Yesterday

Lindsay Lou was complaining that I never write on my blog anymore--that I just post pictures.  True, true.  I feel like at least I'm doing something and posting pictures requires a great deal less brain power.  However, yesterday feels like a day that needs recorded in the annals of time. 

It started off well enough.  I got up at 6:00 to feed Miss Annabel and I decided that, with the amount of things needing done that day, I would stay up instead of getting a few more hours of sleep.  I woke up Miriam and we did a ten minute strength training workout that I found on youtube.  I'm pretty happy that I feel well enough to do a ten minute workout and pretty sad that two minutes of squats makes me feel like I'm dying.  The important thing, of course, is that we did it. 

Then I started breakfast while Miriam walked a mile and then I showered and mixed up some rolls and got those rising and then fed the kids.  After that we cleared the table and I changed some diapers and fed the baby again, etc.  You know--hustling around morning stuff when you need to leave the house at a certain time.  The rolls were important because I was taking a meal to a young couple who just had their first baby (and named her Thea Grace--gorgeous name!) that night.  Miriam cut up apples and carrots for our lunch and I buttered some bread.  Then I tried to sew on a cloak clasp that had come off Emeline's cloak because later that day we were headed to Castle Park and you need a cloak if you are at a castle--obviously.

At 11:40, just ten minutes later than planned--total win, we headed to Clearfield.  While I now live in Ogden, there are certain things we still do in Clearfield, like go to the chiropractor, which is where we went first.  Cowen and I were getting adjusted when Miriam, who was supposed to be babysitting everyone in the van, poked her head in and said we had a problem.  Oskar had just thrown up in the van.  Argh! 

We finished getting adjusted and then headed to the van. It wasn't too bad--just a bunch of hot cereal, not too runny.  I wiped Oskar down as well as I could with wipes and then debated our plan of action.  We were supposed to be going to the library where I had put a bunch of books on hold and then to Castle Park where I was sort-of heading up a homeschool meeting about next year.  I was technically in charge, but I'd coordinated the meeting times and started the FB page and made it all happen.  So.  What to do.

We headed to the library.  I had one child stay in the van with Oskar while the rest of us ran in and got books.  Oskar threw up again right as we were going to leave and again I debated--home or park?  I felt like we should probably go home, but the kids were so desperate for the park and it had taken a month to get schedules to coordinate for this meeting.  I opted for the park. 

Oskar did pretty well the first hour, just sitting by me and looking a little green.  The other kids played and we moms accomplished a great deal.  I was trying to take care of Oskar, and Clover, and Annabel and finally handed off Annabel to my friend.  I also said some stupid things that I now regret--nothing major, just things I wouldn't have said if I wasn't feeling a little frazzled by that time.  Then Oskar threw up.  Then we left.

Oskar threw up three more times on the way home.  I am now reminded that I haven't cleaned out the van or his car seat--I totally forgot in the craziness of last night.  I now have so much more to look forward to today!

When we got home, I went into overdrive getting Oskar cleaned up and the other kids settled so that I could get supper made for us, and, more importantly, other people.  Oskar didn't want me to put him down, so he laid on the floor in the kitchen on his blanket, while Clover clung to my leg while I moved around the kitchen.  She periodically wandered off (she walks now!!) but always came back.  The kids had library books so getting them to help with anything was more trouble than it was worth.  I had everything almost ready, despite stopping to clean up throw-up a few times, and stopping to nurse a baby once, when I realized I didn't have cream.  It is sort of an important ingredient in lemon cream pasta with chicken.  Argh!!!  I had some, just not enough.  So I took out half the noodles and finished up half a batch and ran out the door to deliver the meal leaving Oskar to cry on the floor without me. 

One the way home I stopped and got more cream, made it home, comforted Oskar and Clover, finished making the pasta, fed the kids who hadn't already helped themselves to rolls out of sheer desperation, got Oskar and Clover to bed, fed Annabel, and finally fed myself.  Timothy got home at around 8:00, ate, and retired to his room (he's really sore from overdoing it at the gym--he was a little too excited about being able to work out again after a year of not being able to do much because of his wrist), I tidied up a bit, threw in the throw-up clothes/towels/blankets into the wash and started on the dishes only to stop and snuggle Clover for awhile (she threw up sometime later that night in her crib but didn't wake up Timothy or myself) and feed Annabel again.  At 10:00, with Annabel down and the rest of the house sleeping, I looked around and decided I was done for the night.  Dishes were piled on every counter and the table, library books were strewn across the entire library floor, and bonus laundry on top of my regular mounds overflowed its containers and piled on the floor. 

I should have taken Oskar home as soon as he threw up the first time, but I didn't.  I should have had help from Timothy but I unexpectedly didn't.  I should have had enough cream in my fridge, but I didn't.  All I could think as I put my tired body to bed was how grateful I am that my kids are so rarely sick and how grateful I am that I homeschool so my work force would be home the next day to help me and how grateful I am that Smiths is only three minutes away. 

UPDATE: It is now 2:22 pm on the next day (or rather, this day) and the dishes are done and the majority of the upstairs entirely cleaned.  I had to clean out Clover's crib and shampoo the throw-up out of her hair, but it could have been so much worse.  The carseat is washed and is currently drying in the sun.  I have enough leftovers from the past two days that I don't need to cook today at all.  Best of all--Oskar and Clover are both feeling pretty perky.  I sent the kids outside and decided to tackle the downstairs tomorrow.  I'm still tired.  :)