Does this make me Crah-zay?!
Wow, I am just wrung out. I have nothing to say at all. I had so hoped that when the craziness of November was over, my inspiration would come back. So far? Nothing. Oh well.
It was an insane weekend, we had 8 iceslots in 4 days, 4 cabin fever crazy kids, 3 sets of out-of-town guests, 2 snowstorms, 1 class of 4 year olds to teach Sunday School, and I am still minus one husband.
I got a phone call at 11pm on Friday night from a pay phone. Normally I would not have even answered, but I did. Now this was the end of Nanowrimo month and for the previous week I had not done a stitch of housework because I was crazy busy writing. My house looked like bombs had gone off in it. Actually it looks like that again today.
Anyway, 11pm, Friday night, phone call. It is my mom's boyfriend, he and his cousin are in town for the night to see the hockey game and they can't get a hotel room. Can they come and stay with me? Seriously? I was in shock but managed to stutter sh-sh-sh-sure. Instantly a plan of attack for the mountains of housework that needs to be done in the next 20 minutes comes to mind. I got my 13 year old out of his bed (he had only been in there a few minutes...) and made him take all the clean laundry out of the family room and into my room. (yes, after those hours I had spent folding the week before I had a new mountain to deal with.) I sprayed the bathroom with cleaner. I quickly picked up the main floor and tidied the kitchen. I vacuumed all the floors, mopped the kitchen . Put sheets in the wash and made up the bed. I was still on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom when the doorbell rang and the guys were at the door with pizza. At 1 am!
I was really surprised that he had called me, because he has only stayed here a couple times even with my mom here. We are just kind of learning how to be around each other. But it was fine and his cousin from NB was a super nice guy, so it was great to meet him as well.
Saturday morning I had to be out of the house by 8:15 with all the kids to take B. to hockey practice and a team parent meeting. We get there and just like on Tuesday, the times were mixed up and there was no practice. argh! I had left my house guests with a pot of fresh coffee and instructions to the toaster so I could get the boy to hockey. I won't be winning any hostess awards! So we had the hockey meeting anyway and that was fine. I took the kids back home and the boys changed from hockey gear into taekwondo gear and I wrestled the little ones back in their snow gear and into the van. I yelled at the ungrateful little wretches who are my oldest boys because we were running late. I had asked them a half an hour early to get ready to go so that we could leave on time to get there. They argued with me that it was not time yet!?! And then they ignored me for their computers while I kept yelling for them to get ready and help the little ones to get their boots and such on. By the time I got two little ones buckled in I was almost in tears and angry that the big boys did not seem to appreciate the effort it takes to get them to all their activities and how hard it is on their younger sibs sometimes.
So we get to the dojang and there is no Taekwondo. argh.
Back home to eat lunch and then do it all over again for hockey two more times.
Sunday morning comes and we are at it again. Hockey practice that the boy needs to be at for 8:30, I had to get the other 3 and myself ready for church first and then drop him off before we headed to church to teach Sunday School. Another terrific family dropped the boy off at church after practice, so that was awesome. After church we had a couple hours off before hockey started again.
My poor little monkey boy, he so hates going out. He is a real homebody and he craves schedule. All the running around really gets to him and when I say it is time to get ready he starts to fight and whine and cry and throws himself limp on the ground. Have you ever tried to fight a limp preschooler into outdoor gear and then into his carseat as he fights like a tiger? Not so fun. On numerous occasions I have had to wrap his coat around him and carry him in my arms into the van and fight him into the buckles. I feel terrible for him but he does need to cooperate sometimes and there are some things that we have to do. Needless to say, it is exhausting for both him and I. ugh.
Sunday night my Dad arrived for his regular visit on his way to work at Diavik. It is always wonderful to see him and it was so nice that he was able to stay with the little ones while I took the boy to his 9:30pm ice times.
Yesterday it snowed all day and it was really going last night. The roads were in awful shape and by the time I got the boy to his hockey practice last night I was almost in tears. This is my first winter driving and although I am doing quite well, it can be a bit scary at times.
Well right after that my cell phone rings. Unknown number. I usually don't answer those, but I did. It is my Mom! She is calling from Calgary where she has been trying to get a flight home. She will arrive in the city at 1am and is wondering if I can come and pick her up at the airport because she can't get all the way home tonight. The airport is almost an hour away from my house, on the highway and it is blizzarding. I did something I don't ever remember doing. I said no to my mom. I was totally afraid to head out in that at 1 in the morning, I was actually afraid of driving back home from the arena. I had planned on taking my dad to the airport in the morning as well, but now I thought I couldn't do it.
