May 3 10:52am
I just got a shower after dropping Sammy and David off at their schools. Sammy only has preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don't know when I'll shower during his stay at home days. It's only the first day and I've already forgotten Sammy's backpack. Mom's telling me that it's hard to be a stay at home mom. I'm already feeling shaky. I want to be good at this. But jumping into being a mom of 4 is kind of overwhelming.
Natalie and McKay are old enough to handle themselves but the younger two have a bit of a harder time. They already fought this morning. David won a lady bug board game and Sammy threw a fit. I wish I could get in David's head and make his realize that it'd be easier for all of us if we just let Sammy win all the time.
It's kind of funny- to calm him down on the way to school, David told me to put my CD on during the car ride. After a couple songs, Sammy stopped crying. I have a feeling I'll be listening to my own album a lot the next week and a half.
Oh man. Now it's time to just sit and read.
May 4 12:17pm
After Sammy got back from preschool yesterday, he was happier (thank goodness). We played PlayDoh for a really long time and ate lunch and then we got in the car to pick up David from school at 2. That's when I discovered that car rides are the key! He fell right asleep! It was amazing! Then he slept on the couch while David did his home school homework, ate a snack and played with the PlayDoh. Then Sammy started to wake up and David decided to play video games. Sammy just sat on the couch where he was sleeping and watched. It was wonderful. But then Sammy discovered that David had made a ship out of "his" PlayDoh. He claimed ownership out of it because he had mixed so many colors that it was a whole new color. But David said it was everyone's PlayDoh but HIS ship and he wanted it to harden so he could sail it. So there was quite a fuss over that. Until David got annoyed and agreed to let Sammy play with it.
The older two kids got home at 4:30. School goes so late now! I don't know when that happened.
Then all the kids played outside with the neighbor kids while I cooked dinner. Tacos. Yum. Apparently I can make decent ground beef even without tasting it (I'm a vegetarian. I promised mom that I wouldn't let the kids notice or I might convert them). Then I dropped Natalie and McKay at the church for scouts and activity day. I entertained the youngest two for a while until they demanded a movie. So we put on UP. When we got back from picking up the oldest, it was already 8:45. So I told them we needed to all go to bed. But they wanted to watch a little bit more of the movie. I'm such a sucker. I just want everybody happy. So I said ok. After the house gets through the storm. Then we all went to bed. I got everyone's teeth brushed, pajamas on, and read to before 9:30. But then the phone rang. Natalie shot up and ran to go get it. My first thought was "Shoot. It's probably her parents. They'll think I'm awful and letting them stay up way past bed time." It was their parents. She talked with them for a while and then she let me. Erin says it's hard to get them to bed, but setting a timer and bribing them with a song or story works. I'll have to be better about that tonight...
So today! I set my alarm for 6:30 am. The kids are supposed to wake up at 7 so I thought that'd be enough time to shower before I had to take care of Sammy. Wrong. My alarm went off and I squirmed in bed for a few minutes. Then Sammy came sneaking in and jumped up in bed with me. He was talking and talking and just as happy as can be. How could I be upset? Then he asked me to read him a book so I did. Then I asked Natalie to watch him while I showered really quickly. I took the fastest shower known to man. Then, while I was drying my hair, there was a persistent thundering at the door. I ran to the door and Natalie had Sammy. She said "Show her!" First he showed me his hand with PlayDoh all under his nails. Then he lifted his other hand and showed me how clean they were. Natalie was doing his nails. And you could tell he was super pleased with it. So while I was finishing my hair, Natalie and Sammy sat behind me and finished his nails. Then we all ran downstairs to make waffles. (I was going to yesterday morning but I couldn't find the oil. I found it this morning. I'm moving up as a temp!) Now the kids are all at school and Sammy and I are watching Scooby-Doo meets Batman. He got a really long bath after the kids left. Then we played trains. Then he got pizza for lunch! Isn't he just a spoiled little kid?
