I will sooooooo be winning the Bad Mommy award this week! Coach was worried, but I pulled it together at the last moment and totally nailed it in a lightning fast 30 minute routine!

After properly preparing, checking my clock and closing down my laptop, I launched into the first half of my program. As I thought to myself, "Wait...wasn't I concerned yesterday about the stove clock running a bit slower than normal?" the phone rang. Not recognizing the number on the caller ID, I didn't pick up the phone, but instead increased my pace. I took a lap around the first floor looking for my missing shoes, grabbing my keys off the counter as I picked up more speed.

The answering machine clicked on, and I heard a voice that really got my heart pumping - the BUS DRIVER! She is an experienced player, and as she explained that she was waiting at the end of the street, I was blown away by her speed and agility. I'd missed the pick-up...AGAIN! Yes, that's right, since this was the 2nd* time, I got bonus points from the Russian judge! Woo hoo!

OK, I was really on a roll. How was I going to follow this up? How was I going to capture the judges attention, really stand out from the rest? I hurried Pepper into the car, berated myself loudly and repeatedly, and whisked into Peanut's school a little late. Now, this is where I really pulled that win out of nowhere:

As I was talking to the teacher about Peanut's various issues, my peanut-allergic child got up from his special snack table, walked right up to us and grabbed another child's cookie off the general kid's table. You're never going to guess what kind of cookie it was!!!! I TOTALLY lucked out. That's right, it was a peanut butter cookie. Sometimes the odds just fall your way, right? Well, he didn't quite take a bite of it, but his lips definitely touched it, so it counts.

OK, so here's how I closed with a finish: I froze! It was only a few seconds, and yes, the teacher was closer to him, and okay, she has a peanut allergy herself and thus knows what to do, but still! Give me credit for really screwing up when I describe the sight of another woman hauling my child away from me, over to a sink and proceeding to scrub his face, inside and out, with sopping wet paper towels.

A note: being the orally oriented kid he is, he actually seemed to enjoy having wads of paper towels crammed in his mouth and rubbed around.

Ta da!!!! I think I really may have beaten the competition this week. Thank you all for your support and for believing in me!

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* OK, third time, but the first time it happened the substitute driver was over 10 minutes early, so that incident was ineligible from competition.