Day 7... End of Week One

 

Day 7:  I can’t even talk about today;  I don't want to step on any toes!

…..The only thing I will say is that my heart is really hurting and the only remedy, I can think of, isn’t available!!!  :O(

Day 6...

Day 6:  I am so exhausted; I feel like I have the weight of my world on my shoulders and it’s really weighing me down!!!  I’m really looking forward to my 3ish hour break tonight, thanks to Erin from MOPS who has graciously volunteered to give me Thursday nights off!

         …Last night was a really late night!  My attempt at using a baby gate to keep Maggie in her room worked in a way, but in the end only really frustrated her and she was too upset to go to sleep.  Especially after I went into her room, about 11:45, and decided to put her back in her bed since she was lying on the floor without any blankets.  Putting her back in her bed was a mistake!  It woke her up and she wouldn’t go back to sleep, she just cried and cried at her door.  It was after midnight when I decided that I really needed to get some sleep so I’d just have her sleep with me in my bed.  She almost immediately went right to sleep snuggled up next to me on Jacob’s side of the bed.  This won’t be a regular thing though,  I have to figure out if I want to bring her crib back in or if moving her to a twin bed, with more space to move around, won’t be more productive?!

         I don’t get the best of rest sleeping with Maggie in my bed.  She tends to be a bed hog and I usually find myself on the very edge of the bed despite her small size.  I don’t like to have someone touching me when I sleep so I tend to move away from them and that is what has me ending up on the edge of the bed.

         For some reason, though I’d finally gone to sleep around 1am, I woke up right around 5:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep; this could be another reason I’m so exhausted today…  I lay in bed, but decided to get up at 6 since I couldn’t get back to sleep, then got ready for the day.

         The older 3 were up about 6:30.  Anna was really tired though; she’d stayed up till 10 doing something, I can’t quite remember what, so she didn’t get enough sleep.  The boys were up, but messing around in their room.  I had to remind them several times that they were supposed to be getting their clothes on for the day.

         Nothing too eventful went on this morning with the kids OR the dog; no mishaps, no big fights, or actions that demanded consequences.  Once Anna and David left for school I was able to make breakfast for Maggie and myself and sit and relax for a few minutes after going and going and going this morning trying to get some chores done.

         After eating I decided that I wanted to go to the ARC Thrift Store, turn in some donations, then check out the selections in the store.  Before we got out of the van I strapped Maggie into her new child safety harness that my friend Cindy got me.  We didn’t really use it much, but when we did it was extremely helpful and I actually saved Maggie twice from face planting in the road because I was able to pull her up in time!  :O)  (Thanks Cindy!!!)

I didn’t find much at the ARC, just 3 small items.  Then I took the kids over to The Dollar Tree, where we got a bunch of goodies and necessities.  Man can you save a bundle there, if you stop yourself from buying any extras that is…  ;O)  lol

         Back home, with the van unloaded, I tried to talk on the phone and get the kids some lunch, but Maggie was really being a challenge; she wouldn’t stop shrieking so I had to cut the conversation short.  Though I was able to schedule a babysitter for my Dental Apt. next Thursday morning and a play date afterwards!

         Once I was off the phone I was able to sit Maggie down with a yogurt, which I let her feed herself.  She made a bit of a mess, but was happier than she’s been previously so I decided to just deal with the mess afterward and enjoy the piece while I had it!  When she finished I tried to get her to eat her hot dog, but she just started freaking out again; so instead of fighting with her, I just put her down for nap.  She only fought that for a minute before she went right to sleep; I guess she was tired?!

         Right now (12:06 pm) I’m updating my Blog and getting ready to try and figure out what I want do in my time off this afternoon… 

John is playing with Lady; they are constant companions when the older kids are at school.

         I’m not sure what else will go on today???  I want to get a bit more cleaning done before Erin arrives this afternoon…  I’ll update more later this evening.

9:36 pm  ~I’m having trouble typing because I’m just so darn exhausted.  Running on only 4 1/2 hours of sleep will do that to ya, along with all the other daily stuff as well…  Wow I can’t even really think straight!!!

         I made dinner for my kids and Erin and her son, Ethan.  I had forgotten to tell Anna and David that they would have a sitter when they got home from school, so I had to call the school and leave a message so they wouldn’t freak out with a stranger in the home.  I also wrote them a note of what I expected while I was gone!

         Erin arrived right at 3:30, I relayed the dinner instructions, where stuff was, what wasn’t allowed with the dog and a few other sitting instructions then I took off.