So my poor mom had to take a cab from the airport, the shuttles had stopped running by then. $70! I felt awful and I could tell she was annoyed. But she was nice about it this morning after she thought about how she did not really want me out driving in that anyway. And she was even gracious about having to sleep on the couch because my Dad was already staying in the Boy's bedroom (aka the guest room, my son is so sweet about letting people stay in his room)
I have daughter guilt now, especially after driving Mom to the airport just before lunch and the roads were pretty good. Oh well, better to be safe, I would hate for something to happen to me because I didn't listen to my better judgement. I have a total fear of something happening to me while my dh is out of town and my kids being alone:(
I love watching my kids in all their activities and I am so pleased that they can participate in them. But occasionally all the driving and getting preschoolers dressed in eighteen layers and then wrestled into car seats gets a bit much for me. Especially when it seems like the boys have no appreciation at the privilege it is for them to be able to participate and the work and money involved on our part. A thank you once in a while would be nice. And I would really appreciate if there was no complaining about actually going to the activity!
This afternoon I wanted to hibernate from the snow and I think we all needed a break. So on the way home from the airport we stopped at the movie theatre and went to Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium. It was so awesome! Loved it! and so did the kids. We had the entire theatre to ourselves, so the kids got to relax and be themselves and the little ones got to wander a bit. But man does it cost a lot to take 5 to the movies these days!
It was an insane weekend, we had 8 iceslots in 4 days, 4 cabin fever crazy kids, 3 sets of out-of-town guests, 2 snowstorms, 1 class of 4 year olds to teach Sunday School, and I am still minus one husband.
I got a phone call at 11pm on Friday night from a pay phone. Normally I would not have even answered, but I did. Now this was the end of Nanowrimo month and for the previous week I had not done a stitch of housework because I was crazy busy writing. My house looked like bombs had gone off in it. Actually it looks like that again today.
Anyway, 11pm, Friday night, phone call. It is my mom's boyfriend, he and his cousin are in town for the night to see the hockey game and they can't get a hotel room. Can they come and stay with me? Seriously? I was in shock but managed to stutter sh-sh-sh-sure. Instantly a plan of attack for the mountains of housework that needs to be done in the next 20 minutes comes to mind. I got my 13 year old out of his bed (he had only been in there a few minutes...) and made him take all the clean laundry out of the family room and into my room. (yes, after those hours I had spent folding the week before I had a new mountain to deal with.) I sprayed the bathroom with cleaner. I quickly picked up the main floor and tidied the kitchen. I vacuumed all the floors, mopped the kitchen . Put sheets in the wash and made up the bed. I was still on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom when the doorbell rang and the guys were at the door with pizza. At 1 am!
I was really surprised that he had called me, because he has only stayed here a couple times even with my mom here. We are just kind of learning how to be around each other. But it was fine and his cousin from NB was a super nice guy, so it was great to meet him as well.
Saturday morning I had to be out of the house by 8:15 with all the kids to take B. to hockey practice and a team parent meeting. We get there and just like on Tuesday, the times were mixed up and there was no practice. argh! I had left my house guests with a pot of fresh coffee and instructions to the toaster so I could get the boy to hockey. I won't be winning any hostess awards! So we had the hockey meeting anyway and that was fine. I took the kids back home and the boys changed from hockey gear into taekwondo gear and I wrestled the little ones back in their snow gear and into the van. I yelled at the ungrateful little wretches who are my oldest boys because we were running late. I had asked them a half an hour early to get ready to go so that we could leave on time to get there. They argued with me that it was not time yet!?! And then they ignored me for their computers while I kept yelling for them to get ready and help the little ones to get their boots and such on. By the time I got two little ones buckled in I was almost in tears and angry that the big boys did not seem to appreciate the effort it takes to get them to all their activities and how hard it is on their younger sibs sometimes.
So we get to the dojang and there is no Taekwondo. argh.
Back home to eat lunch and then do it all over again for hockey two more times.
Sunday morning comes and we are at it again. Hockey practice that the boy needs to be at for 8:30, I had to get the other 3 and myself ready for church first and then drop him off before we headed to church to teach Sunday School. Another terrific family dropped the boy off at church after practice, so that was awesome. After church we had a couple hours off before hockey started again.
My poor little monkey boy, he so hates going out. He is a real homebody and he craves schedule. All the running around really gets to him and when I say it is time to get ready he starts to fight and whine and cry and throws himself limp on the ground. Have you ever tried to fight a limp preschooler into outdoor gear and then into his carseat as he fights like a tiger? Not so fun. On numerous occasions I have had to wrap his coat around him and carry him in my arms into the van and fight him into the buckles. I feel terrible for him but he does need to cooperate sometimes and there are some things that we have to do. Needless to say, it is exhausting for both him and I. ugh.
