That's probably worth more than grocery-shopping with all 3 kids after picking Gabriel up from school. It helped that I relented and let the boys ride in one of those car carts, despite numerous past bad experiences. Though it was super heavy with all 3 kids in it, it worked well. The boys didn't fight, and they stayed put the whole time. As we were loading up the car, I realized why: Gabriel had strapped him and Julian in, and they couldn't unstrap!
Later in the afternoon, I attempted to put Katrina down for a nap. While she was still chattering away, Betsy arrived with her clan'o'3, taking vengeance on me for pawning off so many baked goods on her. (I was the lucky recipient of some Mexican Monkey Cake, which was fabulously rich and moist and .... fabulous!) Ironically, Julian had just been saying this morning that he wanted a playdate with Gina. And here she was!
The boys and Gina had a grand time playing together, while Andrew doggedly worked on Julian's bicycle.
Eventually I brought Katrina down too, and she just loved playing on the deck, watching the other kids and interacting with Dylan (all of 6 weeks her junior) as much as babies their age interact.
I had to give up on Katrina's nap, after 45 minutes of chatter and 15 minutes of crying. This worries me. I'm OK with her dropping one nap already, but not if her only nap starts at 10am. 12 noon is too early for a baby her age to wake up and then make it all the way to bedtime, though actually, she sort of did. I had to bail on a plan for us all to go to Tuesday dinner, and she was ultra-high-maintenance from about 5:30 on. Fortunately, Dave took the boys to dinner, and I got a little quiet time after putting her to bed.
This morning worked unusually well though. I took Julian and Katrina to the Y, worked out for just about an hour, then brought them home for Katrina's nap, and mine. (For 4 days now a migraine has been looming, but hasn't materialized...I'm never sure when the floodgates will open!) Julian played quietly downstairs for the better part of two hours by himself! I'm glad and guilty about that. Then, lunch, Gabriel pickup (early on Tuesdays), Trader Joe's, and home. If Katrina really is shifting to one nap a day, then her nap will conflict with both Julian's and Gabriel's pickups. Argh!
I see lots of moms with sleeping toddlers in strollers going to pick up older children at school, but I just can't see that happening. They must have some other help or support, 'cause even when Katrina is at her best, she can be full-on demanding, especially in the evening when I need my hands free the most. I shudder to think about making dinner while she's overtired. The other parents waiting at Gabriel's school recognize her now, and always tell me how happy and friendly she is. And she is, making eye contact with anyone she can, beaming at them and showing off. But this happy behavior is easily matched in amplitude with screechy, miserable, demanding behavior later. Despite appearances, she's not the mellowest most easygoing baby in the world. (I think Dylan is in the running for that honor.)
Someday this will all seem so far away and remote. I'm way overdue for an update with my high school friend Andrea, who I believe sent her oldest daughter to college this month. College. And here I am fretting about kindergarten! Then again, working life around toddler naps isn't a foreign concept to Andrea, who remarried and had a baby at age 43 also, just like me. I should call her, so she can remind me that really, enjoy it, it does fly by.
Meantime, I'm just happy the uplight floor lamp in the living room works now.
9/18/07
No comments:
Post a Comment