Abbie Standard Time

I'm instituting a new way of telling the time in our house.  It is called 'Abbie Standard Time' (AST).

Abbie is almost four and AST has come about because every time we leave the house, I have to adjust my watch FORWARDS by five to ten minutes.  This is to allow for the time difference between when I think we will have enough time to get where we need to go and the time Abbie adds to this estimate.  So when the clock says the time is 8:45am (time to go to school), it is actually 8:35 and there is still time left for the readjustment required.

How does she add to the time?  Well, on Tuesday morning, it was a last minute drawing that she had to do for her friend Emma which had to get put in an envelope.  Monday morning, we're walking to school and half way down the street she stops and starts going through her handbag.  She starts 'texting' a friend while chatting on her other phone and then starts fiddling around with her purse to try and put a five cent piece in it.  Arrgh!

On Tuesday afternoon, we need to leave the house to pick up the kids from Kid's Club and she's running around looking for her pink shoes.  She doesn't even need shoes.  She just needs to get in the car.  Yesterday morning we're trying to get to preschool and she's looking for her baby Jesus from playgroup that she wants to show for news.  This morning we're leaving and suddenly she's rushed off to find her OTHER pink jumper because the one she's got on at that moment isn't what she wants (not pink enough perhaps).

So with the time adjustment, I'm hoping that we'll start being on time again.  However, if I'm late - well, you know why now.