Sunday night my Dad arrived for his regular visit on his way to work at Diavik. It is always wonderful to see him and it was so nice that he was able to stay with the little ones while I took the boy to his 9:30pm ice times.
Yesterday it snowed all day and it was really going last night. The roads were in awful shape and by the time I got the boy to his hockey practice last night I was almost in tears. This is my first winter driving and although I am doing quite well, it can be a bit scary at times.
Well right after that my cell phone rings. Unknown number. I usually don't answer those, but I did. It is my Mom! She is calling from Calgary where she has been trying to get a flight home. She will arrive in the city at 1am and is wondering if I can come and pick her up at the airport because she can't get all the way home tonight. The airport is almost an hour away from my house, on the highway and it is blizzarding. I did something I don't ever remember doing. I said no to my mom. I was totally afraid to head out in that at 1 in the morning, I was actually afraid of driving back home from the arena. I had planned on taking my dad to the airport in the morning as well, but now I thought I couldn't do it.
So my poor mom had to take a cab from the airport, the shuttles had stopped running by then. $70! I felt awful and I could tell she was annoyed. But she was nice about it this morning after she thought about how she did not really want me out driving in that anyway. And she was even gracious about having to sleep on the couch because my Dad was already staying in the Boy's bedroom (aka the guest room, my son is so sweet about letting people stay in his room)
I have daughter guilt now, especially after driving Mom to the airport just before lunch and the roads were pretty good. Oh well, better to be safe, I would hate for something to happen to me because I didn't listen to my better judgement. I have a total fear of something happening to me while my dh is out of town and my kids being alone:(
I love watching my kids in all their activities and I am so pleased that they can participate in them. But occasionally all the driving and getting preschoolers dressed in eighteen layers and then wrestled into car seats gets a bit much for me. Especially when it seems like the boys have no appreciation at the privilege it is for them to be able to participate and the work and money involved on our part. A thank you once in a while would be nice. And I would really appreciate if there was no complaining about actually going to the activity!
This afternoon I wanted to hibernate from the snow and I think we all needed a break. So on the way home from the airport we stopped at the movie theatre and went to Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium. It was so awesome! Loved it! and so did the kids. We had the entire theatre to ourselves, so the kids got to relax and be themselves and the little ones got to wander a bit. But man does it cost a lot to take 5 to the movies these days!
I am right there with you. The yelling, the toddlers, the frustration with the ungrateful older children lol.
ReplyDeleteYou rock but the way! SUPER MOM!
They will appreciate you when they're old:)
Love ya,
Wow, Kristen! That was some weekend. I can't believe how much hockey they squeeze into every weekend.
ReplyDeleteHope your week is ... calmer! :)
Hedidi
You are a SuperMom! Just reading about your weekend makes me want to have a panic attack! Saying "no" feels good, doesn't it? I know about guilt- daughter guilt, mother guilt, wife guilt- very annoying! But I can't stop it!
ReplyDeleteFor not knowing what to write about, you came up with a lot! :-)
ReplyDeleteBoy, do I relate to this post.
First of all, one of the biggest reasons I dislike winter so much is all the darn layers everyone has to put on and the constant mess of melting snow and mud on the floor in the house. (I hate being cold and I hate gray, short days too---so the combination does NOT make winter popular with me!)
Second, I have struggled with the kids' lack of gratefulness for the privileges they get by being in sports...the chauffeuring, the money we pay for fees and equipment, all the sacrifices we parents make. But after telling the kids over and over how lucky they are and they better appreciate it, I realize that they don't know anything else or have anything else to compare their life to. They don't have our memories, or our knowledge of the adult world of sacrifice and responsibility. My 14 year old son told me a couple of weeks ago, "You say I'm lucky and that I have it so easy, but I don't know why you say that because my friends all have a lot more things than I do and their parents aren't nearly as strict." Telling them about starving kids in Africa or kids on farms that have to get up at 5:00 AM to do chores doesn't compute with them!
Third, boy do I understand the family guilt. I don't think we're ever free of it, but you did the right thing, Kristen!
TTYS!
Sniz
I yelled at the ungrateful little wretches who are my oldest boys
ReplyDeleteIs it wrong that that made me laugh out loud?
Girl, I don't know how you ever managed not having a drivers license. Crazy crazy. Winter driving is a bit scary for the best of us. I've been doing it for 15 years and I still dislike it at times, even in hubby's big truck.
My boy is the same as yours when it comes to limp bodies and struggling to get the car seat buckles done up. 3/4 year olds are sure strong.