         I went to the Cinema Grill to watch “Rango”.  WOW, is that a GREAT show!!!  It has an excellent moral that I really needed reminding of, lots of action, adventure, lots of laughs, and man was it punny!!!  LOL  I really enjoyed it!!!  While I was there I also enjoyed my favorite meal:  kids cheeseburger w/ fries and an extra basket of fries (I brought most of those home and the kids gobbled them up when they discovered that’s what was in the box).  I also got a soda and a brownie sundae (no nuts) a little later; none of that made it home!  :O)

         After the movie I only had about 45 minutes till I needed to be back home and I really wanted to find this CD that I discovered today, so I made a quick trip into The Dollar Tree to check on a few items, then headed off to Walmart.

         The closest Walmart was under construction and everything was very randomly arranged.  I finally found the electronics section in the very back corner on the opposite side of the store from the entrance.  However, I didn’t find the CD so I left.

         I kept wracking my brain to think of somewhere else that might have the CD, but I couldn’t think of anywhere until I pulled around the corner from Walmart and remember there was Sams Club just down the street and Best Buy a little farther down than that.  I stopped at Sams first, but they had a very limited selection.  Then at Best Buy I found what I was looking for.  It was priced a bit higher than I expected, but I really wanted to get the CD today, so went ahead and purchased it.

         Back home I thanked Erin and greeted my kids.  Once Erin left I rushed them upstairs to get ready for bed.  We started our reading time a little later than usual because the Skype connection was having a bit of trouble connecting on Jacob’s end, but he was finally able to read for 15 minutes.  I sent the kids up to bed right after and got off the computer so I could get the kids in bed and do a few things so that I could Skype Jacob and it just be the two of us for a few minutes before he headed off to bed.

         I had the kids put away a bit of laundry and the boys clean their room again (not sure why they can’t ever put things where they know they belong, especially when I have to tell them every night to do the SAME THING!!!)!!! 

         David and Anna helped me move the extra twin mattress we have up to Maggie’s room.  I decided that I wanted to try the twin bed to give her a bit more room to move around on.  She’s such a little rolly-polly at night, I think the toddler bed (especially that smaller mattress) without rails to keep her in (like the crib) just wasn’t working because she is just too active in her sleep!  We’ll see how the twin mattress works tonight?!?!  Right now I don’t hear her, but I’m gonna check on her before I head to bed when I’m done here…

         Once her bed was together and the toddler bed removed I put Maggie in bed.  She didn’t want to stay and I spend about 45 minutes going up and down the stairs putting her back in bed.  I hope this works; I really need some sleep!!!

         Nothing bad really happened today, just a few kids tantrums and Maggie’s usual mischief and fits, which are quite frustrating, but over all it has been my best day so far I think!  Now I just need to go to bed and I think things will be even better!  :O)  ZZZzzzzz……….. 

Days 4 and 5...

Day 4:  So I woke this morning just after 6 am because my phone was ringing.  Jacob was calling to talk a bit before he had to head in for school.  We reconciled after last nights events and I apologized for my childish response to what went on…

After our talk I decided to freshen up by taking a shower; though before I did I decided to weigh-in on our scale, only to step on it wrong and wrench my already bad ankle pretty good.  :O(

After I showered and dressed for the day, the 3 older kids were up and Lady came into my room (she had been sleeping in the boys room).  I quickly went with her out in the back yard so she could go potty.  Almost immediately she relieved herself.  I walked around a bit and shortly after she went and did #2, YAY!!!  So hopefully we won’t have any incidents in the house if we keep a VERY close eye on her today!!!

Nothing else has really gone wrong this morning…  Wait, I spoke too soon…  It’s just a mole hill though…  John just informed me Maggie is getting into mischief in Jacob’s office.  I asked David to go down and turn on the door alarm so she won’t go in, she’s afraid of the alarm; it’s a good deterrent!

The kids have all been breakfasted or are still eating in John’s case.  The older two are ready for School.  Anna is outside drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Now that Maggie has been redirected, David is reading to her down in he playroom.  There’s about 23 minutes until Anna and David need to leave for School. 

My only goal for the day is to go to the Post Office and mail off a package for my sister (it’s some eBay items she sold to a person in Brazil). I’ve never mailed an international package before so it will be an interesting experience!

So I can’t remember everything that I got accomplished yesterday, but here are a few things that I did get to: 

~I went through all the bins in the laundry/storage room because I’m trying to put together a bin of ‘worthy’ stuff to take to Kid to Kid to trade in for store credit.

