Are you ready for my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day story?
The plan was to leave the house at 8, pick up HorseWhisperer and Little HW, and head downtown to take the
ferry
to Coronado. Thatbaby got up at 5:45, so I was going to wake him to eat a
little something at 7:45 before we left, so he wasn't screaming in
hunger during the drive.
7:44am: Thatkid drops a container of apple slices outside. So I clean that up.
7:50am:
I text Horsewhisperer telling her I'm running a bit late, and feed Thatbaby
During which time, he finally poops for the first time in 2 days.
That's a lot of poop built up. Enough that it blew out his diaper and
up his back. So diaper change. Clothes change. And then we switch to
the other boob.
8:30am: We are on our way! Totally
uneventful trip to Horsewhisperer's. No crying, Thatkid and I are singing to
Pandora's Muppet station.
We get to Horsewhisperer's and I move Thatkid's seat to the back row. No problem. Then I realize I can fold
up the second row. GENIUS! Makes it so much easier to put Little HW's seat
in the back row next to Thatkid. Except then I can't get the second row
seat back up. The latch on the bottom is stuck so that it won't click
on to the floor. By the time I'm all like "fuck it" Thatbaby has gone
from totally chill to crying. Fabulous.
We head out,
Horsewhisperer works pacifier duty so Thatbaby either passes out or chills out,
and we're back to doing great. Until Thatkid has to go to the bathroom. No problem, I get off....and get stuck behind people doing like 5 miles per hour while Thatkid screams that he can't hold it, he needs to go NOW. And he's
crying hysterically. I pull into the first parking lot, with no parking
available, and just double park the car and leave Horsewhisperer in it with
Little HW and Thatbaby while I run with Thatkid to the bathroom.
Back
on the road, we get all the way to downtown and I'm heading to the
parking lot by the pedestrian bridge. When Thatkid has to go again. Of
course I'm in downtown traffic, and we're going nowhere fast. I get to
the parking lot and since there's a Padres game today it's permit
parking only. Thatkid is crying hysterically. I decide, "Fuck it, I'll
park at the Hilton because there's a bathroom in the hotel" but I can't
get to the Hilton because I have to cross Harbor and Thatkid is now
possessed by the devil and screaming we need to "kill that guy." This
is when Little HW throws up all over herself. I pull into an ACE lot and
take Thatkid to pee in one of the port-a-potties where the homeless
people live. Horsewhisperer cleans up Little HW, but hasn't brought another shirt,
so after we park we'll need to find a place to get Little HW a shirt.
Everyone's
back in the car and we finally get to the parking lot, where Thatkid
starts crying that he needs to pee again. He can't hold it. I don't
think we'll make it to the hotel, so I ask at the smoothie shop if they
have a bathroom. They don't but there's one across the way. So we run
out. The women's restroom is closed, so I bring him in the men's.
Where a homeless man is peeing. I apologize and go in the stall with Thatkid. Thatkid washes his hands in the sink while the homeless man
gives himself a sink shower.
Thatkid's bathroom needs taken
care of, we head to Seaport Village to get Little HW a new shirt. While Thatkid cries that it's too far and will take too long and he's hungry.
And Little HW cries that she's too hot. We get to Seaport Village and get a
shirt, then head alllll the way back to the
Ferry while Thatkid and Little HW complain about being tired. and hot.
We get
to Coronado and grab something to eat. Little HW does not want
to sit at the table. She wants to walk around the table, play waitress,
not eat lunch. Thatkid starts to follow suit.
We get the check and
head out when I realize Thatkid's sunglasses are nowhere to be found. He
insists he put them in my bag, but they're not there. I decide he left
them on the
ferry. Fabulous. He wants to play
in the sand and Little HW wants to splash in the water, so we head to the
beach. Both kids de-shoe and head into the water. Little HW keeps wading
deeper and deeper and I have to keep calling her back, eventually Thatkid does too. She's now soaking wet so I tell the kids they need to come
onto the sand and dry off before we get back on the
ferry.
Which is when Thatkid starts rolling in the sand, with his wet legs. He
is covered in sand. Little HW keeps running back in the water. Okay.
Day's over. Kids' aren't listening, so we head back to the
ferry.
We
have some time to kill, so the kids run up and down the pier. Thatkid
stops when we tell him. Little HW does not. She keeps going. So Thatkid
runs after her to try and pull her back, and she keeps running farther.
So I call Thatkid back and Horsewhisperer goes after Little HW. Gives her a talk
and brings her back crying and puts her in time out.
We get
back to the other side and head back to the parking lot, which takes
forever because Thatkid and Little HW keep throwing themselves in the grass
and just rolling.
Bathroom break before we get in the car
and head out. I get lost going to the freeway and end up in National
City. Thatbaby is not being nearly as cooperative on the ride home,
crying and fussing. And of course there is traffic. Lots of traffic. At some point Thatkid has to go to the bathroom again. I
need gas anyway so we get off and I bring him to the
bathroom.
Get back in the car, back into traffic for like
5 exits. Little HW is crying that she can't reach her barbie. Thatkid
starts crying that his seat isn't right, it needs to be fixed. Horsewhisperer
crawls to the back and fixes he seats. Then he cries that his butt
hurts. Little HW is crying because she wants to hug Horsewhisperer. Another exit and he
needs to go to the bathroom again. Right now. Another possession
moment where he's screaming he needs to pee on the side of the road. Get
to the next exit and pull into a gas station so he can pee.
Get
back in the car and finally make it to Horsewhisperer's house where both boys
are now asleep. Drop them off and head out. Everything is fine until
we hit traffic, which causes Thatbaby to wake up and start
crying - the whole way home.
We get home, I pull Thatbaby out
and feed him. Then we sit in the car and dance until Thatkid wakes up. Thatkid wakes up crying because he didn't get to say goodbye to Little HW.
A day like that calls for pasta. Something easy. Something warm. Something loaded with carbs - which make everything better. And as I have often said, during the summer, you don't need much on top of pasta. Summer tomatoes are pretty much a dressing on themselves. This pesto takes the best tomatoes of summer and makes them extremely accessible. This day I used it on pasta, but it makes enough to keep in the fridge for sandwiches, or on toast with some goat cheese.
Slow-Roasted Tomato Pesto (From A Homemade Life)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed
2 cups packed basil leaves
3 cups slow roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup tightly packed finely grated parmigiano-reggiano
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and garlic. Pulse until the garlic is finely chopped.
- Add the basil leaves and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the tomatoes and process well.
- Add the parmigiano-reggiano and pulse to combine.
Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Coriander (From A Homemade Life)
3 1/2 pounds ripe Roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
ground coriander
- Preheat oven to 200. Wash and dry the tomatoes, trim away the stem end, and halve them lengthwise.
- Place them in a large bowl and toss them gently with the oil. Arrange them cut side up on a large baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with salt and ground coriander, about a pinch of each for every 4 to 6 tomato halves. Bake 4 to 6 hours. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.