A Day "Off"

This is just a post about a day in the life of this mom.

On Friday my boys had off from school, but because my daughter's preschool follows a different calendar, she still had school.

I had 2 goals for the day.
1. Wash the pots and pans that have been waiting for me all week.
2. Sleep in until 8am.

I only accomplished one of those things. And it wasn't the dishes.

Here is what my day looked like. and I am writing it down just because right before I went out with my husband and friends that night I thought to myself, "I was busy all day, why don't I feel like I got anything done?"

8am- was woken up by 5 yr old who bounced all over me until I finally dragged myself out of bed.

8:30- ate distressingly healthy breakfast, read a little, warned kids it was almost time to start cleaning the house.

8:45- realized that the packages of gummy hearts we'd bought for Lilyanna had been mysteriously consumed by NOBODY. There had been 28, we were left with 15 and every boy in the house claimed to have only had one until they realized they were Lilyanna's valentines. Math is not my strongest subject, but even I know that doesn't add up.

9am-Lilyanna comes up with a plan B, and remembered that we had been given an unopened package of Winnie the Pooh Valentines by a neighbor.

9:15-Called Dr's office to beg for a new Rx for my son's medicine which is now distributed in a glass bottle and the day before was knocked onto the kitchen floor made of ceramic tile. $50 worth of medicine wasted. I didn't cry, but it was really sad.

9:30- Help middle school son rehearse for his audition for "The Sound of Music". Pulled out the guitar, relearned a few chords, and tried to teach him to play the guitar while singing Edelweiss. After a few minutes he decided that he would just do it without the guitar and I could accompany him. Then showed him the video of Capt. VonTrapp singing Edelweiss from the movie version. Ran through the song and worked on the character several times.

10am- Worked on writing/folding/stuffing envelopes/putting stickers on 30 Valentines.

10:30- folded laundry, reminded kids to stay focused to get their work done.

11:30-Entered into the Nielson Shopping program all the online purchases I'd made and received that week

12- ate lunch, read a chapter in my book

12:30-took Lilyanna to school

12:50- realized we forgot her Valentines at home.

1:15- went grocery shopping

2pm- got home, ran inside and helped high schooler register for classes for next year. Then checked grades and discussed how they're going to improve.

2:50- grabbed the Valentines and ran them down to preschool so my daughter could hand them out to her friends.

3:15-Headed home from preschool

3:35-Was about to hop in the shower, when I remembered that I still had to pick up the new Rx from the doctor. (they can't call in adhd meds).

3:45-Jumped in the car to run down to doctor's office with the 5 year old daughter in tow.

4:10-On the way back from the doctor, we got stuck in traffic due to an accident. 35 minutes to go 1.5 miles. Grrr.

4:45-Ran in the house to pick up high schooler who needed to go to play practice at the high school.

5pm-Ran back in the door after dropping him off and while running up to the shower called for the middle schooler to finally get the groceries out of my car.

5:30-finished getting dressed post-shower

5:35-went to Bellydance practice in the clothes I planned on wearing out to dinner

5:45-applied make-up while someone else was learning their part of the dance

6:20-drove home, finished putting groceries away, gave instructions re:pizza to kids.

6:45- left to go out on date and enjoyed a lovely evening.

My day was fine. I enjoyed having the kids around, and I was busy all day, but I never felt like I was getting anything done. Many of my days are like this where I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. I'm a big proponent of accepting that this is what this time and season of my life looks like, but sometimes I feel frustrated that it takes me 3 days to get the darn pots and pans washed!

Photo Book for you!

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Dear Mom and Elaine, 

Happy Mother's Day!  This will be arriving in the mail shortly for you.  If you are bad about checking our blog, then it will be a surprise.  ;)

Thanks for being the fabulous and wonderful mothers and grandmothers that you are.  We love you lots and lots.

The Smithly Horde (My friend, Heather, called us that today.  I like it.)

Rules for Interrupting Mom in the Shower

Shower time is sacred time as far as I'm concerned. With a new baby who I've been told by her doctor to "feed whenever she wants to eat", showers are hard to get. She wants to eat all the time. There's also the whole not sleeping thing. And needing to eat. The shower falls last on the list every time. So, when I finally get one it makes me VERY unhappy to be interrupted by children. Especially older children.

With this in mind, I've assembled some guidelines for when it is okay to interrupt Mom in the shower.

1. Blood. If anyone is bleeding in a way that can't be stopped by a band-aid, you may knock on the door.

2. Animal bites. (they don't always draw blood.) It must be a wild or rabid animal, though. All other animal bites can wait until after. Unless rule 1 applies.

