Terrible Tuesday

I'm not sure yet what will become "standard" for Tuesdays, but today, simply because NOTHING went as planned, that is what I'm going to write about.

The morning started normally enough. I took Isa to the bus stop in below freezing weather. I do believe that with wind chill it was around -3 degrees. We had a lengthy conversation before going outside where I asked her to wear snowpants so she wasn't so cold. She basically told me that they weren't cool and that she was not wearing them. She informed me that the bus was warm, and that it wasn't that cold outside. I told her I was done arguing and she didn't have to wear the pants, but that she was not allowed to complain that she was cold while waiting for the bus.

After she got on the bus, I came into the house to get some things done. The phone kept ringing and interrupting my train of thought, but eventually, with the assistance of two cups of coffee, I made it through some tasks. Then my dad came.

We had made plans to go and order windows. He measured them and off we went. First to Lowes. They had some of the right size in stock for $140 each, but not the style we wanted. The ones we wanted were only available through special order and they would take 21 business days or longer. And they would cost $250 each. So, we went to Menards instead. They didn't have any of the style we wanted in stock either, but could special order them and they would cost $180 each. And they would be in within three weeks. So, Menards it was.

Then we went to lunch. Well, we tried to go to lunch. We sat down at Logan's at noon. Ordered soon afterwards. Got our salads, drinks, and rolls. And we waited. And waited......And waited. At one o'clock, my dad finally asked if we could have our food...to go. So, they packed it up, never having it served to us and because of whatever happened (the server said something about our ticket getting lost), our food was half off.

We returned to my house. My dad came in for a minute then left. I ate. And worked. And drank more coffee to fight the sleepy feeling that kept threatening me. I continued to have phone calls come in regularly until it was time for the 4 o'clock meeting that I had. I went. Then I ended up with an impromptu meeting with someone else.

At 5:30 PM, I headed out to pick up the facilitator for the dad's class on Tuesdays. Usually, he has his car, but tonight, his wife needed to go somewhere with the kids, so he asked me to help him out. Not a big deal. So, I went. But about half way there, my lights dimmed, I noticed this squealing noise, and my battery light kicked on. I hate the idea of being stranded. So, I made a couple phone calls. Then I called my facilitator, and realized I was about a block from his house. I went ahead and stopped to see if there was anything obviously wrong, like a snapped belt. Couldn't see anything, but also realized that my battery is at the bottom, so there wasn't much to see at all. When I restarted my car, the noise was gone and the light was off.

So, after we had cancelled the classes, it seemed to be fine. Either way, I'm going to have my car guy check it out this week. I spoke to my uncle on the way home and he said that it's possible for my alternator belt to freeze up and stiffen. Then, once it warmed up, it would be fine.

Nevertheless, I ended up at home instead of having a class. And ended up helping clean Isa's room. Which led to screaming and yelling and threatening all sorts of horrible ends for her toys. So, I now have a course voice and feel like a horrible mother. I need to figure out a good house rule to make sure her room stays clean, at least somewhat... any suggestions?