Here is what the plan for the morning was:
My alarms were set for 8:10. Older son's bus was at 8:50. My Sunday cleaning help would arrive around 10, with her six year old son who is Toddler's Sunday playmate. Ashley was due to arrive around 10:30 so she could help me with Yoni. At 1:30 a friend of mine would take him out, and a Comm Hab conselor would take over at 3:00. Having Yoni at home for most of the day would be really stressful, but I would get through it.
All the best laid plans...
I was jolted out of a deep, cozy sleep by Older son calling: "Mommy! It,s 9:05!" Ooooops. I guess I had left my alarm set for the temporary late start of Isru Chag! Oh well, that wouldnt be the end of the world; that extra hour of sleep would do us all good. I stumbled out of bed and started heating water for my coffee while looking around for Older Son's clean clothes, and going into Yoni's room to turn on his dvd and give him something to drink. (Older son would take the late bus at 9:50) Meanwhile Ashley texted me that she overslept and wouldnt make it for 10:00. I texted her back that she did not have to be here at 10 - we had agreed on 10:30 in the first place. Suddenly the program director of Yoni's Sunday program called. Some of the kids had not shown up and there was enough staff for Yoni to come! This called for a mad scramble. My husband always chauffers Yoni to the program, so this would be a problem. I quickly called Ashley and told her not to come yet but wait for instructions. Then I called my husband, who advised me to ask Ashley to come, help me get Yoni dressed, and she should travel with him by cab to the program. In the ensuing chaos, Older Son couldn't find his shoes, and ended up missing the late bus!
Now this was *really* a problem! There was *no way* I could deal with ALL THREE KIDS for a second longer. I had still not had my coffee. Toddler was crankypants. I couldnt find my own clothes. Older son was teasing Toddler, as he always does. How would I now get Older son to school? HELLLP!!!
I sat down and said firmly, "I need five minutes to drink my coffee. I cannot think straight. Then I will figure out how to get you to cheder." As the warm brew passed through my body and the caffeine reached my brain, the buzzer rang. Eva was here! Hooray. Now I had someone to stay with the other two boys while I took Older Son to cheder. I used my handy-dandy Go-Car app to order a cab, round trip, to cheder. It was upsetting to lose about twenty minutes of time I needed to pack food and provisions for Yoni's day at the Center, but all is bashert. Arriving back home, at 10:30 I had a text from Ashley that she was just getting into a cab. I dashed around the house collecting food and toys and diapers for Yoni, prepared his morning meds, laid out his clothes, and tended to the boys. At 11:00 Ashley arrived, and we had fun running around the house chasing after a giddy Yoni, getting his meds down, into his clothes, giving him more food to eat, and then ordering another cab with the app, to take Yoni to his program and then get Ashley back home. (the same driver from earlier that morning came again!) By the time they were safe and sound seated in the car, it was 11:25.
And that, my friends, is how I came to eat a rushed "breakfast" at 11:30: half a bowl of Fiber One, with enough skim milk to cover. Welcome to my life. (Well, sometimes. I have smooth days too.)
Once the food hit my circulation and I was able to think clearly, I sat down and made a long food list to replenish my diet supplies. Then I went out to run errands (while Eva watched Toddler and her son, who were happily playing together). My oh my does dieting cost! I never buy so many fruits and vegetables and stuff! On the advice of some very helpful and smart FB friends I went to the hardware store and bought a vegetable chopper. I also splurged on something called a Rapid Egg Cooker. We'll see if it's worth anything. Then I went to the bank, the computer store (I wantd to use one of their kiosk computer to download some podcasts, since my own laptop has drowned :( , but they were all full!) , and the butcher store. I debated whether I should buy a ready salad at Mozzarella but I rationalized that I was going to make my own salad very soon, so it wasn't worth the money. I arrived home from my shopping expedition at 1:30.
Now, normally I have to eat breakfast by 9:30, a snack at 12, and lunch at 2. But with this topsy turvy day, it wasnt happening. I was loathe to sit down and eat a starchy snack like a muffin or an energy bar, so intead I chose to have a grapefruit for my midmorning snack. Soon the grocery order arrived, and I busied myself chopping veggies to put away in containers, to be easily combined into salads. Toddler and I had a lot of fun; I would load the vegetable and he'd slam the lid down, yelling: SALAD!
By the time we were done chopping all the vegetables, it was 3:30 and my stomach was seriously grumbling. I had eaten nothing substantial all day. 3:30 is really late for lunch. But this was no ordinary day. I threw together a salad, put on dressing, and opened a can of tuna which I mixed with lite mayo and put into half a whole wheat pita. Finally, finally, I was eating lunch. Toddler also had a nice big helping of peppers. It;s great when my family eats healthy too!
The rest of the week, IYH, lunc h will be a lot easier, since now I have chopped peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and tomatoes in separate containers. It was such a smart idea.
My Sunday night supper is grilled chicken cutlets, which I marinate in olive oil and spices, and "lukshen mit brazel" - sweet breaded macaroni. I modified it for myself; instead of marinating mine in olive oil, I just sprayed it with some cooking spray, and I did something new, on my good friend's suggestion: I sprinkled shwarma spice on it. CAN YOU SPELL DELISHUS????
My supper, however, had to wait; once Yoni was in bed, I dashed out to the Computer Store again, and this time I lucked out and found an empty console to download my stuff. Since I hadn't had my afternoon snack yet, I had a juicy Golden Delicious apple before I left. I ate supper at 8:00. Very late.... but today is a Bizarro Day.
I was planning to make a vegetable letcho for my appetizer so I'd have some vegetables to supper. But I just didn't have time. I'm allowed half a cup of starch with supper, so I was planning to eat some of the noodles I'd made for the kids. But uh oh! I had forgotten - I mixed all of the noodles with the breading. Uh oh! Then I realized I hadnt had a single starchy snack all day, so I gave myself a pass to eat the noodles with the sweet breadcrumbs. I'll try not to do it again bli neder.
Tonight I can still have a fruit and a 115 calorie treat. I'll decide later what to have. What a long, draining day! Having to think about food all the time and prepare in advance is a big burden. Add that to all the jillion other things a mother does in a day, add in a special needs kid and the unpredictability it brings, and... it's a double triumph that I'm sticking through it.
Tomorrow is a very big day at Casa de H. Toddler is IYH starting cheder. I'm all kinds of emotional....!!! I'll be out of the house for part of the day, so I'll have to plan accordingly.
I saved the best news for last. Before I got dressed in the morning, before I had my coffee, I weighed myself. I have dropped a whopping four pounds so far!!! Go me!!!! But I wont get back on my scale now until Wednesday morning. I need to give myself some time, and not get upset if my progress isnt this amazing every day.
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