ATYPICAL DAY

No......


That is NOT a typo. I don't have typical days. They are, as a rule, Atypical.


But, I DO enjoy reading about other moms and their days. Maybe you enjoy it, too.


***Disclaimer*** I am not proofing this tonight. I apologize for typos and/or grammatical errors.


I am going to highlight yesterday and today. I don't really know how this type of post will flow. I've never (to my remembrance) done a post like this. It might be more like a schedule. It might have anecdotes with certain parts. I might hate it and never do it again. You might hate it and stop reading in the middle.


It seems that lately, people (moms) feel the need to justify what they do during the day. I do not think I am one of those moms. If my husband has issues with what I do, or don't do, then we will discuss it. It will be taken care of. Others really don't make me feel badly about how much I accomplish.


My husband is great, in that he is understanding. When he does come home, he helps out a lot. He will ask me where he can be the most help. Sometimes, I just need a break. He will let me sleep late. He will get the kids' lunches ready. He will run them to lessons. He will sign folders. He is just awesome. My days are different when he is home. I try to hang out with him, as much as possible.


BUT, I digress.


SO, Monday morning.


3:00 a.m. DS #1 comes into my room, unable to sleep. Thinking his room is hot, I let him lay on my bed, unaware that DS #3 had already climbed into bed. (That means that I only managed cat naps until time to wake up.)


Alarm at 6. I got out of bed and started to work on making myself presentable as I had a VERY important outing coming up.


I let the kids sleep as late as possible, which ended up almost being too late. They got out of bed at 7. Between lunches, getting everyone out of bed, breakfasted, teeth brushed, dressed, and myself finished..... well, we didn't get out of the house until 7:48..... a bit problematic, as we have to leave at 7:40 to prevent the need for Mom to drive like a bat out of h-e-double hockey sticks. But, we made it. RIGHT. ON. TIME.


My outing was small part business, part celebration, part therapy. My friend just graduated college....I took her to lunch in order to celebrate. BUT, we did have to go to the Lobby, Dollar Tree, Party City :-D .... a typical monthly outing for the 2 of us. We were gone from 8:30 until 2:30.


Picked up 3 kids at 3:15, then sat in line to pick up the last kid about 4. THEN, home..... to 4 showers, 2 piano practices, 1 guitar practice, 1 saxophone practice, 2 JBQ practices, 2 homework packets, 2 in bed at 8:00, 3 songs, multiple prayers, pass out meds for pain in ears, sore throat, coughing, laying out clothes for the kids, make a grocery list.....


OK.... so my play days aren't really anything impressive, or fun to read..... :-/
Let's try today.


Got up a bit earlier. Well, not me. I got up about 6:15, but I got the kids up at 6:45. Better. I needed the kids (one of them, anyway) to eat a good breakfast as they have standardized testing this week. AND, since I got up at a decent time, I decided to go workout. Until....


Until I could not find my workout clothes.


Yes.... I am horribly behind in laundry. *sigh*


SO.... I get the kids out of bed at 6:45. Today is trash day. One boy gathers trash. One takes the trash out and to the curb. One replaces trash bags. The younger 3 return the trashcans back to the side of the house in the afternoon.


~6:45 - kids out of bed. Sausage and biscuits for 3, cereal for 2, chocolate milk and graham crackers for 1. Get them dressed, teeth brushed, dogs fed, trash gathered. (Yelling out commands, much like a drill sergeant, all the while making lunches for the 4...... 6 chicken nuggets, 3 chicken sandwiches (1 with crust removed) 1 peanut butter and honey sandwich, 1 bottle apple juice, 1 bottle of water, 3 juice pouches, 4 puddings with plastic spoons, 1 package peanut butter and jelly crackers. 7 chocolate chip cookies, 1 piece of buttery garlic toast, 1 small bag of Cheez Its, 1 baggie of BBQ Pringles, 1 baggie of regular Pringles, 1 baggie of sour cream and onion Pringles, 1 graham cracker, 4 pears, and 1 nutrigrain bar.


