(Note: I actually wrote this post on Tuesday night but I did not want to publish it until Brandon got back in town.)
It was right before bedtime and I was trying to get Sophie to make a beeline up the steps. As I yelled out for Elsa and Charlie to come join us, Elsa yells back "uh oh mommy...I made a mess".
I knew it was going to be a long day. And in the moment that I woke up that morning...I made a decision that I would try with all my might to hold it together.
It started off as a fairly typical day. But it was not a typical evening. I was on my own, as Brandon is out of town for the week.
So after dinner, I round up the kids and get them in the bath (which is what Brandon normally does). Things are going amazingly well. I get Elsa out of the bath, lotion her up, put on her PJs and blow dry her hair. I do the same for Charlie. As I got Sophie out of the bath, Elsa and Charlie ran out of the room to go play. I do the same for Sophie as I did for Elsa. Usually, Sophie does NOT like the hair dryer and runs off after a few seconds. But not tonight. She sat on the bathroom counter and let me dry every last strand of hair. In the meantime, my head is in la la land as I am thinking about how proud I am of myself at how well I am doing on my own...without Brandon here...and things are going pretty damn smoothly.
Let me just say...Sophie's behavioral issues can and do physically and emotionally drain every last ounce of energy and patience that I have on a daily basis. And it is fairly typical for any stay-at-home-mom to count down the seconds until reinforcement arrives...right?!?! Which is what I usually do. And the minute Brandon walks through the door, I feel like everything is going to be okay. Like I made it through another day even though the day isn't over yet. Like there is NO WAY I could have lasted a second longer without breaking down (though I have to admit there are the days where chaos ensues and Brandon walks through the door to find me a heaping mess).
So, back to the "uh-oh". As I round the corner, I find Elsa and Charlie standing in the middle of this...
Which I had just steam mopped earlier that day!!!
I drop to the ground and just start bawling. I canNOT deal with this right now. I WAS in the home stretch. I WAS going to get all the kids upstairs and shut the gate. Thirty minutes of play time and then I would sneak downstairs to get toothbrushes and Sophie's meds. And then they would all be in bed before the end of the hour. Nope...not now. I pull it together. I strip off Elsa's and Charlie's pajamas and put them back in the bathtub. Which means Sophie is now ripping off her pajamas because there is no way she was going to be excluded (she will try to take a bath or shower, at minimum, five times a day). UGH!!! But...somehow...someway...they are all sleeping at this very moment.
(Update: And I survived the week. Thanks to the endless amount of patience and love from Grandma Debbie!!!)
10 comments:
Oy VEY!!! What a mess. I feel your pain. Even though I only have 2 mess makers! I hope Brandon is home and all is well. And Sophie is at school. Ahhhh.... I love school days.
Have a great wonderful Thanksgiving! And remember to squeeze those little hooligans!
Lori and Nora
Oh no! I would have cried too. I am so with you about bedtime and needing reinforcement at the end of the day. I can feel my energy and patience dribbling away as I'm getting Julia ready for bed after bath...my tank is empty at that time of day. I hate when Michael is out of town, sometimes just having another adult around makes all the difference.
So glad your husband is back and you have that behind you!
Brandon doesn't get back until 4pm but that would be earlier than if he went to work today. Only 5 more hours to go!!!
BTW, Sophie does not have school on Fridays. And I feel every last ounce of sanity being sucked out of me at the moment.
I feel your pain. We're having some MAJOR behavioral issues over here too. I was just in tears about 15 minutes ago from a morning of whining and screaming. I hope today is better for you!!
Oh honey...you KNOW I'm re-posting this at my place, right?!
Because you are SO right. I count the minutes until Jonathan gets home. And if he's even two minutes late...I'm a mess.
xoxo
...d
Why don't you qualify for a Home Health Aide? I find that remarkable? With Sophie's diagnosis I would think you absolutely should. Even if it were only for a few hours a night, the help is ENORMOUS.
I assume you either don't have it as an option or have been denied. Can you elaborate?
Believe it or not this is a story you'll tell and laugh about.....in ten or fifteen years!! Be sure to save the picture to pull out when you get a complaint of what the grandkids did 30 years from now. It's always fun to smile then and remind them that paybacks are hell.
Love Barb
Somehow it is kind of comforting to know that I am not the only mom that counts down the minutes until reinforcement arrives.
And if he is just 5 or 10 minutes late, he probably doesn't want to walk in the door, because he knows that it will be an even longer night.
Yay for Sophie and doing so great with drying her hair...Kylie is scared of it and gets excited when I finish drying my own hair :)
Congrats for making it through a tough day and week!
Hugs for ya!
I don't know how you do it!!! You are super mom...I'm ready for Chris to get home and I just have one (for now!)
Oh. My. Goodness! I totally saw where this was going! I'm so amazed that you can do one day with 3 much less a week. I only have one and I'm still counting down! Counting down as I type. lol
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