Phone reminders, Volunteering, and mayhem

I actually love volunteering, but every once in a while, I really dread being called in to help out at the spawn's school. There are some days where I really just don't want to do anything but sit somewhere and read. Just take a break from the hubbub of homework, routines, and whatever else the day throws at me. Unluckily for me, I set a reminder alarm for absolutely everything so that I don't forget and have craziness ensue.  I had a day yesterday of only alarms, mayhem, and volunteer time. Sigh!

It started out as any other day. I got the girls ready for school, packed lunches, got in the truck and dropped them off at their respective schools, about 5 minutes away from each other. Easy, right? I thought so too! I went home and got some chores done, let the wolves out, and actually read for five minutes. Then, the reminder alarm on my phone went off. Yup, I had forgotten that I had an appointment with my OBGYN to check on Cubby. Ooookay. Now comes the long drive to Walter Reed Hospital. Oh boy!

I managed to make it super early to my appointment, only to find out that the midwife was running 45 minutes behind schedule. No matter, I thought, I have my book and it is all good! I was just settling in to a great adventure with Rachel Morgan(main character in the Hollows series by Kim Harrison), when the nurse informs me that I need to get my flu shot. Oh! I didn't even think of doing that! No problem, I shut my book and walked to the tent they set up for flu shots at the hospital, got my flu shot, and went back to the waiting room to wait for my appointment to get underway. This certain midwife is NEVER on time and I don't like getting her. She feels that by hugging me, I will forget that we are now 2 hours into an appointment that should have started ages ago.

As I was settling in to read a little bit, my reminder alarm on the phone went off. Again?! Oh sweet God! I had to volunteer for the parent meeting in the evening, which was now only two hours away. How did I forget this? I really try not to forget but my energy was gone. See, at Pixy's school, every family has to put in a certain amount of volunteer hours by the end of the year. Most vet parents, like me, schedule their volunteer hours early on in the school year, so we don't have to scramble to fill those hours later on. If there are any hours not completed by the last week of school, you have to pay a certain amount of money to the school, so that they can keep tuition low. It's a nice arrangement and everyone really does take advantage of it, if anything, just to spend a little time with their kids outside the home.

Truth is, I really do love going into the school and helping out when I can. I feel like I am doing something important for Pixy and her school, as well as teaching her the value of hard work and service. But, as I rushed through my appointment, jumped in the car only to get stuck on 95 traffic, I really just didn't feel like doing anything. My flu shot was kicking in and I was positively exhausted. I so didn't want to go sit at a parent meeting, that could possibly last for hours because it was the first one of the year.

I made it home in record time and asked the Sailor to drive me to school and help me for a bit. I am usually helping with the setup of the hall for the meeting but with my 6 month bump, I help where I can. Dude, he saved my butt! I was able to sit and help with laying out the uniforms for the Used Uniform Exchange and rest a little bit. Just those couple of minutes really helped recharge my battery! I was able to greet the parents coming in, hand out information, and just chat with the other parent volunteers. It was nice and added bonus, I was able to sit in the back of the room, listen to the meeting, and reboot. I was hoping it was going to last.

Problem: It was getting late, the meeting was still going, and I was fading fast. So fast, that I started to play with my phone to stay awake and alert. I came to the conclusion that it was not going happen. I called the Sailor to come get me, right as the meeting was drawing to a close. I made it!

Part of me felt silly, I mean, I was dragging and there I was, trying to get things done all because I always keep my word. I am sure that I am not alone in this. Lots of Mamas do this. We overschedule or underschedule, only to have things pile up in the matter of seconds. I am not going to lie. Today, I am taking it super easy to get these elephant cankles to ease up a bit. I have a date with my book in a little bit but before I do that, there has to be a lesson in this, right? I know it. I mean, besides organizing things a little better and pacing oneself so as to not create total mayhem. I am too tired to see the big picture now, but I am sure it will hit me eventually. Sometimes, the greater lesson is just to take a minute and relax.

                                         Have you had a day like this? Fill us in and vent! 

Top Ten Mommy Student Experiences

I'm currently finishing my PhD in psychology. I'm actually finishing up my dissertation. The quick and dirty on that is that I've done a research study, gathered my data, written a large chunk of a book (which will end up about 200 pages), and now I'm finishing up my last two chapters. My first draft of my final two chapters was due last Friday. So what do you experience as a student Mommy?

1. You're working on your school work and the 3 year old comes in and finds a loose sheet of paper and grabs a marker. You can either give up and escort him out or risk him coloring something important. Either way, something bad is going to happen. There will be a tantrum if you try to uproot the child or you'll have a colored on study guide. You give up. For now.

2. It's easiest to do school work when the kids are in bed, for sure. But by 8:30 pm you're so tired because the 1 year old was up 4 times last night with a fever that you're more interested in sleep.

3. You lay in bed feeling guilty for not doing your homework tonight. 

4. You've broken 3 DVRs because you've overloaded them with your shows and kid shows. You intended to watch your shows but realize you're three weeks behind on The Glades and Perception and they've both ended for the summer.

5. You feel badly asking your significant other to watch the kids so you can work.

6. When you do take off to work you are barraged with calls of "Where's mommy? Mommmmmyyyy! Where arrrre you?"

7. Cooking dinner while reading a journal article seemed like a good idea at the time. Then you're frustrated, dinner's burned, the kids are screaming, "I wanna watch Mike the Knight!" and you're ordering pizza. And nobody got jack done.

