I am so exhausted. We went to the NCA/NDA National Collegiate Championship in Daytona Beach as a cheer team field trip. It was so hot. According to my weather app, it never even hit 80, but it felt like 115. We sat in direct sun for over four hours. It was just a long day. We got home around 8:30, colored Easter eggs, and the kids went to bed at 9:30. Then up at 7 tomorrow (or earlier) to look at baskets and find eggs, shower, print scripts and music for tomorrow’s church service, which I am leading and also singing in, come home, bake a carrot cake, figure out how to cook a ham, set the table, and prepare for guests at 4pm. I am thinking that maybe a third of this will actually happen, and if I do more than a third of it, well, yay. And then I have to go back to work on Monday. Weekends like this are really not worth it.
Author: peanut7312
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April 7
The kids had the day off from school, so at the last minute I decided to take the day off too. I took the kids to get sandwiches and we went to Walter Jones Park, where we played card games while squirrels tried their best to see what food we might have for them. Then I took the kids to the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside and we sure did make the most of it.
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April 6
There was a mild meltdown before Christina’s dance class where she said she never wanted to go again, that she hated it… tears and tears and tears. This is a person who all season long has told me how much she loves dance and wants to join the competitive team and take four classes next year… I managed to use my mother’s finesse to finally get from her that she feels self conscious because she is by far the oldest and most capable in the class. Which makes total sense. So I counted the number of classes she has left (seven), got her to agree to survive seven more classes, and went the extra questionable step of promising her an ice cream cone for each class she goes to, and a much happier child went to class. I think she may even still be open to joining the team as long as she has some say in where she’s placed. So we’ll see. Moms really need super powers of finesse. Sometimes I’ve got it… and other times I resort to screaming in the parking lot. Yesterday was a good day.
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April 5
I don’t know if I should disclose that I got fed up with work today and took the kids to the park after picking them up from school instead of coming back to work. I do not regret it even one iota. Sunshine can work wonders.
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April 4
It was a perfect day outside today. After dinner, I walked over to the gas station to pick up a six pack and enjoyed a beer out on the back patio while watching the Yankees game, the sunset, and Jackson pouncing on anything that twitched. Really needed to be outside today. I also really need to put some effort into making the front and back yards more inviting. I’ll start with weeding, mulching, and throwing out all the broken furniture, playground equipment, and assorted detritus left by my children over the years. It’s time to prove I really do love this house.
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April 3
I feel like I must have met my productivity quota today, but when I look back at my day, I can’t help thinking I should have been able to fold my laundry. Or worked on some sort of crafting project. I’m exhausted, though. And not looking forward to 6:30am when my alarm goes off and I have to go to the gym. The things I do for… me?
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April 2
We went to Pickwick Park for the first time in ages. The kids (especially Robin) are starting to outgrow playgrounds, which is kind of sad but kind of exciting because it means they’re growing up. New things are on the horizon. Still, I’m happy that we still have some of the innocence left. I want to hold onto that as long as possible. Innocence is trust, and trust is beautiful.
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April 1
Today at Panera, the girls and I played Five Crowns. Christina had a bad hand and got angry, pouting and tearing up paper. That annoyed Robin, so she tried to grab the paper shreds out of Christina’s hand, which resulted in a fight and me deciding to leave, even though we were one hand away from completing the game. Which put everyone in a bad mood. And then at the entrance to the parking lot we encountered a man who was holding up a sign saying something like, would it kill you to smile, and he started giving me a hard time because I wouldn’t force Robin, who was really upset, to smile. He was literally harassing me, and I really didn’t want to get into it with him WHILE I WAS DRIVING, which then put ME in a bad mood because I had treated this person disrespectfully for no good reason. But then I dropped the kids off at cheer and came home and painted flowers on 122 little rocks for church. Even if people don’t appreciate them, it does me good to paint them. Who knows – maybe there’s a smile in us yet.
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March 31
One of the last camellias on our bush for the season. It’s been kind of a ho-hum day. Played badminton with Robin for a while. Took the kids to movie night at school for a fundraiser. So far, no drama. I’ll take it.
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March 30
Trying to conduct business meetings while Michael Kay is talking is harder than you might think.
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March 29
Today I had to slow myself down and hold my tongue and instead just sit beside my daughter while she cried. I didn’t ask why, I didn’t beg her to talk to me, I didn’t try to make her feel better, I just sat with her, stroking her hair, until slowly the tears gave way to sniffles, which gave way to sighs. She never did tell me what happened, though I think I have a pretty good idea. I tried my best to bridge the distance today. At least everyone’s going to bed less angry and upset.
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March 28
Doing my best not to take this too personally. I’m not too popular today in general. I guess I’m setting the bar too high for the people around me and they don’t like it. Also today: struggling in general. The last few days have been tough. Talk about setting the bar too high. I’ll never be good enough. Which is a whole can of worms I think I’ll just throw right into the lake.
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March 27
Thought I’d already uploaded this one. Guess not. My favorite part of this shot is the appearance of Venus. It’s nice to think that as big as this world seems to be sometimes, it’s just a speck in the universe. People on Venus are probably staring at our little glowing speck in the sky, wondering what we see when we gaze back at them.
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March 26
Robin borrowed a book about cupcakes from the library and chose a recipe. It went about 65% well. She added a tablespoon of baking soda instead of a teaspoon. I managed to scoop out some unknown amount of it, but they all look like collapsed volcanoes. We also needed unsweetened chocolate baking chips and I only had 60% bittersweet chocolate chips. We’ll see what that leads to. Our frosting is a little pasty, plus we only had enough ingredients for a half recipe. They’re probably worthy of being on Nailed It, honestly. But it was a learning experience for Robin and she really did 95% of it without my help. Plus I haven’t tasted them. What’s lost in looks might be made up in taste.
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March 25
It’s been a busy day of keeping the kids out of the house so Billy can sleep, preparing for various church-related obligations, and now a concert. It’s the last one of the season, which is both a relief and a disappointment.
