My agenda was fairly simple. I needed to get the girls enrolled in childcare at the college before spots filled up, get Monkey's glasses fixed, and get dental appointments scheduled for everyone. With a list that short, it really shouldn't have been too much. I could not have been so wrong.
Let's start with the enrollment. I knew that I needed to go to the business office to pay the deposit and then take a receipt over to the childcare building. However, we found out after a very long day last week that the state would not be helping cover childcare costs. Therefore, we had to pay the full $80 enrollment fee. I decided that since my financial aid had hit my account, I would see if we could use it to cover the fee. I started at the business office ... they couldn't see the financial aid and sent me to the financial aid office ... who then made a couple of phone calls and sent me back to the business office. From there, it took about 20 minutes to figure out why they couldn't see the financial aid, get it fixed, and then get the money applied. I then took the receipt and went to the childcare building.
We were supposed to meet with the director around 10am, but she wasn't there yet. By 10:25am, we were told that she was running even later than expected, but we could start filling out the paperwork. PERFECT. My girls were handling everything very well at this point. I had toys for them to play with and they were using their (extremely active) imagination to keep them occupied. As I filled out the massive book of paperwork, the Monkey started to lose her patience ... so I whipped out my iPad and life was good again.
90 minutes later ... we were leaving the childcare center and the girls were enrolled. They were hungry and thirsty ... so I let them get Sponge Bob top juice and a container of grapes. Spent more than I normally would, but they were excellent during that whole ordeal (from start to finish was about 2 1/2 hours).
*Quick interjection here - Turtle has ALWAYS hated getting in and out of the car seat. When you reach a destination ... you better be prepared to STAY there for QUITE a while*
After I got the girls their snack, we headed to the eye doctor to get Monkey's glasses fixed and get my husband an eye appointment scheduled. It, apparently, did not take long enough because Turtle was NOT amused about leaving. She started telling me not to touch her and letting us know we could leave without her. Thankfully, she was okay with the information that we only had ONE more place to go.
We went to the dental office next, which was right around the corner from our eye doctor's office. The girls got themselves busy playing with toys while I got our new insurance cards scanned and appointments set up. It took a little longer than I had hoped, and the girls started to lose their patience. In all reality, they were just getting tired. We (secretary and I) got them re-settled with something else and we were able to finish everything else. Poor Turtle bawled when it was time to go because she was playing dinosaurs.
Needless to say, when we got home five hours later, both girls grabbed a sandwich, a sucker, some soda, and tucked themselves into bed. They didn't turn the light on in their room. They simply grabbed their tablets and I didn't hear from them again for HOURS.
Turtle decided that she was rebelling from going anywhere or doing anything else the rest of the day. She put on her pajamas and sat in my lap. The only thing that changed her mind was being told that we were going to get daddy from work. Of course, she was then rewarded with yogurt, apple juice, playground, ice cream, and cookies. Yeah, I am totally okay with letting them know we were SO pleased with how well-behaved they were. For a 2 and 4-year-old, they had patience, flexibility, and wonderful listening ears.
So, how about you? How do you handle pushing your toddlers to the limit?
Oh, man! Getting anything done with kids is a miracle. And of course it's worse when you HAVE to get something done within a given timeframe.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you!
Heather, It sounds like you had quite a day! You handled all the challenges with grace and patience and I'm sure you're so glad to have accomplished everything you needed to get done that day. Thanks for sharing your story!
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Heather, I think you handled it admirably well. I had 7 children, and never had a problem with tantrums or back-talking in public. But none of mine had sensory issues or anything beyond normal kid issues. I applaud you!
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