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………..