Mama said there'd be days like this

1:30 am.

That's what time I went to sleep last night. (This morning?) I was working feverishly to finish a charity project. The actual deadline is November 20th. My mental deadline was today. I needed to finish the blankets last night so I could deliver them today to the woman who would be taking them to the dropoff. Are you dizzy yet? Me too. Not enough sleep.

As I stitched away, I watched tv. Let me just say that Sunday night tv must be some kind of programming abyss. There was noooothing on. I finally found an episode of "Sons of Anarchy", but that was the only bright spot in a cesspool of bad tv.

I also watched the tick-tocking of the clock. Oh boy. I know I'm going to pay for this tomorrow. The time whizzes by when I'm working on a project. The downside of such intense focus? My body pays dearly for it. Today, I'm nursing a sore wrist and one achy knee (from standing on a concrete floor for so long). Surprisingly, my back doesn't hurt at all. Over the summer, my hands were nearly useless for 2 months when my carpal tunnel acted up.

So anyway, I met my deadline and this was my finished product:



















All of the stitching you see in the pictures was done by hand. It's my favorite part of any blanket or quilt because it's so methodical and relaxing.

I fell into bed at 1:30 and tried not to think about how quickly the next 4 1/2 hours would pass.

* * * * * * * *
This morning at 6:am - My alarm goes off. Oh you can't be serious. I just went to bed 5 minutes ago.

I realize that's an exaggeration, but it was 6am. I have NO sense of logic and proper time-keeping at that un-godly hour of the morning.

Barely bothering to open my eyes, I grab the alarm clock and shut if off. Had I been more conscious, I would have contemplated drop-kicking the clock out the window. Mmm. Bed warm. Pillow soft. Must sleep more. Nick wakes me up 40 minutes later so I can stumble into the shower, grunting and scratching the whole way.

And the morning begins....bring the girls downstairs. "Momma. Can I have milk?" Fill cups with milk. "Momma. Can I have milk?" Warm it up cuz that's the ONLY way they'll drink it (eww). "Momma. Can I have milk?" "YES! Here's your milk!"

Butter the bagels. Put the bagels on the table so breakfast can commence. Start boiling some eggs. Pack Nick's lunch. Change Rachel's diaper. Dress the girls. Squeeze Rachel...inhale her sweet baby smell. Kiss. "Good morning, Ben." Hm...where's Nicholas? He's usually down here first. Pack Ben's lunch. It's 7:30 already. This might not be good. He DID complain of a headache last night.

Shut off the eggs, get them peeled, cut, and served. "Please sit down and eat. Do not get up from the table again until your food has been eaten. You CANNOT go to school with an empty stomach." (I'm going next week to get this tattooed onto my forehead. Or maybe I'll just cross-stitch it onto a pillow. I haven't decided yet.)

Brush my teeth. Brush the girls' teeth. "Ben. Did you brush your teeth yet?" Today is picture day. I still need to do Alexa's hair. Check on Nicholas. Uh oh. He's too warm. Come back downstairs to confer with The Husband. "Here's your vitamins, kids." I take photos of the finished blankets for my portfolio.

Nick goes to check on Nicholas. "If you stay home from school today because you're sick, that means you'll need to stay home from hockey this evening, too." When Nicholas doesn't argue with him, Nick knows he is serious.

Crap. One sick kid throws off my whole morning.

8:16 am - I give Ben the option to walk to school alone (he usually walks with Nicholas) or wait for me to drive him there. As I'm saying this, I realize we need to be out the door in about 3 minutes and I'm still in my pajamas. I inform him that he'll be late if he waits for me. He still wants to wait. I still have to do Alexa's hair.

I throw on some clothes, grab the hair styling supplies, keys, and purse, and we all run to the van. (Nicholas stayed on the couch with strict instructions to not open the door and not answer the phone.) I poked the key into the ignition and turned. "click click click" What? "click click click" You've GOT to be kidding me. "click click click" CRAP CRAP CRAP! "Everyone out of the van."

8:25 - I have to call Victoria's mom to see if she can take Alexa to school. AAAHH! I still have to fix Alexa's hair. I hope she hasn't left for school yet. I hope I can find her phone number! "Ben, I'm so sorry, but you're going to have to walk to school by yourself because I have to wait here for Victoria's mom to pick up Alexa." My stomach knots up in guilt as I watch him walk down the sidewalk alone. He didn't want to go alone.

I quickly whip up a suitable hairstyle, kiss Alexa, say thank you to Victoria's mom, and breathe a sigh of relief after she offers to bring Alexa home, too.

8:35 - Run back into the house. I still need to figure out what to do with these quilts. Call my neighbor. Not only is he willing to help me on a moments notice, he also knows his way around a car. Awesome. But his wife says he's not home. Not awesome. She offers me the use of her car. Super awesome.

"Nicholas....you stay here on the couch. I'll be back in one hour. I have to drop off these blankets. Here's my cell number and a list of 42 other people you can call if you need help for any reason." Why won't my cell phone stay ON? The little light comes on and goes off right away.

Really?! I need phone problems, too?!

"Nicholas. You can't stay here on the couch. Grab a blanket and put on your shoes. I can't leave you home if you have no way to call me on my phone. You can wait in the car when I drop off the blankets, but you can't stay home."

I grab my purse, the blankets, the booster seat, and Rachel. "Everybody out! Let's go!" I lock up the house and we all run across the street to borrow the neighbor's car....which makes me vaguely uncomfortable, but I'm too desperate to give it much thought. Buckle up. Start the car. Back out of the driveway and into the street. Try to drive. What the......? OH! The parking brake is on. WHERE'S THE RELEASE?! OHMYGODICAN'TFINDTHERELEASE AND I'M SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!

*deeeeep breath* In with the good. Out with the bad. Or something like that.

I managed to get the blankets delivered on time and safely brought back Neighbor's car. Right now, I'm hoping Neighbor gets home soon and that he can help me figure out the problem with the van.

So far, the rest of the day has been better than the morning was.

Lucky for me.