More stellar parenting

Yesterday started off really bad, but ended up being a pretty awesome day.  I needed to take my car into the shop for an oil change and because my check engine light was on, so Tom suggested that we take the day off work and make a fun day out of it. I knew he would still go to practice so I only requested a half day off and planned on going into work for my first two classes (I have conference and lunch after 2nd period).

We had some car issues in the morning that involved me trying to tie the back passenger door shut with a jump rope.  The jump rope was stretchy material, though, so the door would fly open at every turn. I then had my 5 year old son hold the door shut and yelled at him whenever it would start to open.  I know, I am such an awesome parent.  I did manage to drop the kids off and Tom came home and fixed the door for me so I could go to school.  This is a much shortened version of the whole ordeal and let's just say I called Tom sobbing on the phone.  I can't even remember the last time I cried, but, boy, was I crying yesterday.

Anyway, we went to lunch and a matinee before getting the kids and it was awesome to just hang out together.

Today, the area track meet is being held at my high school so Tom is here with his athletes that qualified.  I was able to go watch during my conference period and lunch.  I like to watch Tom in action.  I sometimes feel overwhelmed during track season because he is gone so much, but I always feel proud of how dedicated he is to his team and how much time and effort he puts into it.

Alright, alright, enough of that. I will probably be singing a different tune this evening when I am trying to wrangle Sam at Ellie and Jack's softball/t-ball practices.

Oh, something that made me laugh yesterday.  I was texting my sister-in-law about my car and how the mechanic said it would be almost $400 to replace the vent. My car was still safe to drive without fixing it, but it was an emissions issue and my car wouldn't pass inspection without it getting repaired.  I texted Sabrina, "Who cares about emissions? Screw the environment...I've got mouths to feed."  Her quick reply was, "Happy Earth Day!"  Hahaha, I totally forgot that it was Earth Day, but loved the irony of it all.

Relaxing and ignoring the 6 kids running wild

I am having a lazy Saturday. Lazy, even though I have 3 extra kids in addition to my own 3 who stayed up late and woke up ridiculously early. All games were cancelled this weekend due to rainy weather so we are all still in our pajamas and the kids are destroying the house and I am staying surprisingly zen about the whole thing. My kids love having their cousins around. They are so fortunate to live in the same neighborhood as so many of their cousins. 

I was a little crazy last week. And then I finally went and refilled my thyroid medication Friday morning and realized that going a week without it probably wasn't wise. 

I booked our hotel for our annual New Orleans trip and even though it isn't until the very end of July, I am really looking forward to getting away with my Tom. I need a vacation. Don't get me wrong, I am really looking forward to our cruise in 6 weeks which I know will be a blast, but with the kids and my entire family along, I don't know how relaxing it will be.  Either way, I am ready for a vacation, but for now I will just sit here and enjoy my lazy Saturday. 

Too tired to think of a title

Yesterday, I went home determined to be a better mom.  I worked with Ellie (aka The Hoarder) on cleaning her room for about two hours. Then I made the kids a gourmet dinner of hot dogs and peas. Sam immediately threw his plate on the floor in a fit of rage. At this point, I decided I was done.  Tom was home for the first night in days so I told him I was going to take a shower (at 5:30).  After a very long shower, I grabbed the iPad and some headphones and climbed into bed for an ANTM marathon.  This is very unusual for me. I have working-mom guilt so I always feel like I need to spend all my at-home time either with the kids or getting stuff done around the house.  But, as you can tell from my post yesterday, I am a little burnt out. Tom did an awesome job running interference and letting me have some alone time.

We had a massive thunder storm all night long and our ridiculous dog kept us up for hours.  We put her in the garage, in our bedroom, back in the garage...it was like a circus.  Needless to say, Tom and I got very little sleep so I was not in the best of moods this morning.  Certainly not in the mood to deal with this:

You can't really see it, but Sam is throwing his body around and banging his head on the floor.  I have no idea what he was so mad about, but I tried really hard to figure it out and to distract him.  So, not the best start to the day, but it IS Friday.  And it is my sweet mom's birthday. And Tom does not have any track meets this weekend...which is a good thing since I am keeping my sister's kids and both Jack and Ellie have games. So, I am going to work on changing my attitude and I am going to try to give Sam more one-on-one attention this weekend. I've got this.

