This week Isaac has been off of school, and yet Ben has been at work. This is not a good combination, I find, and it bodes ill for the months of June, July and August. When I say "this week" I'm talking about Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Three days, 72 hours, and yet… seems a lot longer than that. The marathon of tag-teaming children who made it basically impossible for me to do anything beyond carrying the one who cries and chasing the one who runs.
They seemed to be conspiring together to alternate who would keep me awake at night. Monday night, Elias went on the hourly schedule, spicing it up with a 1-3 a.m. fretting session. Isaac chimed in by waking up at the very moment Elias went to sleep on Tuesday morning. Even the dog got in on the game, by barking to be let out just when I had a tiny moment of calm. Tuesday night, Elias slept like a lamb. Ben attempted to put Isaac to sleep, but ended up only putting himself to sleep while Isaac came in to keep me awake until just moments before Elias woke up… arg.
We settled into something of a routine. Isaac would wake up around 7 a.m.; I would attempt to get him to watch "Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit". My goal would be to get Isaac ensconced in the show and Elias nursing or sleeping, such that I could drink tea and read the New York Times. Just a half hour! That's all I wanted. Such a small thing that would make such a big difference in my outlook on the day. But it was impossible.
Yesterday for example, I got Isaac all set up watching the show and eating cereal. I settled down on the couch with the paper and my perfectly brewed cup of earl grey. However, Elias immediately began a hopeless crying jag, such that after trying everything else, I simply had to go upstairs and put give him saline nose drops and suction out his snot. He was too stuffy to nurse well and insane with hunger. This helped, and eventually I got him calmed down and got all settled with my tea and paper again, baby nursing away peacefully. But at that very moment Isaac began his bi-minutely, although polite, requests for me to come and watch the movie with him. (Hello? What is the point of using the television as a babysitter if I have to watch it too??)
Him: Mama, will you come up and watch with me? I'm lonely.
Me: No, honey, not right now. I'm feeding the baby.
A few minutes elapse, I read a paragraph.
Him: Mom, will you come up and watch with me?
Me: No, just watch by yourself for a little while.
(talking from downstairs to upstairs via the atrium space between us.)
A moment elapses. I read two sentences.
Him: Mom, will you please come up here??
Me: Isaac, No! Listen! Just watch it by yourself. I'll be up in a little while!
repeat, threepeat, etc.
Finally, obviously, I had to give up this charade, disturb the baby, and forsake all hope of reading the paper, not even the op-ed page. Then we moved on to phase two of the day: trying to get out of the house. This entailed seemingly hours of Isaac running around in his underwear, eluding capture and creating diversions to the point that I had to pull out the nuclear option: put on my coat, bundle up the baby and feign leaving.
Me: well, have a nice afternoon. I’ll see you around dinner time.
Him: but who’s gonna take care of me?
Me: well, you’ll have to take care of yourself. I don’t know how you’re going to get a snack though…
Him: I’ll get too hungry! I’ll be too scared!
Me: hm. Maybe you’re right. I think you’d best just come too.
Him: okay! That sounds great!
Me: but are you going to go in your underwear??
Game, set, match!
The question and the daily challenge was: how to exhaust Isaac's boundless energy in a situation that is also Elias friendly?
On Tuesday I took him to this place full of inflated jumping things. That was a big success. Although it was a fairly long drive, although the din of air compressors and screaming children gave me a headache, and although the blinding neon pattern of the carpet burned my retinas, the two solid hours of non-stop vertical jumping left Isaac drenched in sweat and asleep for the rest of the afternoon. huzzah! On Wednesday the weather was gorgeous and we went to the zoo. I kept Elias in the stroller while Isaac ran over hill and dale. It was too chilly to actually nurse outside however, and so we spent a long time in this wonderful veterinary clinic they have there. It's set up so that if they're, say, spaying a zebra or setting a flamingo's broken leg, you can watch the procedure. If not, there are doctor bags with activities for children to do. Isaac had a great time bandaging up stuffed animals and giving them many painful (judging from their cries) shots. Yesterday I was utterly exhausted and the only thing I could get Isaac to agree to do was go to Target with me. I needed to get a host of household supplies anyway, and Isaac cooperated in order to get a toy. Elias very kindly slept through all that.
But niceties such as getting myself fed and dressed have gone by the wayside. I've been eating at random as I pass through the kitchen. This morning I consoled myself that while my socks didn't match, at least they coordinated.
Today is a much brighter one because Isaac has gone to stay with Ben's parents. Hallelujah, praise the lord! On Monday school starts again, and Isaac will be going full days most of the time. His swimming and skating classes start this week also.
But the summer? I'm concerned…