still wasn't 6. All 3 of us trundled downstairs for breakfast. Oma was taking the kids today, so there was no urgency to the morning whatsoever. Anna requested a bang egg (hard boiled egg) which takes time. That was okay. We had plenty of it. At 7:30am, when Oma arrived, the kids were dressed,we had sat for ages for breakfast, read books, gone potty, got re-dressed after playing with the banana became more fun than consuming it, and even turned on the TV (me noting that this was a sure sign I would fail at this little measurable today). I was still in my pj's and getting anxious about being ready for work. Oma arrived, I pulled myself together in 5 minutes flat and was out the door.

The work day flew by and suddenly I was back in the thick of things at home again. Let's look at measurable outcomes:

Melt-downs: Still 0. Unless you factor in the Flames. Anna teetered on the edge of one, but we rescued it with hot chocolate and cuddles.

TV time: pretty rough today. In addition to the morning TV, I know she watched WAL-E and I came home to Dora the Explorer. Oma explained that Anna had been pretty sensitive. Placating was necessary. I totally get it. Hell, I started it today.

Getting "out of the house": There was a 2.5 hour park visit. Awesome. It was lovely today. I could have used a 2.5 hour park visit.

Eating well: I checked off all the Canada Food Guide elements. Nothing you'd serve in a high end restaurant... or possibly in a diner. Still, basic nutrition was met.

Minimize sugar: Oma, being a grandparent, is usually more liberal than I am. I tend not to ask and focus on having a good teeth brushing session at day's end. The aforementioned hot chocolate was the only treat of note. Sadly, Anna left the mug on the coffee table (and I didn't notice), so even though he was only out of site for 30 seconds, I found Caleb smiling from ear to ear with chocolate all over his face, chest, trousers and standing in a sizable hot chocolate puddle on the floor. I think he likes hot chocolate. Luckily for me, he doesn't know how to ask for it specifically.

Teaching and creative out letting: None by me today. I did play more mermaids during bath time. We had a new facecloth. Facecloths are mermaids. It was blue. We called it King Triton, which allowed me to "make storms" in the bath. We both got very wet. I'm not sure, however, that reinforcing all things mermaid is teaching Anna anything. The creative outlet may also have been mine.

Getting something 'non-kid' done: Achieved. But at what cost? It's 11pm, Caleb is in and out of sleep because he appears to be teething. I'm honestly no expert, but his cheeks are neon red and he's not sleeping soundly. In between cuddles, I've got several things cleaned, cooked a chili for a future night's dinner, got Anna's lunch ready, managed to iron my shirts (!), took out the rubbish, lost the cat, found the cat, and fed the cat. Had I not found the cat, I could have struck off feeding her which might be a solution for future, busier nights.

So Day 2 may have lacked the enrichment of Day 1, but it's still all systems go and the wheels are still on the tracks. Caleb stirs. Gotta go.