Life with kids

Today started out like any other post-duty day. I was able to sleep in until 7:30 when the alarm on my phone began to buzz angrily. I hit the snooze and lay staring at the ceiling and calling out orders to the kids to get dressed and clean up. Somehow I managed to lie there until 8 AM. Oops. I heaved myself out of my ever so comfortable-and-calling-out-to-stay-in-it bed and made my way slowly to the bathroom to do my business and brush my teeth and hair and stuff. I definitely missed the shower wagon by lying in bed until 8. It's such a rare treat these days, I was enjoying my lounging.

Boy, did I pay for that lounging. I managed to get downstairs and I managed to throw the kids together a semi-decent lunch that included a sandwich on whole wheat bread, fresh strawberries, cherry tomatoes, choice of yogurt or cheese, and pretzel rods, and a drink. Somewhere in the mist of all the chaos of me shooing kids out of the kitchen because they were trying to sneak in boxes of "Crunch N' Munch" and bags of pepperoni into their lunch boxes - it happened. The mother of all tantrums. I had looked in my daughter's back pack and her homework for the entire week was shoved into the bottom of her backpack, all crumpled up, and undone! I through a fit. She had shown me last week's papers all week which were finished and I fell for it! I had no clue she was not doing her homework all week. So I politely informed her that she would come home and sit at the table until all three days (short week this week) of her homework was complete. I then told her she could escort herself to bed directly after homework and dinner. No playing today. There would be no time because she saved herself three hours of homework. I made sure she realized this was a direct result of her own actions.

And so it began. That high-pitched-tornado siren-quality scream-that-has-probably-slowly-aided-to-the-process-of-me-going-deaf-over the past few years-scream. The scream of all screams that the Hubby and I first heard that very first day she came home from the hospital. We were blissfully napping and the tornado siren went off right next to our heads. We sat up with a "Wha--?" on our lips and confusion in our eyes before we realized the high-pitched scream from hell was coming from our brand-spanking-new sweet Princess. Yes, that scream that we thought was past us as she gets older. But no, apparently she still pulls it from the depths of her little seven-year-old toes and unleashes it on the unsuspecting when things don't go her way. I managed to get the boys lined up by the door and I had to go and get right by my daughter's ear to let her know either she walked out to our vehicle to go to school or I was carrying her like a sack of potatoes to our vehicle. Since all her friends could see that, she decided against not going to school today and followed us out to our vehicle. I somehow managed to get them to school in one piece and quietly. I was thanking the stars when I pulled away from the school in blissful silence.

Ah, what was I thinking? I celebrated too soon. I ran into the grocery store for one item and unfortunately for me, the check out line was lined with bags of jelly beans. Only the evil Grandparents and Childless Managers or Managers whose children are grown so they enjoy torturing the parents of the young would line check out lanes with hundreds of bags of jelly beans. Naturally my youngest clamped onto a bag of the evil little sugary pebbles and wouldn't let go. I pried it from his determined little fingers and managed to make it up to the express line after they opened it. He has quite the little scream hiding down there in his toes, too, let me tell you. He screamed while I paid, he screamed while I carried him out. I set him down 30 feet from our vehicle because my arms were breaking and I told him to walk to it and get in. Nothing doing. I had to go over and heave him into my wary arms and I politely informed him he would need to sit on the "I need a break" stool when he got home. He said "NO!" and got down and walked.

I thought I was finished then. I thought my day would go smoother. But no, the fates had one more treat for me up their sleeves. Fate starred me in my very own trash bag commercial. You know the one. The one where the housewife picks up the trash bag out of the trash can and all of the trash falls out the bottom of the bag. Yeah, that one. Only my trash bag held out until I was standing right next to the big can outside, then it gave up. Right next to the freaking trash can. So all of those gross leftovers I had just dumped into my bag were now all over my driveway with little bits of dirty cat litter clumped with them. Oh, yuck and double yuck. I managed to clean it up and now I have been enjoying a hot breakfast and a moment of peace.

Well, maybe not so much peace. My youngest has thrown another tantrum while I typed this. Please, offer me the strength of steel and the patience of an angel to get through my life with kids.

Sweet

My oldest told me this morning that a friend at school that he (my son) shares his lunches with gave me a compliment.

My son: "(Friend)" said I am very lucky to have a Mom who cares who packs such yummy and healthy foods every day for me to eat."

As an afterthought My son said: "He said you are a good cook, too."

:-)

Let's see what his friend has to say about my Vegetable Medley today, lol. (Zucchini, squash, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and a little onion soup mix for seasoning)

Neglectful

Boy, has it been a long time since I have updated here. It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's just that I have been keeping busy elsewhere. I've been trying to stay off of the computer. I'm not all that successful, but I have been on less, at least.

All of the kiddos are doing well. They recently passed out report cards at school. The two middle children are on the Superintendent's List (STAR, and I saw their names on TV!) and my oldest is on the Honor Roll. I'm very proud of them all. They have worked hard. Well, the two middle children have worked hard! My oldest is ahead of the rest of his classmates and repeating what he has already done. I am planning on writing a note to find out what they are working on exactly and what is next so maybe I can move ahead with him at home. His science grade was his one B, so I have requested of J that he bring home his Science book every night, but he has yet to do so. I'm going to have to get tough on him.

Some big news...I think my youngest has finally got this poohing thing! He has been hopping up and running for the bathroom saying he has to go poopy, and then he does! I'm so excited! It's music to my ears to hear him hop up on his own (without the Mommy asking him) and saying he has to go. He has been something like five days to a week accident free! Yay, little man! I knew you could do it!

My daughter had an accident where her shoe came off at the park a couple weeks ago. She tripped over the shoe, did some unintentional somersaults, and came away with a buckle in her wrist. ::sigh:: She's on week three of wearing a cast. We had to go and have her cast replaced this weekend because my oldest splashed water on her original one. It just never ends. I'm more than a little surprised that it is my calm and quiet little girl that is the one who ends up with broken bones. My rough and tumble boys just seem to bounce. I guess little girls don't bounce. Mine doesn't, anyway.

Other than that, not too much going on. Same old same old. I hope everyone is having a beautiful day!