Ahhhhhhhh.......FRIDAY!

:stars:

...and what an up and down week this has been.

Our babysitter arrived on time at 7:25 and sat on the sofa with Zoe in a daze while we raced past her to herd kids into the cars. "bye", she called after me as I ran out the door with Aidan, who was still trying to put his mitten on "by himself".

Phew! Bye.....My single thought was getting Andrew and Aidan where they needed to be so that I could go to Caribou and search the web guiltlessly....I wasn't in the mood to write or work on photo albums. I just wanted....to have some quality ME time.

On the way to Caribou, I got a call from Kelly....and was enjoying being able to talk about politics, residency and life without the disruption of crying kids until...my phone went dead. It isn't holding a charge well anymore and the fuse in my lighter blew and I can't recharge it while driving..

sigh.

So I traipsed into Caribou with my laptop....eager to get online and just relax....only to find out that the internet connection is broken there today. Everytime I tried to login I got an error message.

It would be funny....except....it isn't!

So I opted to do something that some would consider healthy (but the woman behind me thought was insane) and....I opened up a word document and just vented to myself....I pulled every angry, upset thought that I was having from the tips of my toes and released them right out through my fingertips onto the page...relishing in allowing myself to have a full-blown temper tantrum about the state of our house, parenting and all that has been frustrating me. It felt good to just get it out..as irrational as some of it was....I left no stone unturned, and as I did it, I felt myself being able to take control again....It felt so good to just vomit it all up and validate my own feelings. Phew! Then I turned around. A woman was sitting behind me with her daughter and she was staring at my screen....eyes as big as saucers. Hey...that's what you get for being nosy.

The truth of what I was writing though is that Thomas and I are exhausted beyond belief. It really goes beyond not being able to watch the debates last night....The commuting is killing us one brain cell at a time....and we don't seem to be able to catch up on our sleep. Zoe still wakes up 3-4 times a night right now. She was truly better as a newborn than she is now, but I attribute this to her being stuck in the car for all of the driving. She is not getting proper naps or sleep and it is showing up at night.

The other issue we have though is the big kids...and instead of complaining about it....I'm going to let you think about how you would feel in my shoes.

Amanda's bedroom (don't forget, I just cleaned it and it was spotless):



Now here's what I don't understand....why do they have to open up every single drawer in every room in our home without closing them? The wet towel...the books and papers on the floor? I complained bitterly to my mom this morning, and she practically cackled with glee "Do you remember what a mess YOUR room was?"

Ummmm....moving on.

There is something that you should notice lying in the middle of Amanda's floor...let me highlight it for you:



Gee, what's that? A...photo album? MY PHOTO ALBUM?

Once again, Amanda got into my photo albums and pictures. Didn't we just have this argument 2 months ago? She pulled out every album and a large number of picture and I found one in her bedroom this morning and the rest were scattered downstairs all over the family room and BATHROOM floors. Seriously.

I demanded that she clean them up immediately and put things back exactly as they were, and this is what she did:



remaining vestibules of mess:



Are you KIDDING me?

I didn't discover the albums on the bathroom floor until Andrew was walking out after going to the bathroom. He simply was stepping over them to get back out. :huh:

"Can you pick those up?"
"Why, it's not my problem. I didn't put them in here."



OMG!

:thud:

Thomas and I each raced to see who could get angrier with them faster. I think....I won.

We need a break....a vacation from the driving, planners, homework, projects, kung fu...and for extra emphasis, I'll say it again....driving.

And in case I haven't mentioned it, I'm behind on laundry:



And that doesn't include what is lying all over Amanda's floor, or sitting in the laundry room.

It isn't just Thomas and I in need of a break though...I think it is all of us. The kids are restless, the weather is too cold, we're all overwhelmed and it seems like each day is just more of the same: dishes, laundry, driving, homework, drudgery....

So after my rant with myself, I decided to figure out how I can give us all a shot of fun again.

We can't head off on a wonderful Caribbean vacation...Disney is out of the picture....so...I booked a room for the kids and I at a hotel with pools and games and...fun. Thomas has to work all weekend and he is happy to be granted a vacation from....us.

"I'll come and see you every day"

"No, it's ok. Come home from work and watch your shows and study.....do what you want to do."

"Really? You won't be mad?"

"Nope"

And I really won't be. He needs some space from the kids and the chance to do some things that he enjoys....I need to be able to relax and let the kids have some down time. It works out great....I think we're all going to have a nice weekend.

Here's hoping that this gives us just the shot in the arm to get through another month of MN madness! Now I'm off to clean the house and pack before my mad dash to pick everyone up from school![/quote]