~Cleaned off the last counter in the kitchen and most of the stuff off of the round table, though it has been cluttered up again already. S:OS

~I boxed up all the extra stuff (I’m not taking to KtK) in the Dining room to clean the room up a bit...Doing so I realized that there isn’t nearly as much stuff as it looked like and there definitely isn’t enough stuff to have a garage sale by myself, so I’m just going to have to donate the stuff I don’t take to Kid to Kid, minus the furniture…

         .....The only real problems that I’ve had with anyone at all today are with Maggie.  She is constantly getting into anything and everything she’s not supposed to (the dog water and food, the bookshelf next to my chair, playing with the remote controls for all the different equipment hooked up to the TV and for the TV itself, this is only to name a few things).  If I don’t watch her CONSTANTLY and even if I do she sometimes still gets into things, even if I’m right there…  SMH  …I’m not sure what’s going on with her?!  She’s been getting plenty of attention.  However, it seems she wants every single second of my attention, which isn’t leaving me with any time to do anything else that needs to be done around here, which is a lot with the new dog that has become un-potty trained being in a new environment, Anna and David needing help with homework when they get home from School and other various thing the older 3 need help with all through the evening.  Then there’s dinner, dishes, laundry, other household chores, ect, ect…. 

         This evening we got to Skype Jacob for our nightly reading before the kids went to bed.  The boys kept bouncing around like crazy and one time John bounced so hard he flew off the big purple marshmallow pillow we have and landed hard against the exercise bike.  I was like, “Whoa…are you okay?”   He seemed fine, then started to get all shy and cry like he does when he gets hurt (he never wants any attention when other people realize he’s been hurt and he gets very defensive).  Anyway, he wouldn’t let me anywhere near him, so I left him alone and he went and hid behind the chair next to the couch by the large dragon figurine that I got for my Anniversary last year.  Well, John started to freak out behind the chair, apparently frustrated by something, all of a sudden I see Anna’s jacket flying out from behind the chair and see my dragon go flying with it and hear a crack as it lands on the chair.  I rush over and grab the dragon, at first I don’t see anything then I notice there’s a 2” narrow chunk missing all the way through one of the dragons wings.  SMH …I was so angry, I yelled “Times up!” speaking about the reading time.  I took the dragon over towards the garbage and tried to see if I could retrieve the missing wing pieces, but they had fallen down inside (the inside is hallow), so it’s not repairable.  In frustration I slammed the dragon down on the counter (not as hard as you would think) and two of the dragons feet crack off and went flying across the counter.  RME&SMH   We called it a night and I sent the kids to bed.  Jacob was still on Skype, but we didn’t know what to talk about since I was so frustrated for SO many reasons!   

         I’m HORRIBLY bummed that my super awesome dragon (present) was ruined!!!  I might try and find another one because I really, REALLY liked that dragon (not only was it super cool looking, it was a present from my Honey)!!!!!

         The older 3 kids went to bed no problem, but I really had a tough time getting Maggie stay in bed.  She had fallen asleep earlier when we had run an errand to grab some baby gates from a lady who had posted them on Craigslist.  She took about an hour nap, so when it was time for bed she didn’t want to go and I spent over an hour running up and down the stairs, spanking her butt every other time or so, and putting her back in bed.  I think it was around 9:30 when she finally stayed put; she originally went to bed at 8.

         I stayed up and watched “Cranford”; it's a two disc series that I’ve rented from Netflix.  I started to get really tired after the second episode, about 10:30 so I shut it off and went to bed.

          

         Day 5:  So today I had quite a bit planned to do!  First thing, after the usual stuff (getting kids ready for school and everything that goes with it), I needed to go and fuel my van and get out some cash so that I could head to Boulder to check out a desk/hutch combo that I possibly wanted to get for Anna.  I originally wanted to leave at 8:35, HOWEVER at 8:30 David comes up from the playroom, looking all wary and concerned he says, “Mom I just noticed this just now, I’m not sure when she did it, but the dog pooped in the playroom.”

         “WHAT?!?!” I shriek.  There were a LOT of choice words and dialogue that went on after that, but I wont’ repeat it.  Anyway, I cleaned up the mess and wasn’t ready to leave till 8:50.  The kids hadn’t left for school yet and I had had a really hard time getting them to listen and help me out so we could leave, so they were punished and I told them they'd have to run, they had 5 minutes to get to School or they'd be late.

         John, Maggie and I took off after Anna and David left for School.  I stopped to  get some cash (for the desk) and fuel since I was below half a tank; Boulder is almost an hour drive away.  Anyway, we were on the road at 9:01 am.

         We arrived at our destination in West Boulder a few minutes before 10, the time that’s I’d arranged to meet the people at their place.  When we parked I called my friend Cindy to let her know so she could take off for our lunch destination; she had a farther drive than I so she needed a head start. 

          The place we arrived at appeared to be an apartment complex with multiple places claiming the same address.  However I had never received a house number from the lady, but I did get a phone number, so I gave her a call.  They said they were just around the corner, they’d gone to get coffee, and a few minutes later they pulled up.  Maggie at fallen asleep on the way there so I left her in the van.  John had to go to the bathroom, so I asked if he could use their restroom.  When he was done we went out to check out the desk.  It looked exactly like the pictures only for real, now that we were seeing them in person.  I checked out all the pieces making sure it wasn’t going to fall apart and was sturdy.  Everything seemed in working order, it just needs a few screws to put a drawer face back on and a couple drawer pulls, so $50 wasn’t bad at all for such a nice desk with only a few minor scratches and a couple of hardware pieces that needed replaced!

