I Didn't Mean To

I have had an incredibly productive day on the home front.  And now I am exhausted and would kill for a nap.  This level of fatigue combined with four children and a sugar crash are a dangerous combination.

My day began with registering my youngest for Pre-Kindergarten.  Actually let's back that up.  The day began with getting everyone and myself ready and then driving my daughter to school, stopping for a much needed coffee, and then carrying on to the elementary school to drop off Reese (in Grade 1) and register Rhett.

We sat in chairs thoughtfully provided to us by staff and filled out paperwork.  Rhett sat between myself and one of my very best good friends.  My coffee, another one of my very best good friends, sat on the floor between Rhett and I.  Rhett was bored and wanted no part of this process this morning and was fidgety.  At least twice I asked him to watch out for my coffee.  Yes, I should have just moved it.  I should've have moved it because after the second or third time I told him to watch out, he said, in a monotone: "Sorry, Mom".

It took a minute to register and then I looked at floor and saw the rapidly spreading puddle of coffee.

Fuck.

So the vice-principal, whom I happen to be related too (kind of distantly), proceeded to bring me some paper towel.  You know, that brown stiff kind that has the absorbency of a paper bag.  Then he mopped up the remainder of the mess.

All the while, his thin wife, wearing make-up, was sitting across from my fiasco with her two clean well behaved little girls.  Rhett was relatively clean.  I am not thin nor was I wearing make-up and Rhett was doing his best to not be well behaved.  

This afternoon was spent cleaning while trying to keep Rhett entertained.  This means he "helped" me with the dishes and he "helped" me with the vacuuming and the laundry.  Then for whatever Godforsaken reason we had to 'race' across the living room floor.  Then we baked cookies.  Then finally, he relented and agreed to watch a movie.  I let him eat three cookies and watch TV.  Bad parenting?

Nope.

You see, I'm still sober.  Had he not relented, I cannot promise that would be the case.

I did enjoy a cookie or two (five) myself.  Which explains the sugar crash.  You'd think I'd learn but given my proclivity for both sugar and alcohol, and repeated hangovers and sugar crashes, it's not happening.  This is the one area in life where I can honestly say I'm a slow learner.

Well, that and a great deal of sports-related topics.

Okay, well I just had to take a little writing break to hobble off the couch and state: "I didn't mean to have four kids either, but here we are" while putting Rhett on a time out.  His newest trick is blatantly disobeying us and then when we move towards disciplining him he pleads "I didn't mean to!".  So obviously, the best parents respond with a sarcastic comment regarding misguided family planning...

And I'm hobbling because my body reacts to financial stress by completely seizing up on the left side.  Isn't that fun?  So after sitting still here for the last twenty minutes, my gait resembles someone with a stick shoved up their you-know-what.

Never mind a nap.  Never mind a cookie.  I need something much stronger.  I need daycare!

And tomorrow, I get just that to allow me some uninterrupted work-time.  I've never looked more forward to work in my life.

So yes, daycare is the solution.  And maybe just one more cookie?

Worth the Wait

This is my third attempt at writing this post.  The first one I deleted accidentally, the second one was too whiny and self-serving.  So here I go again; Round Three.

I want to start by saying how frustrating it is for me, personally, not being able to post daily as I did for most of the summer.  I am exceedingly grateful to all of you who follow me and comment and have stuck with me through thick (this summer) and thin (the present). 

So I no longer work full time but cannot find the time or energy to post daily.  What I neglected to account for was the full tilt schedule our family runs on September through November.  There is football, soccer, swimming lessons and hockey.  I am also running a bit of a home-based business.  So between that and the kids' extra-curricular activities, every evening and weekend are currently spoken for.

At times I'll start writing a post in my head and then abandon it because I either don't have the energy and/or the time to get it down 'on paper'.  For instance, I took part in a Bridal Show this weekend and that would've provided some great material but now, it's gone, lost in the abyss of the twenty million things I have running through my mind at any given moment.

Yesterday was my day off from my part-time gig.  You know the one where I wear my uniform, stand for the entire shift and negotiate the strange and mysterious workings of the 24 Hour Clock.  That job, turns out, while easy-peasy brain-wise, is beginning to wreak havoc on me physically.  Sore feet, sore legs, sore hips...no fun.  Then to top it all off, my first day off, Sunday, I spent at the Bridal Show, also on my feet, in heels, assaulting women with jewelry.  That did not help the sore-ness factor. 

And yesterday, my second day off, was spent trying to save our home from being featured on an upcoming episode of Hoarders.  So now my back, neck and shoulders hurt too.  I am not a neat-freak.  I may have mild Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) but trust me, this house needed cleaning.  I was merely trying to achieve a state of cleanliness that would allow me to walk barefoot in my home comfortably and enter a bathroom without gagging.  No search for perfection here, just livability.

I know I'm not alone.  I know there are a number of you who are in the same boat. Running from one day to the next; eating standing up if you're eating at all, washing floors when you'd much rather be either playing with your kids or napping.  Or maybe even eating a warm meal while seated...

I've heard it's possible.  Sometime after your youngest child moves out and the oldest one moves back in. 

For the time being, I'll settle for the fact I got to watch a full episode of Ellen this morning and the shared memory of my daughter and I, both belly up to the counter last night (I've taught her well), eating freshly baked (by her) peanut butter chocolate chips cookies.  Not speaking but instead standing side by side staring out the window basking in the perfect combination of cookies and milk.  It was a mere five minutes that made the day a little more bearable.

And today's measure of bear-ability will be somewhat improved upon knowing I got a small piece of the day to write.  For me.  And for you, but mostly for me.

Hopefully it was worth the wait.