What a strange day

I am having one of those strange days when nothing goes exactly according to plan. Nothing is going catastrophically wrong, but nothing is quite right either. It all started on my ride this morning... the very large road I was riding on was suddenly closed. Just a big barrier on the road, coming out of nowhere. So, I take a left to take a backroad I know. Wait, that road is closed, too. So, I backtrack and do a different route. With a couple miles left to go, my gears stop shifting, and I'm stuck in the lowest gear - basically sort of just coasting, with my legs going at like 1000 rpm. Very frustating. Then, I get home and pack up the kids to meet my friend Trish and her younger daughter at a local audobon center. I decide to take the interstate one exit to avoid the surface traffic. Except that the interstate is at a standstill... one of those things where you are on the entrance ramp, see the traffic, and just wish you could put it in reverse! So, we made it to meet Trish a few minutes late. But wait, there is some sort of field trip/science fair going on at the audobon center. There are kids running all over the place and the little museum is packed. Instead of a relaxing morning looking at animals and walking trails, I am frantically trying to keep track of my boys amongst the millions of other kids on site. Still, they had fun, and Trish and I did manage to catch up. We get home, and Parker is just super tired. He doesn't even touch his lunch, which is very unusual for him. By the time I read to him and get him settled for his nap, he's developed a fever. Poor little peanut. All in all, just an off day so far.

If anyone is looking for an epilogue on the search for Brandon's watch, I've got a good one for you. We never have found Brandon's Thomas watch. Chad, being the sweetie that he is, picked him up a $3 watch the next day at a local drugstore. Brandon was thrilled. He even wore it to preschool this week. A couple days after he got it, Brandon showed us that it wasn't working anymore. Chad asked Brandon if he had dropped it anywhere, and Brandon said he had. Chad and I just looked at each other and kind of thought, "well, you get what you pay for. no surprise it didn't survive a fall." A few hours later, Brandon came to me and said, "Mommy, I remembered where I dropped my watch. It was in the potty at preschool." Turns out that the watch fell off his wrist in the school toilet, and Brandon had fished it back out and put it back on, nice and wet and urine-soaked. Did he wash his hands afterwards? I sure hope so. Did Chad and I both touch the watch that day to see why it wasn't working? Yep, we sure did. Good times.