         I decided I wanted the desk and we started to load the pieces into the van.  I’d removed Anna’s seat and put David’s side down, but as we tried to get the pieces in it proved to be a bit more difficult than we expected.  We had to do some creative type puzzle solving with the pieces and in the end I had to put John’s seat down as well and move him to the front seat in order to make all the pieces fit.

         After we got the desk/hutch loaded I paid the lady, thanked them and the kids and I headed off to meet my friend Cindy at The Huckleberry in Louisville.  It was only 20 minutes from where we were.

         The kids and I arrived in Louisville at about 10:45 am.  I couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere near the restaurant, so we had to drive around a bit.  After driving up and down the streets a couple times I finally found a spot just east of the restaurant, about a block away.  When we parked I let Maggie out of her seat since she’d been confined for about an hour and 45 minutes.  We still had about half an hour till Cindy would get there (she had a 45 minute drive) so with the kids loose in the van I tried to make a phone call to kill some time, but couldn’t get through.

         Time passed and about 15 minutes and two diaper changes later we headed into The Huckleberry.  After a quick bathroom break, we came back to the front and were seated almost immediately.  We got a table back in a smaller side room with only a few tables.  I ordered some tea for myself and water for the kids.  Cindy arrived about 10 minutes later and I order an appetizer, Fried Green Tomatoes, and John’s lunch, a Mickey Mouse Pancake with whipped crème.  It took us awhile, but Cindy and I finally decided what we wanted to eat.  She ordered the Country Breakfast and I decided to try something outside of the box (for me) and got Eggs Benedict.  I’ve always wanted to try it, or so I thought, but never had the guts to actually order it, so I decided since that since this was a new experience I’d go ahead and try something new (something that I hesitate to do because I’m usually horribly disappointed).  Anyway, John’s pancake and the Fried Green Tomatoes came out a bit later.  John started work right away on his.  I grabbed a FGT, dipped it in the sauce and took a bite…YUM!  It didn’t taste like I’d always imagined, but it was REALLY good!  I ate 2 1/2 and gave the first half to Maggie who started munching away.  

Cindy and I chatted a bit while we waited for our meal to arrive.  I relayed some of the past few days events.  Maggie became very fussy, no matter what tried or gave her she just wouldn’t calm down and became very screechy.  I finally gave her my calculator and she was okay with that, mostly. 

Our food arrived and it looked quite good.  I decided to just dive right into my Eggs Benedict and despite my hesitation (in the past) it was VERY good, even better when combined with a bit of their seasoned potatoes!  My only complaint, however, would be that I didn’t like the slimy feel of the egg (over easy) on my tongue; it gave me the willies, other than that I would definitely order it again (Cindy said to order the egg fried next time)!!! 

John made short work of his pancake.  I didn’t even realize he had finished it off until he brought it to my attention.  He REALLY liked it!  I told him I’d order him a milkshake because he had been so good.  He chose a chocolate one and I told the waiter, whom I thought had heard me…  After we finished our meals I decided to get dessert.  I ordered a slice of peach huckleberry pie and a white lemon curd cake 'to go'.  My pie was delivered and I tried it.  It was a bit more tart than I was lead to believe, but I think that was because they had kept it in the fridge (I prefer my pie room temperature).  I shared the pie with John and Maggie ate my whipped crème.  John’s shake never came unfortunately; I made sure that we weren’t charged for it on the check, so I let him finish off my pie.   We did get the lemon cake though and John wasn’t to carry it to the van so I let him.

Cindy drove over and parked behind me just before we left to head back to Aurora.  She had picked up some things for me at the BX while she was shopping the previous day.  She found me a child harness for Maggie (because of the previous days fiasco with her at TRU), a dog bed for Lady (so she’d have a place of her own to crash), and some of my favorite cheese I use in about everything I cook and was almost completely out of (it’s way cheaper at the Commissary than anywhere else).  After I loaded the stuff we took off and I lead the way back towards our homes.       

***In our discussions over our meal Cindy and I decided that we needed to go back there at least once a month.  The food was all so good and the décor was really nice to look at.  We wanted to sample some more teas too, but didn’t want to have to worry about the kids, so we’ll have to wait till our hubbies our back from TDY. 

Back home, I unloaded Maggie and the stuff Cindy gave me.  I put the dog bed on the ground and let Lady in.  I tried to show her the bed, but she wasn’t interested at all.  She was more excited that we were home!  As I showed Lady the bed, Maggie kept cuddling the pillow, I couldn’t get the dog to stay on it.  I thought that was funny that Maggie liked the pillow more than the dog, so I called Cindy to let her know.

