I often dread hearing that Mike needs to travel. Normally he goes and something happens. Claire had her only ER trip when he was gone. Both kids decided to climb out of their cribs when he traveled. Norah usually gets some mysterious virus that no one else has ( roseola, really?). Aside from that it means I am on call 24/7 with little to no chance to catch a breather. Mike says I have a three day threshold - day 1, I am good; day 2, I begin to unravel; and day 3, I have hit breakdown mode. I admit he's mostly right. There are always joyful moments to the day but they also come with stressful ones too. I need to work on patience a bit more...
This particular travel week has flown by, and I am proud to report I haven't hit meltdown mode. In fact, I haven't unraveled. It's surprising given Norah's new trick. Norah has grown fond of taking off her clothes, diaper included. Most mornings as of late I have greeted a naked Norah. Not only is she naked, but she has soaked her bed in pee. I cannot be certain at which point she strips down because there is lots of pee...but irregardless it's an unpleasant way to start the day. I thought it was a fluke on Monday. Tuesday I thought it was coincidence. But when I heard Claire tell Norah "oh no Norah mommy be so mad" on Wednesday, I knew she was testing me. I tried backwards diaper, slip on diapers, pants and underwear over diaper...but nothing could stop her reign of terror. So I took sage advice from my friends and put her in footed pjs but backwards! If Houdini could escape this then I knew I needed to call a priest for an exorcism (I kid but seriously that would be pure evil). So last night I hatched the plan and put it into effect. She seemed irritated immediately and kept crying "I can't take it off mommy" as she looked like a dog chasing its own tail. As my mother-in-law so aptly put it, it resembled a toddler straight jacket. So true!!!! I couldn't help but revel in this because I have washed far too many sheets, blankets and pee-soaked clothing and lit far too many candles to remove the unpleasant stench. It was a small victory for momma (especially after she peed on my bed twice). Proud to report a dry bed today but uncovered a sweaty toddler. I have to find some lightweight ones but until now I will crank the AC!
We have just enjoyed one another. Lots of outside time, play time with friends and good rounds of dress up and building blocks to make the time go fast.
Last night at dinner Claire said "I miss my daddy." It's one of the first times she gets that he is gone. Sure she normally repeats he's on an airplane for work but she's never expressed how much she misses him. It's sweet.
On a sweeter note, she told me as she wore a new dress that it is her wedding dress and she only wears it when she marries Norah. Oh Claire!
Our week alone is soon ending (tomorrow at dinner time), but it was a week of mini victories. I successfully completed a week without unraveling! And I tackled a problem without Mike's help (or complaining to him incessantly). A small victory that I am maturing as a mom and learning more and more how to go about it on my own.
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