3. If Publisher's Clearing House is standing at the front door with a check for me, you may knock on the door.

4. If one of my crushes is standing at the front door, you may knock on the door. You may even jimmy the lock on the door.

5. If Dad somehow gets himself arrested and uses his one phone call to call me while I'm in the shower, I will come to the phone. And then I will deal with him later.

Mother's Day with Boys

Today I received three lovely cards from my three oldest boys.

Highlights from Benjamin's card:

"I love my Mom because she takes care of me when I'm sick." (Complete with a picture of him throwing up.)

"From my Mom I got big feet and a love of music."

Highlights from Nathaniel's card:

"Mom, I think you are funny when you put me on a leash."

J's card was nice and normal. Perhaps that means there is hope for the younger boys as well.

My Mommala

Aren't my parents the cutest parents ever?
Lists. I like lists. Lists are good. Today's list is dedicated to my Mom. Because that's what you do on mother's day, right?

A couple months ago my mother in law called and asked, "What legacy have you received from your mother?" She was asking in preparation for a talk that she had to give. Being the dutiful daughter in law that I am, I told her I'd think about it.

And then I never called her back.

But I did think about it. So here are a few of the things I've "received" from my mom:

1) The ability to talk to anyone. I was desperately shy as a little girl. So, the fact that my mother could immediately be friendly with everyone in the whole world was a complete mystery to me. Over the years it grew to be less so, and I think I'm pretty much on par with her now in that area.

2) Taking in strays. I don't actually do this they way my Mom did. My Mom collects strays. Stray animals. Stray children. Stray adults. Stray truck drivers... (now that's a great story!) It's kind of amazing. I'm still working on that one. I do invite people to live with us with alarming regularity, though. Hm. Maybe it has sunk in more than I thought.

3) The idea that what I'm capable of is very much up to me. When I was 14 or so, my mother decided to become a lifeguard. She was somewhere in her 40s, and not particularly athletic, but realized that there were never enough people to lifeguard at girl's camp. So, she spent one winter taking the certification classes with a bunch of twiggy 16 year old kids. Afterwards, she life guarded at girl's camp, but also taught a water exercise class for people with severe arthritis. All while dealing with busy church callings, my Dad's business travel and the schedules of four children.

4) Being adventurous. Whether it was trying new cuisine, new exercise, new hobby, new craft, new whatever, my Mother is nothing if not adventurous. And she is gung ho about each new thing. No doing things halfway for her!

5) A thirst for knowledge and willingness to learn. Even though my mom didn't particularly enjoy high school and never attended college, she has always been excited to learn about whatever she thinks she needs to learn about. She probably could have gotten several degrees over with all the research, field work, and experiments she's done over the years.

6) The ability to know when to change the subject. Just recently I had to call to share some rotten news with my Mom. I'd been putting it off, because I didn't want to dissolve into a puddle of tears. I delivered the news over the phone and my Mom said, "Oh, honey. That's really hard. With great blessings come great challenges. Now. Let me tell you about the wonderful class I went to this morning." I was delighted to hear about it. When I need a pity party, I know that I can call and she will let me have one, but I thoroughly appreciated that there was no doom and gloom, and we could talk about something else while she processed the information. In short, it was exactly what I needed. I'm glad to have a Mom who even after all the years we haven't lived together, still intuitively knows what I need.

7) Parenting with the spirit. My mother recognized that keeping close to Heavenly Father and listening for the promptings of the spirit were far more effective parenting methods than anything she could read. (Though she read all the books anyway. They couldn't hurt, right?)
I'm still working on this one. I'm not very good at remembering that I'm not in charge all the time. It's kind of a problem for me. But I'm learning.

8) Also, I am getting my hot little hands on the rug currently kept in her library when she dies. I've been asking for it for almost 11 years now. She assures me that I will only get it over her cold, dead body. And when I asked again recently, she told me she was being buried in it. A more physical legacy, but a legacy nonetheless. Mom! The rug will be mine!!

hm...

I decided to save a few bucks and get my highlights in Wyoming instead of waiting until I get back to my fru fru (yet fabulous) salon back home. My sister made the appointment with the stylist that she and our other sister use. I maybe should have taken that as a warning. I am currently....blonde. Well, a heckuva lot more blonde than I have ever been in my life. I have that weird "AAACK!!!" reaction every time I go past a mirror. Todd says it makes me look younger. My mom says it makes me look less pale. (I think these are supposed to be compliments, but what they imply about how I was looking before....) So far nobody has reacted by screaming. Though, my sons had that best reaction, I think.

"Mom. What did you do to your hair?"