Sunday, September 06, 2009

finish line

Kyle has been in Europe for two weeks and today is our final day alone.

The dream: Annika takes a long nap in the afternoon, grab some coffee & cookie for the kids, go to the park for a walk, maybe fly our kites, stop by the store for some groceries & a fun $5 toy for each kid, get take-out on the way home, early bedtime, kyle home by 10pm.

Reality: Annika falls asleep in the car at 10am and only sleeps for an hour. There goes naptime in the afternoon - for the third day in a row. Ugh.

Go to starbucks for our coffee & cookie - Saben won't eat his half because it has yellow raisins in it. Annika enjoys the entire cookie herself.

Arrive at the park and it is really windy. Grab the kites, head to the beach, put my latte down....
Huge gust of wind, Annika starts SHRIEKING, kites are tangling, Saben's kite is about to lift him in the air, latte spills (I had about 6 sips of the entire thing - the rest into the sand). Boo!

Annika is still crying, kites still trying to escape, put the kites away, Annika is STILL CRYING. Everytime the wind blows at all she bursts into tears, screams if it gusts and clings to me like a bear is chasing her. Decide to leave the park.

Arrive at the store, put the kids into one of those "car" shopping carts. Its the only one and I have to literally lean my weight into it to even get it moving. Choice: Push & shove the broken cart around the store or take Annika back out into the windy parking lot to find a better one. Choose to use my muscles & haul the stupid thing through the store. The cart is definitely broken, by the time our trip is done, my arms ache & I am sweating.

Go to get the $5 toys I had in mind - they are out of the little lego kit Saben has been wanting forever. Of course they have a similar big one for $12. I cave & get it.

Get home & swear to not leave the house again until Kyle gets home. Except maybe for some thai takeout tonite. Why are the last days of Kyle's trips always the hardest?

5 comments:

Tiffany said...

Two weeks of solo mommyhood? yikes! I'm glad you are to the finish line!... I have this theory that kids hear our perfect plans and then purposely do the opposite just to keep us on our toes. I try not to make mental plans with them near me to avoid this evil baby esp.

Jenny said...

i like it, not the extra work, but the fact that the story was fully told...so often we only hear the dream, even when reality has happened...you're really good at sharing in this way kari!

vickyc said...

this dream day/reality disaster happens to me practically everyday. i like it that it happens to you too! ;D

BrenV said...

I couldn't stop laughing at your story. Someday you'll be able to look back on it and laugh also, but it will be awhile. Right now it was either your worst case scenario or your worst nightmare, maybe both!

TheFiveDays said...

LOL! This happens a lot around here. Well, not that exact scenario, but the "reality vs. the dream." I hope you are enjoying having Kyle home again! :)