Oh...um...hi!

I *almost* forgot all about this place=/ The reality of my life (and by default, our life) is that I have neither the time nor the ability to do the frequent activities with my children like we once did. Our week is over almost before it's even begun; the days are just racing by! I haven't even taken a picture with my camera in weeks:( I miss having free time to spend with my family and having reasons to post to this blog.

Just so you have an idea about the craziness that is my schedule, lately, here's what an average week looks like:

Monday:

8:15-8:50- Get kids and myself fed and dressed and Emily ready for preschool.

9:00-11:30- Work in Emily's classroom as a teacher's aid.

11:30-12:00- Race home to eat lunch with kids for a measly 30 minutes

12:15-3:45- Rush over to Ben's school-mate Brady's house to watch his little brother Conner while their mom work's in Ben and Brady's class

3:45-5:00- Bring Conner to the preschool, pick Ben up and bring him home. Spend the next hour trying to play with them, being bossed around by Dan and getting ready to leave for my third obligation in this never-ending day!

5:15-1:15- (Yes, that's 1:15 AM, as in, the next freaking day!) Pick up the 4 year-old twins I care for and bring them home to play mommy to them for the night while their single-mother works her nursing shift at Kaiser=) Also, between 7:30-8:30 pm I have a conference call for the preschool committee I am on.

Tuesday:

8:15-12:45- Babysit Ben's schoolmate, Jade, before bring her and Ben to preschool for the afternoon.

12:45-3:45- Work in Ben's classroom as a teacher's aide.

3:45-5:00 - Come home for a mere 55 minutes and try to get as much laundry folded, as many hugs and cuddles and be further bossed around by Dan before rushing across town to pick up the twins.

5:15-1:15- Faux-Mommy routine, part 2

Wednesday:

8:15-8:55- Get kids fed, dressed and Emily off to school. If I'm lucky, I can spend 9- 11:15 at the gym but it's typically spent running errands, at appointments etc.

11:30-3:15- Pick Emily, and classmate Siena, up from preschool, along with Ben and Callie. It takes at least 25 minutes to walk a block because I only have a double stroller or a two-seater wagon and they all whine and fight and fuss over who's turn it is to sit. Grrrrr. Brady is dropped off around 12:45 and I have 5 under 6 here for the next 2.5 hours. Weeeee! They fight like cats and dogs, whine for me to constantly make them snacks and destroy my home but it's good money and it's not a long-term arrangement. My only complaint is that it interferes with nap time:(

3:15-11:00- sweet, sweet freedom....from other people's children at least. It's not relaxing in any way because my kids are usually all amped up, frazzled and cranky from the last three days of go-go-"where did mommy go?!" I am at least grateful to not have anywhere else I have to be=)

Thursday:

9:00-10:15- Get Myself ready to work out and get Emily ready for her dance-class.

10:00-10:45- Work out while Emily does ballet

11:00-12:45- Babysit Siena, feed all kids lunch, convince a VERY anxious and reluctant Benjamin that he has to go to school, then cart all four kids down there:)

1:30-3:30- Hope Callie goes down for a long enough nap that she's ready to be abruptly woken at 3:30 when I have to get Benjamin again. Attempt to get Emily relaxed enough to take a cat-nap during this time, too, so that I can attempt to get in a smidgen on "me-time" between household obligations.

3:45-7:15- The Witching Hours where I attempt to hold my shit together long enough to get all these over-tired, cranky, hungry children fed, bathed and off to bed in a timely fashion and without turning into Mommy Dearest.

7:45-11:00- Clean, or rather, procrastinate over cleaning, hopefully make it to the gym and also attempt to focus on a little self-preservation while trying to decompress from the week.

Friday:

8:15-8:55-Get everyone up and dressed and ready to drop Emily off at 9:00.

9:00-11:30- We typically use this time for errands or appointments. Poor Callie is supposed to have a toddler class but it usually gets canceled for more important endeavors. If I'm really lucky, I get to get a coffee and do some shopping with Ben and Callie. If Dan is with us, he rushes us from place to place and I usually can't wait to get done;)

11:30-on- If we don't have Siena this day, the afternoon is ours for the taking=) When Mimi is free we spend it with her and if the weather is nice, we try to get outside. Honestly, Callie is such a handful that I never even bother to try and photograph them anymore. It's an exercise in futility and my camera is one more thing to slow me down while chasing that girl.

Saturday/Sunday:

These are MAJOR decompression days for us. We go to the gym, run a few easy errands and then just hang around. I feel too over-scheduled to be bothered with the numerous birthday party invites these preschoolers get each month(unless it's a special, close friend's children. Those parties are must-attends!). I don't make playdates or big plans. These poor kids are lucky if I even bring them to the park. It's easy when the weather is crappy, but I know I have to step up my efforts now that spring has sprung.

So that's what's been going on around here this month. And it changes at the drop of a hat, it seems. The only thing that's certain is that I am busy, busy, busy and not in an interesting-to-blog-about way:( Sunny weather is on the horizon, and maybe that will help lift my spirits enough to venture out of my "Weekend Cave"...