It All Started With The DMV

I was going to let the enchilada post be it today. And then yesterday happened. There was no way I could let the epic events of yesterday go un-chronicled. I’m serious about the epicness. You may want to grab a snack.

Wednesday night, Husband and I made an appointment with a photographer (who also happens to be a friend of ours) for our family photos next week. And then it dawned on me that Caedmon goes to Children’s today and his face will be purple for the next three weeks. Wanting to have our family photos done before the pregnant belly gets…any bigger than it already is…we determined that Thursday was the only day we could do them. Which was the very next day.

Of course we had nothing to wear. I got home from church around 8-ish, put Caedmon to bed and went to work finding clothes. I’d come up with an ok solution by the time Husband got home, but I didn’t love it. I kept pulling clothes out of the closet and found something else…that I didn’t really like that much either. The biggest problem was that Caedmon had nothing that would go with anything Husband and I had. So I’d have to buy him a shirt either way, and possibly shoes. But I decided it was probably the best we were going to get on such short notice, and I’d find something for Caedmon while he was at KDO.

Having decided to take the Silver Sled to Children’s, we really wanted to have our permanent tags if possible. And wouldn’t you know it, the paperwork came in the mail on Wednesday, just in time for me to go to the Revenue Office/DMV on Thursday…the last day of the month.

So before I even started Thursday, my plate was already full. I had to go to the DMV. I had to find something for Caedmon to wear for pictures. I had to call Children’s and find out what time we had to be there today and get all of our instructions. And I had to pick Caedmon up from KDO by noon because if he didn’t have a real nap, nothing about our pictures would be pleasant. Even if we were dressed cute.

The morning was crazy. I tried to go brush my teeth four times before I actually made it happen. I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I dropped Caedmon off at 9am and went directly to the DMV. I took a number. I was 107. They were serving 75.

Clearly, going to the DMV on the last day of the month was sheer genius. As I waited, I couldn’t decide which disturbed me more, the obnoxious kids running around the place or the 30 year-old guy who brought his hovering Momma with him to renew his driver’s license. The kicker was that when he took his hat off for his picture and Mommy Dearest asked if he wanted a brush for his hair, his response was, “I’m not a woman.” Riiiiight.

I ended up getting out of there in just under an hour, so I decided to head to Starbucks before shopping. I needed a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I could already taste it. As I pulled up, it was clear that everyone else in the known universe had the same idea, because the drive-thru line was wrapped around the building. I ordered and waited. And waited. When I finally got my SCHC, I was nearly giddy. And then I tasted it. I was crushed. Why? Because it was plain ol’ hot chocolate. I had almost left the parking lot, but I whipped into a parking space and went inside.

I patiently waited by the pick-up area until the Barista was able to help me. I explained that my SCHC was actually plain hot chocolate and I was highly disappointed and since I’d been at the DMV already that morning, I was about *this close* to losing it and could he please help me out. He was very apologetic, and asked about the DMV because he had to go after work. He got my SCHC ready and I was out of there no less than 20 minutes after I pulled into line.

Deep breaths. 10:30am. Still needed info from Children’s and some sort of clothing items for pictures.

I’d already scoped out a few places online, so I decided to head to Target first. I couldn’t find what I wanted for Caedmon to fit with the outfits Husband and I already had…of course. But then I spotted this shirt and fell in love. Husband had a brown shirt he could wear, so all I needed was a shirt to match. I could do this. My friends Jill and Melissa were giving me support via text. I don’t know that I would’ve kept my sanity without them.

After perusing the entire accessory/women’s/maternity area, I finally found a long-sleeve t-shirt in the perfect green. If I hadn’t been pregnant I would’ve never found it, because it’s maternity and there was absolutely nothing else in the store that color. $20 later (for both shirts!) I was out the door. Since I couldn’t find a scarf that would work with it, I decided I needed a necklace or something.

But before heading to find jewelry, I called Children’s. I got our appointment time and instructions (the angels are singing here) without having to wait on hold or have them call me back. It was a miracle. Thinking about leaving our house at 3:30am? Not such a miracle. But not new either, and probably the better of the appointment evils.

