“I’m gonna go it alone!” is a dangerous, ballsy proclamation from Euchre, the Unofficial Drinking Card Game of Notre Dame’s class of ’93. (Yeah, I’m that old. So what?!) I never have the guts to do it, but my partner, Auntie Lisa, does it all the time. The thing is, you have to KNOW you can win, otherwise the other team gets like 5,000 points or something.
So here I am, going it alone as Mommy without Daddy for five days. It started last night with the harbinger of doom: I broke out in hives. HIVES. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before. I lathered myself up with Benadryl gel, took the only allergy medicine I could find, and tried to sleep.
This morning, 5:39 AM. I wake up and look at the clock. “Oh shit!” I sat straight up in bed. We were supposed to wake up at 5. Not sure what crazy thing I did to the alarm. We threw ourselves together, woke Kyle up and put him in the car (he was NOT happy. Not.) and drove Stewart to the shuttle bus station. He was freaking out that he wouldn’t make it on time. I was freaking out that I was awake. Well, he made it on time.
From 6:10 AM to 8:10 AM it went like this: me chasing Kyle around the house trying to put an article of clothing on him or wrestle nefarious objects from his hands. Me noticing him hypnotized by Sesame Street, trying to lay down for just one second to catch my breath. Me guzzling 2, no 3 cups of coffee. Oh, sweet coffee. It was the last of my Dunkin Donuts stash. Help me, oh East Coast friends and family! You’re my only hope!
Work was uneventful. Stew called around 3pm to tell me he had safely arrived In the Middle of Nowhere, LA. He is surrounded by alligators and insects the size of your head.
The evening was not really that bad. I picked Kyle up around 6 (it would have been 5:30, but the guy who parks behind me in our tandem spot, who wasn’t supposed to be there today, was there today, and I had to wait for him to move his car) and when we got home I took off his clothes, turned on the garden hose, and let him loose in the backyard. Don’t worry, I closed the gates to the front of the house.
We ate a Kids’ Meal dinner of chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs, mac and cheese, and steamed broccoli. I didn’t have the energy to do better than that. He’s lucky he didn’t just get a cheese stick.
Then we played Chase for a little while. Kyle chases me around the house, then I chase him. I sneak in a few picked up items on the way. Somehow I cleaned the kitchen during all of that. Then it was bathtime (I say “bathtime and he runs straight for the bathroom door, and reaches up for the knob) and then bedtime. But right before I read him a story I walked around the house with him in my arms looking for his little baby hairbrush. He seemed to realize we were looking for something, so he kept calling out “Da-da? Da-da?” That broke my heart and made me so proud of him I was ready to burst. I had to tell him Da-da went bye-bye for a few days.
After I got him to sleep I sat down here and I’ve been here ever since. Working on a writing assignment that is due, um, now. Still not done. Not enough energy. But all in all I would say today wasn’t so bad. Hopefully with the right amount of sleep tonight, tomorrow will be even better.
One day down only 4 more to go right?
I have much faith in you and your ability to handle it all.
I know that when my own hubby was going to night school it was difficult to be alone in the house mostly all day and then evening with 2 children so I can most definitely sympathize.
Good Luck to you!
So I’m officially de-lurking. I started coming to your blog at your father’s suggestion to see new pictures of Kyle (I worked for your dad for 6 of the last 6 1/2 years). Kyle is, in fact, as adorable as his proud grandfather promised, but I keep coming back because I just love reading your blog. I only hope some day mine will begin to compare. I felt I should comment because mine NEVER (literally 2 comments in over 6 months) has any comments and I wonder if anyone’s even reading it, so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing that to someone else. Anyway, good luck with the week of single parenthood – glad I don’t have to deal with any of that yet!!
Sounds like a successful first day!
Only 4 more to go!
Hey cant you order the coffee off the website?
Yes, you can you can set up a coffee subscribtion: https://dunkindonuts.com/delivery/CreateNew.aspx
Or just order the goods when you need it:
https://dunkindonuts.com/shoponline/Category.aspx?CategoryId=COFF
OMG Kate that is so awesome thank you thank you thank you. When we meet in person some day I will gift you with a bag of its hot and tasty goodness.
Lisa, first of all, put your link in your comment. I guarantee you that people who read THIS site will click to see what you’re talking about. Thanks for delurking! I had no idea you were a reader. Don’t you miss my dad? He was a great boss, in my biased opinion.
You can do it!! 🙂
You’ll make it just fine. Shoot – you got a three course meal in him WITH a vegetable. That’s pretty darn impressive in my book.
And, Lisa, it is definitely hard to read your blog if you don’t tell us where it is.
OK, I’m putting up the link to my blog. I’m definitely nervous because it’s really not all that impressive – I’m still figuring the whole thing out.
As for your dad being the best boss ever – it’s definitely true. I’d work for him again in a heartbeat (and I keep reminding him of that so that perhaps he’ll move a little faster on that 😉 ). Now if I can only convince your parents that they should come for dinner some time so we can chat about how things are going…
Huh. I was going to send you the link to order coffee over the net but Kate beat me to it.
You cooked dinner? Including vegetables? You are better then me.
Oooo! We were without internet for a few days and I just found your site and I think you tagged me. I’m still a bit of a blog dunce but I think that’s what you did! I’m so excited!
And seriously impressed that you got broccoli into Kyle! AND managed to pick up the kitchen while playing chase. Seriously. You are amazing! Can’t wait to read more of your (mis)adventures (as Tina called them!) Good luck!!!
Hey y’all. Don’t make a liar out of me. Someone go visit Lisa’s blog (http://lifemoreorlessordinary.blogspot.com/) and leave a comment or 5.