My Week Long (Mis)Adventures as a Single Mom. Day 4: Frantic.

Thursday: We started the day in a frantic rush; tidying the house in preparation for the cleaning lady, frantically calling Nonna to deliver Cosette's shoes which we left there Tuesday night, and then whisking the girls to day care. Fortunately, I found a pair of sneakers in the back of Cosette's closet, because a frantic Nonna can't find the sandals, even though she is certain she saw them on the mantle right after I called. So I drop the girls off first before delivering Lucy to Nonna's (I didn't want to leave her alone with the cleaning lady, plus I can't deal with her tearing apart the house again. She might not survive.) where I join in on the search for Cosette's sandals. Mom eventually finds them- in the backseat of the car, where she put them right after I called so she wouldn't forget them.

The rest of the day goes by without a hitch. I promised Juliette we could order pizza for supper; trying to keep on the early dinner routine, I smartly order the pizza from the car just after picking up the girls at day care. I panic that it might even arrive before we do, but that doesn't happen. Expecting it to arrive within minutes of pulling in the driveway, I refuse to give the girls any other snacks despite their whining and complaining.

So we wait, and I distract them. And we wait. And I finally give in and let the girls have a yogurt and some grapes. One hour and ten minutes later, the pizza arrives. It is cold, but we are hungry so we eat. Well, I am hungry. The girls filled up on yogurt or grapes, so they take a few bites before Cosette starts throwing it on the ground- that is her "I'm finished" signal. Lucy is happy to clean up after Cosette- and this sometimes upsets Cosette. She hasn't learned yet that food that is fallen on the floor belongs to Lucy, not to her.

Ten minutes later my in laws arrive to lend me a helping hand. We are all very excited to see them. Thus, bedtime routine goes quite smoothly- my mother in law even gets Juliette to wear her least favorite nightgown- the one she threw a tantrum about on Monday- without much of a fuss. Dare I hope for a night without a tantrum? What a relief!