Continuing on my small streak of good luck, I walked into the $1 Jewelry Store and asked the sales girl to help me. She knew exactly where to find a perfect bronzy necklace and earring set. $1.09 and 5 minutes later, I was back in the car. 11:30am.

Just enough time to head back to the church, show Husband my purchases, and pick up Caedmon. The only hitch was that Husband wasn’t sure he wanted to wear his brown shirt, but instead a brown/olive jacket with a t-shirt underneath. Which was fine. Except that he didn’t have a t-shirt that would match.

So I picked up Caedmon and we headed to the store. Again. We’d been looking for a t-shirt to match the blue in his perfect little plaid shirt. All we could find that matched was orange. So I bought it. But I wanted to try one more place. We went to the mall.

It was 12:30pm. Caedmon had eaten lunch, but I hadn’t. I was starving. And amazingly enough, he was so hungry you’d think he hadn’t eaten in a week. So before heading to the Gap, I decided to hit up Subway in the food court.

The lucky streak had ended, ya’ll. I got in line, where there were two ladies at the register and one person in line in front of me. The guy behind the counter took care of the lady in front of me. And then somehow, the two ladies who’d been at the register were magically in front of me in line. The poor guy who’d been helping them was about at his wits’ end.

Clearly these women had no idea what they were doing. Not like it’s rocket science to order at Subway, but they seemed to be having trouble with it. He asked them three times what kind of bread they wanted. The younger lady (who was very pregnant) would translate for her Mom, her Mom would answer, and the younger lady would relay in English back to the guy behind the counter. They were in no hurry. Each item placed on the sandwich happened the exact same way. He’d ask, she’d translate. Mom would answer, she’d translate again. It was maddening for everyone involved…except for them.

Meanwhile, my stomach was about to consume my entire body from the inside out and Caedmon was wondering where his promised chips were. Finally the other guy came and made my sandwich while the slow ladies were checking out. And as they left, pregnant lady tried to take my sandwich with her. That would not have been good, my friends. There would’ve been a throwdown at the mall food court. I’m just sayin’.

Caedmon and I finally had our second lunch and first lunch, respectively. While we were eating, I got another call from Children’s notifying us they’d changed our appointment time and we needed to be there earlier. Great. We finished eating and threw a couple of pennies into the fountain before heading to the Gap. I found the perfect blue t-shirt for Husband to wear under his jacket and we were heading home. It must’ve been those pennies we tossed.

They wore off pretty quickly, though. Because I put Caedmon down for a nap, where he proceeded to talk, play, kick the walls, and generally do everything except sleep for the next two hours. Which meant I had gotten him out of KDO early for nothing. And I didn’t get to take a nap. Things were not looking good. But I was determined that I was not going to let it get to me. I found some chocolate stashed in the pantry and turned off the monitor and had a moment of silence. Or seventeen.

We got up, got ready, and headed downtown for our picture appointment. Where we promptly were caught in the midst of about a million and a half motorcycles. Because we would schedule our family portraits in the big fat middle of Bikes Blues and BBQ, which for ya’ll who don’t live around here, is when about two bazillion people come for the weekend on their motorcycles. And they hang out…downtown.

I don’t think we got any bikers in our photos. And it’s a good thing sound doesn’t translate into pictures, because these would be some loud family portraits. Our photographer is awesome and knew some places we could go to get away from the crowds and still get great shots. I can’t wait to see them. Caedmon did well, considering he’d not had a nap. We made it through to the end with no meltdowns and just a minor hitch here and there. I was relieved.

The rest of the evening was a whirlwind…getting Caedmon home and in bed, getting our normal things ready to head to Children’s, then trying to think about what I normally have in the car that we didn’t have in the Silver Sled because we hadn’t had time to stock it with stuff yet. We did take time to watch The Office, because that could be the most important part of Thursday nights. But bedtime couldn’t come soon enough with a very early wake-up call waiting for us.

See? I told you it was an epic day.

So we’re headed to Children’s for laser treatment #9 today and NLB is looking out for Oz. Actually, by the time most of you read this, we may be on our way home. However, please pray for safe travel, the doctors and nurses that will be taking care of Caedmon, our sanity, and that Caedmon won’t shrivel up and blow away before he’s allowed to eat.

I’ll let you know on Monday how it goes. But if you see me on Twitter before then, you’ll know we survived.