Skip to main content

Mother's Day

I was lamenting over my elevated stress level yesterday on Facebook and someone suggested I journal these experiences with my kids that are driving me insane so I thought I'd record yesterday's events here for your entertainment.

I woke up to Jathan at my bedside speaking quiet loudly (volume control is not his strong suit) about how he lost his penny and how I needed to go find it. I tried to get him to quiet down because Ryland was obviously still sleeping and Mommy likes that to last as long as possible. I also tried to explain to Jathan that he had been in charge of his money--a fact that he'd been THRILLED about 24 hours earlier--and that he would have to find it himself. Teaching stewardship to a three-year old? Not easy. So it ended up that Ryland woke up.

When I went to get Ryland from his bed, I noticed he had what looked like a smooshed Reese's cup in his hand. "Did you give Ryland candy?" I asked Jathan. It was not candy. It was the result of his putting his hand down his dirty diaper. Thank God it was only on his hand!

I cleaned him up and got breakfast ready (Keeleigh was at a friend's house already) then began my daily ritual of saying, "Get down, Ryland. Get down. Get down." Eventually the boys ended up playing in their room for a little while and I sat down to knit. Then Jathan came bringing me his busted snowglobe. Ryland had thrown it and, though it was plastic, it had cracked and now GLITTERY water was all over the floor. Thankfully, Ryland had seen fit to drag the clothes out of his drawers to wipe it up for me.

Then I absolutely forced them to play with their toys. RiDiCuLoUs. I had to actually say, "Get the helicopter out. Jathan, you show Ryland how it works. Put the balls through the top!" Does anyone else have to coach their kids through playing? They would have much rather sat with me on the bed! And yet Jathan begs for toys each and every day. I am trying to be strong. Trying to say he can only get toys on his birthday or at Christmas (don't feel sorry for him--his room is literally overflowing with toys!) but I do give in sometimes especially at the Dollar Tree. But yesterday I gathered up several things from his room and from Keeleigh's that will soon be carted away to the SWAP shop. I'm sort of sad to see his dry-erase table go because it was so cute in his room and he got it for Christmas one year but it is very rarely used and really just in the way. I'm trying not to be attached to things even when they have memories attached to them. Afterall, when the things are gone, the wonderful memories will remain.

So while I was making the boys play with their toys, I talked to my mom and told her I was sending some pictures to her local Walgreens for her to pick up. Then I got on the computer to send them. Jathan had asked to blow bubbles into the bathtub and I assumed that's what was happening in the bathroom. Then I started hearing giggles. Loud giggles. Then big splashes. And I knew there was only one place they could be splashing: the toilet. I ran in there and they had splashed pee water (Jathan doesn't flush!) everywhere. Jathan's clothes were soaked as was the rug. It was on the walls all the way to the door. I tried to clean it but if you visit my house and think my bathroom smells funky, thank the boys!

I have to admit at this point in my day, I lost it. I was texting Jackie through tears about how the children hated me. The boys sat in the bathtub while I sat and cried.

Then we moved on. I fixed lunch, we ate, and the boys went to sleep. Angels descended and sang a hallelujah chorus--softly, of course. Wouldn't want to wake Jathan and Ryland!

After naptime I had a plan. I would let Jathan play a game on the computer (tried Starfall but he wanted NickJr.) while I played with Ryland in his baby-gated room. Except before I managed to get Ryland behind the baby gate, he climbed up to the computer and scribbled on the screen with a pencil that was laying there. It was only a few little marks so I wiped it off and took him to his room where I taught him the joys of barnyard bowling. Oh yeah, it's fun to make things crash loudly. Sorry, neighbors!

I spent the next 30 minutes or so walking back and forth between there and the computer to help Jathan. The last time I went to check on Jathan I saw IT. He had taken Ryland's idea of scribbling on the computer screen and ran with it. There were marks all over it! I scrubbed and scrubbed calmly while delivering the worst message a child can hear--just wait until your daddy gets home.

