So, last night Kiddo didn't go to sleep until (wait for it) 11:15. I wanted to punch myself in the face. It'd be one thing if she'd just keep herself amused until all hours, but she still very much wants me in the room with her until she nods off. I think it's especially acute with Mimi out of town and is probably one of the signs that she's a little stressed out. I am keeping my eyes open for those.
I let her sleep in this morning but then ultimately had to bribe her with TV Breakfast to get her to get dressed and get the hell out of bed (though not in that order). TV Breakfast became Car Breakfast (car waffles are becoming a staple) but I got her to school by 9:20. Then she did that thing where she ran halfway out to the playground until the invisible rubber band that connects us snapped her back to me. She hugged me and wouldn't let go. Her teacher came over and we all chatted for a while and Kiddo was smiling by the time I left.
And speaking of signs that someone is stressed, I swear when I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror at work, I had twice as much gray hair as I did the day before.
When I picked her up for school, I felt like I had crashed a college party. She was bright red and sweating, screaming and laughing and chasing after a boy who had taken her hat. Another kid was throwing shovels full of sand in the air, shouting "Fireworks!" and all of the other kids were jumping in dancing in the falling sand. It was bedlam, but Kiddo was having a blast.
Then on the way home, we had lengthy conversations about strawbapples and raspbloobs. Hybrid fruits were, I guess, a thing today.
We also had lengthy conversations about her sister Hoddie who has a sister named Sophie (sometimes Sadie). Somehow Sophie (sometimes Sadie) is Hoddie's sister and Hoddie is Kiddo's sister, but Sophie (sometimes Sadie) and Kiddo are not sisters. Modern family, I guess. Anyway, they live in Friendship and Hoddie works at a theater where she wrote a play called "Fairy Dreams: I Love You" but that closed so now she's doing a new one called "Put Your Legs in Front of Me."
We are all a little punchy.
Then we had dinner, a bath, after which I spent 20 minutes rinsing the tub to get rid of all the sand I had washed out of her hair, an oft-interrupted Skype call with Mama in Tokyo and -- wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles -- the kid was asleep by 9:15. Of course at 9:10 she was grousing that she couldn't sleep but I told her to close her eyes for 10 minutes (which she bargained down to 9) and then we'll see, but if she opened her eyes, the 9 minutes would start over again. She didn't make it. So, yay for that. Now I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'll go clean the kitchen.
Such is the swinging life of Bachelor Dad.
I let her sleep in this morning but then ultimately had to bribe her with TV Breakfast to get her to get dressed and get the hell out of bed (though not in that order). TV Breakfast became Car Breakfast (car waffles are becoming a staple) but I got her to school by 9:20. Then she did that thing where she ran halfway out to the playground until the invisible rubber band that connects us snapped her back to me. She hugged me and wouldn't let go. Her teacher came over and we all chatted for a while and Kiddo was smiling by the time I left.
And speaking of signs that someone is stressed, I swear when I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror at work, I had twice as much gray hair as I did the day before.
When I picked her up for school, I felt like I had crashed a college party. She was bright red and sweating, screaming and laughing and chasing after a boy who had taken her hat. Another kid was throwing shovels full of sand in the air, shouting "Fireworks!" and all of the other kids were jumping in dancing in the falling sand. It was bedlam, but Kiddo was having a blast.
Then on the way home, we had lengthy conversations about strawbapples and raspbloobs. Hybrid fruits were, I guess, a thing today.
We also had lengthy conversations about her sister Hoddie who has a sister named Sophie (sometimes Sadie). Somehow Sophie (sometimes Sadie) is Hoddie's sister and Hoddie is Kiddo's sister, but Sophie (sometimes Sadie) and Kiddo are not sisters. Modern family, I guess. Anyway, they live in Friendship and Hoddie works at a theater where she wrote a play called "Fairy Dreams: I Love You" but that closed so now she's doing a new one called "Put Your Legs in Front of Me."
We are all a little punchy.
Then we had dinner, a bath, after which I spent 20 minutes rinsing the tub to get rid of all the sand I had washed out of her hair, an oft-interrupted Skype call with Mama in Tokyo and -- wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles -- the kid was asleep by 9:15. Of course at 9:10 she was grousing that she couldn't sleep but I told her to close her eyes for 10 minutes (which she bargained down to 9) and then we'll see, but if she opened her eyes, the 9 minutes would start over again. She didn't make it. So, yay for that. Now I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'll go clean the kitchen.
Such is the swinging life of Bachelor Dad.
Comments
Nice work washing the sand out of the tub.