My day yesterday:
6:15: wake up and go back to sleep
6:30 wake up and go back to sleep
6:45 drag ass out of bed
7:00 make coffee
7:15 start chugging coffee
7:29 (note to self: do not go to bed with wet hair)
7:30 put hair in hot rollers to get rid of “Medusa” look
7:50 pull curlers out, look for Grant’s jacket
8:00 drive Devin & Grant to dentist (cavity filled for Dev)
8:14 try to convince Grant it is more efficient to wear his jacket than it is to try to keep warm by “hugging himself”
8:15 try to get Grant to stop hugging himself and hold the handrail on the stairs up to the dentist’s office
8:40 try to get Grant to stop hugging himself and hold the handrail on the stairs down from the dentist’s office
8:55 drop Devin off at school (because he’s going in late and because he has flat tires on two bikes)
9:10 go home, plan to get on treadmill
9:18 discover Grant had a little accident the night before
9:19 strip sheets and blankets from Grant’s bed
9:20 start load of laundry
9:22 start bath for Grant, but am already feeling overwhelmed; change my mind, opt for washcloth wipe down instead
9:30 check emails, do online banking, balance checkbook
10:00 clean kitchen
10:15 start more laundry
10:30 clean boys’ bathroom. ew.
10:35 consider getting on treadmill; decide to do it a bit later
10:45 fold clothes
11:00 take Barkley to the vet for blood test and x-ray results
11:30 learn that my sweet, 13 year old Dalmatian has a mass in his abdomen that is either caused by 2 years of Prednisone, or is cancer.
11:40 learn that the plan is to switch medicines. If the problems clear up, that means it was the other medication causing the problems. If not, the mass is cancer and we will need to put him down
12:00 go home, change clothes due to massive amounts of dog hair, start new load of laundry
12:05 fix Grant’s lunch
12:10 fix my lunch
12:15 eat standing over the kitchen sink
12:25 clean up lunch mess
12:30 load and start dishwasher
12:45 fold clothes, put clean mattress cover and bottom sheet back on Grant’s bed
12:55 consider getting on the treadmill; decide too tired and too soon after lunch
1:00 check and return emails
1:05 tell Grant to play nicely in his room, with the door shut
1:06 close blinds, sit on the couch, close eyes and breathe
1:25 wake up as Mitch comes in the door from school
1:26 “welcome home, how was school? do you have any papers for me to see?”
1:27 examine, sort through any papers.
1:30 add items to list of things to tell Mitch’s mom about when he goes to back to her house on Sunday
1:35 supervise after school snack and getting the homework started
1:40 check calendar, add events. Notice scheduling conflict, make arrangements to resolve it
1:58 lay out clothes for T ball practice and ask Grant to put them on
2:00 leave Grant & Mitch home while I run around the corner (blessedly, by myself) to go to the library
2:05 renew my library books that I checked out 3 weeks ago but have not had time to finish
2:15 receive phone call from Devin, asking to be picked up from school. Agree to meet in front of the vitamin store…(close enough to walk to, far enough from the school to avoid the traffic)
2:25 arrive to pick up Devin
2:26 run in to vitamin store to buy energy boosting, heart healthy vitamins (really)
2:30 discuss plan of action re flat tires with Devin
2:31 call home and ask Mitchell to go outside and look at the number on the side of the flat tire, which will tell us the size of inner tube needed to fix the flat. I can avoid going home to check and going back out to the store
2:32 repeat my instructions to Mitch
2:33 wait while he finds his shoes
2:34 repeat my instructions to Mitch
2:34 (and 30 seconds) repeat which bike to look at
2:35 repeat that he needs to look on the side of the tire
2:35 (and 15 seconds) repeat that he is looking for a number
2:35 (and 30 seconds) “No, the words won’t help, just a number”
2:35 (and 40 seconds) repeat that he is looking for a number
2:35 (and 45 seconds) repeat that the words are irrelevant
2:36 notice Devin shaking his head and laughing at this conversation and the obviously slow, twerpy kid who can’t understand simple directions, like duh…
2:36 (and 5 seconds) resist the urge to give Devin a monkey bump
2:36 (and 10 seconds) repeat that Mitch should look for the number that determines the size of the tire
2:36 (and 30 seconds) repeat that I need the number so I can go to the store without having to come all the way home first, so please! tell! me! the! number!
