The Portrait of a Baby

I always assumed my early 20's would be the most crazy, hectic time of my life. I could not have been more wrong! Although I ran like a madwoman and rarely slept back in the good old days, nothing could prepare me for a Saturday as a mother.

9:00 this morning I attended a CPR class. Amazingly, this was the most relaxing portion of the entire day. Daddy and Ollie were at Grammie and Poppy's so I stopped in on my way home. Grammie was having some computer difficulties and since I couldn't let her miss a Mollie and Ollie Show installment I helped her get squared away.

Next we were off to check on the garden at Grandma and Grandpa's. Nothing sprouting yet, but I'm sure we'll see something soon. Ollie's teeth flared up, so he became a slobbering, sobbing disaster. A quick dose of Tylenol remedied the situation, but only after 30 minutes of fussing. Luckily, he dozed off in the car on the way home.

We had a 5:00 appointment in Florence to get Ollie's 6 month and our family portraits taken and we didn't get home until 3:15. Jason and I were moving like a well-oiled (okay, maybe a squeaky) machine. We unpacked the diaper bag, showered, packed the diaper bag, changed a diaper, fed Ollie (no prunes before pictures), ironed shirts, prepared bottles, dressed, fed Betsy and Petunia, flipped laundry, dressed Ollie, emptied the dishwasher, loaded the stroller in the car, located picture coupons, and somehow we managed to leave one hour later. On time. I really could have used a stiff drink at this point, but the last thing I need is bloodshot eyes in our family portrait.

After all the rushing we arrived 15 minutes early and were told they were running way behind. We strolled through the mall to kill time. Wow, that place is depressing! Finally at 5:45 we got started. 50 minutes and too much money later we were pulling into Chipotle. Oh, and I got beans for the first time since December!

One quick bath and Love Me Tender later Ollie was sound asleep. How can he be more exhausted than me and Jason? We're doing all the work.
The funny thing is a day like today would have been calm for us a year ago. The amount of time it takes to prepare to leave home with a baby is astounding, and even though I promised myself I'd never drive a minivan packed with baby gear, we still need tons of stuff. And we're minimalist. Funny how a baby simplifies life's priorities while simultaneously complicating life's logistics.

Tomorrow is my first Mother's Day. Man that's weird.