While I talked with Cindy she reminded me that I needed to do some laundry (something she was talking about that she needed to do).  So I went downstairs and ended up doing 3 loads.  In between loads I kept having to get after Maggie.  She’s been such a huge mischief-maker since Jacob left for St. Louis, even more than usual.  Even if I keep a constant eye on her, I’m constantly reprimanding her and pulling her out of trouble and cleaning her up! 

When the kids got home I had Anna and David help me unload the desk/hutch from the van.  I ended up hurting my wrist trying to get the hutch out; it’s still a bit tender.  After we got it in the house we went over to The Book Outlet to try and find a dog-training book so that we can properly start working with Lady.  I also found a book on lots of different tricks to teach a dog and a book specifically on Chow Chows, which the breed that I’m thinking of getting for myself sometime in the future, or at least a mix of.       

When we got back home Anna made dinner for herself and the kids.  She made Parmesan pesto penne and peas.  They all really liked it!  I didn’t eat because I had had such a large lunch and was still very full, plus I don’t like Pesto, yuck!

After dinner, I decided that I really, really wanted to get my hair cut.  I couln't wait another day, it's been driving me CRAZY, so I had the kids load up in the van and we headed off to our usual hair salon.  I left the kids in the van under Anna’s supervision and instructions her to come and get me if need be and headed in.   

There was a lady in front of me when I got inside so I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to wait or not, but I was able to get right in.  The lady, Morgan, did a great job on my hair; she did exactly what I wanted and I was so excited that I had gotten my hair done that I gave her a $5 tip!

When I was finished and paid I went out to the van and told the kids we were heading over to Walmart.  I told them if they were good and didn’t get in trouble, even once, that I would let them have their chocolate Easter Bunnies (that they haven’t received yet for various different reasons, they didn’t get them tonight either).  I had brought a list and was able to get most of what was on it, plus a few Easter items that they had on 50% off.  We got the Easter version of a Sing-a-ma-jig for $5 and a couple other things.  I also go everything to make crepes again except for strawberries.  I did check for them, but almost every case was moldy, yuck, so I decided I’d wait and look elsewhere.

On our way home I was about to turn to go out of the Walmart parking lot, when I saw a lady holding a sign next to her car that read: “Out of Gas”.  I almost turned to leave, but felt compelled to stop and give them some money, so I pulled around and parked, grabbed some cash and headed over to her.  I handed her the cash and apologized for not having a gas can with me, but she and the guy with her were extremely thankful for the money anyway.  I got back in the van and we headed home.

I called Jacob on the way since it was 10 till 7.  We usually start our night reading at 7, but I didn’t think we would make it home by then so I wanted to let him know we’d be a little late.

When we got home I had the kids help me unload the van, then had them run upstairs to get their pajamas on.  I put all the stuff in the sacks away and then Skyped Jake a bit before the kids were ready.  Once they were seated, and paying attention for the most part, he started the story.

While Jacob read I had a lot of trouble getting Maggie to not feed the dog her food, which she was doing unintentionally, only because the dog was so close.  I finally had to put the dog outside because I couldn't keep the two separated.  I had various different incidents with Maggie while Jacob read, she just didn’t want to sit still.

At about 7:30 I told the kids to brush their teeth (if they hadn't already) and head to bed.  I hung up with Jacob to get the kids ready for bed.  I ended up making the boys pick up all their stuff in their room and hang their clothes; their room was a mess!  They have to keep their room picked up every night, which isn't a new rule, but has to absolutely be followed through on now because Lady sleeps in their room.  At least until Anna can get her room cleaned up, but we need a new dresser for her before that will be possible…

By the time the boys were in bed it was 8:15.  I let Maggie stay up until 8:30 then because I’ve had such a hard time with her staying in bed for the last week plus, I decided to gate her in her room so she can’t leave.  She really didn’t like it at first and kept opening the door, turning on the light and crying.  I thought it was working because instead of the hour and a half that I’m usually chasing her up and down the stairs to get her in bed, this time she was quite within half an hour and her light was off.  Unfortunately, about an hour later she started crying again, it woke Anna who thought she would let Maggie sleep in her room to get her to stop crying.  However, shortly after Maggie left Anna’s room crying and for some reason she was only wearing her diaper.  I had to go and put Maggie back in her pj’s, change her diaper and put her back in her bed.  She didn’t want to go; she cried for a while, then was quite for a while, then cried for a while again.  She’s quite now; it’s 10:21, hopefully she’ll stay asleep!!!

Nightmare on Paris Place...

 

And various other locations...

