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Vacation
Why is it that when you most need a vacation, there is just no possible way you’ll get one?
That’s all I got today.
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Yaaaawn
Long day. Longer evening. Time to watch tv.
G’night. (And yes, this totally counts as a blog post; therefore, I still have not broken my streak.)
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Fumes
I have been on the go, nonstop, today. I left this house at 9am(ish), and didn’t return until 3:45pm. In that time, I killed a mile-long to-do list, and had lunch with my kids at school. Tired doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel right now. Definitely running on fumes, that’s for sure.
But, the fun’s not over yet!
I took a brief break from chores to post this blog (so I don’t have to sit down to do it later), so I will soon return to the glamorous everyday chores (that never get done every day, let’s be real). Al has track practice later (unless I learn a rain dance in the next few minutes…), and then a music lesson, and then we’ll have dinner, homework, and baths to accomplish before I can go fall over in a corner somewhere.
I’d love to say that after school is out (in just eight more school days!), our schedule eases up a bit, but since I’m working now that just won’t be the case. I just need to find ways to fit in lots of summer fun on my days off so the kids enjoy their break.
Wish me luck on that one. 😉
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#DWTS
If you know my kids, you know they love to dance. It’s not unusual to find a kitchen dance party happening at any given time at my house; it’s a great way to expend pent up energy, and it’s so fun! I love to see the kids show off all their moves, even if it means listening to the High School Musical soundtrack for the bazillionth time.
So, it seems like a natural progression for us to watch Dancing with the Stars. This is a show that we can all watch and enjoy together. This season, it’s inspirational as well as entertaining. Amy Purdy is a thrill to watch, James Maslow is raising awareness for Down syndrome and the importance of inclusion, and it’s been fun to see the rest of the cast grow in their dance abilities.
For the first time in a long time, I voted in a reality show competition. It’s probably not a surprise that I cast my votes for James, although all of those in the semi finals tonight are displaying amazing performances.
Are you watching? Who are your favorites?
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Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day: a special day to reflect on how fortunate I truly am to have these three wild kiddos.
We started our day like any week, by going to church, but today my mom joined us. It was nice to have her there with us, and we were able to snag some great pictures. Our day proceeded just as any Sunday does when my husband works; I did chores around the house and watched the kids play outside.
When my husband arrived home, though, I was spoiled with more gifts (my kids all made lovely gifts or wrote notes to me at school), and we headed out to dinner. Having worked several years in the restaurant industry in high school and college, I know that Mother’s Day is a cuh-razy day to eat out. We went anyway.
I was initially stressed about going, as the kids’ “listening ears” had been tossed out of the window early on in the day, but I’m glad we went (the two margaritas I enjoyed helped, too, ha!). My favorite parts of dinner? When I offered Alex some of my steamed broccoli, and he instead fed me a piece, then put his head on my shoulder and I thought we had a really sweet moment going on. Then, he looked up at me with his big, blue eyes and said “I farted!” I mean, who doesn’t laugh at that one, margarita or not?!?
Later, Andrew spied a mural at the restaurant which features a beloved local figure, and asked “Is that Jungle Jack Hanna?!?” Indeed, it was Jack Hanna in the mural, but Alex got all excited and shot up in his seat, asking “Where is Pastor Anna?!? Mr Carrot?” I hated to break it to him that Pastor Anna and Mr Garrett weren’t there at the restaurant (Garrett will probably forever be lovingly known as Mr Carrot as far as Al is concerned), and as much as I hated to disappoint Alex, I realized again (for the second time today!) how blessed we are to be surrounded by a church family that so carefully looks after our kids.
Even now as the kids are totally milking a thunder storm (they are all camped out on the couch, as if the storm will last for days), I’m reminded how lucky I am to be their mom. They drive me crazy on a daily basis, give me gray hairs, and trash my house, but I don’t know where I’d be without them. They are my sunshine, my shining stars, and my little monkeys. I am so proud of them, and so happy they made me a mommy.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in my life who have inspired me to be a better mom and treat my children as their own. I truly could not rule this duck pond without you. 😉
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Rainy Saturday
Rainy days can really take it out of you.
