Grand Schemes

Such grand schemes I had today. I was going to leisurely write an entry on here, get a LOT of projects done around the house (while working around a doctor's appointment which is why I wasn't at school), exercise for thirty minutes. Ha!

The day started when I got up to eat breakfast with the kids so I could send them on their merry way. And it might have been merry had it not been for a certain little boy who has been a roller coaster of emotions since the time change. Oh my. The youngest has always been a bit high energy and high maintenance (slightly...not as much as he could be :). But the past couple of weeks...no words to describe it. He did get up happy enough, even willingly sat in his high chair (that varies from day to day). And he was just fine until his banana fell apart. Then he was not fine. And that set his mood for the rest of the morning. It was only an hour, but when Mark finally walked out of the house with him, I was wiped out for the day!

My first order of the day was grocery shopping. I had a BUNCH of other things I really wanted to do be doing (not even "relaxing stuff", more like cleaning/organizing). But the grocery store was a priority. I made a menu for the week and I needed the supplies. I will say that it was a treat to go to the store by myself and not after dark when I have taught and mommied all day. It is still not one of my favorite chores, but it was much needed. (Side note...I have really been making an effort to cook more)

Just to show you how tense I still was from the morning, I impulsively (which I don't do often) bought a devotion book called Time Out for Tired Moms. Of course, I am not sure when I will get a chance to read it, but simply buying it and knowing I wasn't alone was a bit of therapy for me...

I came home and had just enough time to put the groceries away before heading to my appointment. (Just a checkup)

After the appointment, I swung by Target to pick up a few needed items for my organization efforts. Then I drove through Sonic to grab a light (are Cheddar Bites light :) lunch. By the time I ate and relaxed for just a minute with a magazine, I had about an hour and a half to do any kind of organizing which is what I had hoped to do a lot of. Sigh!

I had a long list of projects I wanted to work on, like our laundry room, a pile of magazines I need to deal with, filing bills/invoices, cleaning out our son's closet, cleaning out underneath our kitchen sink. But I decided to work on a hall closet that had gotten out of control. I also needed to create a little space for the girls' overflow clothing. Winter clothes are so bulky anyway. When you have two little girls sharing a room, well, clothes, clothes, everywhere! So now one of our hall closets has two plastic drawers where we can put the overflow clothes. Then I can cycle them in and out as they get washed. I also tackled a mess of wrapping paper, gift wrap, and bows that had exploded all over a hall closet. I didn't quite finish but I did get most of it the way I wanted it.

So after all my grand schemes, that is what I accomplished. One doctor's appointment, a few groceries, and a somewhat organized closet.

Sigh again.

After school, I picked up the kiddos. Not surprisingly, the youngest's teacher admitted, "He has been a bit ornery today." (Do you think I was surprised? Only that I don't hear that more often :)

After snacks, I announced that we would play in the garage (so I could clean it). The kids LOVE to do that...they get to play on the driveway which we don't do very often...I worry too much about safety. They were ready to go. And play they did. They had a wonderful time playing. As for me, well, that grand scheme of cleaning was a bit out of reach. The two younger children require full time supervision since they have yet to find any kind of fear of the road and its occupants. I did get a few boxes moved around and hopefully cleaned out so I don't hear any complaints form the peanut gallery about how hard it is to park in there...time will tell on that one.

The kids would have stayed out forever. We ended up with a yard full of neighborhood kids plus my own. There was sidewalk chalk all over the driveway, basketballs rolling down the street, scooters and bikes parked by the side of the road. And when he could, Child 4 just delighted in running around the yard. Cheap fun. My favorite kind!

I did finally force my kiddos inside so I could get started on dinner.

The bad news is my grand schemes were just that-schemes...nothing more. Nothing every truly came to fruition. I even thought (mistakenly) that having that time alone would help me not feel so tired at night. As I sit here fighting to stay awake, it is clear to me that it is who I am right now...has nothing to do with my day or my daily activities. It is also clear that I need a whole week of no kids, no interruptions. One day is just not enough.

The good news is that I did get a little down time (even just belting out a song with my i-Touch with nobody there to tell me how bad it was :), much needed.

Tomorrow, it is back to school.

More later!
Reba