This is a simple story of a simple family trying to slow down this crazy life and enjoy the "moments"...



Monday, April 9, 2012

A Little Frayed....

This post has no deeper meaning.
No profound revelation.
No spiritual side...really.

It's simply a personal attempt to reconcile with myself why I feel the way I do today.
Self centered....yes it is.
Self focused....oh yes.
Fair warning....given.
But my weary body and over-stimulated mind need some justification.

So......

5:30 alarm goes off.
Snooze until 5:45.

Get up, make bed, get dressed.
Pack "running bag".
Realize that my right eye hurts too much to wear a contact and decide to try today with just one in.
Let dogs out.
Make 3 lunches.

Enjoy coffee while reading the Bible for a bit.

Empty dishwasher.
Check kids' take-home folders (because I forgot over the weekend).
Feed and water dogs.

6:55: wake up kids.

Tell 5 year old who's screaming and sobbing "I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP" to simply go ahead and wake up and get dressed and come on down when the tantrum is over.

Tell 11 year old that I realize he has no clean jeans and it's simply because all of his jeans are laying around in his room instead of in the dirty clothes where they have the potential to become clean at some point.

Extricate myself from the hugs of a sleepy 8 year old because I suspect he's simply using me to sleep standing up.

7:05: breakfast for kids.
Review spelling words with boys.

7:15: tell 5 year old that if she continues to cry over the fact that I gave her orange juice (which she asked for and has since changed her mind) she will have to go back to her room.

7:16:  send howling 5 year old back to her room.

Remind boys four times to pack tennis and fiddle paraphernalia and grab water bottles.

7:25:  tell 3 year old she can bring her breakfast in the car.

7:35:  load up car.
Negotiate with 11 year old to give front seat privileges to 8 year old so I can hear said 8 year old do his reading homework (which was forgotten over weekend) in the car.
Send boys back in for their tennis and fiddle paraphernalia.

7:55:  Drop boys off at school.

8:15: Drop 5 year old off at pre-K.
Meet friend at pre-school for 5 mile run.
Realize that I MIGHT have enough time to shower if I hurry (thus rendering "running bag" with wet wipes, ball cap and change of clothes useless).

9:18: arrive home
Shower and get ready.
Fold 2 loads of laundry.
9:40 leave for boys' school.

10:00:  spend an hour helping out in 2nd grade class.
Attempt to figure out what "special sounds" are and what the "secret code" for "-ing suffixes" translates into.
Interrupt teacher whom I'm supposed to be helping to find out what the secret suffix code means.
Fake code knowledge to a bunch of 8 year olds.

11:10: leave for a city 15 miles south of here to solidify cabinet plans for new house.
Return 2 phone calls while driving.
Take tylenol for "one-contact" induced headache.

11:30: arrive at appointment and begin to thoroughly confuse both myself and the poor cabinet guy.

12:00:  agree on EVERYTHING and attempt to pay down payment.
Discover they don't take American Express.
Discover that I am completely out of checks.
Promise to drive the 19 miles tomorrow to bring a check.

12:15:  head back to Joplin to shop at Sam's.
Remember I have no checks.
Go to Wal-Mart.

1:25:  Arrive back home and unload groceries.
Loose several bottles of water down ultra-steep driveway when bag breaks.
Retrieve water bottles and put away groceries.

1:40: Begin to scrub black crayon residue out of dryer with suggested Magic Eraser.

2:15:  Realize that cleaning the dryer is going to take WAY longer than anticipated.
Hang clothes from washer over mops and brooms and coat hooks in hopes they won't mildew before I get the dryer clean.

2;37: leave to pick up nephew from school.

2:45: retrieve precious boys (complete with 3 backpacks and a large empty pretzel box) and head out to my boys' school.

3:05:  pick up my sons and take youngest 3 to tennis.
Remind youngest 3 to take their tennis stuff out of car.
Remind youngest 3 to get their tennis stuff out of the back of my car.
Remind youngest 3 to GET THEIR STUFF OUT OF THE CAR.

3:30:  Take 11 year old to fiddle lesson.
Sit in car like lazy delinquent mom and almost fall asleep.

4:00 take 11 year old to Starbucks because mommy really needs a coffee he is starving and I forgot to bring him a snack.

4:30: Pick up youngest 3 from tennis.
Remind them to bring their stuff to the car.
Remind them to get their stuff and put it in my car.
Put their racquets in the back of the car.

4:50:  Trade my nephews for my daughter.
Pick up a load of my kids' clothing that my sister-in-law has collected over the week.
Notice that it has a pair of clean jeans in it for my 11 year old.
Bonus.

5:15: start potatoes.
Force Help 8 year old go through papers and do homework.
Go over to new house to stake out potential fence.
Help 5 year old retrieve and drive her barbie jeep.
Remind children to get their stuff and put it away.
Put jeep away and come home to start grill.

6:30: finish cooking.
Listen to 11 year old practice fiddle.
Agree to let kids watch a movie with dinner if they will just FOR THE LOVE OF PETE get their showers done before dinner.

7:00 Pray with family and then head to dryer to magically erase the black crayon.
Continue scrubbing.
Move to 2nd magic eraser.
Get 8 year old a bowl of strawberry ice cream.
Move to 3rd magic eraser.
Open Popsicle for 5 year old.

8;10:  Put 5 year old to bed.
Notice that she has gotten into her medicine (cream) without an adult.
Have serious talk with 5 year old.
Tell 5 year old to stop shrieking and make better choices.

8:25: Walk into boys' room.
Tell 11 year old to go back downstairs and pick up his stuff.
Tell 8 year old to pick up his stuff and put away his laundry.
Tell 11 year old to pick up his stuff in room.
Tell 8 year old to pick up his stuff in room.
Feed guinea pig and chinchillas some raisins.

8:40:  Put away folded laundry.
Find that RH has helped clean the dryer.
Move to 4th magic eraser and finish dryer.
Make coffee for next day.
Run "test load" in dryer.
Pick flooring and doors for new house.
Send emails regarding new doors and floor.
Clean new black marks out of dryer.
Run another "test load".

9:30:  shower again because I'm so sweaty from scrubbing dryer.
Feed and water dogs.
Clean kitchen.
Eat an apple because I completely missed dinner.
Send/return emails.
Start load of wash.
Sit down at computer.

And that's it....I'm not getting up again.
I may sleep here.
I may make it to the carpeted couch and sleep there.
At least I got the other contact out.

I think?












1 comment:

Amy and Alan said...

I really loved reading this :) I thought my day was crazy with just one baby, one husband, one house, and two jobs. I was so wrong! You are an amazing woman!