8:30 am - We are due out of the house at 9:05. This means that in order to get out of the driveway we should be putting shoes on at 8:55 due to the vortex that exists in our shoe room that always sucks at least 5-10 minutes out of the day..........the amount of time it sucks out is directly related to how frenzied your voice sounds.......the more frenzied, the more time that is literally sucked right out of the room.
8:31 am - We are all sitting in the living room talking to my dad who stopped by to drop some things off. I am in my bathrobe with wet hair, the kids are all in their jammies. Fia's lunch has yet be packed. We have company coming at some time after 9:15.............the clock is ticking.
8:32 am - I am listening to my kind father talking because I really do enjoy his company and the children love him and I love visitors but we are now down to 23 minutes and today is Fia's class party for fall (otherwise known as the Halloween party but we are not allowed to call it the Halloween party because Halloween is now taboo and that's ok if you don't celebrate Halloween but I now trip up every time I reference the party because fall party just sounds weird to me.........I know, I know....I am getting over it........growing up and moving on...). So right now I am thinking I must actual get dressed today and pretend that I get dressed more than 3x a week. I must wear something appropriate and slightly stylish (although I hesitate to use that word because I have NEVER been stylish but I mean more than a t-shirt and jeans........) I should dry my hair and not just wear it in some sloppy thing at the back of my head and I should put on make-up. Ok......ok........ok...........
8:33 am - Still sitting, now Nico wants to read a book..............still no one dressed.........in my head I am screaming OH. MY. GOSH. LETS GET A MOVE ON.......but I want to be a good mom who invests time in her childrne right after they wake up so I read the book..........as fast as I can........
8:35 am - Dad has gone. kids are playing.......time to get myself dressed............where are my jeans.......the one pair without holes, with the knees still slightly the same color as the rest of the jeans......hmmmm, not at the top of my closet........
8:36 am - Maybe downstairs in the laundry.....hopefully the clean pile.......ummm, no not there......oh, no maybe the dirty..............(digging, digging, digging) NO.....argh.......ok, back upstairs.....
8:37 am - (Throw, dig, throw, dig) All the laundry comes out of my dirty clothes basket......yes, there they are at the bottom of the clothes basket.........(sniff, sniff) nope, no nasty small...phew......oops, must have last worn these on a baking day...........scritch, scratch, spit, scritch, scratch, spit.......ok, good as new.
8:40 am - I am now dressed........I don't look so bad, shoot.......lost 30 seconds looking in the mirror, amazed at how one can look when they put on actual clothes and jewelry before 3:00pm.........ok, time to dry hair and put on make-up.....................pick out the kids outfits.......FIA! FIA! FIA! Come get dressed! FRANCESCA! Come on back.
8:50 am - Ok, we are going to make it...............OH MY GOSH, IT'S FRIDAY!!!! WE DIDN'T DO ALL OF YOUR HOMEWORK...........FIA! FIA! FIA! Get in here!!! Get out your homework, phew....there is only one short fill in the blank paper and one more spelling sentence to write.........WHERE IS A PENCIL? Ok, just use this pen until I can find one..............WAIT! I found one in your bedroom.....here, use this..........I have to pack your lunch. WHAT AM I GOING TO PACK? Hmmm, here is some leftover food from the lunch at church.........a chicken wing with the breading pulled off, ooh......here are some fruit snacks, a pack of whoppers from that halloween party on Sunday night........ooh and a Capri Sun from the lunch at church........and for some nutritional value some baby carrots........ok that should do it............
8:55 am - MOM! I AM DONE! A triumphant smile on my girl's face..........is there any more? Yes, that one spelling sentence.........just write, hmmm, just write "I see a shell." (Because I am sure this is just what Mrs. Frantum pictures when she assigns homework..........literally 10 minutes before school starts on Friday her student sitting down to complete her work with her mom yelling just write I SEE A SHELL!)
9:00 - FIA! Grab your folders and lunch box and get your stuff together..........we're gonna make it.....go! Go! GO! I just have to grab a pair of socks for you (all the socks are currently unmatched in a huge pile in a laundry basket).................(throw, dig, throw, dig) YES! I found some Halloween socks! SCORE! Now no one will know how unorganized I was this morning.......a halloween shirt AND socks, YES!
9:03 - For once there is no vortex.........everyone gets shoes on and gets out the door............
9:06 - We pull out of the driveway saying our morning car prayers and we are on our way............
9:08 - Fia gets dropped off............PHEW. WE MADE IT!
And just to keep it REALLY real............yesterday I was a little tired. It had been a different kind of week, kind of emotional and all over the place and I hadn't spent a ton of time with the kids in the past few days. I was CLEARLY out of practice. Fia was acting JUST LIKE I DO when I am tired and impatient and she was talking rather unkindly and with a bit of a 'tude and I was just done. I could not handle it at that moment while we were trying to get ready for school and I was trying to get back into the swing of things. So after I had asked her to do something (after asking her, helping her, etc. ALL MORNING for/with different things) and she replied with a HUGE AMOUNT OF ATTITUDE.........WHAT, MOM? I might........well, I might have thrown a hairbrush across the room.
Oh. my. word. Clearly, I had lost my mind.
I told Joe about it later that day..........and he asked what do you think she learned from THAT, MANDY?
Well, JOE, I think she learned that she better adjust her attitude because she became a whole lot sweeter after that...........well, after looking shocked, hurrying her butt up to get herself ready and then breaking down and crying and asking why I was so mad at her..........she changed her tone. And no it was NOT a shining parenting moment of mine but I apologized, we prayed about it on the way to school and I think every single child in the house got the message LOUD AND CLEAR that mama needed a little bit of space and kindness today.
So if you are needing a little space and a little kindness today........maybe take a moment and go into your bedroom, shut the door, lay down........or maybe go into the bathroom, lock the door and just sit..............just try to do something before you find yourself hurdling a hairbrush across your dining room (and no, no children were in the actual room........but they definitely were able to see the hairbrush.........let's just hope this is one of those memories they DON'T have......)
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