~7:40 - leave the house
~7:55 - DS #1 dropped off at school
~8:07 - DS #2, 3, 4 dropped off at school
~Drive for 15 minutes to get to nearby town
~Filled up FTU
~Vacuumed out FTU
~Ran FTU through carwash
~Went to grocery store
~Went and got a CFAST (with a chicken biscuit chaser)
~Got home about 10:00 (ate on the way home)
~Unloaded groceries
~Decided to wipe down inside of FTU (about 45 minutes)
~Talked on phone with *business manager* regarding paperwork
~Unloaded dishwasher
~Reloaded dishwasher
~Went to check on dogs
~Decided to cut out 5 - 6 gnarls out of golden retriever's coat
~Brushed golden
~Brushed mutt (though he is a short-haired pooch, he needed the love)
~12:30 - ish: started laundry
grrrrrrrrrr
~worked on laundry until about 2:45
~Left to pick up young'ins
~Picked up #2 and was immediately assaulted with complaints of ear hurting (This is the kid who had strep the week before Spring Break, had strep and flu symptoms, with no real issues 1 week after Spring Break, and had skin issues taken care of 2 weeks after Spring Break)
~Sat under barrage while waiting for #3 and #4
~During 30 minutes before picking up #1, sped to WM to pick up #2's sport's goggles
~Pick up #1
~home about 4:15
~get kids changed, dogs fed, snacked up, lesson stuff grabbed, talk about their days....
~5:15 leave for lessons.
~5:30 drop 2 kids off at piano lessons
~5:45 get 1 kid to guitar lessons.
~leave #1 in FTU with #4 long enough to pay for guitar lessons (yes, honey.... I paid a week early because I thought this week was next week.)
~get back in FTU
~send #1 into guitar
~decide to suck it up and make it easier on myself and go BACK to CFA to buy dinner: (Two 6-piece kids' meals with Sprites, one 8-count meal with Sprite, one chicken sandwich meal, no pickles, with Sprite, one chicken sandwich meal WITH pickles and large DP)
~6:30 pick up #1 from guitar
~6:45 pick up #2 and #3 from piano
~eat in FTU, spitting out instructions to NOT make a "mess in the FTU 'cause I just cleaned it out!"
~have trash cans picked up
~miss phone call due to transitioning into house with piano books, CFA trash, kids, and guitar
~give kids a bit of down time while returning call
~sit outside talking on phone, while witnessing a Nerf sword fight gone ugly between #2 and #3. All the while #3 is yelling at #4 for playing with his (#3's) basketball because last time "he let it roll into a puddle, MOM!"
~beg off phone conversation in order to: check for blood, scold, threaten, and hide Nerf swords
~#4 takes a shower (his 3rd alone....ever)
~sniff check on #4 (hair washed)
~tell #3 to stop crying
~tell #2 to be nice as he is telling #3 that it is a Nerf "WAR! which means you are going to get hit!"
~told by #3 that I was a bad mom and that he wanted to leave the family
~asked #3 who I should call
~(all of this is going on while #2 volleys cries of "my ear hurts." (YES I KNOW YOUR EAR HURTS I'M
SORRY THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT AT THE MOMENT #3 WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP CRYING I'M NOT REALLY GOING TO MAKE YOU LEAVE THE FAMILY!)
~7:40 put myself in timeout
~7:41 call DH to vent
~7:50 answer timid knock on the door by #4
~7:50 informed by #4 that #3 has run away (mildly concerned)
~7:51 led outside by #4 to have #3 jump out of bushes yelling "SURPRISE! I didn't really run away. I'm sorry, Mom."
~7:52 my heart melts as I kiss and hug my third son
~7:53 go to tell #2 it is time for JBQ
#2?
#2?
NUMBER TWOOOOOOOOO!?!??!?!?!?
~Look in all bedrooms
~Look in all closets
~ask all brothers
~look in front yard
~look in backyard
~look in garage
~holler again
~start to wonder if #2 got mad enough about ear and the "Mommy Breakdown" to start walking down the street
~Hear #2 call (find out that he was in the backyard when youngest brother locked door. When he heard me yell, he climbed to front while I was in back.....we kept missing each other)
~Say silent prayer that none of my sweet boys decided to actually leave home
~8:00 put #3 in the tub
~8:00 put #1 in the shower
~start to study JBQ with #2 with more "My ear hurts."


*****Now, wait.... before you judge me..... back in March, my 2nd had strep with NO signs, other than ears hurting. My 1st had a virus (not necessarily flu or strep). My 3rd had severe allergies (nothing to prescribe other than Claritin and nose spray.) #2 has been to the doctor 3 times in a month with only 1 time being strep....and ear pain has yielded nothing. SO, I have been waiting, thinking, (hoping) that through OTC's, rice socks, and *distraction* he will "get over it." WELL, he hasn't, and now we are 2 days from leaving for our JBQ Regionals tournament.... HE. MUST. BE HEALTHY! SO.... tomorrow, we beg for drugs.


Hmmmm....where was I?


OK.... kids clean.


~Oh yes... JBQ.... We only made it through speed on 30 quotes. (That means nothing to most of you, but basically it means that moving his jaws hurts his ear and we got maybe 5 minutes.)


~8:15 have 2 little boys turn out lights (kisses, songs, hugs and prayers)
~8:25 give meds to #2, rice sock, and say prayers
~8:30 lights out for #1 (early tonight as standardized testing is tomorrow
~9:00 sit to blog, but notice it is hot in house
~check and see that thermostat is set at 90
WHY is the thermostat set at 90?!
~make mental note to tell children NEVER to mess with thermostat settings
~sit, again, to blog
~turn on TV to listen while blogging - it is turned onto "Dance Moms: Miami"
~sit, for a few minutes, mouth hanging open, half fascinated, half-frightened
~NOW....it is 11:00....I have to go to bed


I will repeat some of today, tomorrow. Not FTU clean out, or grocery store. Will take kids to school, #2 to the doctor, do another 6-8 loads of laundry (sadly, that is no exaggeration), have kids practice music, do homework, study JBQ, go to JBQ practice....thank the good Lord that baseball practice is cancelled this week, AND start the packing for our trip to Muskogee, OK.


I apologize if you were bored.


ETA.... Strange things come on TLC after 10:00. Right now, it is on a show entitled "Extreme Cheapskates." Three words: HO.LEE.COW!!! That gives new meaning to the word, "whackaloon!" 


SHE BOUGHT EXPIRED CHEESE!!!


I don't care HOW poor I may be, I will not, WILL NOT EVER purchase, keep, and/or eat foods that have expired. The dates are there for a reason. (Those who know me, know that this is a cardinal rule!)

NINE LINES

Nine years.....

Nine years ago, my family expanded by a 3rd son.

Nine years ago, our hearts were captured by a beautiful boy. 

Nine years ago, he came with dimples, curly hair, and 1 ear.

Nine years later, he is still beautiful.

Nine years later, he still has dimples

Nine years later, he still has curly hair.

Nine years later, he has 2 ears.

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY, SON!