As I’ve mentioned before, Catie goes to a year-round school. It’s generally a 9-weeks-on, 3-weeks-off system, but the breaks at both Christmas and in the summer are a little bit longer. She had a 2-week Christmas break, followed immediately by her 3-week school break.

Long story short: she started back to school today. I don’t know why they’re starting back on a Thursday, calendars and county school systems are weird like that. But after 5 weeks off – and a whole lot of changes to Catie’s life in the past five weeks (like, oh, her dad moving across the street after living 3,000 miles away for the past 2.5 years) – I kind of guessed that she was going to have a hard time with the transition back to school. Catie isn’t an easygoing, go-with-the-flow kind of kid, so I was anticipating a few curve balls.

I was not, however, anticipating that the rest of us would have curve balls too.

Last night, I got the kids to bed, and Chris and I hung out, talked, and watched TV for a while. When I was getting ready for bed, I went to take my pills (I have a few that I take in the morning and at night for various and sundry reasons, mostly vitamins). And this is where, I am guessing, based on the next few hours, that I forgot to take the pill that helps me go to sleep.

We went to bed, and I could. not. sleep. Which normally isn’t a problem for me (because, again: I take a medication for insomnia). So, midnight rolls around, then 1:00… sometime around 1:45, Lucy came in and wanted to get in bed between me and Chris, and I let her climb up, because it was easier than fighting with her about it. And then I still couldn’t sleep. I think I finally dozed off sometime after 2:30 a.m. (That’s the last time I remember looking at the clock.)

So, the alarm went off and I (obviously) felt like hell. Catie woke up and said she had a tummy ache. I know from past experience that this had very little probability of being an actual physical ailment, and was more likely due to being nervous about going back to school. I cuddled with her a little bit, we talked, and then I got her to eat some toast to settle her stomach.

After that, it was like a normal morning: got myself dressed, got the kids dressed, got Catie’s lunch packed, the whole thing.

Then, it was time to brush Lucy’s hair. Which she hates. Because her hair tangles like crazy and I always end up yanking it too hard and hurting her. (Oddly enough, she will sit patiently and let Chris brush her hair, but if I try it? No way, no how.)

She started throwing a tantrum because of the hair-brushing, and Lucy is the type of kid that when she cries too hard, she pukes. And that’s what she did. Everywhere. At the exact moment that I needed to be taking the kids to school.

And this right here is when it comes in really handy to have a second adult in the house, because Chris basically saved my butt. I left my puke-covered toddler (and puke-covered bathroom) with him, while I took Catie to school. I got her there 5 minutes before the bell rang.

Then, I rushed back home (thinking how thankful I am that the kids’ school and daycare are both less than three miles from my house), picked up Lucy – who was calmed down and cleaned up, because apparently Chris is a wizard, I don’t even KNOW – and took her to daycare.

And now I’m at work trying to catch my breath and wake the hell up because I got a really lousy night’s sleep.

So yeah. First day back to school didn’t go quite like I’d planned. Here’s hoping it goes a little more smoothly from now on.