6 a.m. The alarm goes off, and I GET UP! Though, I still don't have time to exercise because 6 a.m. is just too late. But since I was up past midnight blogging, I didn't dare try to get up earlier. Why set myself up for failure, right?
I'm not going to bore you with all the details today. Things went better. I only had two kids home in the morning, and actually had NO kids home for the afternoon.
I just want to give kudos to my amazing boss. I chose this picture because it shows her in action, giving back to women in need. Heather donates 10% of her company's profits to Open Arms. She has a heart to help women in need.
Lately, it seems that I am often a woman in need. Considering how many of my days end up like yesterday, I would have been fired long ago working for anyone else. But Heather allows me to work from my house and multi-task as she knows moms can do, and trust me to get the job done and do it right.
God used my relationship with Heather today to remind me of something in our relationship with God. We have a company that has been pretty difficult to work with lately. It has resulted in long phone calls and some financial loss.
Today, the owner of the other company e-mailed my boss to complain about my simple-mindedness and how many times they'd tried to explain things to me and how I just didn't get it and on and on. Now, what she didn't know is that we have a very open relationship at our workplace. We make sure that we all know what is going on. So my boss sent me the e-mail. Yes, it made me mad. But the important thing was that she backed me up. She knew that I was better than that and took my side.
I was thinking today how that is how God's opinion of us is. The world may tell us we're stupid or irresponsible or have bad motives or whatever they think. But God knows who we really are, who he made us to be. He knows the truth, sees the truth, and defends the truth for us.
I would be a mess if I let an e-mail like that toy with my head and let their words sink in. But I know its not true. One of the main reasons I know it isn't true is because my boss says its not. ...because really my own view of myself doesn't count for much.
That is the way it is with God. If we listened to what the world says and let it sink in, we will be a mess all the time. But we have to listen to God and what He says about us. It is His opinion that matters.
The day begins (sorta) at 5:30 a.m. My alarm goes off and I hit snooze.
The alarm goes off again at 5:35, and I hit snooze.
The alarm goes off again at 5:40, 5:45, 5:50, 5:55, 6:00, and 6:05 before I actually get up.
My exercise aspirations were conquered once again by my love for flannel sheets and heated mattress covers.
6:07 a.m. I hit the shower AND wash my hair for the first time since...um...I think Wednesday. Isn't that gross?
6:30 a.m. Emerge from my room, dressed and ready to conquer - oh who am I kidding?! ready for coffee!
6:34 a.m. Sit down at the couch with coffee and spend some time talking to God about having a heart that is hungry for him...begin forming outlines and notes for the beginnings of a Bible Study curriculum (six week study) that I'm really excited about.
6:56 a.m. Try to wake up sons #1 and 2.
6:58 a.m. Go back to couch and keep working.
7:03 a.m. Try to wake up sons #1 and 2.
7:07 a.m. Try to wake up sons #3 and 4.
7:08 a.m. Try to wake up sons #1 and 2.
Is it Groundhog Day again?
7:10 a.m. Son #3 emerges from his room in a school uniform and lets loose his croupy cough while complaining how sore his throat is.
7:12 a.m. Son #2 emerges from his room in a school uniform with a bright red eye, complaining how sore his throat is.
7:15 a.m. inspect throats under the kitchen light and decide that two kiddos will be staying home from school.
7:21 a.m. Make sure son #1, still wrapped in a towel, realizes that his ride is leaving in four minutes.
7:26 a.m. Make sure son #1, who is still barefoot realizes that his ride is leaving in two minutes.
7:30 a.m. Separate son #4 from two stray puppies in the yard and drag kids to the van.
7:49 a.m. Return home and get out cereal.
8:00 a.m. Begin working.
8:10 a.m. Settle a fight about whether my very sick kids will be watching T.V. or playing the Wii.
8:12 a.m. Son #2 has "broken" #4's leg and he is forced to crawl with muffled cries across the living room while I silently shush him. I have a customer on the phone.