Saturday my life started to go to Hell!  It's been one continuous nightmare after another!!!!!  I've shed many a tear and lost my temper way too many times!!!!!  Unfortunately IT never seems to end!!!  :O(

Day 1:  It all started when Jacob left for St. Louis about 10:30 am Saturday morning! Unfortunately since the last two days have been a whirlwind of non-stop activity and constant trials and tribulations I have apparently blocked the events of Saturday from my memory, so I can’t tell you what happened at this time…  Wait…  I remembered something…  I spent a lot of time in the evening trying to put the kids Easter outfits together so we wouldn’t have to search for something, last minute, in the morning.  I ended up arguing and fighting with the boys a lot because they didn’t want to wear something super fancy.  In the end I won out, but was worn out emotionally from the fight!  :O(

So I will move onto Sunday…

Day 2:  Sunday morning I awoke relatively early to get ready for Easter Sunday.  Maggie had spent several hours sleeping in the bed with me (she joined me around 4:30 I believe) and had managed to push me to the edge of Jacob’s side of the bed.  When I got up she was laying horizontal on the bed with her feet on my side and her head on the edge of my side of the bed.  I left her sleeping and went to take a shower, but she woke up and ended up showering with me.  When we finished, I helped to get the boys ready for the day.  I had to focus individually on each child until they were completely dressed then move onto the next child because if my attention strayed even a little bit, that child would freak out.  So anyway,  I got the boys dressed and Anna got Maggie into her tights.  Anna had gotten herself ready, but didn’t know where Maggie’s dress was so I had to go downstairs and get it from the laundry room. 

When Maggie was all dressed and ready for the day, except for her shoes, I finally had the time to get myself ready for the day.  I couldn’t figure out anything to wear that looked really nice and didn’t make me feel totally fat, so I opted for something slightly nice, but more for comfort., About 15 minutes before we needed to leave for Church and I was dressed and ready, I headed downstairs.  As I reached the bottom of the stairs, John comes running out of the kitchen yelling, “Mom, Maggie’s playing in the dog water!” Then Maggie comes running out from the kitchen as if on cue and she’s drenched in the dogs water and the feet of her tights are brown.  SO I had to go and find her a completely new outfit.  What I found wasn’t anywhere near as cute at the outfit she was originally wearing, but I didn’t have anything else for her to wear and we were running out of time to get to Church.

         Well I took the kids to Church to honor God and for no other reason.  I didn’t really even want to be there and as I stood in the sanctuary I felt like crying off an on because of the mornings events. I didn’t sing much and just ended up listening.  I didn’t learn anything, though I did end up putting in a prayer request.

         After Service Anna went and got John for me ( I had written her a note and given her my security card so I wouldn’t have to get him AND Maggie from their classes);  I also gave her my keys and asked her to take him out the van.  I went to get Maggie, David was with me, and as I stood waiting for the workers to bring her to me a lady I know from MOPS, named Erin, came up and said “Happy Easter!”. 

I was like, “Sure.” rather sourly.  I may have even rolled my eyes.  S:OS

About that time they brought Maggie over.  Erin said, “What a pretty dress.” 

I was like, “She was wearing a much prettier one this morning.” Then proceeded to tell her about my morning.  Then we headed out to the van.

From Church we headed to Toys R Us.  Since we had gotten out 15 minutes early from Church and I didn’t have to meet my friend Cindy at the Chinese Buffet till 11, I figured we had time.  I went there because I knew they had these train track pieces that John needed to be able to connect the train sets that he had gotten for his Birthday together and I wasn’t sure when we’d be down there again…  Anyway, when we got there I discovered that all their Easter stuff was 75% off.  I ended up getting each of the kids a basket filled with goodies for $3.25 (4) to $5 (1) and several Easter themed board books for Maggie at 50% off. 

After looking through the Easter stuff for a while I headed over to the train area and picked up two track sets for John.  The boys played with the train set that was out and I decided to look around a bit since the Sunday paper that I had gotten didn’t have any ads in it for some reason (not sure why?).  Anyway, I had a really hard time keeping the kids with me while I was going through the isles.  The boys kept taking off, I was really frustrated so I quit looking and we checked out.

We made it to the LD Buffet at about 11.  I had Anna run in to see if they were open, which I was pretty sure they were.  She came back out go get us, so I texted Cindy to let her know she could head over. I brought all the kids into the restaurant and sat the boys and Maggie at the front on the bench to wait for Anna and I to get the food (we got it “to go”).  I told David to keep an eye on Maggie and for John to just sit there and wait.  After I’d dished up my favorite sushi, I looked over to find all the kids (minus Anna) doing ring around the support pole at the front and making a scene so I had to go and reprimand them.  Once they were seated again I finished getting our food, paid, then we headed home.

When we got home I tried to take some pictures of the kids all dressed up in their Easter garb, HOWEVER they weren’t cooperating.  I finally gave up.  Cindy joined us a few minutes later.  When she arrived we sat down to eat.  When the kids were done, I told them to go downstairs and watch a show so Cindy and I could watch a show of our own, but they kept hanging around making too much noise and Cindy and I had too much to talk about.  We couldn’t really pay attention to the movie (and it was one of those movies you really want to pay attention to or you end up missing things), so we finally gave up trying to watch.  I let Cindy take the movie home so she would be able to watch the movie without all the distractions.  Since watching the show wasn’t working out I suggested that we go and check out a different Toys R Us to see what selection of Easter stuff they had left. 

