You would NOT...believe.....the last few days that I've had. O_O I just...I don't even have words. If I typed it all out...ya know what? Here it goes.
Thursday: Pretty normal day. Wake up at 5:30, coffee and quiet time before kids wake up, feed kids breakfast, go to my neighbor's house where we trade off watching each other's kids while the other one runs. I do a few other exercises while I'm waiting for my turn. That day I was watching my 3 year old daughter, my 4 year old niece, and my almost 6 year old nephew, along with two other little 3 year old girls, V and T. After we finish, we go home, change clothes, get a snack, and head outside to do some gardening. We've had huge piles of tree mulch delivered by the electric company after all of their annual trimming of the trees and we're working on laying down layers of butcher paper and covering it with 1-2 ft of mulch in order to kill the grass and enrich the soil for next year's garden. As soon as we get out there, V, one of the other 3 year olds that I watch, pees in her pants. Now, it's a big ordeal to get all of those kids out and over there with all of their bottles of water and snacks and such. And she NEVER has accidents like that and I know that it was on purpose because she didn't want to stop to go potty. So I make her play in her pee pants while we're out there (it was only an hour and I bathed her as soon as we got home) Needless to say, I wasn't super happy...but she seemed to straighten up for the rest of the day.
Friday: Rain. Lots and lots of rain. I was expecting to have a total of 6 kids this day, so I'm happy when I get text messages from two of the moms telling me that they've made other arrangements or have cancelled their plans since it's raining. So only 4 little kiddos today. Shouldn't be too bad. I can find ways to entertain 4 kids. Wrong. It was complete chaos. No one wanted to behave. No one wanted to give me 5 minutes. I felt like I accomplished nothing. It was a crazy crazy day.....and then it happened. My daughter was sleeping, my niece and nephew were quietly watching a movie in the other room, my sister was sleeping because she had to work that night, and V....she didn't want to take a nap at all. So when I got up to take a phone call....she came out shortly after to tell me that she had to go potty. "Go then!" I say. "I already went in my panties!" she says. -_- uuuummmm.....WHAT?! Yeah, poop everywhere. (sorry if you get grossed out easily.) So I take her in the bathroom and proceed to make her watch while I explain and show here everything that I have to do to clean her, her clothes, and the bathroom all up and tell her that it's disgusting and I never want to have to do it again. I told her it made me upset that she would do that on purpose just because she didn't want to take a nap (her excuse when asked why she did it) and she told me that next time she would go in the potty so that I would be happy. I apologized to her for getting upset and we were good.
..............30 minutes later............
She's playing with all of the other kids and I notice she's holding herself. So I ask if she needs to go potty. She says no but I tell her that she should try anyway. She tells me that she's sorry for holding herself and that she doesn't need to go. So I trust her and assume that she just had an itch or something.
She usually totally tells the truth about these things. She's very honest and very intelligent. I don't think twice about it. 2 seconds later, she's peeing all over herself and the playroom. That's when I flipped out. Totally flipped out. I couldn't even punish her...I was too frustrated...I just cleaned her up quietly, changed her, and made her sit down at the table to color until her mom got there. Her mom told me yesterday that she continued to behave this way all weekend. Soooo weird.
Saturday: Niece, nephew, daughter....I'm expecting to drop my niece and nephew off in the evening, with their dad, who gets them every other weekend, and then go babysit overnight for a friend. I get a phone call to remind me that they will be dropping their 3 year old daughter off at MY house instead and that it's going to be at noon instead of in the evening. o_o ooookay....