In which I feel like a failure

So, yesterday happened. It was the kids' last day of swim clinics and they were being evaluated for swim team.  I knew Jack would not make the team and I knew Ellie would since she swam the past two years. But I wanted to see how well Jack did and I wanted to see what skill level Ellie would be placed in.  Sam had other plans. He did ok for most of Jack's clinic, but then he decided he wanted to go home. When I wouldn't take him home, he started throwing one of his loud, screaming fits.  When Sam throws his fits, he doesn't stop unless he gets what he wants.  The kid has stamina like no other.  Most kids his age can be distracted by toys or snacks or even comforted...not Sam.  He just goes on and on, my friends. Since we couldn't leave the clinic because Ellie hadn't even started yet, I just ignored Sam and let him sit in the field behind us and scream.

Side note: parents are not allowed to be in the pool area during clinic so the parents set up camp in the empty field outside the pool gates.

Ok, so Sam is screaming and screaming and the moms I am with understand because we are all friends, but the other moms that are nearby and don't know me are thinking that Sam is in serious distress and I am a terrible mother for not trying to comfort him.  They don't know that Sam cannot be comforted. But after two moms questioned me about him and offered "advice" I went over and picked him up. So, I am walking around holding my squirming, screaming, 40 pound 2 year old and then Jack comes over crying and says he stepped in fire ants.  I look at his foot and, sure enough, it is covered with fire ants. I put down the screaming Sam and try to get all the ants off Jack. Now I have two crying kids and Ellie's clinic has only just started.  At this point, I am done.  I turn to Sabrina, ask her to bring Ellie home after practice, and then just leave.

Another side story: Yesterday when I picked up Sam, Ms. Donika told me they were playing outside and Sam got mad about some little thing. She was sitting there letting him throw his fit, when the bus pulled up to drop off the 1/2 day kids. A mom at the stop saw Sam screaming, but didn't see Donika so she ran over to Sam's aid (thinking he must be terribly hurt, judging by his screams). Donika's dog saw a strange lady going for Sam so the dog ran over and bit the lady's stomach.

Tom got home last night a little after 9:30, but the kids and I were all sound asleep because I could not do my day any longer.

Y'all, I see people with 3+ kids all the time at these sort of things and they make it seem so effortless.  I feel like I am doing something wrong.  I seriously try to be so prepared.  I pack the iPad so Sam can watch Elmo, I pack toys, snacks, drinks...everything I can think of and still we keep having these sort of scenarios. I feel like I do a pretty good job maintaining a calm exterior (putting my teacher-training to use, never let them see you lose control), but inside I am losing my mind.

The best day of Ellie's life

Yesterday was a day that Ellie proclaimed many times over to be the best day of her life.  I surprised her by checking her out of school at 9:30 - after her teacher takes attendance so as not to ruin her perfect attendance record.  We then went to breakfast at Denny's where she chowed down on all her favorite foods.  Then I gave her the choice of going to the movies or going to get manicures and pedicures. She chose the movie so we went to the matinee of Home. After, we met up with Tom for ice cream at Cold Stone.  We still had more time before having to pick up the boys, so I decided to do the manicures/pedicures after all.  Ellie told me, "I am being spoiled rotten today."  If you can't be spoiled on your birthday, when can you?

The day was awesome and I loved spending it one-on-one with Ellie.  The evening was not so awesome.  Tom had a track meet so I had to take the kids to swim clinic from 4-6. Jack also had a t-ball game that started at 6:30.  Picture me in the cramped, hot, outdoor bathroom trying to peel Jack out of his swimsuit and into his baseball uniform, all while trying to keep Sam from throwing things in the toilet.  Good times.  Because it was past his bedtime, Sam was so tired and cranky during the game.  He did not want to sit in his stroller, but he wouldn't stay near me either.  It was so stressful trying to keep tabs on him and still be near Jack's game in case I was needed (I gave up on watching).  I did catch him at bat one time.

 Ellie saw some friends on the playground so she took off over there, but she wouldn't watch Sam because she wanted to play.  I got pretty annoyed with her, but it was her birthday and I do put a lot of Sam responsibility on her.  By the time we got home and I was able to get the kids bathed and in bed, it was 2 hours past their bedtime.  Everyone was cranky. Except Ellie. She was still riding the high of being spoiled all day.  I was able to end the evening on a high note by reading her her Dr. Seuss Happy Birthday book that I bought her for her 6th birthday.  I think her birthday was a success.