119 Minutes

The mayhem starts around 10:30 every day...

Start fixing lunch (yes, at 10:30AM)

Get the kids to the table to eat lunch no later than 10:45

Cajole, threaten, beg, prompt, scream a little, and eventually bribe the kids to eat faster, faster, FASTER until 11:25 when you give up and just accept that it will always take them 40 minutes to eat five bites of food and they will never finish a whole meal as long as they live.

11:26 Quickly change Daphne's clothes to her uniform.

11:28 Madly dash through the house looking for Daphne's school shoes while shouting to Beck to find his.

11:29 Madly dash through the house looking for Daphne's school bag. (Still yelling to Beck to get his shoes on)

11:30 Madly dash through the house looking for Daphne's folder which isn't in her school bag. (Still yelling to Beck to get his shoes on)

11:31 Freak out that Beck still doesn't have his shoes on. Sit both kids down and put their shoes on for them since they are physically incapable of doing it when it's past time to go to school.

11:33 Drag kids out to the car to head to school

11:33:35 Realize that Daphne's hair hasn't been brushed and run back in the house to find the brush and some hair bands.

11:34 Realize that Beck has spaghettios all over his face and run back in the house to get a wash rag.

11:35 Finally start backing out of the driveway

11:35:15 Hear Daphne freak out because there is no snack in her school bag. Pull back in the driveway and run back in the house to find a snack.

11:36 Finally make it out of our driveway and on the way to school.

11:42 Drop Daphne off at school.

11:43-12:25 Try to kill about 45 minutes until Beck's school starts. (This might consist of shopping for things I don't need, wandering around the library for much longer than necessary after Beck picks out the first two books he lays eyes on, or using my free kids meal card to get a kids meal for my lunch since I was so busy bossing kids around that I forgot to eat at home.)

12:26 Drop Beck off at school


AND THEN THE MAGIC BEGINS.

I HAVE 119 MINUTES TO MYSELF BEFORE I HAVE TO LEAVE TO PICK THE KIDS UP FROM SCHOOL.


This was the first week that this happened, both kids in school and me with 119 minutes to myself. What should I do with this time? What would YOU do with this time???


Read that book that's been sitting on your nightstand unopened for three weeks?

Blog?

Work on fixing your mosaic table that a bunch of pieces of glass fell off of?

Plant some flowers?

Go to lunch with a girlfriend?

Sleep?

Organize your recipes for your new recipe box?

Watch all those House Hunters you have had taped for months?

Go shopping SANS kids?

Yack on the phone with your friends without being interrupted?


As it turns out, I was so caught off guard by having time to myself all of the sudden that I spent the first 15 minutes of my free time yesterday watching our pet caterpillar eat dandelion leaves . Oy vey. Then I mopped the kitchen floor and vacuumed the entire upstairs. I really need to work on finding more interesting uses for my free time.

Any suggestions?