August 4th

3:30 Feed Wonder Boy

3:45 Back to bed

3:46 Why do I hear music?

3:47 Checking the girls' room for music.

3:48 Find out my husband installed a new alarm on his phone.  It's playing music.  I shake him awake, and shove the phone in his face: "It's playing music."  He acknowledges the fact of the music, hits snooze and rolls over.  At some point, I fall asleep again...hooray!

6:00 Up again to feed Wonder Boy, and Ernie wanders out to see if she can get up yet.  "No, it's not 7:00.  Go read your books."  "But MOOOM!  It's going to take to long to get to 7:00!"  Can't argue with that logic, can I?  She still has to go read, though.

6:30 Wonder Boy back to bed

7:00 Ernie leads Mimi into my room, announcing "She's Poopy!"  Joy and rapture!  Change her diaper, and get breakfast started (big pot of oatmeal.  What we need around here is fiber!)

7:45 Breakfast is over, I go outside to water the greenhouse and garden.

8:00 I have time to get dressed...and I'm even wearing mascara.  Life is looking good today.

8:30 Wonder Boy is up.  Start shunting the girls towards finishing their chores so we can leave and see their cousins!

10:00 Finally roll into their cousins' driveway.

12:30 All the kids are down for naps except Wonder Boy, I blow a kiss good bye and dash out to run errands.

3:00 I'm back!  Wonder Boy missed me, but had a great nap in his aunt's Ergo carrier.  From what I hear, those things are part hammock, part magic.  I have a trunk full of groceries for a wedding reception my sister is catering this weekend, I have a book from the library.  I worked in the temple, and I mailed my packages.  The twin studies we help out with is collecting DNA samples....but we're going to finally find out if we're identical or not!  We're pretty stoked about that.  (Can I just reflect here on what I might get done if I didn't always have children in tow?  But if I didn't have children, there wouldn't BE so much work.  Wow.  Tough cycle!)

4:45 Start moving kids towards car.  One runs off to find shoes, one runs off to finds toys.  Oh, now one is running off to use the bathroom.  The other is collecting hugs and kisses from everybody.  OK, now bathroom girl is demanding marshmallows for the amazing feat she just performed....Wonder Boy is just chilling in his car seat, watching the circus.

5:05 FINALLY roll out!

5:45 Oh dear.  Lots of traffic, and a late start.  We are 15 minutes later for Wonder Daddy's first real bike race, a criterium at a park in the city.  The kids see a play set, and I see cyclists trickling by, so I let them go play while I watch the cyclists for Wonder Daddy.  The girls have been SO excited for this!

(Here's Mimi, practicing her cheer this morning for when he reaches the finish line)



7:10  I give up, and the kids need dinner.  We never saw Daddy, except for one glimpse of his back.  I know the race consists of a loop done over and over, but I never saw him come back.  We head to the car.  I wish I could have found my phone this morning before we left.... is he still racing?  Are the loops insanely long?  I ask a cyclist when the 5:30 race will be over, and it ended at 6:00.



7:30 Pull into the driveway.   Just before him.  He left the park at 6 on his bike, rode to where he parked his car about 10 miles away, and drove home.
Didn't he see us at the park?
Why didn't I go to the upper loop?
What's an upper loop, you told me to be at the play set, and all the cyclists were going by!
Those guys were warming up, the race was on another road.

In the end I feel stupid, and he's relieved we're not in a ditch somewhere (I have 4 phone messages waiting for me when I find my phone, under a chair.)  I make the kids sandwiches for dinner, and everyone gets ready for bed.  Oh yeah, and feed the poor baby.  He hasn't eaten since 3!  He's getting older, he went five hours without much fuss, but most of that was either in a car seat or Bjorn.

8:00 My friend is here!  We're walking buddies, but have fallen off the wagon lately.  We go out for a good LONG walk and talk, with Wonder Boy in the Bjorn.

9:45 Home.  Deposit Wonder Boy in bed, and find some dinner for myself.  Does anyone else eat their oatmeal raw?  1/2 cup oats, some dried fruits and nuts, a little sugar, and some skim milk.  Is this meusli?  It's very, very good!  (Filling, cheap, and fast too.  Not bad!)