When we arrived at TRU they were pretty much cleaned out of most of the good Easter stuff.  :O(  I did find some different Easter themed books though and two really cute, super soft, fleece bunnies that I got for .75¢ each.  I also found the Limited Edition Tangled storey book that I had wanted to get, quite awhile back, and a Hello Kitty ABC board book which I got for FREE because of their Sunday BOGO sale going on with their books.  So that was cool!

We looked around awhile longer.  The kids were really having a hard time staying with me and I had to keep going to get them.  We finally decided it was time to leave and headed towards the check out. 

While I was checking out I asked Anna to keep an eye on Maggie for me.  She was too distracted with whatever she was doing and not paying any attention to Maggie so I asked her again.  When I finished checking out I stood with Cindy waiting for her to finish her transaction.  Then all of a sudden I hear the boys screaming something about Maggie and I turn to see John running out the Exit doors, so I take off running too!  I get outside and there is Maggie across the street and David has just gotten a hold of her.  Needless to say I was startling shocked and super angry!  I rushed across the street, grabbed Maggie from David and stormed to the van, buckled Maggie into her car seat and immediately called Jacob.  We discussed the kids lack of cooperation, and inability to mind.  I said I needed to pick up a collar and leash for Maggie so I don’t have to chase after her all the time, since she won’t say put.  About this time Cindy comes out and I tell her what happened; she’s shocked!  I tell her I need to get a collar and leash for Maggie and she reminds me about the safety harnesses that TRU and other stores carry.  So I asked if she’d watch the kids while I ran in to find one.  She said yes and says she’ll talk to the kids for me while I’m gone. 

I found what I was looking for, but didn’t like the color, so I didn’t get it.  I decided that I would just strap Maggie in when she’s in a cart and just not go anywhere else that doesn’t have a cart until I can go and find one of those safety harnesses.  My plan is to go to Kid to Kid when we get paid Thursday because I’ve seen them there before and they were way cheaper than buying a new one.  I hope I can find what I’m looking for!!!

I can’t remember what I did in the evening.  The kids didn’t get their Easter baskets or chocolate bunnies because they had been so disobedient (that was what I told them when they asked about them). I’m sure I cleaned up dog pee at least once or twice down in the playroom.  I’m REALLY TICKED that the person who sold us the dog said she was potty trained because she obviously isn’t and that was a major factor in our getting her!  :O( 
 I guess I’ll move on because I can’t remember anything else that happened…

Day 3:  Monday (4-25-11) morning, Anna came into my room about 6:30, she wanted to know what to do with her hair because yesterday evening I had wound her damp hair up into sections and secured them with bobby pins so that in the morning when she woke up her hair would be curly.  I told her to let the dog out and would help her with her hair when I got up.  I continued to lie in bed for a little while after she left, Maggie asleep at my side.  She had spent half the night sleeping in bed with me (she didn’t hog the whole bed this time).  When I got up a few minutes later I got dressed. 

         What happened after this and up until the events of the morning, I’m not quite clear on anymore.  However, I think in there somewhere I decided to move Maggie’s furniture around so that she’ll be more secure in her toddler bed, instead of switching her over to a twin mattress like I debated… 

Anyway, so I was distracted with something or other and came downstairs, John comes rushing over… “Mom, Maggie has poop!” 

“What?!” I say in shock and confusion.  Then turn to find Maggie holding two dog turds.  I start yelling frantically and Maggie sets the poop down on the table.  I pick her up and rush her over to the sink and immediately wash and rinse her hands and wipe her face, which has suspicious indications that she may have been trying to eat the poop, YUCK!!! 

With her all cleaned up I grab a paper towel and throw the poop away, then using some sanitizer wipes I wash down the table and douse it with sanitizer pray.  After it was cleaned I question John about where Maggie found the poop.  He’s pretty certain that it was on the floor in the TV room.  Though I’m not quite positive of John’s certainty, I start searching around to make sure there aren’t anymore unfortunate incidents on the floor.  Initially I don’t see anything, though I spot the dog looking rather guilty over next to one of the bookshelves in the front room and I tell the kids to take her outside and move on.  Since I didn’t find anything, I sanitize spray the whole TV room, then wash the carpet, and sanitize spray the whole floor again, this time leaving it to dry.  I had Anna grab the box fans from downstairs and set them up so the floor would dry quicker.