9:30 a.m. Begin working on headache customer's issue.
10:00 a.m. Still working on headache customer's issue.
10:10 a.m. Tell God that this day is just too much for me and ask for strength.
10:30 a.m. Still working on headache customer's issue. Realize that sons 1-3 have drug a bed mattress right behind me, all the way down the stairs and are jumping off the stairs onto it. They are oh, so sick.
11:00 a.m. Remind boys that they need to be dressed to go to the doctor.
11:15 a.m. Still working on headache customer's issue. Remind boys again that they need to get dressed. They have progressed from their pajamas to running around in their underwear with their t-shirts tied into bikini tops. There is something very wrong with this picture.
11:28 a.m. Finish headache customer's issue and threaten to leave the boys while I go to their doctor's appointment by myself. ( I know. Great threat.) They are still barefoot.
11:34 a.m. Leave home for the 11:30 a.m. doctor's appointment.
12:00 noon Doctor informs me that even though I waited five days this time to come in with the kids, it is still indeed viral, and my trip was pointless.
12:15 p.m.. Get in line at the post office.
12:25 p.m. Still in line at the post office.
12:30 p.m. Still in line at the post office.
12:35 p.m. Postal worker wheels out a cart of packages for me. That has never happened. I have never had that many packages.
12:40 p.m. Dump packages in van, return cart to post office lobby, and answer questions for a gentlemen about dropping off an express package, since I clearly work for the post office.
12:45 p.m. Call a friend and admit a dire need for help.
12:50 p.m. Drop son #4 off for afternoon kindergarten...that started at 12:15 p.m. Let his teacher know, that I, again, will not be back at 2:00, to fill my volunteer time slot.
1:00 p.m. Give lunch instructions to boys 2 and 3 and get back to work.
1:30 p.m. Tell boys that they are going to their own rooms and their own beds and not coming out until we leave to pick up #1 and 4 from school.
1:35 p.m. Tell son #3 to go back to his room.
1:40 p.m. Tell son #2 to go back to his room.
1:45 p.m. Tell son #3 to go back to his room.
1:50 p.m. Tell son #2 to go back to his room.
2:00 p.m. Son #1 calls to say that he can't go to study hall after school. It is canceled. He has to be off campus by 3:00.
2:02 p.m. Pretend not to notice that son #3 has left his room again, and is in the bathroom. again.
2:25 p.m. Finally allow sons 2 and 3 to be in the same room together if they keep the door closed and play quietly.
3:07 p.m. Realize that I forgot to pick up son #1 because he texts me to find out how close I am. I ask him to start walking to the other boys' school.
3:08 p.m. Son #2 has "broken" son #3's hip. He is resorted to army crawling - no army dragging across the dining room tile. He cannot walk.
3:10 p.m. Get in the van and wait for the crippled child to run to the van and get in.
3:12 p.m. Lose it with my kids! It was brewing for a while. Sigh.
3:20 p.m. Pick up #4 from kindergarten. Never saw #1 on the way. He must have walked a different route.
3:30 p.m. Lose #'s 2-4 on the playground...no, they're not on the playground! That is why they are lost. They are oh, so sick.
3:35 p.m. Breathe for five minutes on the school sidewalk and chat with a friend about our woes of helping boys learn to read.
3:40 p.m. Son #1 makes it to the school. Still haven't found #'s 2-4.
3:55 p.m. Get mail from mailbox at house. Open not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 IDENTICAL letters from Citi Financial expressing their regret that I turned down their offer of a loan at 31.99% to pay off my lower interest credit cards and letting me know that they are still there for me, should I change my mind. Seriously? Who makes this stuff up?
4:00 p.m. Make it home with all four boys, make chore lists, and give snack choices. Head back to work.
4:10 p.m. Turn off t.v. and remind them of their chore lists.
4:20 p.m. Give permission for boys 2-4 to go play with friends after they have finished their chores and have a snack if they want it. They need to be home by 5:00.
