I survived.

Well, I survived my first day of work. Barely. And not without a few tears. But so long as people stop asking me about my children and everyone else in the general public keeps their children at home so that I don't have to see kids at all, I will be ok. It is kind of a shame that these first 3ish weeks are long hours and almost complete communication deprivation - because it is definitely not easing me in to work full time. But I have a lot of hope that once this "training" is over and I'm actually doing substantive work (next week), I'll find it all a lot more enjoyable.

This is going to be a short entry because I'm exhausted, but I do have two quick stories that I don't want to forget.

First, Charlotte, as I have mentioned before, is a determined little booger. The other day, after we had lunch with Heather, I hear some munching going on in the back seat. I look back and see that she's chewing on her shoe. I'm sure my mother wouldn't be pleased with me, but I decided to let her just keep chewing because, well, I knew that taking it away from her would create a heck of a tantrum. A few minutes later, though, I look back and she's clearly chewing on something and its not her shoe. So I take a look at the shoe in question and she has actually removed a chunk from the toe. I take off the shoe.

Chewing noises continue. I look in the back and she has chewed a hole in her sock and is pulling strings out of it. So I took off the sock. And look back 30 seconds later and she is chewing on her toe. Determined.

And a very short one about Elisabeth. She is well mannered. So well mannered in fact that she even remembers her manners during nightmares. Lately she's been talking in her sleep every few nights. Usually I'm too out of it to know what she's saying, but let's just say the last few nights I have not been sleeping. So last night, she wakes up and hollers something that is mostly just jabber. Then she cries out. And says, "I said NO THANK YOU. I ssaaaaaid NO THAAAAANK YOU!" I had a little chuckle thinking about what she might be dreaming about. What her nightmares are about. My best guess is that it is evil mommy trying to get her to eat something with herbs on it.

So, tomorrow is day 2. I decided at the outset that the only way I can get through this time is to take it a day at a time. Tomorrow will be a day about like today. Lots of lectures, out by 4ish.