Spencer went down to Provo for the week to work on the new LDS Temple. Since his major is Construction Management we figured that this would be an amazing opportunity to increase his knowledge of different types of construction as well as to help build a temple. Aniston thinks it's a pretty cool thing. Whenever I ask her where her Daddy is she proudly responds, "He's building the temple." Always said with the biggest smile on her chubby little face. But we knew that this week had the possibility of being a rough week. It was my final week of grad school, work was starting up for me again, my family was gone to Washington D.C. for a well deserved vacation (they saw Les Miserables on Broadway!!!! I am dying that I wasn't there. The title of my favorite musical perfectly describes my feelings for this week.)
There was going to be no one to help me with Ani and I was going to have A LOT to get done. I love my little girl, you all know this... but she has sure been acting her age these days and it can be a little exhausting to deal with.
DAY 1 - This day was awesome! I really had high hopes for the rest of the week after this day. Aniston was happy and had a normal day. We even had matching sock buns! Twinners. I worked for several hours and then spent 5 hours in Ani's room rearranging (I didn't move anything heavy) and packing up old clothes. You know that's something you have been putting off when you have to try on 4 dresses to find one that actually fits your toddler. My bad. I felt good about the day and everything I was able to get done. This day gave me hope that the rest of the week would go smoothly.
DAY 2 - Aniston started realizing that something was a little different, Dad was gone, so she started acting a little more emotional. I know that she gets her drama from me and that, according to my parents, this is considered payback for my wonderful childhood, but holy cow is she a little ball of crazy! I didn't get anything done this day, except taking a 2 hour nap when Aniston took her nap. I seriously think that nap is what helped me get through the day in one piece.
DAY 3 - Aniston displayed her child from Hades side. It was the kind of day where you actually ask yourself the question, Why am I having another one? I had to go out to work to check out registration and to get some work done in my office. We were only there for about 2 hours before I couldn't handle it anymore. Aniston pulled out everything she could reach dominoes, ping pong balls, crayons, frisbees, letter tiles, legos, etc, and completely destroyed my office! Every 2 seconds she needed help or lost the toy she was playing with so I would have to stop and help her find it. It just wasn't working out. So I made a list of things I could do from home while she took her nap and packed the child up and left the school. Of course once nap time rolled around Ani decided she would rather sing Doc McStuffins at the top of her lungs for about an hour before informing me that she didn't want to take a nap. I wasn't getting any work done at all, so I brought her downstairs with me hoping that she could entertain herself so that I could get work done. But since I was using markers for my lesson plans, Aniston needed to use markers. Oh that was a big mess! Every time I switched colors she needed to switch colors. I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it can also be completely exhausting! Dinner went well, thank goodness, but maybe that has to do with the fact that Aniston dropped off right before finishing her mac and cheese.
I let her sleep for about 45 minutes before she needed to get in the bath and then of course she wasn't ready for bed, so I let her pick out a movie, Fox and the Hound (can we talk about how sad and violent that movie is... that's probably why her face looked like it does in the picture below for like the entire movie)
and then I put her down. That didn't last very long. Around 1am she started yelling for me asking if she could go downstairs and turn all the lights on. She refused to go back to sleep so I brought her into my bed with me. I'm not a co-sleeper kind of person, it scares me, but I put a pillow between us and on the other side of her so she wouldn't roll off and fell asleep for about 4 hours...
DAY 4 - Aniston woke me up at 5am bwoking (this is how you spell it... I googled it). She likes to wake up every morning and pretend to be a chicken. I wanted to die! Can we talk about how I only had 2 pages written for my final paper in my Sports Law class on the rights of transgender athletes at this point and my lower back was in so much pain that I was walking like an 80 year old woman? I was so tired! Of course I drank the last of the milk the night before to mild my bloody heartburn, so Ani was mad that there wasn't chocolate milk first thing in the morning. Thank goodness for Disney Junior and Daniel Tiger. I'm ashamed to admit that my toddler probably watched more TV than she should have this week, but it was the only way I was able to accomplish anything! We did make it to the store which was awesome. Who knew that a .99 cent new toothbrush could make a two year old so extremely happy?
It was a good day though because we finally hit double digits in baby watch 2014, and now I am 99 days away from my due date!!! Even though Aniston woke up at 5am, fussed a lot, said some mean things that I'm sure she didn't understand, and spent quite a bit of time in time out, I was granted one sweet and simple tender mercy. I decided to take a bump picture since we are now at 26 weeks and 99 days away (hopefully less) from meeting our man. I took several pictures and Aniston, who was watching informed me it was her turn to take a picture. She went to the exact spot that I was standing and placed her hand on her belly and waited for me to snap the picture. It made me laugh, it made me remember how much a love her and how thankful I am for her sweet spirit. It reminded me of how much she looks up to me and how much I want to set a good example for her, and how I probably could be a little nicer the next couple of days until Spencer returns home. I just love my little ham! The leg pop.... haha!
DAY 5 - Aniston slept in until 8am!!! I was in heaven! But then she woke up super crabby and a tad bit mean. We cleaned a lot, for some reason my toddler enjoys being bossed around when it comes to cleaning. We did a lot of puzzles and at 5pm Spencer called to say he was on his way home. Best thing ever! Of course there were accidents and bad traffic so he didn't get home until like 11, but it was such a relief to know that he was home and that I was finally going to be able to go to the bathroom alone and that I was going to be able to have adult conversations again! When Aniston woke up she just wanted to hug and hold and kiss her daddy. She kept saying "I love you so much, and I missed you!" It was pretty darn cute!
I know that Spencer had an amazing opportunity down in Provo, and I am thankful for that opportunity. Plus he actually made a lot of new friends down there which is awesome for him! My husband has skills when it comes to making friends. I wish I had that skill.
But even though it was an amazing opportunity and he learned a lot, I would rather not play single mom again... EVER. I do not know how all the single mom's or wives with husbands who travel for work do it. When I was 10 I had 3 siblings and my Dad was gone Monday-Friday travelling and my mom did it on her own. Bless her heart because I have no idea how she did it! Maybe I just lack patience or maybe I'm just a little lazy or something, but the single mom life is just not for me. I am amazed and astonished at how much work and effort needs to go into being a single mom and I applaud you moms out there who do it alone or mostly alone. There's no one to talk to at the end of the day or to share your hardships with. There's no one who understands what you went through that day because they were there too. I have just felt all alone this week and that isn't a very fun feeling!
So happy to have my better half home!
PS - I am also no longer a student! I now have a masters degree!!!! More about that later though!
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