Day 2: Yawn

Well, "Day 2" of adventures in babysitting is officially over. I should be writing some things I'll actually get paid to write, but what's the fun in that? Besides, I'm wide awake after my two-hour nap today, so I suspect I'll be up late. Yeah, that's right. I took a two hour nap. And they say parenting is hard...

The day started around 8:30 when Mr. "Oh, he always sleeps until 9, sometimes later" made liars out of his parents, even after I kept him up late last night. Truth be told, I probably could have slept longer. He was just sitting in his little travel crib singing and playing, but I drank way too much tea last night, and my bladder wasn't having it. On a normal day, I would have gone to the bathroom, let the dogs out so they could empty their own bladders, and then I would have gone back to bed, but once this little guy spotted me climbing out of bed, he started clapping his hands and squealing. (I promise, that's the last time I'll talk about me using the bathroom in this post, so you can keep reading.)

Instead of getting him up, I wheeled his little bed into the living room and gave him a few toys. He actually likes spending time in there (even though his mom claimed he's too big for it. psht, what does she know?), and the dogs aren't too crazy about him yet, so I took advantage of it. I had several errands to run today and nothing to wear, so I threw some laundry in and went ahead and made his breakfast. I fed him, changed him, let him play for a little while, and then I put him back in the crib while I got ready (seriously, I love that thing).

Our first stop was my mom's house to get a few things and let her see him for a bit. Next, we went to the gas station.

Mom Lesson #1: Always be able to pay at the pump.

There are two gas stations near my house. The one I always used to go to was sold to someone else. He's a jackass, and he tries to rip you off, so I no longer go there. The other one is always more expensive and it's Citgo, which I don't like, but the guys who own it are really nice. And my gas light had been on for two days, so I didn't want to risk driving further. Well, the other problem with this particular station is that sometimes my debit card works in the pump and sometimes it doesn't. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and of course, today was a big fat no. I was really tempted to just run in and pay and leave the little guy in the car, but I knew that was a big fat no too, so I got him out (in the rain) for all of two minutes so I could go pay for my gas.

My next stop was the bank drive-thru to make a deposit, and then I had to run by the courthouse to drop something off for my mom (drop-box in the parking lot for the win). Next was Publix.

Mom Lesson #2: You can't get injured.

Back when I hurt my back, I also hurt my knee, because I was walking at such a strange angle. I never mentioned this (I don't think), because I figured y'all get enough of my injury reports. It's a lot better than it was, but it's hard to go up stairs sometimes, and it randomly hurts from time-to-time. The problem is, this is not the knee that is already hurt from running over myself. So, now I have two hurt knees. (Hopefully, this new injury isn't quite as permanent.)

Anyway, I got out of the car at Publix, and this sharp, shooting pain ran down the back of my leg. I could hardly move. It was that damn knee. It took me a few minutes just to get around to the other side of the car to get the kid, and then it took me a few more minutes to actually get inside the store while lugging an extra 20 to 30 pounds. I put him in the buggie, got the two or three things I knew I needed and just left. I worried about him in the store. I had these horrible images of him jumping out and hitting the hard floor or someone grabbing him when I turned my head. That said, I watch my purse like a hawk when I'm in the store, so I just put it in his lap so I'd be forced to watch him closely. (I'm kidding!)

We went by the post office next, and a friend of mine who works there oohed and aahed over him, and then I went and picked up a pizza (despite the fact that I am supposed to not be eating carbs and had this great plan of cooking fresh food and chicken all week).

Mom Lesson #3: Low-carb diets require a little more planning ahead when you have kids.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I fed him lunch and had him in bed in time for me to watch some live Shepard Smith. My goal while he was napping was to, like, do things, but I was so sleepy, that at 4:00, I climbed in bed too. I turned my ringer on my phone off (something I rarely do) and the next thing I know, it's dark and the iPhone is vibrating all over the windowsill over my bed. It was 6:30 p.m. and both me and the kid were still asleep. Oops. (He's supposed to sleep from 3 to 4-5 p.m.) I let him play for a few minutes, and then I fed him his dinner while we watched more Shepard Smith. I just knew he'd be up all night, but by about 9 p.m., he was whiny, so I did his bedtime stuff, put him in his little bed and wheeled it back to my room.

Anyway, this is probably a pretty boring post, but really, it was a pretty boring day. He's starting to get comfortable here, so he's acting out a little more, but he's still really well-behaved compared to other kids I've dealt with in the past. It's mostly just inconvenient for my cushy, single lifestyle. I'm still not convinced that half the parents I know have a legitimate excuse for being so whiny and tired all the time, but I still have three more days to go.

Tomorrow, we are not leaving the house, so I'm hoping I can get some things done (and stop eating junk).