A Morning in My Life

As I was running errands with Teddy this morning, it occurred to me that we probably provide some entertainment for others when we're out and about. I thought I'd share our morning, so you can be entertained as well.

5:30 a.m. Dave wakes me up before he leaves for work, but he warns me I might want to stay under the blankets longer. The house was 54 degrees when he woke up for work, instead of the usual 67. It turns out that when Teddy hauled in the step ladder from the garage yesterday and was standing on top of it by the thermostat that he turned on the AC, so we had no heat running all afternoon or night.

He apparently knew he was turning off the heat, hence his coat.

6:00 a..m. I finish my 15 minutes of yoga and 7-minute workout as AJ comes downstairs. When he learns that he has a play date tomorrow morning at his friend's house, he suggests I invite Teddy's friend Max to our house at the same time. Hmm, good idea.

6:45 a.m. AJ feeds the rest of his French toast to Teddy, flying each bite into Teddy's mouth. I don't complain that someone other than me is feeding Teddy. (Not complaining about dinner either because Dave usually takes the lead on wrestling Teddy, who no longer wants to sit at the table most of the time.)

7:00 a.m. I text Max's mom to see if tomorrow works for a play date. It sounds like a possibility. 

7:15 a.m. AJ gets on the bus. Teddy can't wait for nicer weather when he can go play outside every morning until AJ gets on the bus because Teddy always stares out the window watching everyone else play. (I'm just not up to getting him all bundled up in snowpants and boots when both of us are still in our pajamas in winter.)

8:00 a.m. We've played magnets along with opening the refrigerator about 20 times. I don't find that particularly fun, but Teddy most certainly does.

8:30 a.m. We head up to Appleton for grocery shopping.

9:00 a.m. I struggle to get Teddy's feet into the holes in the shopping card. I blatantly disregard the weight limit and ponder if I'll need to take off his shoes to get him out.

9:15 a.m. A couple chuckles at Teddy holding a giant bag of pretzels while I try to store everything possible under the cart where he can't reach it.

9:30 a.m. Moment of truth. Groceries are out of the cart, and now it's time to remove Teddy. I size up the situation and decide I need more leverage than I can get from standing on the group trying to maneuver Teddy above most of my body. I put one foot on the cart corral and the other on the bottom of the shopping cart to lift Teddy out. Both his feet wiggle out fairly easily, and I'm quite proud of myself until I realize what that must have looked like to everyone else.

9:45 a.m. We're at the next store, and I just can't muster the effort to get Teddy into and out of another shopping cart. So I load Teddy on my back using a soft-sided carrier. Then I proceed to ask the first person I see to help me adjust the back of the carrier. I walk away telling Teddy that I have no pride left.

9:50 a.m. Teddy is excited to be in the carrier. I know this because he is bouncing up and down. That does not make it easy for me to walk with 46 lbs. of flailing on my back. At least he's happy.

10:00 a.m. I regret not grabbing a cart because I was only picking up one thing. I miraculously manage to carry two packages of chicken, two bags of salad and a giant container of olives in my arms with Teddy on my back.

Smiles, sunshine and sweat. He's heavy. ;-)

10:15 a.m. I call for the fourth time on a records request to get EEG discs to the National Institutes of Health. I discover that I need to call yet another place for one of the EEGs. I'm not happy with this since I've been trying to get these records since February 1.

10:45 a.m. We arrive at the library to pick up my books that are on hold. I always request books to be put on hold, so I can walk in, grab them and walk out. I know it's more work for them, but it makes life much easier than trying to find a particular book while wrangling Teddy. I put the carrier on but decide to be brave and let Teddy walk. He's much better than last time and doesn't try escaping multiple times. Success!

10:50 a.m. I hear back that my original EEG request is being processed and should arrive by the middle of next week. I feel much better than I got such a quick, positive response.

11:00 a.m. I unload groceries while Teddy climbs into the trunk. Then I put away the groceries while Teddy plays in the car and turns the key partially. Thankfully, he honked the horn loudly to let me know he was being a stinker, so I got the keys away from him.

11:10 a.m. I make Teddy lunch while calling on the other EEG records.

11:15 a.m. Teddy eats his lunch, partially while sitting and partially while wandering through the kitchen.

11:30 a.m. I change Teddy and make sure he's ready for school with his backpack, talker and coat. He puts on my vest and then makes me wear my vest. He's getting so good with zippers.

11:40 a.m. Teddy's van arrives to take him to school. He's so excited he jumps up when I open the van door. (He is just starting to be able to jump, which is so fun!) I buckle him in and wish the driver a good day.

11:41 a.m. Freedom! I have no children until just after 3 p.m.