A 3-Re-Heat Afternoon...

You can usually gauge the craziness of my day by how many times I have to reheat my coffee. I just re-heated my coffee for the third time and finally enjoyed the Oreo that's been sitting on the coffee table for the last 3 hours. Life with an almost-6-month old is bound to be a little hairy sometimes, but some days are worse than others. Indulge me as I share my afternoon with you...

A typical weekday afternoon starts with me arriving home around 3:25pm. Eric starts work at 3:30 so he has about 4 minutes and 30 seconds to give me the run-down on naps, feedings, and diaper changes before giving me a quick squeeze and closing the office door. My homecoming usually coincides with either the beginning or end of a nap. I generally have at least 20 minutes to myself if Molly is finishing a nap and possibly over an hour if she's just starting a nap. This is when I savor my one cup of coffee for the day that Eric has brewed for me in the moments before I arrive home (FYI-I'm married to my HERO!!!). Occasionally, Molly will wake up and I'll have to reheat my coffee after a diaper change and feeding. At worst, I'll have to re-heat twice.

Well, today was a 3-times reheat afternoon! First of all, after two snow days and two 2-hour delays at school this week, Molly's schedule is totally wacky and she woke up from her second nap 20 minutes before I got home. She was geared up to go and Mommy's coffee time was traded in for Molly's playtime. After some rousing floor play, a tickle fest, "standing" practice, a lively reading of Dr. Seuss' ABC's, and a feeding, I settled Molly in her exersaucer. No sooner had I curled up on the couch with my reheated coffee and a few cookies, then I heard the unmistakable sound of what can only be described as a "poop explosion"! The pungent golden poo had flowed out through the diaper legs and down her pants to fill Molly's socks, shoes, AND the bottom of the exer-saucer!!!! The mother of all poop explosions!

"Who, ME? I wouldn't create a poop explosion!"

After a bath, diaper change, clothes change, rinsing out all the soiled clothes in the sink (which was interrupted by Molly bumping her head. Ahhhh!), and reheat #2, Molly proceeded to spew copious amounts of spit-up on her playmat, fall on said spit-up and ROLL in it!!! After having a good laugh and another clean-up job, I gave up on savoring my hot cup of coffee and, instead, spent the rest of the evening squeezing my beautiful girl, blowing raspberries, kissing cubby cheeks (and fingers, and toes, and knees), and reading boardbooks...Well, I was reading...Molly was licking the pages.

So, here I sit, savoring my cup of coffee that was brewed 4 hours ago and re-heated 3 times. But, I don't mind. I got to listen to my daughter giggle uncontrollably today when we read the train book. I got to see her face light up like the sunshine when I walked in the door this afternoon. I got to watch her jump up and down in delight when she played "Old McDonald" for the tenth time in her exer-saucer. I got to watch my daughter fall asleep in my arms with her tiny hand wrapped around my finger. I got to be a mom today and I'll get to be a mom again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Truthfully, I'm starting to like reheated coffee.