Day Three of My Vacation

.

The day started earlier than I would have liked because I didn't get very much sleep.  But kids don't wait until YOU are ready to get up.  And even if you would like to sit quietly and just sip a cup of coffee, there is that 'someone' hanging over your shoulder saying,
"It's 8:14, Meemuh."
"I know what I want for breakfast"
"I just want to chat with my Uncle."
And the talk goes on.


Have I ever told you that I think the best part of the morning is to just drink a cup of coffee without being disturbed.


It's a dream world wish with Brad around. 


So we begin our day.  I stubbornly insist that no one is eating until I at least DRINK my cup of coffee.  Even if I can't do it Q.U.I.E.T.L.Y.


Then we all gather around the bar and the choices begin.  Even though cereal has been our mainstay for breakfast, these kids have learned to make  eating just cereal a creative process.   They insert variety by looking at all the boxes and telling which ones they want MIXED together for their own particular brand each morning.


Brad had wanted eggs and toast.   But he quickly changes his mind when he sees the opportunity of multiple choices of cereal.


 
After breakfast I made a stab at cleaning up the kitchen.   I did get it cleaned.   I didn't get everything I cleaned, put away.


Zack comes in on the tail end after everyone else is finished deciding FINALLY that he wants to eat.   He and Brad are certainly on OPPOSITE ENDS of the eating spectrum.
 
As the day progressed, I felt like I was beginning to get a grip on the chaos. 
After picking up sleeping bags, I actually got everything out of the living room that didn't belong there.  Of course, this entailed turning over the recliners to get behind them, moving out furniture, having Rachel crawl behind the couch to reach things beyond my grasp, and looking here and there.


I found that there were more things than an ink pad that Autumn has gotten into.  Finding what she has done "in secret" was revealed behind the chairs and couch.    I learned enough in one day of cleaning to make me aware that I definitely needed to keep a check on what was going on in the hiding places.
I had the kids haul all the toys back to the playroom and Autumn picked up all the papers and cards she had strowed.   Then we worked to sort all that stuff out.

(I really like "my" toys to be sorted.   It kind of goes along with my whole "personality."  I've never liked for things to be all mixed up.   I want like things together.  One of the downfalls of my housekeeping has always been that I don't want to put things away just anywhere; I want to put them where they belong.   But sometimes that means they just sit out and clutter up the room until I take time to do that.)


We got the toys sorted and the playroom neatened up.


One of the great thing about these children is that they  are, generally speaking, NOT "watch-me" children.    They figure out all kinds of ways to entertain themselves and do it without demanding that someone watch as they do it.   Sam is more given to wanting someone to watch than the rest, but he manages to get Zack to watch and that satisfies him-- as long as Zack cooperates.  
    
 For lunch we had left over pizza.   (Thank you again, Sister Nicky and Brother Jeremy.) 


Lunch was over.


It was nap time.   Wonderful.


Now I was going to catch up on the sleep I lost last night.  Get Autumn settled down with her blankies and a pacy.   And while I was waiting for her to go to sleep, I thought I'd just play one game of Persian Puzzle.


Wrong.   

I ended up playing longer than I should have and when I finally laid down, it was already 1:30.  That would have been okay except as soon as my head hit the pillow, it was then that I looked at the clock, and I then remembered why it was a bad idea to wait this long.


Brad takes his next dose of medicine at 2.   That was only going to give me 30 minutes to nap.


Well, okay. That will work. I don't have to have a long nap.


Except....


Stupid.


Why in the world did I think I could lie down and take a nap without first getting Brad in  his room??!!??   Not five minutes goes by without having to settle a conflict created by his involvement in the activities of his siblings.  I know that.   It's just that when I'm up and about I don't think about how often I have to intervene.


No nap today.




Here's your medicine, Brad.


After giving up on my nap, I decided it was time to start figuring out the clothes situation for church.   The weather this week hasn't been nearly as warm as it was last week so I wanted to find some long sleeves shirts for the girls.   I dug around in my "supplies" and came up with some options.   Then I got them ready and had Brad get ready.


All the while the chatter continues. 



 "I'm going to church to record my songs."
You just wish sometimes that you could not say anything back.
But if you don't.....
"I'm going to church to record my songs."

Then you get another clock reading. 
And a what's-to-eat-next question.
And questions.... questions.....questions.


I used to tell Brad, "Talk all you want.  Just don't ask questions."   I haven't done that this time.    I'm not sure why.  It's certainly not because he hasn't asked questions.  Although I do believe there has been a progression here.  I believe that it is possible that this time he has made more statements than he used to.  Statements of how he is going to PARTICIPATE in the service.  Statements of WHY HE IS FRUSTRATED.


Mainly the questions involve when we will eat again and when does church start. 


In the afternoon the rains had began in earnest again.   I had hoped we'd have one outside day while the kids were here, but even if it didn't rain on Wednesday, there was so much rain coming down, there would be no way the yard would dry up sufficiently for us to play outside.


For supper, I decided to make sloppy joes.   Sloppy joes are something that I do not remember ever cooking for my family as I was raising my kids.   Maybe I found out why.   They ARE sloppy.   I ended up having to feed the younger ones theirs with a spoon so much had fallen out of the buns.


Wonder of wonders.   Brad was not particularly fond of the sloppy joes.  I was amazed.  I'm not sure I've ever found another food that fell into that category.   He ate them anyway.


 After getting us all fed, the boys got ready to go and we gathered up the stuff we needed to take along to occupy the minds of four children so that I could enjoy the service.


I have enjoyed NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE all day long...except to go to church at night. Of course, I'm sure part of the "fun" of that is that I DO have to leave every day most days of my life.


I think Tesia had decided two nights was enough of Autumn, so they opted to have Brad sit with them.   I had Autumn, Rachel, Sam, and Zack.   They really did okay.  Rachel was the one that I had the most problem with keeping quiet... which surprised me.  I thought it would be Autumn.  But with Autumn by her side once again, it seemed there was no end to the things Rachel had to tell her.... and, as quiet as she is when you want her to speak, she really was talking too loudly for a church service.

After church I let them have as many cookies as they wanted to eat ... with milk.   Then we all went to bed. 




Thankfully, I quit "doing the same thing and getting the same results"  as I had Monday night.  It's really hard for me to accept that I HAVE TO HAVE socks AND leg warmers if I'm going to go to sleep.  You wouldn't believe the number of times I'll go to bed telling myself, "It's just not that cold.  There's no good reason for me to have to put something on my feet to stay warm."


Well, I did learn a long time ago that is not true.


I actually have accepted that I CAN'T sleep without socks.   But, now I'm going through the cycle again.  Surely, it's not so cold that I HAVE TO HAVE leg warmers in order to go to sleep.


I didn't play that game last night.


I put on socks and TWO pair of legs warmers.   I slept ALL night!!!


Of course, there were other factors figuring in to aid that sleep.   I missed out on so much sleep the night before because I couldn't get to sleep BECAUSE OF my cold legs.  And the fact that I had missed out on my nap.... I was READY for rest. 

*********

If you began reading this before I finished editing it, you found that blogging was another thing that gets interrupted. I had to go back several times and change things that didn't make sense because I had to stop and take care of things more needful than a blog post.