inter(LIFE)rupted
The fact that I can get anything done amazes me sometimes. I am forever being side-tracked, pulled aside, and not to mention forgetful! I have had one too many blond moments recently that have included -- but not limited to -- locking the house up at night and leaving the keys in the front door, and turning the heat up at night before bed (80!) instead of down to 68. It was a good thing Alexander woke me up that Midnight demanding some cold water. Walking out of my bedroom, which is cooler than the rest of the house, I felt as though I had walked into an inferno. There are others, countless others. I can not stay focused long enough to finish one task, and on the rare occasion I can, someone needs something from me and takes me away from myself. So maddening.
Today is a pretty typical day:
I get up at 6:30 (and that's a late morning)and head down to make coffee... I put the coffee (Verona from Starbucks) in the grinder. Alexander wakes up shrieking for me so I get him from his crib and get him some milk. Then he tells me he is wet so we have to change his pajamas. But I have no clean ones upstairs so I go down to the basement. I see some folded up in a laundry basket but then I remember that I have to toss the stuff in the dryer from the washer. As I go up the stairs I pass all the toilet paper and paper towels and grab a roll of paper towels because I know we are running low in the kitchen. Back up and in the kitchen I place 3 scoops of freshly ground coffee in to the brown paper filter. The time on my coffee pot says 6:45. I should have had it all set up last night and the coffee would have been brewed for me by the time I got up. But I didn't. Alexander is rolling around the family room floor in his Birthday suit. Damn! Forgot the clean PJs! Run down to get them and back up I come. Alexander wants nothing to do with the pajamas or any article of clothing. I end up chasing him around the house. Finally my coffee beeps letting me know it is ready. But Alexander is still naked and it is not warm in the house. Whoops, forgot to turn the heat back up! By the time all is said and done it is 6:50. It took twenty minutes to make a pot off coffee.
I promised the kids I would make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. Good and nutritious, I decide I still have time to do so. Besides I will have plenty to put in the freezer for another morning. I get out my necessary ingredients, items and utensils:
wire whisk
metal mixing bowl
measuring cups
raisins
canned pumpkin
can opener
pancake mix
spices
milk
water
oven mitt
stove top griddle
and Pam
I mix all the ingredients together and prepare to start making my pancakes when Alexander tells me he needs to poop. He can only do this in a Pull-Up so off I go to get a Pull-Up on him, wash my hands and drop batter onto the now hot griddle by the spoonful. After the pancakes have been flipped Alexander beckons me to change him. I turn the heat way down and do what I need to do. Wash my hands again and go back to my pancakes. A little while later Alexander pees on the floor "accidentally on purpose" he tells me. I turn the griddle down low again and go to clean up the mess. Wash my hands again, and tend to the pancakes. The sink is full and I need to make room for the new set of dirty dishes. I could be flipping and moving faster. The pancakes should be done by now, but they are not. I have to make sure the other two are awake and getting dressed. By 8:00 the pancakes are done and the kids can eat. I have sacrificed my very badly needed shower so my children can have the most important meal of the day. I run upstairs to get dressed and come back down. It is now 8:20 and we have to leave. Alexander is still naked from his "accidentally on purpose" and I toss him into a pair of yellow fleece pants and navy and white striped boat shirt. He's good to go. The kids haven't brushed their teeth. I yell at them and shoo them in to the bathroom. Can't get into the car because the kids are still brushing and they always forget to pull the door shut behind them so I have to wait. Finally at 8:32 we are out of the house. (We are meant to be at school by 8:30.)
We (Alexander and I) are back at the house at 8:40 and I head straight for the kitchen to start to clean up that mess. Alexander is hungry as he did not eat his pancakes and wants, instead, a cheese stick. So I stop what I am doing and give him one. He wants me to sit with him while he eats, so I do. When he is done I head back to the kitchen to finish the breakfast dishes. The phone rings so I turn off the water and go to answer it. While on the phone I decide to check my email. I hang up the phone and remain on the computer a little while. I post what we had for breakfast on the blog, answer a few emails and go back in to the kitchen to do the dishes. Alexander is hungry. Again. I offer up some cut up strawberries and that's not good enough for him. He wants whipped cream too. The other two would kill me if they found out -- I'd have never let them have Reddi Whip at this hour of the morning! He digs in and back I go to the kitchen. I have cleaned the whisk and the metal bowl and the breakfast plates and glasses. I still have the spatula, can opener, griddle and cookie sheet I used to keep the pancakes warm in the oven. Oh and now the dish with the strawberries and whipped cream. Finally the kitchen is clean and we are supposed to go to cooking class. Only Alexander claims to be too tired. Not surprising since from Midnight on he slept quite literally on top of me. I set off to the basement to do some more laundry and fold the clothes that have been in the dryer. But Alexander is touching everything in sight. He pushes the buttons on the microwave and the air purifier. He tries to vacuum. He enjoys pushing the button on the wet/dry Swiffer spraying juice every where. The last straw is when he goes over to the Forbidden Red Light Switch to shut off the furnace. I flick it back on and send Alexander upstairs. I put Goodnight Moon on the television and head back down. I reset the microwave and the air purifier. I put the vacuum cleaner back where it belongs and start to fold when I hear "Mo-mmmm-eeeee!" several times. "What?" I should back up the stairs. "Mo-mmmm-eeeee, I want some wa-tttttt-er!" Back up I go to get him some water. Can't ask him to get it himself as I know the outcome will be nothing less than disastrous. Back down I go to fold. Amazingly enough I finish up without another interference. At this point I am thirsty. I need another cup of coffee. The coffeemaker has shut itself off and I prepare another pot. At this point it is 11:00 am and I have been up for nearly 5 hours. What have I done to show for it? made breakfast, cleaned up and folded some laundry! There are still 4 beds to be made, laundry to put away, toys to pick up and the list goes on and on. I'll spare you the details but the rest of the day -- and all of my days -- continue as such.