Upon hearing that Jathan was intent on having a snack. I think he thought it might be his last meal or something. But supper was almost ready and it was smelling good. Yes, somehow I'd managed to cook chicken and wild rice (thank you, crock pot!) and some homemade yeast rolls which are sure to improve even the worst day.

Then Jackie got home *free* Redbox movie in hand and I knew I was saved!

Today Jackie decided to skip church and take the kids all by his lonesome on an all-day outing leaving me at home for peace, quiet, and relaxation. I can imagine what he was thinking yesterday during my frantic texts. "I'd better do something quick before she runs away and leaves them all WITH ME!" Ha, ha. So now I'm here. Alone. For the first time in God knows when. Aaaaaaah.

Happy Mother's Day!

Comments

  1. this was great Traci. Not that I'm glad your day was so difficult- but glad to know I'm not alone! We have those days too sometimes. It's hard being a mom- but I believe we will learn from all of those experiences. Sometimes we learn how we can be better; sometimes we learn how we've done a decent job.
    I love your last paragraph; so funny- and true at times! Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You so deserve that! Thank you for sharing! Why is it that when are days or weeks are so crazy with our children that we think we are the only mothers in the world with kids like this? My last few days have not been so great. I am not glad you had such a day but I am thankful to know I didn't go through my difficult 4 days alone. And Hannah doesnt know how to play alone either! She has always got to have attention!

    ReplyDelete
  3. i laughed so much at this because it sounds like our house!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why We're Moving to ALASKA

8 years ago at around this time Jackie was graduating from seminary after 5 years of being in New Orleans. We were excited and full of hope. It felt like after years of preparation our lives were now going to REALLY begin!  The seminary had hosted a sort of ministry fair for students to meet with representatives from across the United States. Jackie talked to me about which state representatives he’d like to talk with as we planned our perfect life out in our heads (HA!). He mentioned Alaska which I quickly vetoed; we thought it would be lovely to live near the mountains somewhere out west—maybe Colorado? Montana? However, I went back and told him to talk to the Alaska guy if he wanted to because I didn’t think it was right that I should tell him no. I don’t remember all the states he inquired about that day. I remember him bringing home a memo pad that said West Virginia on it, and I remember him talking ALL ABOUT ALASKA.  Now when God speaks to me I unfortunately do not have a light

5 Reasons I Should Stay Off Facebook

1. TMI So, I remember the weirdest things but one brief conversation I had over 10 years ago stands out to me. It was high school and like all high school girls I had friends, enemies, and frienemies. One of my then-frienemies (we've grown up since then!) was friends with one of my enemies. Standing by the lockers one day, frienemy walks up and says in reference to enemy something like, "She shares too much information. Sometimes it's almost like, 'Hey, guys. I just farted.'" Of course, at the time I ate this up and laughed at her expense but over the years it's been a little reminder that more often than not I need to shut up. Just shut up. I've often been tempted (and have too often given in to the temptation) to over share. I think the Internet feels far safer than it really is. I need to remember that. 2. Friends...or Stalkers? Speaking of "friends", I have 321 of them. I know that number is much higher for many of you, but

I Turned Down a Large Sum of Money.

In Alaska there are lots of homeschooling options. The state has a statute which basically says that if you are a child’s parent or guardian you can educate them. The end. No other requirements, no tests, no reporting. You are their mama and in control (as it should be!) Along with having a private tutor or being a part of a religious private school, one option is to homeschool as a part of the public school system.  Because Alaska is so large and areas can be so remote, homeschooling used to be quite the neccessity. It meant schooling out of a box—correspondence school. Now things have changed and homeschoolers have an entire plethora of options. Here you can join a group (sort of extension of the public schools) and if you meet the requirements, you get money to support your students. A LOT of money. Around $2,000 a child.  I have only homeschooled in Louisiana and Alabama both of which give parents a good bit of freedom. I was nervous about joining a group in which I had to test and