On Fridays, Steve drops the girls off and comes home. I go back to school, get Sophia and drop her off at her advanced study class at another school. I come home for a little while, then run back to pick her up, then back to their regular school to get Madeline. It's non-stop driving. But a recent Friday wouldn't end with the driving rush, we had much more to do.
After school, we had to pick up dresses from the seamstress who had been closed the prior two days due to snow. That meant if the dresses didn't fit, there was no time for further alterations since I needed the dresses Saturday morning. I also had to squeeze in manicures for two girls because A) I promised B) pageant girls "need" nails. And, after that, we had to head off to Sophia's birthday party at the bowling alley and then, if it hadn't been enough already, get to the Sheraton before 9 pm to sign-in and get our numbers and info packet for the pageant/talent show my girls were to be in on Saturday.
I could manage all this, right? After all I am the management.
Well, the day started off okay, but around 1 o'clock Steve got a message from school saying Sophia is sitting in the office waiting for us and where were we? Steve rushed out the door and I called the school secretary back and gave her a good laugh by saying, "Sorry, but we just wanted Sophia to know her place. Oh, and yes, Steve is on his way." No harm in occasionally forgetting a child, we have two others.
After school I told the girls we had a busy afternoon and they had to get right into the house to try on those dresses so we could move, move, move. I pulled into the driveway, ran into the house and had the dresses in my arms but no girls. I turned around to find two girls out sledding on the hill their dad made in the front yard. What hurry?!?
I hauled them in despite many loud protests. I quickly got them undressed and redressed and you guessed it. Sophie's dress did not fit; and in fact, didn't look altered at all. More worries! I went in the kitchen for a pin from the drawer and ...
found my dishwasher had leaked over the entire kitchen floor. I bellowed to Steve that we needed him now and then rushed around to get towels enough to sop up the ongoing mess. Poor Steve, I left him to manage that one as best he could.
I got girls into party clothes and threw a hairbrush into my purse. I headed to the nail salon at which there was no parking. After waiting for almost an hour to get started (all the while looking like a fool by doing hair in a nail salon), I got to wait an hour longer to get done then rushed home like mad. Still on time though, if only barely.
Moments later Steve and I hustled everyone into the car for the party. We stopped to get pizza and arrived just as the first guests also arrive. Twenty-three 8- and 9-year-old guests and some parents, some bowling, cake, games, presents, thank you's and out the door to the hotel. We signed in and sat around while the girls grabbed the stage for a little practice session. Alex fell asleep and whew, we made it through the day. Victory!
Saturday dawned bright and early... and was a wonderful day full of fun and new friends and two little girls very proud of themselves. But it was a long day. A very, very, very long day. Maybe I'll blog the details another time, it would take pages in itself. I can't recall a day in recent memory with quite as much excitement, activity, and rushed details.
Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday with screaming pain in my stomach. I spent much of the day altering between trying to clean the house and laying around curled up in a ball holding back the tears. I try to cancel the party but this lead to more tears (Sophie's, not mine) and ultimate rescue from a wonderful husband who agreed to make dinner. And, good grief, I still hurt though the stomach ache was finally gone. My ribs hurt, my side hurt, I felt bruised and achy and had no idea why. My best guess is that lovely son number one, who mostly insists on sleeping in our bed, must have kicked me in his sleep. Either that or I had an acute kidney infection, and since that was pretty darned unlikely then I guess I don't know what was going on with me... but I do know I was not 100% .
To make things worse, I did not win any Mother-Of-The-Year awards for making Sophia clean her room on her birthday. Naughty Mommy. It's very true when they say that moms can't get sick. There simply isn't time enough in the schedule!
And my bonus for Sunday? There were drums. Yes, drums.
To erase any doubts you might have regarding my fitness as a mother, consider this one. I agreed to let Sophia have a drum set for her birthday. She had asked for over a year, maybe two, and I gave in. All day with the drums and I thought my head would burst. It was fun to see them play around, and especially fun to see Alex play... but seriously, I need to have my head examined concerning this decision. Maybe they can examine what's left of it after all the chaos and noise.
Steve made the dinner, which was great. Since we used paper plates and plastic cups and utensils, clean-up was a breeze. So we ate delicious sloppy joes off of paper plates and our birthday celebration was uber-casual. What can we conclude from all this?
I love paper plates. I love my children and apparently-- I love chaos and over-scheduling. Either that or I'm a complete nincompoop. When my aunt walked in to my house that night and saw the drums, she exclaimed, "Drums?! Oh you are a fool." Fool? I don't know, but on weekends like this, she might just be right. Bottom line: I think I'll just lay around in my pajamas from now on and watch TV all day.
Who am I kidding? That could never happen. But I do know that the older the girls get, the more hectic and chaotic life becomes. I know we need to stop sometimes and just relax, have a family game night or watch a movie. It's a bit silly, but seriously, I am going to have to
add it to my list of things to do:
- relax
- slow dow
- try not to forget children
If I don't find a way to schedule this, I may just end up with an ulcer. Or, maybe I already have one. Either way, what I need tonight is a glass of wine and some calgon. I think I'll eat cake too.
As I wrap this up, I glance at my calendar, the next two weeks are pretty much packed. I'm free on the seventh though, so I pencil it in:
"RELAX."
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