What have you done today?
Today is a pretty typical day:
I get up at 6:30 (and that's a late morning)and head down to make coffee... I put the coffee (Verona from Starbucks) in the grinder. Alexander wakes up shrieking for me so I get him from his crib and get him some milk. Then he tells me he is wet so we have to change his pajamas. But I have no clean ones upstairs so I go down to the basement. I see some folded up in a laundry basket but then I remember that I have to toss the stuff in the dryer from the washer. As I go up the stairs I pass all the toilet paper and paper towels and grab a roll of paper towels because I know we are running low in the kitchen. Back up and in the kitchen I place 3 scoops of freshly ground coffee in to the brown paper filter. The time on my coffee pot says 6:45. I should have had it all set up last night and the coffee would have been brewed for me by the time I got up. But I didn't. Alexander is rolling around the family room floor in his Birthday suit. Damn! Forgot the clean PJs! Run down to get them and back up I come. Alexander wants nothing to do with the pajamas or any article of clothing. I end up chasing him around the house. Finally my coffee beeps letting me know it is ready. But Alexander is still naked and it is not warm in the house. Whoops, forgot to turn the heat back up! By the time all is said and done it is 6:50. It took twenty minutes to make a pot off coffee.
I promised the kids I would make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. Good and nutritious, I decide I still have time to do so. Besides I will have plenty to put in the freezer for another morning. I get out my necessary ingredients, items and utensils:
wire whisk
metal mixing bowl
measuring cups
raisins
canned pumpkin
can opener
pancake mix
spices
milk
water
oven mitt
stove top griddle
and Pam
I mix all the ingredients together and prepare to start making my pancakes when Alexander tells me he needs to poop. He can only do this in a Pull-Up so off I go to get a Pull-Up on him, wash my hands and drop batter onto the now hot griddle by the spoonful. After the pancakes have been flipped Alexander beckons me to change him. I turn the heat way down and do what I need to do. Wash my hands again and go back to my pancakes. A little while later Alexander pees on the floor "accidentally on purpose" he tells me. I turn the griddle down low again and go to clean up the mess. Wash my hands again, and tend to the pancakes. The sink is full and I need to make room for the new set of dirty dishes. I could be flipping and moving faster. The pancakes should be done by now, but they are not. I have to make sure the other two are awake and getting dressed. By 8:00 the pancakes are done and the kids can eat. I have sacrificed my very badly needed shower so my children can have the most important meal of the day. I run upstairs to get dressed and come back down. It is now 8:20 and we have to leave. Alexander is still naked from his "accidentally on purpose" and I toss him into a pair of yellow fleece pants and navy and white striped boat shirt. He's good to go. The kids haven't brushed their teeth. I yell at them and shoo them in to the bathroom. Can't get into the car because the kids are still brushing and they always forget to pull the door shut behind them so I have to wait. Finally at 8:32 we are out of the house. (We are meant to be at school by 8:30.)
We (Alexander and I) are back at the house at 8:40 and I head straight for the kitchen to start to clean up that mess. Alexander is hungry as he did not eat his pancakes and wants, instead, a cheese stick. So I stop what I am doing and give him one. He wants me to sit with him while he eats, so I do. When he is done I head back to the kitchen to finish the breakfast dishes. The phone rings so I turn off the water and go to answer it. While on the phone I decide to check my email. I hang up the phone and remain on the computer a little while. I post what we had for breakfast on the blog, answer a few emails and go back in to the kitchen to do the dishes. Alexander is hungry. Again. I offer up some cut up strawberries and that's not good enough for him. He wants whipped cream too. The other two would kill me if they found out -- I'd have never let them have Reddi Whip at this hour of the morning! He digs in and back I go to the kitchen. I have cleaned the whisk and the metal bowl and the breakfast plates and glasses. I still have the spatula, can opener, griddle and cookie sheet I used to keep the pancakes warm in the oven. Oh and now the dish with the strawberries and whipped cream. Finally the kitchen is clean and we are supposed to go to cooking class. Only Alexander claims to be too tired. Not surprising since from Midnight on he slept quite literally on top of me. I set off to the basement to do some more laundry and fold the clothes that have been in the dryer. But Alexander is touching everything in sight. He pushes the buttons on the microwave and the air purifier. He tries to vacuum. He enjoys pushing the button on the wet/dry Swiffer spraying juice every where. The last straw is when he goes over to the Forbidden Red Light Switch to shut off the furnace. I flick it back on and send Alexander upstairs. I put Goodnight Moon on the television and head back down. I reset the microwave and the air purifier. I put the vacuum cleaner back where it belongs and start to fold when I hear "Mo-mmmm-eeeee!" several times. "What?" I should back up the stairs. "Mo-mmmm-eeeee, I want some wa-tttttt-er!" Back up I go to get him some water. Can't ask him to get it himself as I know the outcome will be nothing less than disastrous. Back down I go to fold. Amazingly enough I finish up without another interference. At this point I am thirsty. I need another cup of coffee. The coffeemaker has shut itself off and I prepare another pot. At this point it is 11:00 am and I have been up for nearly 5 hours. What have I done to show for it? made breakfast, cleaned up and folded some laundry! There are still 4 beds to be made, laundry to put away, toys to pick up and the list goes on and on. I'll spare you the details but the rest of the day -- and all of my days -- continue as such.
What have you done today?