Reality Check

Mine happened yesterday.  Monday was my first full day at home with all the kids – well, the boys were in school until 3, but I digress.

Actually, the day went pretty well.  I made the mistake of not taking a shower before Scott left with the boys at 7:45.  That meant I took the record-breaking 43-second shower while I put on Dora for the girls, put Luke in the bouncy seat and prayed like a fiend that nothing would happen.  Amazingly?  Nothing did.  Eh, wasn’t much of a shower, but I knew I would be home all day.  At this point, I’m like, why bother?

So, while the girls napped, Luke nursed and he and I crashed on the couch (Reason #34 being a stay-at-home mom pretty much rocks).  It wasn’t stellar napping, but the house was quiet and that’s really all a girl can ask.

Then, the clock hit 3:30.

Anna-Laura kept asking for candy and after the 15th time, I finally snapped and threw a ton in the trash and bagged the rest for Scott to take to the office.  Oh, Halloween you are so not a fun holiday two weeks after the fact.

A friend brought the boys home and Will was all, “Hey, Mom, I need to study vocabulary but I can’t find my steno book, but I know I’m supposed to study.  Do you know what an election is?  I think I know the Bill of Rights, though.  Oh, and can I play on the computer, Mom?  You know, after I’m done with  my vocabulary words.” 

Then John Paul chimed in, “Mom, I wanna go outside!  Where’s my snack?  Oh, Roberto and Antonio were so funny on the playground.  They crack me up.  Hey, why is Anna-Laura playing with my Batman stuff?  SISTY!!!”

ALG started screaming because John Paul took her pencil away – you know for Batman retaliation – Clare kept belting out “Noooo”, Luke started screaming because he was hungry and I couldn’t find my hydrocodone fast enough.

Scott arrived home at 6:30.  Longest three hours of my life.

But today was Mother’s Day Out day.  Can you see me smiling?  There’s something about having a few hours of peace at your house that allow you to handle the storm of “after school crazy.”  We’re figuring it out as we go.  Somedays are better than others, even if you are the mom of 5.