A Day Off

It's 11:36 pm and everyone is finally asleep.

The silence is golden.

It's been a day.

There was no school today and Jake had a dentist appointment too, so it seemed like a good idea to take the whole day off.

As I think about today, I'm thinking I should have just gone to work.

It would have been easier.

The day began with tears and angry words between Lexi and me. That was strange, because she is usually so easy to get along with. She didn't want to babysit the little girls while I took Jake to the dentist. I didn't want to take the little girls to the dentist and try to make them behave for an hour. Lexi was so adamant about not watching them, I angrily put them into the van and left without even saying good bye. They must have sensed my anger, because they were suprisingly well-behaved at the dentist. And so was Jake. Lexi and I both calmed down, and were back to normal by the time I got home.

The thing is, I know exactly where she's coming from. She's like the second mom to the little girls. It's exhausting and it's not fair. None of her friends have to babysit their little brothers or sisters. I probably take advantage of her. I promised her I would work on that, and she promised me she wouldn't act like a spoiled brat ever again.

Onto the next frustration of the day. While we were waiting in the dentist's office, I noticed something in the hood of Jake's new Duke sweatshirt. Upon closer examination, I realized he had written his name in the hood of his sweatshirt. Where it could be seen. In permament marker. I was so mad. He did the same thing to his new Duke t-shirt yesterday... wrote his name in permament marker on the back of his shirt. He explained that he didn't want to lose either, and the tags weren't big enough to write on. To him, it made perfect sense. To me, he ruined two brand new pieces of clothing. But, after he promised never to do that again, I am over it. As a friend pointed out, at least it's not a tattoo. Although I'm sure that's coming.

Frustration number three..... Morgan. She is just at a really tough age. Her naps are getting shorter, which leaves more time for mischief. Today, she swallowed a penny. Lexi, Tess and Jake all noticed she put a penny in her mouth at the same time. We all scrambled to get the penny out of her mouth, but during that chaos, she swallowed it. I immediately called our doctor and texted my two best nurse friends. They all assured me it will pass. Gross. But if it doesn't pass in a few days, we should probably go in. I can't believe this has never happened before. She is fine, but I was totally freaked out. Now I'm just hoping it comes out a nickel, or even a quarter. I could use some extra money.

And then there is Lizzy. Poor, poor Lizzy who obviously doesn't get enough attention. For the past several weeks Brad and I have thought her room smelled like urine. I washed her bedding, Morgan's bedding, put an air freshener in there, and searched for dirty laundry. It still smelled. Tonight, Brad discovered why. He caught Lizzy squatting between her bed and her book shelf, naked, peeing. She ruined a board game, a magic wand, and a stuffed animal. We had to move her bed out of her room so I could scrub the carpet. The good news is we know we weren't losing it... her room really did smell like pee. The bad news is, this is totally not acceptable behavior.

Just so you know, these events are just the highlights, a few of the reasons I wished I was at work today. I could complain for hours, but I read once that constant complaining shortens your life expectancy. I don't want to risk it. You see, I need to live long enough to see my children become parents.... because paybacks are a bitch. That said, I'm sorry Mom and Dad!

Birthday Madness

April means one thing in our house: let the birthday madness begin!

• Lizzy turns four on April 15.
• Lexi turns 12 on April 19.
• Jake turns 10 on May 6.

It's enough to drive a mom crazy. Every year, I wonder how I'll make each day special, when there are so many "special" days so close together. I am already tired of cake, and we haven't even begun.

But then, every year, just as I start worrying about the financial effects of this birthday madness, my kids surprise me. This year it was Jake. He sat down to write his birthday wish list last night. A sign of the times, he emailed it to everyone in his contact list. I giggled at the first few items, but the last one nearly made me cry, because as much "stuff" as he wants, I'm so proud that he also already realizes that there are some things that are more important than any thing money can buy:

Hi everyone, it's me Jake I'm just gonna tell you my birthday list(not in order of importance).

1. LEGOs!
2. video games
3. inside basketball
4. viking stuff(NOT bronco colors grandpa)
5. money
6. family, YOUR ALL INVITED

From,
Jake