8. Reading period. Now that's a joke. I took Advanced Inferential Statistics and wanted ball gags for everyone else and noise canceling headphones for myself. Instead you learn to skim while sitting on the toilet for 5 minutes until the small hand comes under the bathroom door. "Mommy?"

9. Cleaning involves running the vacuum on Saturday before the 1 year old's 11 am nap and the 3 year old's 1 pm nap. You are chased around the house by two dogs who decide to eat the vacuum and two little boys who cover their ears and cry. You vacuum around things rather than move them because really, who does that anyway? Every time you clean you think about how you should be studying and ponder hiring a cleaning service. Then you think about how you'd be embarrassed and feel the need to clean before the cleaner got there and really, that's just silly.

10. "Mommy you sit an watch Toy Story with me?" I can't today baby boy, Mommy has to do work. Guilt. Sadness. Remember, you're doing this to be a good role model and to provide for the Small People. So says your brain. But you still feel like crap.

Are you a Mommy or Daddy Student? What experiences have you had recently that I didn't put on the list?

What We Learned This Week (August 25th Edition)

Do these weeks fly by for anyone else? It seemed like it was just yesterday we were writing one of these things. So without further adieu, I give you...the Mamas.

What did you learn this week?

Lisa:

I was able to enjoy a little bit of down time from the move and went with the family to the Renaissance Faire. We had a blast! The Sailor and the girls got to ride on an elephant together, the girls got to hold a snake, we ate yummy food, and took a picture with King Henry and Queen Katherine. I got to see the Sailor smile a lot and that was worth all the money in the world! He has been having a tough time being busy and it was nice to see him let loose a bit.

I splurged a bit and bought Cubby a little gift for his arrival in December. This is HUGE because I am a wee bit superstitious, and I generally wait to see if everything is completely all right before I go nuts nesting. All is fine with the bloke, so I figured it was ok to get him a little something to match his old man once he comes out.

I learned that I still love back-to-school time. I got a rush out of walking into the school building and seeing all the classrooms ready for the children...until I remembered that this is the year that both girls will be out of the house for most of the day. Then, I got a little sad. Banshee will be attending a morning preschool and Pixy will be in Kindergarten. What will I do after I drop everyone off?! Aaaah! I quickly recovered as I will still have a new house to put together when the girls are in school, but it was just another new beginning to think about. Bittersweet those new beginnings, eh? ;)

Robyn: 

There IS hope for my teenager! He started showering (regularly, YAY!). For clarification, I mean normal showering. Like, stepping foot INTO the shower, soaping up the ENTIRE body, and thoroughly scrubbing his head. (Not just the hairs, you must wash the scalp, dude!) This used to be a daily struggle. His argument was 'you never told me that'. Gee, would you like me to be in the bathroom and SHOW you exactly how to bathe? Didn't think so. We dyed his hair (goth black was his choice) and now he's ready to start high school. I cannot confirm or deny anything about the basket of strategically placed condoms on his dresser with a candy bar with a note saying: "Be safe, or you will be kicked to the Milky Way" 

Tomorrow is the first day of school! (YESSSS!!!!) It's really bittersweet, because its not that I want the cute little turds to be out of the house. Okay, who am I kidding, that's half of it. But the other half of it is that I learned about myself. I realized how much I miss making them treats for when they get home from school. Seriously, what's better than coming home to the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school? Uh, maybe seeing those suckers on a plate with some milk at your place at the table?  Best way to sit and do homework yo! 

Both Sean and Kasen are a little too young to completely comprehend the concept of breastfeeding. Wow, say that 3 times fast. Well, they don't know the schmatics. Like, that milk actually comes out of nipples to feed babies. They just know that their sister gets hungry. She cries. Mommy covers up with a blanket. About 10 min later, Reagan emerges again and TA-DA, now she's happy!  I'd hate to scar my kids for life, so I'm not gonna show them specifics with my own jugs. This week, Sean saw Reagan with just a diaper on. He lifted up his shirt, pointed to his nipples and said "Baby has mine right mom." Yes, Sean. Reagan has nipples just like you. "She want to eat like  mwah mwah," duck face in full force. "C'mahhhhhhhn. Lemme try. I can do it". Ah, crap! *Dont over-react (I told myself) he's just trying to help.* Nope son, Mommy's got this. "Why?" There's not enough money in the world for the life-long counseling you both would need. Love you buddy.

Liz:

This week has been what we call "Faculty Week." It's a week of meetings and short blocks of time (snicker) for faculty to prepare (prep) their classes that start next week. Monday was a 3 hour meeting, Tuesday 1 hour, Thursday 2 hour, and Friday 3.5 hour. I was trying to make sure I stayed on my running schedule as well (and pick up little boys by 4:30). So more than once I considered skipping meetings to prep classes. But I didn't and I'm glad I didn't. During Friday's meeting I was awarded an Excellence in Teaching award - imagine if I hadn't been there. I'm sure my office mate would have yelled from the back of the auditorium, "She's in the office prepping!" Note to self. No skippy meetings.

I re-learned I have massive respect for (good) daycare providers. These people amazingly patiently hang with our Littles for hours a day. I took the boys to the Children's Museum for 2 hours with 3 other adults and I am nap ready.

I wanted to take a minute to recognize our amazing readers, friends, and family members. We were nominated for a blogging award last weekend and started off in 49th place (out of like 52 blogs). We're now in 8th. You. Guys. Rock. Keep up the amazingness.

What did you learn about life, yourself, your family, or anything else for that matter this week? If it's funny we especially want to hear it. We like funny. Be sure to leave your story in the Comments at the end of this post.

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