Brady had a chunk of time off last week and yesterday, but today, he was back to work, which put me back in my usual morning routine of getting the kids up and fed, and everything else that goes along with that. This morning was no different than my usual mornings when Brady’s at work, but its been a little while since I had to do a morning on my own, and truthfully, I felt SO overwhelmed.
Once again, I didn’t sleep well and had a rough time getting out of bed. But thats nothing new. The kids were cute, chatting together, but all tucked into their beds still. It was quite endearing, until they opened their mouths. Each one had one story or another of how someone had wronged them or broken a rules or whatever else. I shut it down right away and said its a new day, we won’t worry about those things, let’s just get breakfast going. Dekker and Laela ran to get the table set up while I changed Rowan’s diaper. Ro had a pretty rough evening yesterday, and we were kind of recapping what he needed to try to do differently today, but while that’s going on, Laela and Dekker began screaming at the top of their lungs.
I went to figure out what the deal was in the dining room, and it was (as usual) an argument over colors of dishes. I really wish Ikea would make those exact kids dishes but just in one color. Just one. Like a whole pack of yellow everything. It would just make my life so much easier, haha! So I stopped that and we all decided to be happy with the colors that we had. Screaming started back up again over the presence of a fly in our house, but once again, we just had to let it happen. Once everyone was settled and eating, I got up and went to tackle the dishes.
For whatever reason today, I just couldn’t get over myself. The dishes weren’t even that messy. A handful of usual dishes, plus pots and such from last nights supper were on the counters, in the sink, and on the island. Once I started handling it, everything with sticky and gooey and so smelly, and I just wasn’t handling it well. I also knew in the back of my mind I had to pull out chicken before it got too far into the morning so I could get supper into the crock pot on time. But the thought of handling chicken wasn’t especially appealing to me either, with my hands already covered in spoiled milk and congealed gravy. However, it had to be done. So I went to pull out the chicken and put it in the sink to thaw for a little bit. I burned through the dishes as fast as I could before going to the table and helping the little boys get their yogurt. Of course, with every step I took, I crushed Cheerios under my feet. I was just SO over the mess and grossness of my house, and I was in such a bad mood.
Dekker: Has this been a good start to your day, mommy, or a bad one?
Me: Its been a bit hard. Not bad, but a bit hard.
Dekker: Why has it been hard?
Me: I didn’t sleep very well, and then you guys were all angry at each other right away, and now our whole kitchen and dining room is messy. It feels like a lot of work to do when I’m tired. But its ok.
Dekker: Thats too bad. Maybe if I vacuumed, that would help?
This kid. He offered to help, which was so lovely. And he made good on it, too. When everyone had finished breakfast and cleared their dishes, Dekker pulled out the vacuum and got on it. I moved the chairs for him, but that was it! He did the rest all on his own.
Once the work was done, he put the vacuum away, and I put the table back together. Then, Laela invited the boys to join her in their room, and they hauled in a ton of books, and read stories for probably close to an hour. It. Was. Awesome.
Of course, I spent that hour on my butt, resting a bit and eating cereal. My chicken spent that hour “cooking” on the “keep warm” setting of my crock pot. Sigh. Can’t do it all, I suppose.
Thank goodness, we survived the morning, and lunch, and now half the gang is napping. I can’t figure out what to eat so I’ve got a small plate of baby carrots and ranch sitting beside me. The big kids are playing Lego and we’re taking it easy. Despite the rough start, I think its been a pretty nice morning.