Al’s track meet was soggy, at best; we waited through two rain delays and really thought the whole thing was set to be cancelled, so we gave up. Alex had been begging to go home since we arrived, we were cold and wet, and there was standing water on the track. Of course, shortly after we left, I saw photos on Facebook of his friends after their races. Oh, well. He’ll look forward to the next meet!
After leaving the meet we learned that his baseball game had also been cancelled. My day was suddenly blown open, leaving only one meeting on my schedule. You’d think I would have the energy to clean the house, knock out a few loads of laundry, and catch up on some reading.
Nope.
I got sucked into Candy Crush, and now might polish my fingernails so they look nice for at least the beginning of the week. My ambition must have been washed away with the rain today.
I’ll look for it tomorrow.
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Frazzled Mom Brain
As a busy mom, I have to constantly keep track of many, many things for three other people (and sometimes four), plus myself. At any given moment, I need to know who needs to be where, what appointments need scheduled (or cancelled…and rescheduled), what products need purchased at the grocery store/drug store/Target/department store, whose friend has a birthday coming up and do they need a card/gift, which articles of clothing are needed for tomorrow (because you can bet they haven’t been laundered until the night before they’re needed!), which homework assignments are due (or were due, oops), when camp/soccer/dance/Special Olympics registrations open/close, when the library books are due…and for the love of everything pure and good, does the dog need to be let out?!?
This is not even a complete list, I assure you.
Just this afternoon, I found myself with a moment alone in the car as I made my way home from work. Was I enjoying the music on the radio or pondering the chances of rain for tonight? Nope. Here’s a little peek into my FMB…or, “Frazzled Mom Brain”:
“Gotta find Al’s uniform shirt for tomorrow. I wonder if Mark found his other shoe? Eh, he can wear the mismatched shoes again. He’ll hate that. If it rains tomorrow we’re screwed. Stuck outside at a track meet with a kid who doesn’t like rain? Swell. I hope they run on time. I can’t be late for my meeting tomorrow. I need to call that lady back. I’ll have to find her number on my desk. I really need to clean my desk off. The whole house needs scrubbed. Does anyone really do ‘Spring Cleaning’ anymore? Maybe I’ll do it on Sunday. Wait, that’s Mother’s Day. No way. What else can I get Mom? Not a plant; it might die while they are on vacation and I won’t have time to water it. I don’t have time to water my plants. I should put that on the kids’ chore lists. I bet they would flood the plants and make a huge mess and then the dog would track it all over the house. The dog! The dog needs to be let out before I leave the house again!”
And, thanks to my Java Chip Frappuccino Light, this entire train of thought occurred in about 8.3 seconds.
I think it’s well past time for me to crash for the night. We’re up and at ’em early tomorrow morning for another track meet!
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Hideout
With summer quickly approaching, I’ve been trying to think of fun, creative ways to keep the kids outside. There are too many indoor traps that will waste away their summer. While I do believe that they need breaks (it gets super hot and humid here some days!), and as long as they aren’t spending the entire day watching tv (quiet time and small doses to relax are fine), I want them to be outdoors.
I would love to build a fairy garden with Addie, and all three kids have an interest in growing vegetables. I have grand plans for landscaping, so there will plenty of outdoor chores to be done each day. I also had a brainstorm for creating a simple, yet functional, hideout for them. With the fenced in backyard, I think I can pull a clothesline diagonally across one of the corners. Then, I will somehow rig some fabric, creating a “wall” and allowing the kids a space to go into and have secret club meetings and whatever else kids do in a hideout. Even though I couldn’t think of an easier plan if I tried, the kids are so excited for the construction of their new space.
I really hope it works out. If not, I’ll have to formulate a Plan B, I suppose.
What other fun, creative activities can the little ducklings enjoy this summer? I’d love to hear your ideas!
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Craptastic Wonderland
It was a trying day. I noticed that many of my Facebook friends were also experiencing awful days. Something in the universe must be off.
Here’s a rundown of my lovely day:
6:40am – Hit snooze for the first time.
7:15am – At that point, I had crossed over the “I’ll just snooze for a minute” zone into “Damnit, now I’m gonna be late and everyone should freak out” zone.
