What do you do by two?

I don't know about you, but every once in awhile I have one of those days that makes me feel like I've crammed in a week's excitement by the time I reach two o'clock.  Today is one of those days, and 2:00 is the magic number because it just happens to be the time that I got both kids down for naps and sat down to breathe.  As I sit and think about it, it's kind of amazing (and a little exhausting) to consider how much half a day can hold.  I guess there's a little super hero in all of us, waiting to pop out and shine when the moment presents itself.  Mine definitely "popped" today, but what was terribly disappointing was the lack of glamour that came with it. Nothing today would warrant a cape or movie time to anyone except those who have had their share of "moments" and know what a truly super thing it is to survive without a meltdown (at least on your part!)

So here's the nitty-gritty:

*I had the girls and myself, cleaned, fed and dressed by 9:00, and I was out the door by 10:00  with the play room cleaned, the bed made, the mess made by the dumb dog cleaned, work emails answered, and story time completed.

*We drive across town for Adrienne's weight check at the doctor (with the good news of a hefty two lbs gained in 6 weeks!) and are told that we need to go to a lab for a little blood work.  

*We load back up in the 97 degree heat, and we are off to the less than kid friendly environment of the Apple store for a new charger.  Both girls are crying because of the heat, thirst, and overall crankiness by the time we are in the store.  The place is a mad house.  Everyone looks urgent and no one else has kids. The line is really long, and Adrienne kicks and cries while I hold her, and Marianna stands by my side and cries as we wait.

*We load back up in the 97 degree heat, and take off to the lab for blood work. Adrienne has really tiny veins that prove VERY difficult to work with.  The first attempt makes her scream until she has soaked her arm and mine with her tears. They draw blood but not enough.  They come back with the news that I'm going to need to hold her down again as they try the other arm.  I watch in horror as they wiggle and wriggle the needle around trying to find a vein as Adrienne lets out heart-wrenching sobs.  No luck with the second attempt, and neither Adrienne or I can handle any more, so we head out and hope they are able to run the test with what they got.

*We load back up in the 97 degree heat (just in case you've lost count, this is time number 3) and head to Chick-fil-a for a pick-me-up.  In transit, Adrienne dumps a bag of rice cakes onto Marianna (I was a softy and let her hold the bag because of all the trauma she had just been through) and Marianna now feels traumatized by the crumbs and rice cakes covering her and her seat.  

*We make it home.  As I'm unloading, I see that Adrienne's cup of milk has overturned and has soaked through the carpet of the car.  The back seat looks like an elementary school food fight has taken place.

*I take the girls inside, sit them down to lunch, clean up the car, vaccum the house, spot clean the carpet (once you're on a roll, it's hard to stop!) re-organize the toy closet, play with the girls, and at 1:55, I put them down.

Whew. If you made it to this point, I congratulate you.  Half way through I realized, no one will care to read this list, just as certainly as I did not care to go through it.  But I hated to delete it all and have nothing to show for my few minutes of relaxation and computer time. 

Now I am eating cold grapes and thinking about that little lurker,  the superhero, and how it shows up at the most unlikely times!  Thank goodness God put a little "super" into us because, frankly, I just don't feel up to it some days on my own =).

Now it's your turn, and I hope you don't hold back!  Please tell me, what do you do by two?