May 5 1:54pm
Yesterday after Scooby-Doo and trains, Sammy and I went and picked up David at 2. Then, as soon as we got home, the boys were picked up by a friend of Erin's. Then I got to go back to the elementary school just in time for "Tea with Mom" with Natalie. It was weird being mom for a mothers' day thing. I could see why being a mom is so cool :) It was so cute! I felt bad that Erin couldn't be there, but I video taped all of the program and I saved all of the cute things Natalie made. Then we went hom at 4. Sammy and David got dropped back off soon after we got home. Then McKay arrived via school bus. Then I helped him finish packing for his scout camp and he got picked up for that by a friend's mom. Then I made David and Natalie practice their piano songs as Sammy's baby sitter arrived. She was a little bit late so we had to run like mad to David and Natalie's piano recital. It was half an hour away but we got there just a few minutes early. Phew! After their recital (yes I recorded that too) all of the kids from the recital went to Pizza Street (I wonder if strangers think I was a teen mom...) so we went there too. Before we went home, we stopped a Michael's. I decided that today could be craft day. So they each picked out some little wood thing to paint and we picked Sammy and McKay each something too. When we got home, the babysitter said that Sammy had been asleep since 6. Ahhhh man. That means he'll wake up early. Great. Then I found out that I had to drive her home. So I left Natalie with sleeping Sammy, put David in the car and drove her home. When we got back, I played Natalie and David a song, David read me a book, and I read them one. Then I finally got them to bed a little after 9. Geez. I need to get them to sleep earlier.
At 4am this morning, I heard something. It wasn't just the thunder outside. So I turned over and saw someone standing inches from my face. I screamed a little and realized it was just Natalie. She said she was scared. So I let her get in bed with me. Then at 5am I heard something else. It was David, followed closely by a very awake Sammy. David said, very sleepily, that Sammy had woken him up. Sammy denied it and they both got in bed. While the rest of us were trying to sleep, Sammy kept crawling on everyone. So Natalie was the first to leave. Then I told David that if we pretended to be asleep, Sammy might fall asleep. So we tried. Sammy got bored of us ignoring him and left. Then a few minutes later, I felt like I should check on Sammy so I got up and saw that he was just outside the door, waiting for me. So I let David sleep and went to play with Sammy. We decided to watch Tom and Jerry downstairs. I put the movie on and David came down. Then I curled up on the couch and slept while they watched.
When Natalie came down, we ate cereal. Then after playing with trains and attempting to play a few games, we got the paint out. Sammy was so excited to paint his fish. David said that he loved painting, but kept getting frustrated and leaving the room only to come back as excited as ever to paint.
When our things were painted, we decided to go to the pond with a picnic. They wanted Lunchables. I made a vegetarian sandwich for myself. When we got outside, we realized it was super hot and sunny. And this is Missouri. It HOT. And the air is made of water. Ug. I felt like I was swimming. But we found a shady spot to eat and feed the ducks and turtles. Then Sammy fell on the way home. He scraped up his knees but nothing else. When he was sitting on the potty, he claimed that he couldn't walk anymore. So I had to help him off the toilet and then watch as he dramatically limped to the table to play Sorry with David. After a game of Sorry, I put Sammy in the car and he fell asleep in a matter of minutes. It was great! I love that! And the other kids are watching Singing in the Rain. It's been a nice little Saturday after all.
May 6 10:38am
Sammy woke up in a panic. He was sobbing and calling out for his mom. I ran into his room and tried to help but it just made him cry harder. So we decided to face time his mom. She tried to calm him down and got him to talk to her for a little bit. But as soon as she said good bye, he started to bawl all over again. So we decided to play outside with Natalie. Then they went inside and played trains while I made dinner. Tilapia with brown rice for Natalie and McKay (oh yeah. McKay got hom from scouts dripping wet because he jumped in the lake), quinoa and blueberries for David, chicken nuggets for Sammy and a huge spinach salad and the left over quinoa for me. I got them to eat kind of healthy for one meal! Then they played video games for a bit while I washed the dishes. Then we all piled in the car and went to get ice cream at Fritz's or something like that. When we came home, we watched Horton Hears a Who. Sammy started to fall asleep by the end of the movie. I thought that would make for an easy bed time. But when it ended, David got him all riled up again. So it was a struggle to put them down for the night. I keep getting them to bed late. Bed time is 8. But I keep getting them in around 9. It's such a bummer..
Sammy crawled into bed with me at 6 again this morning. I keep thinking that he'll sleep in since he gets to bed so late. Oh well. Today we've already played trains, had breakfast, painted some more of our wooden things and they're watching a few cartoons. David is supposed to be getting in the showed (he told me he can do it all by himself) but I think I just heard him run back downstairs.
12:25pm
Getting out the door for church is such a breeze. hahaha
5:53pm
In church today, Sammy turned to me and stared. Then he desperately started tearing at my shirt. I laughed and pulled up my shirt but he kept trying to pull it down. I asked him what he was doing. Then he looked at me and pointed to my chest. "What are those big things?" I don't think I've hard to stifle a laugh that hard in the middle of sacrament meeting before. Kids are so funny!