the blog perfect day (long)

I would love to write the blog perfect day. You know the one where I get to write how I want you to believe today turned out. Where I get to write in fancy words to convey to all what a wonderful perfect life I lived today. I think it would look something like this:

The kids slept until 8 a.m. Woke happy, dry, and ready to be obedient and helpful. They ate their entire breakfast, helped with chores and even asked what else they could do. They dressed themselves and waited patiently without videos until I was ready to leave the house.

We headed off to Bible study where both girls danced into their rooms without a whimper. I learned an abundance about Revelation and took to heart every word Jody spoke (okay this part is true - it was amazing!).

Then home to have lunch with the family, naps at the same time, errands in the afternoon and a beautiful Black Bean Lasagna in the oven.

Bedtime at 7:30 and mama time for the rest of the evening with no interruptions. Ahhh...so perfect.

Now do you want the real, unrefined, not-so-blog-perfect day?

It all started in the middle of the night when Dave decided that I would make the perfect body pillow. Why didn't I push him off? I don't know b/c at 5:30 a.m. when Lily decided to have a coughing fit and needed a breathing treatment, the body pillow experience hit me with full force with a kink in my back. Bonding right?

Lily thankfully went back to bed until 7:30 when I discovered her cold was still in full swing and she sounded like a smoker. I decided to spare the moms at bible study.

Bible study was a refuge and a place to set my heart straight. I'm glad it was at the beginning of the day b/c I needed the focus to prepare for the latter part of my day.

I took Eloise to the grocery store with me. Yay me! We actually went to 3 of them. We had lunch, she did great and I thought I was a super star mom getting all my errands done before 1 p.m.

At 3 it all started to turn upside-down. I had planned to finish the rest of my errands and hopefully get Eloise to take a small car nap. Just as we were about to walk into the store I get a frantic call from Dave. His car is freaking out and he's on the freeway.

Sidenote: Dave's honda is old. It has 250,000 miles on it. I actually predicted it would die at 225,000 and he guessed 250,000. Looks like he may be right. Anyway, we were planning to take my car in tomorrow which has transmission issues and will likely cost $2000. Yes, $2000! Kinda makes me want to vomit. Needless to say, we've canceled that appointment.

I drive downtown to pick him up and take him to work.
Problem #1. Who is going to pick Dave up at 12 a.m.? Hmmmm.....Rebecca (check)
Problem #2 How are we going to get the car to the mechanic? Hmmmm....Rebecca's AAA (check)
Problem #3 What is Dave going to drive for the next 3 days? Hmmmm...Will's car (check)

Praise God! Almost all problems solved, except our savings account. That could be padded just a bit more. But God is good and I'm always certain he'll provide.

Oh but wait, the day isn't over yet.

Next my gas light comes on after we leave Dave's work. No problem, stop at Costco. They have cheap gas. Apparently I'm not the only one who knows this today b/c every lane was 6 cars deep.

Should I go into Costco and hope the line goes down? I don't have dinner, so it looks like it's pizza night. I look back and both girls are asleep. Crap! Lily already had a nap and I don't know how long they have both been sleeping. And it's 4:30.

I pick Eloise up to put her in the cart and I'm instantly drenched. She peed her pants while sleeping. More pee? I put a towel underneath her and we forge ahead into Costco hoping for a good sample day. We ended up with overdone pizza and a wet towel.

I gave up at this point. I no longer cared. I gave into the whining, let them eat pizza in the car and listen to whatever music they wanted too. No yelling was involved, but the will to parent was gone.

Lily still needed a prescription at Target and it was time to start over. We headed home, cleaned up and put on our jammies. Target always provides a little stability for me when things are out of whack. And I didn't buy anything!

On the way there Eloise asked, "So. What was your favorite part about today?"

After laughing hysterically, this is what I came up with. That God gave me the grace to get through today. That when I had absolutely nothing left in me, I managed to push down my frustration and tears and walk through today without losing it. That God gave me mercy at just the right time. That my children went to bed without a fight and my husband and I managed to work together. That I listened to him instead of taking control, and that was not on my own strength. That I was able to laugh at a pee stained sweatshirt and enjoy sitting in a line of 6 cars waiting for gas talking with my kids. And the gas was $2.29! Those were my favorite parts about today.

Oh and this:
Lily in the car after dinner
Lily: "Toes hungry. Toes need dinner"
Me: "Your toes are hungry?"
Lily: "Uh huh"