an "Alexander" day

Ever had one of those days?  Where nothing terribly wrong happened but all those little things added up?  Ever had what I call an "Alexander" day?

Yesterday was one of those days for me.  I intended to sleep in.  Sunday night we stayed up late celebrating Natalie's safe arrival back from Mexico and then talking to Sean's sister who lives overseas.  But I woke up just after 5 am and couldn't go back to sleep.  I tossed and turned 'til after 7.  (I should have just gotten up but wasn't sure I would function well on the few hours of sleep I'd gotten.)

Later that morning, I decided to make banana chocolate chip muffins to also celebrate Natalie's return and because all the kids absolutely love them.  I learned a few lessons while making them:

1. Focus on making the muffins - don't get distracted by trying to fix kids' problems like broken toys.
2. The money you think you are going to save by re-using that teeny-tiny bottle of super glue isn't worth it!  Just buy a new one every time you use some super glue.
3. Super glue works REALLY FAST, especially bonding skin to skin.
4. Always have fingernail polish remover handy just in case you super glue your fingers together.
5. Make sure you know where the fingernail polish remover is located in your house.

That's right: I superglued my fingers together!  How in the world did you do that, you ask?  Oh, just trying to get the top on super tight after using the super glue - apparently more glue was squeezing out onto my fingers.  In a couple of seconds, my index and middle finger were tightly bonded to one another!  And why was I using superglue in the middle of making muffins?  Because one of our children had broken a siblings' brand new, never-been-used-before special item, and I wanted to fix it ASAP.

I had to get my younger kids to wake up the older ones to read the teeny-tiny print on the super glue tube(too small for these aging eyes) to find out that I needed fingernail polish remover.  They they had to find the needed polish.  I saw some just last week - now where was it?  (Poor Natalie didn't get to sleep in on her first day home because her mom superglued her fingers together.)

Fortunately, after a little looking, a tiny amount of polish was found.  After soaking my fingers for awhile (as the muffin batter sat and waited), I was able to get off enough super glue to pry my fingers apart without ripping skin.  Here's a picture of some of the super glue still stuck to my skin (but much of it was gone by this point - I was too distressed to even think of taking a picture while they were bonded together.)

Breakfast ended up being around 10:30 (did I mention I was still in my pajamas?  I hate still being in my pajamas mid-morning!)  Before I had a chance to sit down and enjoy a muffin, one child reached over to grab a SECOND muffin and knocked his entire glass of milk over! At least it was a small glass...

On the agenda for the day was to go to the library - well, we didn't even leave for the library until after noon (but with our late breakfast we weren't hungry for lunch yet anyway.)  The librarian who was checking my books in innocently asked a question as to why I always wanted my books checked in while I was standing there.  So I had the privilege of sharing Sean's story with her (You'll have to ask Sean to tell that story.) 

Stopping at the Amish farm for fresh produce on the way home, Micah cried LOUDLY when I didn't immediately unbuckle him to he could "help" me pick out the vegetables.  (How come I never hear the Amish children crying loudly when I'm at their farm?)

The afternoon went by way too quickly with Elliana helping me sort and clean up toys in the family room. (Although if you stopped by right now, you would have no idea we did that yesterday!)

After the youngest were in bed, Natalie, Samuel, and I went outside in the backyard to watch for meteors.  We never saw any.

So you might say it was a bad day; certainly super gluing my fingers together, not getting much done on my to-do list, missing the meteors, doesn't add up to a "great" day.  It sounds like an "Alexander" day to me.  Do you remember the kids' book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?  Everything that happened to poor Alexander that day was bad - so he thinks maybe he should move to Australia.  Then his mom tells him some days are like that, even in Australia.  (If you haven't read the book, check it out here:)
http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Terrible-Horrible-Good-Very/dp/0689711735

But actually, this day that had the potential to be an "Alexander" day was great in spite of all my mishaps.  Because I couldn't sleep, I had time with the Lord first thing in the morning instead of late at night.  That was such a blessing.  We now have a family story about me super-glueing my fingers together and all the kids rushing to mom's aid (because some of the best memories and stories are when we can laugh at ourselves.) The kids all loved the muffins, and they were a somewhat healthy and sweet treat.  We had an enjoyable time at the library and an enjoyable afternoon, even though it felt like not much was "accomplished."  And best of all, even without seeing any shooting stars, Natalie, Samuel and I had a great time hanging out in the backyard after dark, talking and eating snacks.  Sometimes "Alexander" days actually turn out to be the best days!  (But I need to buy more fingernail polish remover, just in case!)