Daddy Day, 21 March 2013

Today I've been in bed for basically the whole day.  Why have I been in bed?  Because I have an exhausting cold.

Wait a minute, scratch that.

The reason I have wanted to be in bed is because of the cold.  The reason I have been in bed is because Jay is on spring break and took over the kids for the whole day.

When I say "took over," I don't mean put them on a string of movies and video games (although let me be the first to say there can be a time for that).  Fully apart from my cold, he has actively been planning this "Daddy Day" for the last couple weeks.

ALERT: If you're already tired of hearing me talk about Jay from these first few paragraphs, quit reading here.  Or, you could keep reading and find out what this has to do with Daddy Day:

Any guesses?  Read on...

Stage One of Daddy Day was for Jay to get up with the kids and feed them a granola breakfast.  Then he did schoolwork with G (who stayed home today due to some stomach trouble last night) while Z played around the house.

Stage Two involved guiding the kids through cleaning up clutter while Jay set up a tent in the living room, and ended with him feeding them lunch, but I actually am not sure what else happened during that time because I was sleeping from 10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  When I woke up, Jay was just getting the boys ready for Stage Three.

Pretty sure a lot of time was spent in here this morning.

He took them to his gym where there is a kids' care center, and Jay did his own stuff while the kids ran around in the outdoor play area.  This got the boys outside and a gave them time to interact with others.  (Don't freak out--G's stomach trouble was apparently a one-time thing and he was feeling completely normal by the later part of the morning.)

Stage Four began around 4:00 p.m. when the three of them got home.  I had dragged myself out of bed for a pre-scheduled dr. appointment during this time, so I missed the putting away shoes and washing hands and getting a snack transition.  After all that transition stuff, Jay participated with the kids in their afternoon video time, coaching G on strategies and making sure Z got to choose a game too.

When I got home, the kids were ready for dinner, which I helped with a little.  But they supped on simple things like strawberries and cream cheese on toast, because Stage Five of Daddy Day leads directly to Stage Six, which is the most exciting of all.

Stage Five is an early bedtime for the boys, sleeping in the living room tent fully clothed with socks, because they'll need their clothes a few hours later.  Meanwhile, Jay is preparing a feast for two.  Over the past week, he's been collecting little special-for-us foods at grocery stores: black-wrapped extra-sharp white cheddar cheese, artichoke dip and pita crackers, mini-quiches, a berry tart, sparkling juice.  While the kids sleep in the tent, he and I will cozy up in our bedroom with a movie and our treats.

Oooooh, you know it, baby.

Then the Grand Finale of Daddy Day, Stage Six!  Jay is going to get up at 1 a.m., wake the boys, and take them to a mid-night meal at a 24-hour diner, just because.

What?!  How cool of a daddy thing to do is that?!  I don't even care if the kids are grumpy tomorrow.  They get to go somewhere that would be a treat even during daylight hours.  And to be asleep and then wake up in the middle of the night and go somewhere just with your daddy...WOW.

Seriously, that is almost exciting enough for me to want to join in.  Buuuut, I'm thinking I'll let Jay let me stay in bed.  I've still got another 13 hours of resting I get to do...no socks and shoes necessary!