Just a question for anyone out there for my audience, how does everyone get anything done? i mean how many days in a row can you go with lack of sleep before you start biting people's heads off, fall asleep at your desk, or literally make yourself ill.
Every day i wake up thinking, 'today's the day i'm actually going to get the LIST started!'. Who the hell am I kidding? How many of you can relate to this:
- After work, pick up the kids from KIDSTOP, which always ends up taking 20 minutes at LEAST. Why? i have no idea.
- get home and have to quick feed the kids (and those who know me, know that i don't cook). No, cereal does NOT take long to 'make', but in the meantime i have already stopped the kids from touching each other, told the youngest that 'NO', she can't have a treat right now, started 3rd grade homework and completely forgotten what we were supposed to be doing for the rest of the evening.
- gather my wits, manage to get the milk in the right kid's bowl (remember at the last minute that the cereal box does NOT go in the fridge).
- help do the last of the 3rd grade homework (on a good day, more to come AFTER the activity is more likely
- make sure we have the right 'gear' for the evenings activity (dance, Girl Scouts, Birthday party, shoe shopping, Sunday School, whatever it is)
- take 4 extra minutes (that seems like 15) to get in the car because each child has forgotten one of the following: a ponytail holder, hats/mittens (when will the snow be gone, BTW?), bag full of items for the reason we are leaving the house altogether, blankie, book (why, you can't read in the dark anyway...), correct shoes for the activity, etc, etc, etc
(Deep sigh).
- make it through the activity in question, where i usually stay the whole time because either they're both at dance but the times are staggered, they have Girl Scouts and i'm the leader of one group, an active parent at the other (up for debate. tonight i couldn't even get a sentence out correctly at the meeting). Sometimes it's easier to stay because there's not much time to home and do anything, AND, even if i did go home to get something done, i usually have the youngest one with me...and well, i may as well just stay at the activity. at least there i'm amongst other adults.
- by the time we get home (after more fighting in the car), we still have: jammies, medicine, more homework, pick out the next day's outfits, brushing teeth (which the one kid CANNOT do by herself because she gets 'lonely' 8 feet away from me), fighting about proper pajamas, saying no to a treat request because we've already bushed, the tantrum that ensues after i say no to that treat request, making sure we have everything in backpacks. (Deep breath). Now, somewhere in between rounding them up in their bed and actually tucking them in, I am either SOOOO way beyond tired, or have lost my ever-loving mind and beyond crazy crabby.
- On the odd chance that I can get all that done before 8:30pm, I am usually so SPENT, that i cannot do anything more than sit down on the big chair and no move again until i wake up drooling on myself and somehow manage to get myself to bed!
Good gracious. just saying it all again makes me that much more tired.
On that note, it's LATE and i have to go to bed. Do you think I can get myself out of this comfy big chair??? I should get the pillow with the protective cover ready....