My bank and all other civilized community is about 25 minutes away. I have to go to said bank anyway, so I offer to pick her up. I leave my nephew with my aforementioned neighbor because they won't all fit in my car in their carseats. Go to the bank, go pick up the little girl, only to find out that she's have diarrhea problems ('cause I haven't been dealing with enough poopy toddlers) and that I need to go to the grocery store to get her some medicine before heading home. "This can't be happening..." So I go to the grocery store, three toddlers in tow, go to find an age appropriate stomach medicine (that I would never ever give to my own daughter) and proceed to the check-out, where we wait in line forever while someone has to go and check for a price...and right as it's our turn.....my daughter informs me that she needs to pee so badly that she's going to have an accident, and starts freaking out. (she never has accidents and never acts like this when she has to go to the bathroom, so I take it seriously.) We get out of line, leave the medicine with the cashier, and head to the bathroom. Me carrying my daughter, followed by the other two, insisting on hopping through the grocery store like bunnies. "at least they aren't throwing fits or anything." I think to myself. We make it back to the cashier....wait in line again....buy the medicine, and head home. It seemed like the rest of the day was filled with spill after spill, things breaking randomly, children who are discontent, and a messy house that I just can't seem to keep up with that day. I make another trip at 6 to town to drop off my niece and nephew with their dad, and then another trip at 9 to drop my sister off at work. The two remaining girls fell asleep in the car and stay asleep when I put them to bed upon returning to the house. Finally I caught a break. I read for a bit and then pass out.
Sunday: I knew that this day was going to be a bit crazy...but I didn't know just how crazy. Woke up, made coffee and read my bible and such, made breakfast, was in the middle of getting ready when I get a text asking me to teach a sunday school class because the teachers fell sick. Really not something I was prepared for or was in the mood for but I know that I'm needed so I agree and start praying that the Lord would show me what would be best to teach. I continue getting ready and getting the girls ready and then receive another text saying nevermind. They were just going to make that age group sit in church that day. We have a new coffee maker and flavors and such for making lattes at our church that someone donated, so our pastor's wife is running that....but has no clue what she's doing. As a former barista I feel it is my duty to help out. So I jump in and start making coffees. I'm supposed to make an announcement after worship so I start mentally preparing for that...then I'm asked to help out in the nursery because the nursery worker is supposed to sing during worship. I think she could tell I wasn't up for it....so she recruited someone else who is NEVER in there...but who has kids so they think it's ok. I am also asked to go in the nursery before church is over because the same lady (a really close friend of mine) has a gig with her band to sing the rock opera that their band wrote for The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. I agree and after my announcement and sitting in service for a whole of 30 minutes, I go to help out in the nursery. There are only 6 babies and I guess because everyone knows I deal with kids all the time, they think I'll be fine. So the other volunteers then leave when I show up. I'm left with the last half of the service and cranky kids who are no longer so easy to entertain and who want their parents. THEN, when I'm left cleaning everything up by myself (I know it sounds like I'm complaining a lot....and usually it's no big deal WHATsoever, but I had had a difficult few days prior to this morning and was having a hard time getting my attitude adjusted. Not sure why) a new member who joined our church when we recently merged with another church from a nearby town, had the nerve to come and start criticizing everything about our nursery and the system we use; giving a list to our pastor's wife of all the changes we need to make. Our church has been through a lot in the past 2 years and the nursery only exists because my friend that I mentioned before stepped up to watch the babies so that the moms could be in service. We'd moved twice and everything was still kinda crazy, along with the fact that the only babies in there were either related to her, or belonged to this one other family. So really...there weren't many security measures being taken...'cause we were all family for a long time. I'm totally up for improvement and constructive criticism, but this chick's entire attitude was one of superiority and I didn't take it well. She even said, "I already knew when I came that your nursery was like this..." I dunno. I just didn't take it well.
After church, when I already got out way later than intended because I had to take notes on changes, volunteer for a nursery shift, was told I am a back-up for teaching sunday school and that I need to have a lesson always ready just in case, and after cleaning up everything, I had to take the other little girl back to her family. Her mom talked to me for ages it seemed like. I really wanted to make it to my friend's gig because I really love The Selfish Giant. I didn't think I'd have time to go so I called her and talked to her about it. I decide to try, even if I'll be late. I drive to get my daughter some lunch (I loathe fast food...but it was what I had to do....so it added fuel to the fire of my day) then start driving in the general direction I had to go. After I was as far as I knew to go, I entered the address of the place into my gps, only to discover it's twice as far as I had expected it to be. So I drove an hour. Yep, an hour, to their gig. It was fun. Kyla loved it and we got to see a bunch of our friends. They did a wonderful job! I found out it was a good friend's birthday celebration that night, but no one had told me and I had already made other plans. I was a bit depressed but stuck to my commitment, even though I didn't want to. Then we drove an hour back, went to wal-mart to get a birthday gift for the birthday party of one of the little girls I watch and a few grocery items for a coffee cake I'm supposed to bake later that night that I have to take to a moms group I go to on Monday morning. We go to the party. It's beautiful! It's like Pinterest threw up all over their back yard. It was sickeningly adorable and fun. We made our own mini-pizzas and they grilled them! They also had beer....at a 3 year old's birthday party....and that made it more enjoyable.
