Colic, a new double stroller and a case of the terrible twos.

Oh my goodness.  Today was a rough one.  Adalyn has been a fussy baby since about week three, but most days we survive just fine.  Then, every once in awhile, a day like today hits me.  It pummels me and knocks the air right out of me.  I finish the day a weeping pile of hormones on the floor and my poor, sweet husband is left to pick up the pieces.  Thank God for him.  Days like today usually come on the heels of a rough incident with Ben.  Terrible twos + colic?  Not fun, my friends.  At one point in the day, I sent Tim an e-mail entitled, "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"  You get the point.

We woke up this morning, excited to spend the morning with some friends we don't get to see nearly often enough.  Straightening my hair, once a fifteen minute job, now takes upwards of an hour.  I brush, straighten a strand, rush to screaming baby's side, push paci vigorously back in her mouth, admittedly even pleading with God to just make her happy for fifteen minutes so that I can finish the job.  Rinse and repeat a dozen times.  Halfway through this tedious and exhausting process Ben comes in the bathroom to open drawers, pull all contents out and draw on his face with eyeliner.  Cue more baby cries, more attempts to settle her with the paci, more begging God as I watch the clock tick away.  Nothing stresses me out more than being late, and I am always late these days.  I corral Ben in front of the TV.  Not my proudest mommy moment.

We made it and had a ball.  I'm so thankful for wonderful friends (hi Julie)!  They really keep me afloat these days.

Our new double stroller greeted me when we arrived home.  I was sure it would be the thing to turn the day around!  The events that followed can only be classified under "hilarious" now that it's all over.

Sit down to nurse the screaming Adalyn.

Ben insists we open the gigantic box right now.  For some strange reason, I start opening the box.  I didn't really think the logistics through.  As soon as I open it, he rummages through it all, strewing the items all across the floor while I'm helpless to stop him with a baby on the boob.

Eventually, Adalyn gets her belly full.  I lay her down to put the stroller together and she immediately begins her normal wailing.  Ben and I hurry through the assembly of the stroller.  He randomly shouts out "It's okay, sisser!" and "Uh oh, sisser sad!" while "helping me" put the behemoth together.  Once it's assembled, I decide we need to go out for a stroll as a dip in the temperature is expected and this might be our last chance for a week.

I strap Adalyn in and she immediately cries.  No surprise there.  It is an all too familiar sound right now.  The cries turn to screams and eventually, to choking.  This is the way it goes.  I try to get Ben in a sweatshirt as quickly as my hands allow and hurry him along into the seat.  I suddenly realize I don't know how I'm going to get us out of the house.  The stroller is HUGE.  The only way out of the house, whatever door I choose, is down the stairs.  I opt for the sliding glass door and it barely fits through the frame.  All the while, Adalyn is still screaming.  We make it out the door as I realize I forgot my coffee.  Hey, a girl's gotta have her coffee and to-date, I have had none.  I was in too big of a rush in the morning.  I go back inside after my coffee, start pushing the stroller down the stairs and realize it's too steep and the baby is bound to fall out.  So I unstrap both children, which sends Ben into a series of tantrums, ending in on-the-ground-kicking-and-screaming-and-shrieking-and-so-on.  This sets Adalyn off more, and I try consoling her while pushing the gargantuan stroller down our deck stairs and keeping my coffee from falling out of the cupholder.  The front wheel falls off.

This can't be a good sign.

I get it back on while holding Adalyn and talking Ben off the ledge.  Finally the stroller is back in one piece and I strap both angry children into the stroller.  WE'RE GOING ON A WALK AND NOTHING WILL STOP ME.  I start pushing us and my coffee sloshes around everywhere.  Alright, I think.   Once we're off the grass and onto the pavement, my coffee will be just fine.  No such luck.  After dousing my (BRAND NEW!) cell phone in caffeine, I admit defeat and chuck the cup in my front yard.

A nice, quiet mile and a half later and I was feeling refreshed.   

Until we came home and Adalyn proceeded to cry the afternoon away while Ben protested nap time and never slept a wink.

Hey, these days are just part of the package of parenthood, right?  It was at least worth documenting.  I will survive. 

And then this one tiny moment in the midst of a terribly exhausting and trying day make everything so worth it.