2:37 explain to Mitch that psi does not indicate the size of the tire
2:37 (and 30 seconds) learn that Devin’s bike has 24″ tires
2:45 arrive at Target, hurry through parking lot while explaining to Devin he should run and get the inner tube, while I quickly see if there is anything that I can get for an 80’s themed party
2:45 (and 30 seconds) remind Devin to hurry
2:48 contemplate life, growing older, and how it has come to pass that I am shopping for a “costume” that passed as school clothes back in the day.
2:50 pick out a pair of ugly-ass giant metal 80’s looking earrings on clearance (score)
2:51 wonder where Devin is
2:53 set out to look for Devin
2:58 find him in the toy section, checking things out (to his credit, he does have the inner tube)
3:00 get in the Express checkout lane
3:02 wonder why the Express lane is moving more slowly than the “regular” lanes
3:03 wonder if the person at the front of the line is paying in pennies
3:04 wonder if I should move to another line
3:05 wonder why they don’t call more checkers
3:06 pay and run out the door
3:07 give change to a man collecting for a homeless shelter, explaining my support of Children Today as I do so
3:07 (and 30 seconds) hurrying through the parking lot, listening to Devin tell me he is really surprised I gave the guy money and indicating he is under the impression I don’t usually help people
3:08 get in car (note to self: explain to Devin that people who toot their own proverbial horns about their good deeds are not really giving for others, but are giving for themselves. Remind him of examples where he was with me when we did “good deeds”)
3:15 arrive home, discover the baseball clothes are still where I laid them and Grant is in a Spongebob SquareTrance and did not get dressed.
3:16 run around like a spaz, dress a 5 year old, find a baseball glove, find a hat, find a jacket, get a bottle of water, give instructions to Mitch and Devin about chores and homework, remind them that Conner will be home late due to Running Club
3:30 realize I have still not gotten on the treadmill and figure I’ll run when I get back from practice
3:35 leave for the park and T-Ball practice
3:40 arrive at the park, explain to Grant that he can play until practice starts
3:41 twin boys from Grant’s team also arrive early to play in the park
3:42 try to make small talk with the twins’ mom while we keep an eye on the boys
3:44 Grant runs to me crying that Twin A hit him. Twin A denies this
3:50 Grant comes crying that Twin A hit him
3:51 Twin A’s mom says Twin A never hits at home… Twin A says Grant hit him first. Grant, through his tears, denies this
3:52 We mommies deliver the lecture about keeping hands to ourselves, etc…
4:00 the twins run on the grass with another friend they know. Grant plays happily and quietly on the play equipment
4:15 Twin A comes back
4:16 Twin A finds Grant playing across the park and kicks him in the arm
4:16 (and 30 seconds) Grant comes crying, followed by Twin A who is already saying, “Nuh-uh! Nuh-uh!”
4:17 Twin A’s mom tries to get the story; I listen to see how she’ll handle this and comfort Grant. Twin A says Grant hit him. She believes him. I saw the incident and know that Twin A is a little liar
4:17 (and 15 seconds) calculate the pros and cons of starting a mommy feud at the beginning of the season
4:17 (and 30 seconds) decide it’s more prudent to keep Grant away from Twin A. For now….
4:18 realize my cell phone is ringing, dig through my bag to find it and see that it’s Conner’s school calling. My blood pressure goes up.
