One week:

Anna is now one week old, and we are starting to have a little routine. Well, routine is a strong word, but we are all getting used to each other. She went on her first outing to the skating arena on Sunday, and that worked out ok, as I had her in the Bjorn and she was still pretty happy to just sleep. However, chasing after Carter when he was finished skating and Ava was still on the ice was a tad complicated. On Monday, I took her to Ava’s drop off, where Ava was so anxious to introduce Anna to everyone. I was panicked over the germs floating around that cinderblock petri dish, but we managed to get in and out before the hordes arrived. Both kids are desperate to show off the baby to anyone willing to look. This is so great—they both have an instinctive pride and protective drive which is a huge relief. That afternoon, Carter managed to cut his head on a table, and we had to go to the urgent care center for steri strips and glue, and as a result we did not go to skating. Carter was relieved to not have stitches, though he hates the glue. To quote him exactly: “Mom! The glue is KILLING me!” We continued to tackle school on Tuesday and Wednesday, though Ava regressed a bit and did not want to go—we had some tears on those mornings. It has been such a difficult winter navigating the kindergarten substitute snafu, and I am so close to losing my temper over it. However, it is literally less than 10 hours of classroom time before it is over, so we are just going to weather the storm. On Thursday, the kids had a half day (really a 2-hour day) and then Ava went to Drama Club, a new activity. As predicted, she loved it. Has not stopped talking about it. It helps that she gets to be a unicorn, and they sing “Do you believe in magic…” (a song I am now very tired of hearing in my head for hours every night as I try to go to sleep). Then, in a display of parenting skills I am very proud of, I managed to take all three kids out to lunch and to the arena for Ava to work on her routine for a total of 3 hours. It was truly exhausting, but I managed it without any huge issues. Friday was spent at home, very peacefully getting through all of the requisite chores, a pace I definitely appreciated. I have noticed that if we have things to do/places to go, then usually one major task gets ignored for the day. Which is fine, but it is a great feeling to feel like everything has been accomplished, even if that includes just getting fingernails clipped. Each evening, I am completely physically exhausted, but it is such a great feeling to be that sort of tired instead of pregnancy tired.