little roller coaster

Typical day in the life of Pen & Bug:

Morning: wake up early with sweet little body of K.Lo stretched perpendicular to my face. Feet are bad because of kicking, head is bad because of weight, i.e. when she shifts positions she is prone to flopping head down last, a hard smash to the cheek, nose, forehead. None of it feels good. Besides the fact that she should be in her crib but didn't make it past 1:30 am due to teething, night terrors, loneliness, or whatever Great Night Mystery plagues the Bug.

Bug wakes, sits up, smiles, says, "HI!" Leans over, gives hug and a big "MUH!" (kiss). Entirely charming.

K.Lo patters to bathroom, where J.Lo gets ready for work. Uses toothbrush to brush hair, tap the shower door, the toilet lid, anything but its proper purpose. Is chided especially for the shower door/toilet lid contact (YUCK), doesn't really listen. Or listens, but chooses to ignore. Toothbrush confiscated.

Mimes daddy while he shaves, flosses, fixes hair. Downright adorable.

Walks J.Lo to door when he leaves, waves and says, "BYE!"

Eats breakfast, i.e. cereal, waffle, or egg, at coffee table while Pen catches up with Today Show. Presents various gifts of doll-baby, all 26 letter books, and ELMO.

Time for Sesame Street. Pen absconds to shower, check email, etc. Prays that walls won't end up crayoned, or child won't knock self unconscious in brief period of partial (ears only) supervision. Bug visits periodically, to check in and say, "HI," maybe bring one or both of her little plastic chairs into the bathroom, because moving furniture in the morning is the thing to do. If events unfold badly, she will also unfurl entire roll of toilet paper while mommy is powerless to stop process. If they unfold well, K.Lo will appear after shower, "wearing" all of Pen's clothes on her head, around her neck, giggling at her own cleverness.

Pen does a chore or two or three (Queen of the Multi-Task, it's in her blood). K.Lo may entertain herself with coloring, or building Legos, or dancing to music on the iHome. Or she may decide it's time to throw herself at Pen's legs, whining dramatically because clearly the world is at its bitter end. Pen's blood pressure rises as she prepares milk, fixes snack, changes diaper, and otherwise exhausts list of Whatever Could Be Wrong, while the Bug continues to whine. She is tragic. Tired. Tragically tired. Time for a nap.

Or is it too early to play the uber-valuable Nap Card, hmmm. Pen and Bug lounge on the couch to read books and see what happens. Bug loves sitting on the couch, being up high. Snuggling with mommy... yawning, rubbing eyes next to mommy... Wiggling around a little, and then there, that's it. Bug is down for the count.

Pen eats lunch, maybe blogs a bit (heh). After awhile hears tiny footsteps and looks up to see a lone, just awoken K.Lo pattering down the hall, hugging two dolls and wondering if anyone's still around. Awww.

K.Lo eats lunch in her high chair. Or maybe she throws lunch, decides the dogs need to eat her hot dog or macaroni more than she does. So then we color, or K.Lo colors while Mommy reviews bills. Bug's really getting the hang of this crayon thing, although the jury is still out on whether she'll be left- or right-handed. Curious. But maybe it'll be awhile before we find out for sure, since she likes to throw crayons more than anything. She responds well to Pen's, "Hey. No ma'am. We don't throw our crayons," with a defiant look and another handful thrown. Game over. Bug returns to the floor and helps toss the fallen colors into their lunchbox with a winning smile. High five.

Pen could use a nap now, and badly. Baby N.Lo is sucking the life/energy/brain cells from her. Possible to nap in the presence of 17-month-old? Not so much. Kind of like napping in same room as Tasmanian Devil. The child is on a "flopping" kick, and the pregnant belly is a magnet for 25 solid lbs of toddler. Probably she thinks Pen's got a pillow stuffed under her shirt. And that Pen's face in pseudo-repose is as malleable as a doll's, there for the purpose of poking, prodding, and general hilarity. Child might actually be devil, not just Tasmanian.

Somehow time passes. Pen gives up on the nap, K.Lo more or less settles down. Some kind of dinner is prepared, with varied Bug response (see Chores, Multi-Tasking, above). And finally the hour of 6 has arrived, when the heat and sun have abated enough to accomodate the Fair and Preggo Pen, along with her fairly translucent daughter. Bug wears a swimsuit, the dogs are jumping for joy. Baby swims, dogs run, Pen zones. Life is good.

Doesn't take long for baby and dogs to hit their respective walls. Pen and Bug return indoors, dry off, change outfits, and spend the last minutes before J.Lo's homecoming on the floor playing Legos. True Colors plays on the pod, K.Lo is on the fence about whether to smile or whine, but chooses the former when she sees the game. She sits, stacks Legos with mommy, shows off her new building prowess. She is serious, intent, and proud. The soft cool skin of her little girl legs brush Pen, and Pen watches her, thinks to herself, Wow.