(I only had one...don't worry) It was a bit depressing to see so many cute couples with all of their little kids and their little perfect families, but it was fun to meet other parents.
We're getting ready to leave to head home (finally!) when I get a text asking if I still have the medicine that I had bought for the little girl I'd watched the night before. D'oh! I forgot to bring it to them! So I drive BACK to town (yes, this is the 4th trip)to give them the medicine and finally make it home by 10:00pm. There's no way I'm baking tonight. So I put the groceries away and set my alarm for 5:30am.
Monday: 5:30am, wake up, brush teeth, make coffee, listen to my bible on my phone while I get to baking. I make the coffee cake and get it in the oven, slice up some delicious watermelon from our garden and arrange it neatly on a tray, by this time my daughter is up so I get her some breakfast and hop in the shower while she watches a cartoon. I manage to get dressed, do my hair, put on makeup, get her dressed, do her hair, load up the food and make it to the meeting by the desired time, 8:15am. The meeting doesn't start until 9 but I run the sound and projector and we usually have someone who speaks and some worship time. I get Kyla to her class, V shows up and I take her to her class, set up my food, cue up all of the lyrics and such, scarf down some food and another cup of coffee, get through music and everything and I'm just about to finally be able to sit down and fellowship with the other moms at my table when I get a phone call from my landlord. Apparently the bank hasn't received several of our rent payments in the last few months and they're about to foreclose on the house that we're all living in. WHAT?! So I sit on the phone in the pantry of the church kitchen while everyone else is hanging out, listening to her freak out while I try to figure out what the heck has happened. I reassure her that I have a paper trail for all of my payments in the past few months and that I'll get them faxed over as soon as I get home. She calls back another 3 times. I missed over half of the meeting that is supposed to be a break and a blessing. -_- I did paint a flower pot and plant a vine in it. Our theme verse is about abiding in Him. It's pretty cool. I load up my dishes, the girls' crafts they did, put in V's carseat, load up the girls and head home. I feed the girls lunch, make several more phone calls, print out some bank statements and such for faxing later on. I then get a phone call about another house we've been looking at to rent that's just down the road. It's bigger, it's been recently remodeled, and has a much nicer landlord. (believe it or not, there's so much back story you're NOT getting....but my land lady is RIDICULOUS in every sense of the word and really really needs Jesus) I find out that the landlord of this new house really likes us and wants to give it to us, without a deposit! Wee! I'd been praying about it and wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do....but I feel like this day....this day solidified it for me. So I load the girls up, pick up my friend, go by the church where we had our moms meeting and ask if I can use their fax machine. I fax the papers in and then head to the grocery store with my friend.
Kyla fell asleep in the car on the way there and while my friend pushed the cart around with V in it and did all of her grocery shopping, I carried my sleeping 3 year old around the loud, busy store the whole time. I love her so much.
Then I dropped my friend off, hung out a bit, ate dinner with them, then left to go to an even further away town (45 mins) to pick up my sister from her friend's house and my niece and nephew from their dad's house, run by the bank to make a deposit before they close, get some pumpkin spice lattes (heck yes!) and then head home. Make some food for the kiddos, finish my coffee, and then load up in the car again to take my sister to work.
And now I'm here....exhausted....brain dead....excited about the new house....not excited about giving my current landlord our 30 day notice....thanking the Lord for guiding us through this and for the extreme grace He's given me these last few days because really...most people may have slaughtered something by now....and I'm setting my alarm for 5:30 tomorrow morning.
If you've made it this far....you get a cookie. Any kind you want. I'll just bake it at 5:30 tomorrow morning.
