A Sticky-Coke Can Sort of Day

It’s a term Brian and I have used since our dating days.

It’s meant to describe one of those no-good-very-bad days where you encounter an obstacle at every part of your day. Nothing earth-shattering wrong--just a pile of inconveniences that you could easily absorb one-at-a-time, but they all seem to have fallen on the same day. A day like: you wake up not feeling well, your car has a flat tire when you go to leave in the morning, the grocery store is out of the very one ingredient you went for and someone rams you in the back of your leg with a grocery cart, you stepped in gum and got it on the rug of your car, you forgot your homework assignment that was due in class that day, a cashier gives you the wrong amount of change and you don’t realize it until 30 minutes after you’ve left the store, the dry-cleaner just happens to be closed on the day you absolutely needed that skirt, etc. You get the drift.

Brian minted the term after having one of these days in law school. I don’t remember the specifics of his bad day, but after telling me a long list of woes that he had encountered that day, he caps it off with, “I went to the soda machine to get a Coke—I put my money in and a Coke comes out. I pick it up and realize that the outside of the can is sticky. That Coke can basically sums up my day.” And so the term was adopted.

I do have good things to blog about, like my birthday and such, but today is one of those sticky Coke-can days and I need to vent.

After having a run of the stomach bug in our house the last 10 days, I finally thought Ella was over it and am excited to FINALLY put her back in school today since she made it through all of yesterday and last night without throwing up. I am happily humming a tune while packing her lunch this morning, only to hear her vomiting in the bathroom.

At least Samantha has pre-school this morning, I think. I pull her out of her crib and see snot running out of her nose. I look the other way and pretend it’s not there while I wash her face. I am bound and determined to get her to pre-school. Think bad thoughts about me all you want as the parent who put their snotty-nosed kid in pre-school, but when you’ve been hunkered down with sick kids (and yes, my kids are immunized against the Swine flu), and her pre-school is just one day a week, you just don’t care about being that parent. Plus, she couldn’t miss her Halloween party today, right?

I manage to get clothes on a lethargic, slow-moving, sick Ella and push the girls out of the door. I go to pick up my keys and realize Brian has taken the wrong set with him to work, which has the only available van key. I am able to open the van, and get Sam’s car seat out and put it in the pick-up. The girls and I scrunch in while Ella complains that she’s squished in the middle. This has changed my visiting teaching plans for the morning and I call my teachee on the way to tell her that my kid is sick and can’t make it, but I want to drop off a Halloween treat. I head towards taking Sam to pre-school, but Brian calls to say he is metroing back to swap keys with me, because he really needs his work keys and can I meet him at the Bethesda station in 15 minutes?

Ella relishes in being the only kid at home while Sam is at school. She miraculously springs back to life and instead of reading quietly on the couch as I had pictured, she wants to play board games because “being sick is fun cause I get all the attention. Usually Sam gets all the attention.” With a statement like that how do you turn around and do your normal morning clean-up routine? Board games it was.

Meanwhile, I think my boss is mad at me for being late to a meeting last night because it apparently takes 90 minutes to travel 22 miles to Dupont Circle in the pouring rain during rush hour and I had only allotted myself 60 minutes. At least I can put Ella in front of a movie and work on my report to redeem myself while Sam naps.

Except Sam decided napping wasn’t on her agenda today. She screamed bloody murder, threw her animals and baby doll overboard, making her scream louder. It became very clear that no report was going to get done today. And so, dishes still sit in my sink, laundry has yet to be put away from Monday’s washing, and the refrigerator is still empty so dinner plans are a mystery. And I have another meeting tonight that I better not be late to.

However, my sanity thanks my two children who are currently playing independently, with not a peep of disagreement or injury, so that I can write this post.

Good thing caffeine intake is prohibited these days with maniac girl #3 in utero. Cause my Coke would have definitely turned up sticky today.

Turning 6...

...According to Ella. (Not exactly her words, but could be.)

Let me tell you something about birthdays. Make-it-last-as-long-as-you-can-possibly-get-away-with. Mom and Dad said something about Disney World being part of Samantha's and my birthdays this year--but how can it be for my birthday when I wasn't even there on my birthday? So let me give you some pointers on how to drag this baby out.

On the day of: 1) Open a couple of presents in the morning before school. Grandma and Grandpa Bowcut's package was a prime target--they weren't going to be here to see me open it, so who cares when I do it? I scored some cute new clothes, and Samantha gave me a sewing gift--not like SHE cares when I do it.
2) Wear your favorite party dress for school and have your mom tie a bow in your hair so people will tell you how cute you look all day long. Make sure the powers-that-be at school know it's your birthday so they'll make an announcement over the loud speaker and invite you to go to the office to collect a birthday pencil. My teacher had a present for me, too--a new book. What is it with teachers being so obsessed with books anyway?

3) If handed lemons at any point in your day, be calm and be sure to squeeze out a little lemonade. I unfortunately had both my group and private violin lessons on my birthday (VERY bad planning on the part of my mom), but everyone sang to me while my teacher played.

4) If you go out to eat, choose a restaurant with your favorite dish and make sure the waiter knows its your birthday so you score a dessert. (And make sure you share so you don't seem totally self-absorbed.) Birthday singing and opening presents in public only heightens the attention you receive. It was lots of fun to have Miriam, Grandma and Grandpa Munk with us celebrate.

5) And insist on time to play with your new things even if it's after your bedtime. Can people really expect to give you new things and then not get to play with them? Even better, ask for something new you can WEAR to bed and then you can enjoy one of your presents all night long.