Once the floor was clean and the steam vac was cleaned and put away (in the garage), I decided to go check around and make sure I didn’t miss anything.  Guess what?!  I DID!!!  I found several logs of poop on the floor in the fireplace room (not sure how I missed them).  So I pick ‘em up and sanitize spray the floor.  Then I had to retrieve the steam vac, refill it, and as I go to plug it in behind an end table in the front room, guess what else I found?!?!?!  A huge puddle of dog pee (that’s why the dog looked so guilty)!  I started breathing deeply so I wouldn’t lose it, but couldn’t handle it anymore, so I started to cry as I worked to clean up the mess.  I ended up washing the whole carpet in the fireplace room and front room and drenched everything in sanitizer spray!        

Just before Anna and David left for School I went to put the dogs blanket outside, since I had no intension of letting her back in, however she managed to rush past me into the house.  I yell at the kids to grab her and put her back outside.  Well Anna grabbed her by the collar and started dragging her back outside (because she didn’t want to go), AND the dog left a trail of pee all along the floor behind her.  SO I had to wash the carpet AGAIN!!!  :O(

I had to rush Anna and David out the door, then finish cleaning up.  Though on one of my many passes past the bathroom I heard a bunch of splashing coming from inside.  I opened the door to find Maggie holding the toilet brush and she’s sloshed toilet water all over the floor completely soaking it.  I had to sop up all the water and sanitize the toilet, the whole floor, and while I was at it I wiped down the counter and mirror.  After cleaning the bathroom I took Maggie upstairs, stripped her, gave her a bath, then dried her and put her in clean clothes.

So after all this was over it was just after the older two left for School.  After going, going, going since about 6:30 am, and it now being almost 10 am, I was finally able to sit down and relax for a moment.  I put on a movie for John and Maggie.  I surfed the net while holding Maggie. 

I was checking out potty training advice, when my sister called to tell me about an item, which I had been searching for, was in stock at a local store.  Her call reminded me of something that I had meant to do that morning, but got side tracked and completely forgot about…  And what I had forgotten was that I wanted to go to Target to check out the after Easter sale.  While I was there I also tried to find a child safety harness (which I didn’t find) and a baby gate, which I did get (I purchased it as a potty training tool).  I also got some bread (which we were completely out of) and a few Easter items at 50% off.

Back home around 11, Maggie was super cranky so I decided to put her down for a nap.  Then I nuked some left over Chinese for John and my lunch and sat down to finally relax.  I was able to do some furniture research on-line (Anna really needs a dresser and some bookshelves to get her room in order) and check a few other things out.

Then about 2 pm, since I hadn’t heard Maggie yet, I thought I should go and check on her.  I found her still asleep, on her bed, so I decided to go outside and do some yard work.  I went out back and pulled all the dandelions (or so I thought, I found one later, it must have been hiding), raked up most of the loose stuff on the yard, then mowed the lawn.  When I was finished I came in to find Maggie in my chair, fortunately she hadn’t gotten into anything.

Later in the afternoon after the kids were home from school I had to clean up another pee spot from the dog.  Jacob and I talked about potty training techniques so that the dog wouldn’t have the chance to pee in the house.  We decided that when the dog is in the house we will keep her on her leash and when she is outside (in the back yard), she can be off her leash.  We’ll after the kids had had her on he leash for awhile, and she had been outside not too long ago, I didn’t think it necessary to keep the dog on her leash anymore since she was with at least one of us the whole time.  Unfortunately not too long after her release AND right in front of David’s nose (which was in a book), she peed on the floor, though he said it was there when he went in the fireplace room to start reading.  SMH  :O(

I made dinner for us all about 4:30.  My original plan was to start dinner at 4:15, however my timing was thrown off because I had to clean up the dog mess. 

The rest of this evening I spent a lot of time keeping Maggie out of trouble. 

Around 6 pm (I didn’t even realize it was that late until my sister called and as I was walking around happened to glace at the clock on the microwave), I had Anna take the dog for a walk.

Just before 7 pm I had the kids get their pajamas on and brush their teeth.  We were waiting for our reading time with Jacob, via Skype, which we had previously scheduled as our nightly, family get together time before the kids went to bed each night.  However, I couldn’t get a hold of Jacob so I had the kids do some reading on their own. I spent the time cleaning the kitchen and doing some reorganizing, and then put the kids to bed at 8.  I continued to clean the kitchen.  I got 3 of the four counters cleaned off, the medicine cabinet decluttered, reorganized, and all the outdated meds tossed.  AND I’ve spent the last hour and fifteen minutes trying to keep Maggie in bed; she didn’t want to stay put till I scared her this last time (it’s now 9:29 pm).

I’m not sure why my kids have such a hard time listening to me OR minding… Or why EVERYTHING has escalated as horribly as it has since Jacob has been gone???  It just seems like one bad thing after another happens and I’m constantly, CONSTANTLY, RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO CLEAN IT ALL UP!!!

AAARRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!  :O(