8:22am – Herd two kids onto a school bus, just moments after nearly hogtying my eldest in order to get a bandaid on his wrist because he somehow managed to cut himself on the swingset (he does not care for bandaids). Fortunately, I was able to throw a clean shirt into his bag in case the school frowns upon blood stained clothing at school (apparently, they do, because he came home wearing Shirt #2). Hey, the kids didn’t miss the bus, so there’s that.
9:10am – I was early for preschool drop off! This turned into premature hope that today would turn around and become a stellar Wednesday. Those hopes were soon crushed.
9:24am – Ran into the grocery store to pick up a box of Zebra Cakes for the preschool snack on Thursday (they are studying Z this week, of course). To my dismay, the section of the shelf devoted to Zebra Cakes was totally empty. Cleaned out. I asked at the service desk if there was a secret stash somewhere other than that shelf, but learned that they won’t get a delivery of the cakes until Thursday afternoon. Super.
9:41am – Arrived back at home to finish getting ready for the day. Because Andrew’s class hosted a Mother’s Day Tea this morning, I went into work late, and therefore had some extra time. I hurried, though, so I would have time to make a stop at another grocery store to search for Zebra Cakes.
10:08am – Arrived at second grocery store, only to find that their shelves were depleted of the stupid Zebra Cakes, too. Seriously, wtf? Why does everyone want all the Zebra Cakes?!? All of the other snack cakes were fully stocked. Curious, indeed.
10:25am – Arrived back at school for a super cute program hosted by a sweet group of adorable preschoolers. I received several darling gifts from Andrew, which I will keep and admire forever. I should note that I am a severe pack rat and truly mean it when I say “forever”. I should also note that this part of my day was completely exempt from the “Craptastic” status.
11:45am – Made it in to my office, later than I anticipated, but I was ready to jump on my task list. Obviously, this ambition made it a perfect day for my computer to take 15 minutes to perform a system update, therefore throwing me even more off schedule for my abbreviated work day.
3:04pm – Went tearing out of my office, to pick up Alex from school for speech therapy, only to remember that the van’s gas light was on. Ugh! If I didn’t stop for gas, then we’d be walking home later. I also discovered that my car charger no longer works, and my phone was nearly dead. Fun!
3:30pm– Picked up Alex, and suffered through a 12 minute tantrum because I forgot his freaking Goldfish for an afternoon snack. I finally convinced him that a giant chocolate chip cookie from Starbucks would taste way better. At least he didn’t ask for Zebra Cakes.
4:22pm – Arrived at Al’s speech therapy appointment (early, again, in the same day!), and had a short while to do some reading (not leisurely reading, but more like homework).
6:03pm – After sitting in traffic for slightly over an hour, we made it home. Rush hour traffic can suck it.
Once I was home, the day (finally!) started to improve a bit. My mom found the Zebra Cakes and sent them home with Andrew this afternoon (big points for Nana!). The kids put on a big outdoor dance production after dinner, which was cool by itself (it’s finally warm enough to sit outside, hooray!), but the dog chose to take a big poop right in the background of their performance…while Mark was recording it. We couldn’t help but laugh. Gross, but funny. It’s almost bedtime, which means I finally get quiet time to enjoy without being disturbed (that is, if the Maisey stops barking at the birds and other dogs outside).
Maybe the key to having a bad day is to sit down and list out all the bad things that happened, like I did here? After reading it, I realize that none of it is truly “bad”, but just kind of irritating; some of it is even funny (or perhaps that’s just my witty personality shining through…sure, let’s go with that). Plus, it did help me appreciate the good things about my day even more that I might have if things had been uneventful.
Whatever the answer is, I’m hoping to not spend another day in Craptastic Wonderland tomorrow. I wish the same for you, too.
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Headache
Boo to headaches.
High stress levels and bright flashes of light (like reflections of the sun on a passing car) can be an ominous combination, at least for me, in that it can trigger an ocular migraine. I was not in the mood to deal with this, which is probably why one struck. Trust me, these are the least fun things ever. Eventually, a dull, throbbing headache settles in and sometimes hangs out for a few days. This particular episode seems rather mild, but I’ve spent some time sending emails tonight, and I am more than ready to call it a night.
Sleep well, friends.
PS – how is it only Tuesday?!?