Should it be "Obstacle Course," or "What an Ordeal"? Both would apply!
School wasn't all that obnoxious today. I've been showing a movie for two days (The House of Dies Drear) from a book by the same title...about a black family who bought a house that had once been part of the Underground Railroad. In spite of its obvious production in the 70s, the kids like it because it has scary parts. That has kept the classes somewhat under control, along with the fact that some of my disruptive kids were in In-School Suspension from the previous day's escapades. So I came home tired, but not irritated.
It always used to be my routine to watch the remainder of Dr. Phil upon returning home...then Oprah...then take a nap...then whatever. With my family here, I've had to re-vamp a little. Now, I watch the remainder of Dr. Phil, then try to get a nap from 4:00 to 5:00, so I can get dinner going thereafter. It works best if dinner is on the table when Meg and the children come home, sometime between 5:45 and 6:00. For the last three days, a company responsible for the children's health insurance has been trying to reach Meg. The gal has called at 4:15, right on the money, each day....just as I have nodded off to Nap Land. (Meg has called her back a number of times but can never get her.) Okay...so today, I took all the woman's information, sent it to Meg in chat, then tried to go back to my nap. Again, just as I had nodded off, the woman called (4:45) to say that she had just missed Meg's call.... I went back to the computer to give Meg the information to try her again...and ONCE AGAIN, I laid down to snooze but figured it was useless to try. Well...I didn't wake up until Robin came bursting through the door to scream me awake. (She thinks it's cute...) Needless to say, supper wasn't ready. Everyone was STARVED, so we went to Burger King, which has a playground.
Never mind that the children have played all day in Miss Shelly's back yard, complete with trampoline. Never mind that Mommy and Gramma have things to do. The kids want to PLAY. So they did. Eating was only a part of the picture. Understand that getting the children clean enough to eat after playing in the dirt and pea gravel all day is a major undertaking. When my own daughter was little, I used to see mothers with their dirty and bedraggled youngsters out and about and wondered what kind of mother would allow her kids to look like that. I understand now! The only way to prevent my beloved grandchildren from looking like urchins would be to chuck them both in a shower right after preschool, and change their clothes. Do you know how much laundry that generates????
After BK, Meg wanted to get the grocery shopping done. Since the evening was already shot, and we were all together, we drove to Meijer in Camby. Well! Meg paid a buck for a "TV car" for children. The TV didn't work. She went to the service desk to ask for another. She was told that they were ALL out of order...so she got her dollar back, but kept the cart. It was okay with both children in it for awhile. They loudly shouted "BEEP, BEEP" throughout the store...but inevitably, the children began to fuss with each other. Robbie bit her brother (not much of a bite) on the cheek...so that ended her car trip. She was put in her mother's cart while Ryan stayed in the car. Hmmm...this story is getting long. Allow me to shorten it. The rest of the day included: Robin crying loudly for Gramma for fifteen minutes because she had been misbehaving, throwing things out of the carts, etc.and Mommy was fed up; Robin shutting the front door at home on Ryan, bonking his head and sending him flying on his bottom...more tears; Mommy and Gramma out of patience. No baths. Just bed.
The "obstacle course" part of the proposed title has to do with the fact that we cannot walk more than five steps in this house without having to step over something. The most frustrating thing for me is that the dog always seems to be in front of me. Wherever I need to walk, there she is. Chaos! Perhaps I am just sensitive because we are all tired. If ANYONE tries to tell you that he/she can maintain a job, a house, and quality time with two combative preschoolers, in an organized and orderly fashion, he/she is LYING! We put the children as the priority. The housework suffers. 'Tis ever thus.
There were two funny spots in the evening. Robin came out of the bedroom tonight, long after Ryan was in bed, to announce that he had bitten her today. There it was on her arm...a fresh bite mark...with the teeth upside down. Self-inflicted! What a little turkey! Also, as we were, once again, trying to get her in bed, we told her "Don't let the bedbugs bite." She said bedbugs weren't real. I said they were but that we didn't have any here. She asked if there were any in South America. I asked what she knew about South America. (She's 4, for Pete's sake!) She wanted to know how far away South America was. Do we live in South America? I told her we live in North America, and that South America was hundreds and hudreds of miles away. She then decided that it would take the bedbugs a long time to get here, so she was safe. Geez!!!
Nathan hasn't called to talk to the children this week, so far. I worry about him. He isn't my problem anymore, but I'm not sure how well he is doing. The children love their daddy. They aren't hearing anything bad about him here!
Time for bed. If you are reading this and your mother is still living, God has blessed you! Don't forget Mom this weekend!
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