I am a powerhouse.. for the moment

Jonathan's out of town today, so I took the boys out of school because I couldn't bear the thought of fighting with them to get to school, and I knew Connor would cry the entire two hours of the car ride (1/2 hour there and back twice, for drop-off and pick-up).  So I declared a "Mommy mental health day" and instead, I and the kids (and Robin for part of it):

- went to the park

- made brownies from scratch (no mix!)

- made mac'n cheese (most definitely from the Kraft mix)
- read books

- after reading a book about Israel, put Dead Sea mud on our faces and let it dry

- had a playdate with Mateo and Eva and their mom, and cleaned the living room before and after

- did beading and made necklaces

- went to Panera to get challah, and Rite Aid for assorted sundries

- ate 3 meals and 2 snacks, and then I loaded, ran, and put away 2 dishwasher loads

- ran and folded 3 loads of laundry

- organized all the kids' puzzles

- nursed and nursed and nursed

- changed at least 6 diapers

Question of the day: why did I get 4 mosquito bites outside when Robin and the children got none?

Ari was really hard today and fought everything I did, from getting dressed to eating lunch to washing his face.  I was so ready for bedtime, and started to get really mad the third time he'd come out of his room after lights were out.  But as I started to be cross with him and he began to cry, I heard him say, "stay with me, Mommy," and all of a sudden a light went on: he's still feeling insecure about his place, and this time nothing was at stake except bedtime, which was nothing in the grand scheme of things.

So I finally did something right with him, instead of losing my patience: I gave Connor to Robin and carried Ari to his bed and laid down with him, and stroked his hair and told him every single thing I could think of of why I loved him.  And he was quiet and didn't say a word.  And after 10 minutes when I was done, I whispered in his ear that I was leaving, and he just nodded and reached out his arms for a hug.  And he hasn't gotten up since.

I'd been really dreading the day, but it turned out to be quite nice.

I still can't do this full-time though. :)