6) One day of celebrating is SO pre-school. Your friends need ample opportunity to adore you. Saturday, we packed as many friends as we could fit into our van and headed over to the indoor swimming pool. We had a blast--and I even taught my friends the easiest way to dunk my Grandma.

We came back to my house for cake and ice cream. I asked specifically for my Mom's favorite type of birthday cake (which we'll have again at the end of the month for my Mom's big day)--chocolate with pumpkins on top. Grandma said she wasn't sure my Mom even knew how to make it given that it's always been made for her. I think Mom did a fantastic job--it was perfect!

So there you go...my birthday in a nutshell. Only 358 days left until my next one.

Nine

It's been said that a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

It happens to me every year.


Happy 9th Anniversary, Bri. I love you.

Coming Home

After spending a full day at Magic Kingdom on Friday, Brian and I put the girls in their jammies, handed them their blankies and dolls and drove the 7 and 1/2 haul to Atlanta, GA. We rolled in to my brother David's house at about 1:30am. We were absolutely exhausted, but is was worth it to spend the day with the Caylors.

David and Janene are fantastic hosts--they feed you well and always make you feel comfortable in their home. David made one of his famous cheesecakes (some of which I transported from Georgia and is calling my name from the refrigerator), which he makes most times we come to visit. Believe me, it is true incentive. We also loved admiring all the work they've done on their home--painting, tons of new trim work and new furniture. David has become quite the woodmaster.

And it was of course another girl fest as the cousins played the day away together.

After we left Atlanta, and were headed home, the car was quiet and I was thinking about the closeness I share with my three siblings. I thought about their many talents and the goodness that they radiate. They have truly been my life partners.

Our final stop was to pay homage to Brian's graduate alma mater. He even wore the appropriate shirt for the occasion. We strolled through the campus, which is lovely. Brian has fond memories of this three years there, and the place holds meaning for me too, since we dated the last two years he was there.

We enjoyed reminiscing about the many drives between Durham and DC, his friends, and mostly, Elmo's. There has never been a diner as great as Elmo's, mostly because it serves the best veggie burger ever. It is a must every time we pass through.

During our drive home I thought about how college and graduate school were such defining life experiences for me (we did a lot of driving--there was lots of time to think) and how in the distant future, I will enjoy watching my own children go through them. You feel an immense sense of freedom and excitement about what life will bring next, but that time also provides a comforting shelter from the world. I relish those years, but surprisingly, don't know that I'd want to go back to them. I suppose I'm happy where I am.

We're glad to be home, though today was an adjustment as we dove back into real life again. Fortunately, I have the month of October to look forward to, which holds birthday, anniversary and Halloween celebrations. I adore the Fall, and it was nice to come home to crisp fall air and leaves just starting to turn. Which is definitely one thing Florida will never be able to match.

Lots More Disney

Our week was a wonderful success. We arrived home this evening and tucked the girls into their own beds. They were sound asleep in 30 seconds, exhausted from a week of much driving, walking, swimming, riding, playing, and late bedtimes. We packed as much as we could into the week and were glad for the uninterrupted, purely fun week together. There are gobs of pictures and adventures to report, but here are some of the highlights:

Animal Kingdom
The attraction was of course, the animals--we saw all kinds on the Safari
and Samantha had a particular fondness for the monkeys.

Ella chose the Rainforest Rainbow face paint, and was tickled when meeting Pocahontas, she mentioned her face had "all the colors of the wind."

More rides

More character meetings

and a precarious encounter where Samantha tried to give her pacifier to a duck. The duck behind the fence in this picture waddled right up to her wanting to be fed. Samantha, who had just woken up from a nap, kindly offered her pacifier to the anxious duck, before I intervened. There would have been much sadness had that duck made off with the pacifier.

Reuniting with good friends

We were delighted to have two sets of friends take time out of their week to come play with us.

Brian's good childhood and college friend, Zy, and his family live about an hour and half outside of Orlando and spent a day with us. I love that with all of our good friends, our kids get along splendidly. It's almost like they already come wired to be friends because their parents are friends. Zy and his wife Jackie have three darling girls, giving us a glimpse of what it will be like to be the parents of three girls.

I love the following picture of Zy and Brian--did they ever envision in their childhood that they'd someday be hanging together in the middle of Florida, as the fathers of all girls?

We took a much needed break away from the parks and ventured over to Fort Wilderness for pony rides

And then to the Disney Boardwalk to ride Surrey bikes.

and then for dinner and setting the girls loose on the boardwalk.

Which brings me to our next day at

Hollywood Studios

where we got to spend time with our good friends Annie and Garrick Infanger, who have randomly relocated to the Tampa area. We would have greatly preferred for them to come back to DC, but at least we have them back on the east coast. It's a start! It was so wonderful to see them and our plans for the arranged marriage of Ella and their son Eli appear to be on track. Despite only seeing each other about once a year, they hit it off each time they're together.

Our Second Day of Magic Kingdom

Not only did we get to meet Aladdin and Princess Jasmine

but we got to see Astronaut Buzz Aldrin! Ella was most likely the only 6-year old at Disney World who knew who he was. She had just finished a book about the first landing on the moon, and when we walked into the park and saw a sign that Buzz Aldrin was there that day, Ella was delighted. We had ambitions of going to his book signing, but seeing him in the parade turned out to be sufficient.

And Uncle Andrew Munk joined us...he currently lives in Tampa and took the day off of work to play with us. We had a fun time on rides with him, and he was more than a good sport with the girls. Given that he works nights, he sacrificed a good deal of sleep to be with us, and even carried hot and tired little girls around the park. Thanks for being with us, Andrew!

What an exciting week we had--there is more to report about our drive home, which will hopefully be added in the next day or two, but two-thumbs up to Disney!