4:45 p.m. Illustrate seven different back exercises and stretches for son #1 who has hurt his back somehow. I'm tempted to think it is related to his assigned chore.
5:12 p.m. Boys return and ask for a snack. They "didn't get one!" Stand by my guns. Snack time is over.
5:14 p.m. Listened to voice mail from my best friend. MISSED HER CALL!!!...somewhere in the snack time whining.
5:15 p.m. Warn the boys that we are leaving for church in 15 minutes.
5:25 p.m. Touch up makeup, grab drinks for potluck.
5:30 p.m. Get in the van and threaten to leave the barefoot children home alone. Pfff! Another good one.
5:38 p.m. Leave home and pick up Bill from work. Spend our 20 minutes for the entire day trying to catch up on what is going on. I tell Bill, "You don't want to know about my day. I'll just spare you." Finally break and highlight doctor's visits, kids running off at school, and headache customer.
6:00 p.m. Get to church and enjoy potluck.
6:15 p.m. Call #2 back from trying to get more dessert.
6:17 p.m. Call #3 back from trying to get more dessert.
6:19 p.m. Call #4 back from trying to get more dessert.
6:23 p.m. #2 escapes and gets more dessert.
6:25 p.m. Oh, glorious hallelujah!!! Childcare is open!!!! Two glorious hours of encouragement and talk on discipleship, and heart-searching, and prayer time and watch Louie Giglio's How Great is Our God and let God's greatness and magnificence pour over me. I soak in every glorious drop of encouragement.
8:30 p.m. Visit with friends and oogle over babies and head home.
8:40 p.m. Listen to voice mail from afore mentioned friend. She's on it!
8:45 p.m. Respond to whining kids in the van who "didn't get any dessert."
8:53 p.m. Miss the exit to get Bill's truck from work and have to turn around and go back.
9:10 p.m. Get home. Respond to whining about wanting stories.
9:15 p.m. Do dishes. Scrape avocado and smashed banana off the counter. Pick up bread crusts and spilled orange yogurt off the floor. Wash the floor.
9:40 p.m. Make hot tea. Watch the last 20 minutes of one of our favorite shows.
10:00 p.m. Start opening packages. Oh, yay! There is a tux from a friend for #3 to wear in Brother #2's wedding!!! Shirt and all!
11:00 p.m. Spend and hour blogging about my day. Don't I have better things to do?
I have NEVER learned to enjoy football. I just don't. I don't mind it being on. I don't mind others watching it. I don't even care if their life revolves around it.
But, please! Can I find someone who I can spend time with for several hours a week that also shares my apathy for the sport?
Is it just me, or is this a sign of changing times? I remember when I was younger, how craft stores would host special classes on Super Bowl Sunday for the women to get away and enjoy themselves. I remember when the guys would watch football in one room and the ladies would watch a chic flick in another room.
Gone.are.those.days.
Now, women like football. Who would have thought.
So now, I just make the food. I like the party part. This year we had wings and chicken ranch strips and pretzels with cheese dip and homemade guacamole (best batch ever) and salsa with chips and buckeyes and chocolate covered pretzel sticks and fruit salad. The boys like that I make food. They like it so much that they found every stray neighbor boy (whose parents were obviously glued to the t.v. and didn't care if their kids left) and brought them up to the house to eat the food. In 1.5 seconds, the chocolate dipped pretzel sticks were gone. I didn't.get.one!
So here I sit loading my I-pod (before the Lumberjack's Wife discovers that my I-pod has been completely empty since I got it for Christmas)....and I blog, and I clean up the dishes. I really don't mind. It is once a year, right?
Unless you count all the play-off games and the non-play-off games and the college games...
Okay, so I'm only lonely September - February....except for golf and basketball and baseball...
Really needing some girlfriend time around here. Sigh.
In other exciting news, Google has told me four times this week that I have "reached the end of the Internet." I really didn't think that was possible. Leave it to me.
