Rachel and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Today was difficult to say the least. She woke early (4:45) and wanted to be in my bed. After much nuzzling and wimpering she finally settled down and fell asleep. This was good because not only did I not want to start my day that early but my abdominal muscles were really hurting me and I absolutely had to roll over.

We got up just past six and the morning seemed alright. I got her fed and dressed and out the door with little trouble. She resisted getting in the car to go to the gym because she wanted to use her new shovel to dig holes in my garden instead. I played the part of the border collie and herded her into her carseat. At the gym she even went poop and pee on the potty. This makes me very happy. I went to water aerobics and couldn't really do much because of my diastasis. When I got Rachel from Y-watch she seemed really tired already but it was only 10:30 so we went out to Kohls to pick up some Carter's for Rachel and little sister. Mommy needed a coffee so we drove through Starbucks and the meltdown started. She cried and cried that she wanted a treat and she wanted a drink of my coffee and she wanted, wanted, wanted...

On the way home nothing helped. I couldn't distract her in any way. She didn't want her favorite music or anything. We got home and she instantly remember that she wanted to dig up my garden. We went inside instead; this didn't please her. She watched some Clifford while I made lunch. Lunch went well. She nearly cleaned her plate and loved the pink lady apples Daddy picked up at the grocery store. She looked ready for bed. She was clearly tired at this point. We brushed up, used the potty again, read a story, and she went right to her pillow to snug it down. She was not interested in me leaving the room however. I said that I needed rest time too and was going to lie down on the couch and as long as she was quiet and stayed in her room I would leave her door open. The minute I left the room she cried and followed me out the door. I said, "I love you," gave her a kiss, and shut the door.

She was fairly quiet and I thought she may actually sleep today. At the very least I thought the quiet time would do her some good. The problem was that she was not being quiet because she was falling asleep but she was being quiet because she decided today was the day to start smearing poop again. For the record the poop is not easier to clean off the door and carpet than it was to clean off the gate. She said, "Ucky Poo. Mom, I have poop in my pants." Of course this was after she had smeared poop all over the door, door frame, carpet, her blanket, Buddy and clothes. It took me a half hour to clean up and then to throw in a load of laundry.

The afternoon was long, very long. Everything made her cry and she was quite accident prone because she was (and will remain) overtired. She wanted hugs and I couldn't lift her. She had to make the effort to climb into my lap; this made her crabby. Her Bobby (blanket) was in the wash and she desperately needed it for some silky. When I told her that it wouldn't be in the wash had she not smeared it with poop it only made matters worse. She wanted to go outside and we got the thunder started to rumble. Seconds later the downpour came. We're lucky we didn't get a tornado; one was spotted just south of us a half hour later.

At 4:30 or so the final meltdown began. She cried and screamed for 45 minutes. I made a bowl of hot cereal for her and she calmed down just long enough to eat it. We got ready for bed and I think she would have fallen asleep but my parents showed up to help me out. Rachel has sonar or something and heard them come in the the back door and wouldn't go to sleep. I finally left the room thinking I was too much of a distraction but it was too late; she wasn't interested in bed anymore. Grandpa went down the hall and after several visits from him she fell asleep at the gate.

Although it was unfortunate timing, I'm so glad my parents came over tonight. I really needed help. Dad took my garbage and compost out, brought in my mail, brought up a load of laundry from downstairs, and emptied, filled and ran my dishwasher. Mom brought me cupcakes, massaged my feet, and commiserated about being pregnant in the summer (with me) and having a very spirited child (Lisa - that's you). By the time they left I felt much better. I got to relax a bit, ice my abs, have something sweet, vent a little and not have to worry about any of my chores. I do still have to worry about getting the carpet cleaned though; I'm not sure the spot cleaner did the trick. Anyway, I'm off to bed...of wait, it sounds like she's up...