Days 3 and 4

I got to bed early last night and when I remembered that I hadn’t written a blog entry, I convinced myself (I won’t pretend it took much convincing) that I should go to bed and not get back up to write.

We stayed home yesterday (no shopping or long walks) and rested up.  The kids were great and I loved getting to take a nap with each of them at different points throughout the day.

If both kids are up and on the same schedule, it’s nice to be able to rest or do chores (more chores than resting) when they’re napping.  On the other hand, it’s much more enjoyable for one to nap while I get to play one-on-one with the other.  Most days though, as I’m sure you’re already thinking to yourself, they make that decision, not me!

This morning was typical: wakeup, breakfast, nap, play, nap, lunch… (Wouldn’t you enjoy if between each scheduled item on your daily agenda was time set aside for a nap?  I’d settle for a scheduled nap just after each meal!)  We left after lunch to run some errands which, on days when we are out with the kids, we continually re-discover as an essential part of the daily schedule.

First, we went to Home Depot to get light bulbs for the kitchen cabinet lights.  In the last month, half of the bulbs have burnt out and I hadn’t yet made time to go to the store.  With the kids needing an adventure out, it was a perfect first stop.

We were in and out of the store quickly (quick is relative – I’ve packed less for a weekend away than I have to pack for a trip from the car into the store) and on to JC Penney to return a couple online purchases.  For whatever reason, I hate returning things.  The part of me that wants to demand justice compels me to return things but 9 times out of 10, I know it is going to be a frustrating experience and would rather lose the money than deal with the headaches.  I had to return two ties – they both had some messed up stitching on the front.  I get the kids out of the car, into the stroller, in through the doors (which I hadn’t yet had the privilege of trying – I have a newfound appreciation for automatic sliding doors), and waited in line at the Customer Service desk (that’s where you would go, right?).  After about 10 minutes, the customers in front of me wrapped up and I was up.  I started telling my tale and was interrupted with “We don’t do online orders here – you’ll have to go see someone in the ‘Catalog’ department”.  So off we went to find a new line to wait in…

The actual return (at this point, I realized you aren’t interested in hearing my story about returning my ties, but I’m already in the middle of it and am compelled to finish…) took about 15 minutes where, except for the first and last two minutes, I stood there talking to the babies.  I imagine if I had returned them online, I would have that half hour of my life back.  To be fair though, the time I’ve spent telling you this story wasted almost as much time…

Josiah and Lilly were a bit squirmy after sitting still for a while at the returns desk, so we went for a walk through the Cherry Hill Mall.  We had a fun time walking a loop around the mall (where fun means the kids were happy or sleeping and I wasn’t listening to Elmo singing on TV) and I optimistically decided to swing by Babies R Us on our way home.  Beth wanted me to pick up a couple more pacifiers – I got those and some clothes from the clearance racks (I knew she’d be proud of me for that).

Lilly was apparently so tired from our 3-hour outing that after dinner, she kept falling asleep on the floor.  She was wrapped up and in bed by 7:30 (we try for bedtime around 8:30 – 9) and her brother went not too far behind her.  I quickly got things cleaned up (dishes, laundry, blah blah blah) and laid down to watch a couple old episodes of 24 (Season 2).  Beth called on Skype for a little bit, I’ve blogged, and now I’m ready for bed!

Beth comes home on Tuesday afternoon, so I have just one last day to survive all on my own – I’m optimistic.