Slightly Solitary

  It has been one heck of a mornin'! Kids missing the bus, headaches, waking a hibernating bear, & feeling slightly solitary when the house is empty but for me! In order to tell you about that, though, I have to explain Yesterday Evening...

  Little Miss came home from school with a smile on her face, so I knew she had a good day. I barely had time to ask about it & get a response before she chimed in - "It's time to go swimming!" We came in, took care of school work, & continued to see to other things. About an hour later, we piled up in the truck & headed to my parents' house for dinner & swimming. We were there for hours. By the time we left, Little Miss was worn out. She didn't fall asleep on the way home, but I don't know how she managed to stay awake! As soon as we walked into the house, she brought her stuffed animals to her room & came back for a drink of water & then a potty break. After that, she went straight to bed & passed out.
  Ronny & I had eaten good at mom & dad's. We were full after supper, but we got in the pool for a little while & not long after we climbed out, we were hungry again. While I was getting Little Miss into bed, he was chopping bell pepper, onion, & chicken to make fajitas. The kitchen smelled DELICIOUS (& still does). On Monday night, we had ordered "Paul" on VOD, so we turned it on again while we ate. About halfway through, we shut it down, climbed into bed, & talked for a few minutes. I fell asleep easily.

THIS MORNING...
  I woke up as soon as the alarm clock started buzzing & turned it off. When I woke her up for school, Little Miss was still so tired from last night. I decided to give her 15 minutes to help wake her up. In the meantime, I went to snuggle in my bed in hopes of losing the headache that was nagging at me. Of course, I would be the one to fall asleep & when I opened my eyes again, exactly 30 minutes had passed since the alarm went off. I rolled out of bed, woke her up again, pulled out a clean pair of socks for her (she did the rest), & we talked about why we were both so sleepy. We've come to the conclusion that bedtime should be moved 15 to 30 minutes earlier. Unfortunately, her bus comes early, so we have to compensate for that.
  With full intent of catching the bus in the morning for the first time, she dressed quickly & hurried to the bathroom so I could put her bow in her hair. I was in the middle of brushing it back to put the ponytail holder in when I heard the bus leaving & a neighborhood child crying. Apparently, someone else missed the bus, too. (Poor thing must be kindergarten or first grade, too, because she was really upset about the whole thing. I've learned that older kids usually think it means they get to stay home.) I managed to get the bow in (& it looked cute) & get it all hair-sprayed, & my kid still had time to watch some cartoons while I woke Ronny. He was up & dressed within minutes. . .with little objection to the early hour, thank goodness! He can be a hibernating bear sometimes; if you wake him up too early, you'd best prepare to be growled at. Ha ha. It's hardly ever that bad for me, but if anyone else wakes him, it's a whole different story! I don't blame him, though. He gets only a little more sleep than I do. If not for rough nights due to pregnancy, I'd be fully rested. He, however, would still be tired most of the time.
  After we dropped her at school, we came home to spend some time together before he had to leave for work. It didn't give us long, but he was able to drink a few cups of coffee & really wake up before having to go in. This new schedule is working out well for him. He gets more sleep when he's at home; he rests better, because he sleeps during the darkest hours of the night, for a change; and he's even looking healthier. He said the first 10 hours usually go by very quickly. I'm glad to hear that, because it means he doesn't have much time to be bored. He can't stand not having something to do, unless he's asleep or we're just lounging in bed or on the sofa for a day. Even then, he starts getting stiff & starts daydreaming (usually out loud) about hunting & fishing. That's hunting AND fishing... not one or the other.
  So...for the rest of the day...it's just me & the baby (& this headache that won't go away). Ah, headaches. My ob/gyn tells me that if my headaches get worse or the Tylenol doesn't take care of them I should go into the ER. The ER tells me I should see my ob/gyn. Vicious cycle, vicious cycle, vicious cycle. I think I'll just take my Tylenol, re-hydrate, curl up in my dark room in my cool bed, close my eyes, & rest. Sleep tends to help almost everything. Almost.

I just can't wait for them to come home. I miss them while they're gone!