I Heart Tuesdays

I know it’s Wednesday, but give me a break.  I’m a busy Mama, I have a sinus infection and every time I sit down to write, a small person whines, cries or poops. 

Before I tell you about Tuesday, let me quickly tell you that Monday was nuts. Riley wouldn’t nap (as usual) and ended up falling down the rabbit hole by mid-afternoon.  The tantrums were endless and, at one point, he cried so fiercely that he threw up.  On my carpet.  (Insert deep breath.)  The poor little guy was a monster.  Only bedtime for him and a few glasses of wine for me could end the suffering.  When Mike got home from work I had to sit alone my bedroom in the dark for a good twenty minutes before I could face the rest of the evening.  I specifically asked Mike to handle the tooth brushing, because that often sends me down my own rabbit hole.

Okay, back to Tuesday.  It was teacher appreciation week and I got both kids to school on time with their homemade cards for their teachers in hand.  I even passed in Dylan’s Pre-Kindergarten paperwork.   Next, I met Mike at a child therapist’s office where we spent the next hour talking to a lovely woman about Dylan.  Truthfully, this is the one thing that I didn’t “heart” about Tuesday.  It was overwhelming, but I know we’re doing the right thing to explore ways to help Dylan cope better with his anxiety.  By the time that meeting was over, I had just enough time to get a few things at Whole Foods and then make some phone calls at home before heading back to school to get Riley. 

Here’s where it gets good.  On Tuesdays, Dylan goes to school for a full day (2:45pm) and then goes to basketball class until 3:50pm.   I still have to pick up Riley at 12:45, but my afternoon strategy is simple: drive around until Riley falls asleep.  Don’t judge.  I know gas is expensive, but if you knew Riley, you’d pay any price for gas to lull this kid into a nap.  It worked, and even though I should’ve then emptied and filled the dishwasher, folded a load of laundry or written this blog, I decided to sit on the couch and watch episodes of “Bethenny Ever After” on the DVR.  It was just what the doctor ordered (not for my sinus infection, for my sanity).

When Riley woke from his nap we snuggled on the couch together for a while before driving to pick up Dylan at basketball.  I like to get there a few minutes early because watching Dylan dribble a basketball is like magic purple medicine (Children’s Tylenol) for the soul.  When we got home, I was refreshed and ready for the evening’s hijinks.  We played with dinosaurs in the family room, swung on the swings outside, ate grilled cheese sandwiches and watched Dino Dan. 

I didn’t get frustrated when Dylan looked suspiciously inside his grilled cheese sandwich to see if I hid some kind of evil food like turkey, hummus or a vegetable, or when Riley pulled a chair up to the kitchen sink to play with the faucet like a fire hose, or when both boys forced me to push them on the swings in the mosquito-filled back yard.  I brushed off the flood they created in the bathroom during their bath, and I even helped them brush their teeth without killing either one of them.  When Mike got home from work he said to me, “You’re in a chipper mood today.”  I was.

What was the secret?  Spending less time with the boys.  This admission brings on major Mama Guilt, but it’s the truth.  Today is Wednesday and both boys come home from school at 12:45pm.  Only time will tell how the (long) afternoon unfolds, but I have a feeling I don’t heart Wednesdays.