4:19 the school counselor informs me that Conner’s bike has been stolen and that he is in tears in the office, afraid to tell me or Rich because he forgot to lock it up and that’s why it was stolen
4:20 my brain begins to stall and sputter. Do I get Grant and leave practice? Do I call Rich? What…. the counselor tells me that Grandpa Tony has been called and he is coming to get Conner. (Grandpa Tony is Mitchell’s maternal grandfather. Get it? My husband’s ex-wife’s father…) Bless his heart, that is who came to Conner’s rescue
4:21 Conner gets on the phone, very upset. He is worried about how I react when things aren’t locked up properly. I assure him that his first offense forgetting to lock something up (although a huge mistake) is not the same as Devin’s chronic irresponsibility and constantly forgetting to lock things up
4:25 call Tony and tell him thank you for coming to the rescue
4:28 call Rich and tell him what happened
4:30 try to control/contain/focus Grant for his baseball practice
4:45 take Grant to the bathroom…. on the far end of the park. I’m not sure if he has to go for real, or if he’s bored with practice, or if he would just like to see what the park’s bathroom looks like, but why take a chance?
4:46 call my mommy and vent about this crappy day
4:50 back to practice. Try to control/contain/focus Grant; keep Twin A away from him; help the coaches by playing outfield and wrangling kids
5:30 practically run to the parking lot, get in the car to get home
5:35 take a call from my mom, suggesting I come over to my Aunt’s (where they are having dinner) and have a glass of wine
5:36 realize it’s not very likely that I’ll get on the treadmill
5:45 get home, check on Conner, discover he’s fine now that he knows he will not be tarred and feathered
5:50 strip Grant out of his grass stained baseball clothes and get him in the tub
5:55 check on Mitch and Devin’s homework progress
6:00 tell Devin I’m going over to Aunty’s and will be back with in the hour.
6:10 surround myself with grown-ups who give me wine and listen to my sob story
6:25 am able to laugh about it a little bit
6:50 have to go home to fix dinner
6:55 stop pretending that I’m going to get on the treadmill
7:00 start to ponder why the school called my cell phone after they called an emergency contact to come and pick up Conner
7:02 wonder why the school didn’t call Rich at work or on his cell
7:03 wonder why Conner ran 3 miles for fun, but wanted a ride instead of walking home the 1.5 miles
7:10 start reminding boys to take showers
7:15 have Conner set the table; remind him again which side the forks go on
7:30 sit down to dinner; discuss the stolen bike
7:40 discover that school called home, Devin told them I was unavailable, as was Rich (since he was at work and probably busy). Conner told the school not to try his parents on their cell phones because he did not want us to yell at him and opted to call Grandpa Tony because he is the nicest
7:41 wonder if the counselor at the school thinks we’re heartless, scary parents now
7:42 give the boys the lecture that they are not allowed to screen our calls for us
7:43 reassured Conner that a stolen bike is enough for him to learn the lesson. Should irresponsibility become a chronic condition like Devin has, then that will be different
8:00 get the boys started on KP
8:10 get a glass of wine, go take a long, hot shower
8:45 finish laundry and finish making Grant’s bed
9:00 check calendar for next day’s schedule
9:01 check and respond to emails
9:10 start the bedtime countdown, reminders to brush teeth, etc
9:20 tuck Grant in, read Goodnight Moon because I’m too tired to read anything longer than that
9:30 discover Conner watching TV
9:31 go out to garage to remind Rich he is supposed to help Conner with math homework
9:40 get another glass of wine, listen to the math lesson
9:45 wonder if I can stay awake long enough to get through the Top Chef finale
10:15 realize I am rooting for Carla to win
10:59 realize I would not have stayed awake had I known Hosea would be named Top Chef (that guy was mediocre the whole season!) Boo
11:05 get ready for bed; glance at treadmill, feel pang of guilt
11:10 crawl into bed, turn out the light and fall asleep while praying that tomorrow will be a better day or that God will give me strength and patience… preferably both
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