My Day

Inasmuch as this blog serves as a journal for me, and inasmuch as these are the years when I get very few 8-hour stretches of sleep.....there are a lot of details that I will forget if I don't get them down. So. Here is my collection of thoughts for the day.

For reasons unknown, SJ was in my bed at 12:30am. He hasn't climbed into bed with us in the middle of the night in nearly a year, so to say we were confused would be an understatement. I must have been dreaming about eating (ha!), because when I noticed him there, my first thought was, "Oh...FINE. He can stay until he finishes chewing, but then he has to go back to his own bed!" He must have "finished chewing" soon after that, because I could hear Lo Gung shoo him back to his own bed. *clap* My bedroom door was pulled shut. *bap* His bedroom door was pulled shut.

*waaaaah* The baby was awake.

OH MY GOSH. AS I WRITE THIS IT IS 10:05PM AND MY 7 YEAR OLD JUST CAME DOWNSTAIRS TO TELL ME ONE SIDE OF HER NOSE CAN'T BREATHE. What on earth am I supposed to do about that, child?! She just stares at me expectantly.

(Oh, I talk big, but I always give her what she asks for. I snuck into the sleeping baby's room to grab the Breathe oil blend that will help her, well, breathe. Baby didn't wake up, Big Sister can now breathe, and all is well.)

Where was I? Oh, right. 12:30, fed a really confused baby. She wasn't really hungry, because she'd only been asleep for three hours, but...she was awake. And that means Snack Time. So, snack time, back to sleep...until 8! Way to go, child. (Much better than the 6:30am wake up time of the past two days. Your schedule is a moving beast, isn't it??)

Breakfast with the kiddos. All was well, until I informed my children that I expected them to do a few To Do List things today. Practice piano. Get dressed. Make their beds. Get some time in on the iPad on Reading Eggs (an app we subscribed to to help them with their reading confidence).

Today's whining officially started at 9:12am. "But Mooooooom!! I already did the quiz on my level, and it didn't work, and they want me to do it again!!!!" We have been through this conversation several times, and I have even offered to sit with her and take the quiz with her, to just get it over with. (It is at 15 question quiz.)

And thus it went, on and off, all day. (They never did get anything on that list done, incidentally, beyond getting dressed and taking care of their rooms.)

I had the crazy idea to organize another cupboard in the kitchen, to forward my agenda of Total Domicile Organization over Mid-Winter Break. Genius that I am. So, I unloaded the cupboard where I keep all sorts of random pans, bowls and small appliances. No sooner had I spread the whole mess out on the floor when the baby starts clawing at my neck to get to the blender, SJ is picking up random bits and bobs and asking if he can keep them, and Ming Wai is surreptitiously trying to get to the cupboard where I keep the chocolate, to get a handful for Mommy. (She does that, whenever I get stressed or have a headache. I LOVE THIS CHILD. A handful of chocolate chips and a glass of cold water. Bless her.)

Anyhow, as you have probably guessed, Operation Organize didn't go well. At all. After a few minutes, I scooped the baby up under one arm and stomped upstairs, ranting about how I will NEVER get anything done. Ever. Again. Ever. (I'm slightly dramatic. Just a little.)

Not 5 minutes later, my two oldest kids come running upstairs and burst into the playroom where I am laying on the floor, watching my toddler dismantle her siblings' Lego sets. "Mom! Mom! Come downstairs! We have a surprise for you!" They had put everything back. All of it. No more Cupboard Contents, barfed all over the floor. These kids CAN be absolute sweethearts, and they really DO want to be good. I love them to bits!

Around 11:30am, I announced to Baby Ying Ying that she was ready for bed. I dumped her into her crib, and hid in the hall. The big kids had decided to have a bath, so I just sort of lay there, listening to all of my offspring.

This afternoon, I RE-organized the cupboard. (Now that I knew what was there, and what I was keeping, it only took about 5 minutes. Phew!) We took a trip to the library, too. Ming Wai is really getting into reading, and the library is one of our favorite places to go. The kids have it down to a science. We run in, grab the first 10 books that look good to each of them, check them out, and get back out. 10 minutes, tops. Baby gets frustrated quickly in a room full of books that she isn't allowed to rip devour mutilate read.

Dinner was a simple, but tasty, stew. I chopped up a few carrots, some leftover chicken patties, and some leftover baked potatoes. Added some seasonings, and let it simmer away. Everyone but Ying Ying seemed to really enjoy it (but she doesn't enjoy ANYTHING these past few days). Afterwards, we surprised the kids with a quick trip to the local frozen yogurt place. (Ying Ying didn't even want fro-yo! Something must be up.)

Oh, and just for the record - I added a carton of whole milk to our milk order this week. This is huge, because Ying Ying hasn't been able to really do well with dairy. She's big enough now, though, and I've been testing her with some cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. She seems to be ok with dairy! Hooray! I'm hoping some whole milk during the day will keep her a little fuller than just snacking on cereal and crackers. And also jump-start the weaning process. (Did you catch the part where she doesn't really like to eat? WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?! Her mama certainly loves to eat.)

Anyhow. There's my report, y'all. *mwah* It's 10:34, and I think my last child just nodded off.