Au Revoir husband!

Bonjour misery!

I prepared my lunch for work the night before.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m.

I was ready to leave by 6 a.m.

The kids were ready to leave by 6:30 a.m.

All of this was the case, yet I still managed to arrive at work a whopping 45 minutes late!

Loading the kids into the car:

Alma demands to “squeeze through” her brother’s side to get to her carseat.

Huck starts whining and fighting me because I won’t let him buckle the belt by himself.

Alma is refusing to sit down so I can buckle her because she needs me to lay the bottom buckle FLAT before she can sit down.

On the way to daycare:

I hit an intersection near the high school where a cop is directing traffic. By directing traffic, I mean letting EVERYBODY but me go.

traffic cop

How is that more effective than an accurately timed light? Now, some of us get shafted and others arrive early and it’s all determined by one pudgy dude with a badge.

After sitting for maybe 15 minutes, he waves me through with a smile. (asshole)

At daycare:

Alma wants to take multiple sips of her Orange Juice before getting out of the car.

Huck is outraged because I won’t let him UNbuckle the belt.

He starts screaming as I drag him toward the building.

Alma starts screaming because I’m not holding her hand as we walk the four steps from my car to the sidewalk. (I couldn’t because I was carrying her backpack.)

I march them bawling, into a room full of perfectly well-behaved children. The daycare worker swings around and shoots me an evil glare as I run to put the kid’s backpacks on their hooks.

Then Huck’s crying becomes more plaintive. Apparently, HE is supposed to hang his backpack up.

Alma has tears streaming down her cheeks and is hiccuping air, incapable of even explaining why she’s so upset.

Back on the road:

4-way stops where no one has a clue whose turn it is to GO. School zones. School buses picking up kids. Uneven lanes and construction.

four way stop

Voila! 45 minutes late.

It’s not like I have a job where EVERY single second LITERALLY counts. (I do. Google “backtiming.”)

I spill an entire cup of crappy office coffee on my desk. (and my purse)

I have to leave early to get to the daycare before they close and start charging PER MINUTE.

At least I get to see their shining smiles when I pick them up, until my son starts chanting “I want daddy!” at home.

i want daddy

One of the only upsides to a husband out of town is the chance to consume enough garlic to ward off vampires states away.

vampire

I made sure to buy garlic on my lunch break and came home to find the last onion is gone. I only needed ONE onion. There is no way I’m schlepping the kids in their pajamas to Target for a damn onion.

In the morning, I once again have to drag my sleeping children from their beds. Unless they’re tending to the crops, it seems so wrong to wake up toddlers before dawn.

kids on farm

I’m prying pj’s off kids practically in comas. I feel like a date rapist.

huck sleeps

I’m hoisting their limp bodies up to the sink to brush their teeth like a scene from Weekend at Bernie’s.

weekend at bernies

They can’t hit a snooze button, so they tend to hit me.

The worst part? We spend all week setting their little internal alarm clocks so Saturday morning they inevitably wake up at the crack of dawn.

But, look how cute they are, RIGHT?

alma huck morning