Single Mom Day 2

Last night went well. We had dinner with Tio Carlos and played a bit, and watched some of a Little Engine That Could movie on Netflix (Whoopie Goldberg was a voice actor). Mina has been staying up later lately, so I brought her up a bit later for her bath, and Carlos took off for home at that time. I got her clean and she played in the tub a bit, only after pulling all of my tee shirts out of my closet. The girl loves to play with clothes. I am fighting a cold, and so once dressed and her room cleaned up (diaper trash can emptied, clothes out for the next day) I turned down the lights, laid on the floor with a pillow and read/chatted with her. More whispered than chatted, as my voice was struggling. We snuggled on the floor for a long time, and after a final diaper change I convinced her to climb into bed. She wanted company and I held her hand and rubbed her belly until she fell asleep. She slept until 5 AM again (with a slight stirring at midnight, but she resettled herself).

I was super achey and had the chills. It was really cold last night, but I think it was more a slight fever from this cold. I took a HOT shower which was just heavenly. I went downstairs and did what I needed to do for today (take care of dishes, trash out, pack lunches and bags for the morning). I know I should have gone to bed early, but I wanted to just sit with a blanket and watch TV a bit. We have a bunch of old stuff DVRed, so I watched an old episode of Castle. I figure, that stuff is available online if Brian wants to see it in Vegas.

The shower and the rest (and a lot of tea) helped me feel a bit better today. I did wake up around midnight at Mina's rumblings and I was soaked with sweat. I changed and it seems that the fever broke, because I didn't sweat through the next pair of PJs. I'm feeling a ton better today. Not perfect, but not sore/feverish. I'm just drinking tea like it is going out of style, keeping the kleenex nearby. Cough drops just in case. And a lot of hand washing.

This morning went much more smoothly than yesterday. When Mina woke up at 5 I went in her room and we hung out in there rather than my room. I figured, she didn't need to snuggle up in a bed sans-daddy. She got up and got out her box of trains and started playing. We eased into our morning. I slowly turned on more lights and she played. I got my face washed and we both brushed our teeth and then she needed some hugs before I could get into my work clothes. Play some more, hug some more, and then I got her dressed. We fed the bunny and went down to feed the cats. I was actually able to put her down and feed them (granted, she likes trying to wrestle with Mal/pick him up first thing in the morning) before getting her Milk. More hugs, and then I got her lunch bag together. More hugs and then we had some breakfast. She's been having fun with her Learning Tower http://www.littlepartners.com/the-learning-tower/ (thanks to our friends Tom and Lee who had one in a corner of their porch unused for years). She stands at the counter while I get her some fruit and some things to play with. She likes being able to watch everything. She had some strawberries and whipped cream, and I was able to get myself some cereal and strawberries. Then we sat in the dining room (her on my lap) for breakfast. More cat snuggles/toy playing/hug needing.

We are trying to limit her screen time, but it does happen. Always when trying to change her diaper or get her in the car seat (we have an old iphone that we have some movies saved on). Seeing "Big Siri" aka our TV is a huge treat for her. I put on the remainder of the Little Engine that Could movie and we watched for about 10 minutes and then called Brian. Having this technology is just amazing: my Dad recounts sad goodbyes with me when he was working and going to college a ton of hours. He is just amazed at how we are able to keep in touch now. We chat with Daddy for a bit and then it is time to get ourselves ready for school, which is not a fast task. Start the truck to get it warm, change the diaper, put on shoes and coats and collect bags. Today she didn't fight me at all (it was a chore yesterday, just doing this). We drove to daycare and she didn't fight me getting out (yesterday she wanted to take 'all the things' into school). We got in, she easily let me take off her coat. She asked to see the babies, and the director picked her up and took her over to the infant room, allowing me to make a clean getaway.

Tonight we are having dinner and then Uncle Sean and Auntie Krista are joining us for food a bit later. Keeping her busy and allowing enough Mom snuggle time is definitely going a long way.

Hey, we are in the middle of the week! Only two more work days and then on Saturday morning we get to go into the airport to pick up daddy!