Man...You don't realize what a great team you & your spouse are until one of you gets benched!! Right now I'm incredibly overwhelmed on my own but eternally grateful that I have such an amazing husband. I'll be counting down the seconds until he's back up & running like brand new!
So here's a quick synopsis of my 1st day as a single parent:
- Both kids were wide awake when we left Cleveland so I decided against filling up right away & figured we'd stop outside the city for gas & lunch. Big mistake. 10 minutes later they were both passed out. 20 minutes later my gas alert starts dinging. Awesome.
- When we stop for gas Nolin says he's hungry. We get food & I park in the back of the lot so I can feed Mason while we eat. Nolin begs to sit up front with us but while walking around the back of the truck, he notices the creek bed lined with pretty rocks *facepalm*
- Nolin is too fixated on the rocks to eat & begins throwing his food on the floor.
- Mason is too distracted by Nolin to finish eating by this point which means we'll end up pulling over again.
- It suddenly hits me that I have to go to the bathroom but I realize I'll have to take 2 kids with me. And hold one on my lap. Dear Lord, please let them have enclosed stalls with locks too high for Nolin to reach...Nope.
- As soon as I sit down, Nolin starts playing with the trash can. You know, the one for sanitary products. I yell at him which prompts Mason to start screaming, which echos, which makes Nolin start yelling to prove he's louder. And start trying to escape the noise. While I'm going to the bathroom, I'm bouncing one kid on my knee & holding the other by his shirt so he can't crawl under the stall door & escape. Because I'm pretty sure no one wants to see a fat chick with her pants around her ankles carrying a screaming baby like a football while running after a toddler with a huge rock in his hand...Pretty sure.
- By the way, it takes TALENT to hold 2 kids, wipe your ass & pull up your pants. Just call me Super Woman :)
- When we leave the bathroom the whole restaurant is staring at the door waiting to see who was making so much noise. <Insert eye rolls & horrible glares> Jerks.
- As we walk back to the car Nolin is screaming & throwing himself on the ground because he doesn't want to hold my hand in the parking lot. Apparently he thought getting hit by a car was MUCH cooler than holding Mommy's hand.
- The constant bending & jerking with Nolin's tantrum causes Mason to throw up his lunch. All down my back, arm & in my hair. Awesome.
- I just want to leave all the stares behind so I stuff everyone in the car & we drive off. We make it 10 minutes down the road before Mason starts screaming. I guess that's what happens when you throw up your lunch...You're hungry again!
- I pull over at a rest area to feed Mason. The dogs are barking incessantly at every trucker that walks by, Nolin is screaming "Shut up Charlie!!", Mason is crying, I'm banging my head on the steering wheel...Til I hit the horn, scare a trucker & we all start laughing.
- I decided to turn on a Christian radio station & say a prayer while I nursed Mason back to sleep. After that...We were golden. They all either slept the rest of the way or sat there quietly listening to the music & staring out the window...Ah, heavenly :)
