So, I get drinks for breakfast and snack ready the night before. I also put lunches on plates with covers and keep them in the fridge overnight so that we're just a few seconds from lunch being ready when it comes time. Even with this forethought and preparation the day before, I'm still smart enough to know that this control that I hope to maintain will be fleeting and will come and go quicker than chocolate does during a stressful day. So basically, I'm tricking myself into believing that being an organized mom will lead to harmony for all. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but you can't blame a girl for trying.
 |
| CAUTION: Faces in this photo are not as innocent as they may otherwise appear. |
Take today for example. It's Friday. TGIF!! After a sweet kiss from my husband before he went through the door for work, me and my positive, proactive attitude pulled ourselves together and were ready to get the day started. All three kids were dressed; teeth brushed and sat down for breakfast at the same time to eat the same thing. YAY me! Child 1 can't sit still OR be quiet for more than about 30 seconds in a row (yes, I'm referring to that strong-willed almost four year old little angel of mine. Today, I'll be calling her What Do You Mean The World Doesn't Revolve Around Me?!, or WDYMTWDRAM for short.) So, being proactive, I encourage her to show Children 2 and 3 how to scoop Kix onto a spoon and get it into their mouths rather than getting down from the table for the fifth time in three minutes to get...well, honestly I can't even remember what she was off to get that time. Of course no amount of encouraging can get WDYMTWDRAM to sit still. I don't let this surprise me or catch me off guard. (YAY me again!) Down she goes and off to play. Whew, I think to myself, positive attitude still in check. One down, two to go.
My baby boy, I'm learning, has about as much of a problem sitting still as his sister does. I also do not let this surprise me this morning. I clean him up and send him off to play. One little one left at the table.
I've told you before that MCHN (my curly haired niece) is as chubby as she is cute. Well, those chubby little thighs take time and energy to keep up! One bowl of Kix down. "Mur?" she asks sweetly. Again, I was prepared for this. I quickly add more cereal, strawberries and milk to her bowl. But, since about 15 minutes have passed now since WDYMTWDRAM and my baby boy have left the table, they both come back into the kitchen, pull their chairs out and want more to eat. This wouldn't be quite so inconvenient if I hadn't already cleaned up their dishes and swept the floor under their chairs. I mean, I'm being proactive and productive right?! So, no, I tell them. You've already eaten. Go play and when MCHN is finished we'll read some books. This appeases them...for the time being.
"Mur?"
Seriously?? MCHN has been at the table now for forty minutes and is asking for her third bowl of cereal! My baby boy has lost any little bit of patience he had by this point, and is whining at my leg to put him back into his booster seat and let him eat again. It's the SAME meal man!! You've already finished it!! But he does not understand. I pick him up to stop his crying and end up carrying him around while MCHN finishes every last bit of that third bowl of Kix. Bless her chubby little thighs.
I try to finish cleaning up the breakfast mess and promise the three of them we'll read books just as soon as I'm finished. My baby boy is on about his third tantrum of the morning by this time, and my patience is beginning to run thin. It's only 9 a.m. WDYMTWDRAM is tormenting both MCHN and my baby boy, whose tantrums have now led to a runny nose and puffy eyes. Okay, forget cleaning up; just get these kids busy with something else before we all go insane!
Off to the living room my proactive mommy-self goes, taking deep breaths along the way. "Pick a color," I tell them spreading out the three different shapes I proactively prepared the evening before, "and sit down." MCHN and WDYMTWDRAM sit down quickly on their chosen shapes while my runny nosed, puffy eyed baby boy (MRNPEBB) looks miserably at the blue triangle on the floor and sobs. All I really want to do is pick up my baby boy and go off into a room alone with him, let him snuggle with me, and make us both feel better. But intead, I take a deep breath. Both girls just watch him, a little irritated actually. I get the book out, sit down and am amazed to look up and see ALL THREE OF THEM sitting nicely on their spots, quietly waiting for me to start the book. Seriously?! Did I do that?? YAY me!!
Don't get too excited.
Three pages into the book, catastrophe strikes. Yep, MRNPEBB decides to launch his blue triangle across the room for no apparent reason. His puffy eyes glance in my direction for a reaction. WDYMTWDRAM screams, "NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!" like her little brother has just ruined the best moment in her life thus far. MCHN just watches the scene in amazement. I sigh. Just keep reading, I tell myself. So I do.
WDYMTWDRAM cannot regain any sense of composure. She starts pulling at the pink circle MCHN is trying to sit on, making MCHN cry. And, I'm not saying the word "cry" lightly here. When she cries, she CRIES. Seriously! You think she's lost a limb or something. I pause, feeling defeated, and walk to the kitchen to finish cleaning up the breakfast mess. All three kids are unhappy and making some horrible noise or another.
It's only 9:15 a.m. Seriously?! My positive, proactive attitude is losing steam at a very fast pace, and I wonder what in the world we are going to do for the 45 LONG minutes before we leave for gymnastics. I decide to take a break. I tip-toe to the sliding glass door and step out on the deck. Hello sunshine!! Hello fresh air!! I look at my watch and decide to give myself 3 minutes. One minute for each needy, noisy child on the other side of that door.
When I re-enter the kitchen, WDYMTWDRAM says, "Oh, there you are mom!" in the sweetest, most mature and chipper almost four year old little voice, and gives me a hug. MRNPEBB and MCHN are chasing each other in circles - kitchen to dining room to living room to kitchen - one pushing a grocery cart and the other trailing behind, pushing a stroller and giggling.
OK, let me get this straight. I plan, prepare and then try to provide an organized morning of book reading (on colored shapes even!) to mitigate the risk of unforeseen catastrophes, and all I really had to do was walk onto the deck for 3 minutes to make everyone happy??!! Are you kidding me??!!
A few minutes later we begin our bye-bye routine. WDYMTWDRAM go potty. Check. MRNPEBB and MCHN diaper changes and shoes on. Check, check. Coats? Check. Snacks and drinks for later? Check. Okay, head to the car. (And yes, it really is this much work and so much more to get three little ones out the door...)
We're all buckled in, I put the car in reverse, and before I'm even out of the driveway, WDYMTWDRAM says, "Mommy!" No mommy, you do not get just two seconds of peace and quiet, so do not even think about it! (Sorry, the devil on my shoulder made me say that.) WDYMTWDRAM repeats, louder this time, "Mommy!!"
"Yeeeess," I reply, trying to regain my composure.
"You forgot to get dressed!!"
I look down. Seriously?!
No...she was just kidding. But her sense of humor was so ironic at that moment (JPJ trying to be the organized, well prepared mommy vs. actually forgetting to get dressed! I mean SERIOUSLY!! I could see it happening!) that I laughed at myself. Thanks WDYMTWDRAM...I needed that reminder that life's a lot more fun if I don't take things so seriously, especially ME!!
 |
| Honestly, do you see an angel in those eyes, or the charming little WDYMTWDRAM almost four year old that I've been speaking of today?? |
No comments:
Post a Comment