Jan
One step forward, two steps back
Last week I briefly mentioned that in my quest to be more frugal, I was following the advice of the book and tackling my grocery bills. Oh, I so wanted to write a post on the beautiful, organized spreadsheet I had developed in order to compare prices. I wanted to talk about the shock I felt when I realized how much more money I was spending than I should have been. I had big dreams!
But then…we were struck with the thing that can bring a home with children to its knees: illness. With some pretty crappy timing too. Not that any time is particularly convenient to get sick, but still… The husband and I started school again and in an attempt to make our schedules work, coordinated a baby swap a few times a week with a neighbor also trying to finish school. In the midst of the craziness the husband and baby were hit with a doozy of a cold. That’s right, a DOOZY! Poor little Claire especially, and any parent knows that there is little worse than having a sick child.
My schedule for the last week basically looked like this:
4:02 AM- Baby crying, offer comfort.
4:37 AM- More crying, more bleary-eyed comfort offered.
5:15 AM- Baby too congested to sleep. Sit in rocking chair with baby to keep her upright and help her breathe.
6:20 AM- Crawl back into bed.
6:35 AM- Baby cries. Discover diaper leak, urine everywhere. Awesome. Baby in tub.
7:55 AM- Leave for school.
10:00 AM- Baby swap so husband can go to school. Tend to sick child.
10:12 AM- Wipe snot
10:23 AM- Wipe snot
10:37 AM- Restrain child in order to wipe snot
10:42 AM- Give up on keeping snot river under control and accept that everything will be covered in mucous for the next several days.
11:00 AM- Naptime!= homework time for mom
12:45 PM- Baby awake, wipe snot, lunch time, sick and tired husband comes home
1:15 PM- Work, work, work…
8:30 PM- get home, start getting baby ready for bed. Baby’s coughing fit induces BARFING. Baby in tub.
9:15 PM- baby finally asleep. Eat late dinner.
9:35 PM- Lapse into a coma from exhaustion
So! As you can see, there has been no time for organized spreadsheets or meal planning or even checking my email. Besides, had I even printed off one of those lovely spreadsheets I’m pretty sure it would be covered in snot.
Let’s hope this week runs a little more smoothly.
Tags: feeling crazy, schedules, sick baby

21Jan
You make me TOTALLY want kids.
Hope you are all feeling better.
21Jan
Oh my, that sounds like a tough day! I hope the little one gets better soon, I know what it feels like to not be able to give them relief when they are just full of snot.