Such Is Life

Having kids means that life is never boring. Some days are more eventful than others though.

Tyler has not been feeling well. Again. Coughing, runny nose, fever, ear infection. Again. This week, he has been understandably crabby and clingy. Today was no exception.

7:00 a.m. - Tyler wakes up. I change his diaper, put drops in his ear, and suck out his nose. He wants breakfast. Now. He screams at me because I'm not cutting his banana fast enough. He wants something to drink. Now. He shrieks because I'm not filling his cup quickly enough. He screams again because he's still hungry. My normally happy baby is very irritable. I feed him oatmeal. He smiles. I wash him up.

I reprimand quarreling children.

I change a poopy diaper.

I clean up a messy highchair.

I read the kiddos some books.

I play with blocks with the baby.

8: 00 a.m. - I make breakfast.

Tyler cries.

I reprimand quarreling children.

I stop baby from emptying the drawers.

I suck out a snotty nose.

I feed children breakfast.

I check email.

I reprimand quarreling children.

I pick baby up. I set baby down. I pick baby up. I set baby down. I listen to baby shriek because I set him down.

9:00 a.m. - Children are rough-housing.

Zac gets kicked in the nose.

Zac cries. A lot.

Zac loses blood. A lot.

I grab Zac and head to the bathroom.

I hold one washcloth on his nose, wet another one, and try to clean up the blood from his hands.

Zac uses his hand to wipe away tears.

Zac gets blood all over his face from wiping away tears.

I call to Alyssa to hold the washcloth on his nose so I can clean up his hands and face.

Tyler opens a drawer, grabs a container of miscellaneous makeup and tools, and empties it all over the floor.

I take Tyler out of the bathroom. He screams.

I cuddle Zac.

Tyler cries.

I put Tyler down for a nap.

10:00 a.m. - I load the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes and push the button to run it.   

Click. 

Nothing. 

Click, click. 

Nothing.  

I call Leighton to see if there's some reason why it isn't working. There's not. 

Jake, Alyssa, Zac, and I wash all the dishes. By hand. Wash, rinse, dry, put away. 

Trade jobs.

Play with bubbles.

Play with water.

Wash dishes.

Listen to complaining about having a "boring" job.

Wash dishes.

Let the kiddos have a piece of candy and send them out of the kitchen.

Finish the dishes by myself. Finish cleaning the kitchen.

11:00 a.m. - Instruct kids to clean up their toys.

Attempt to check curriculum on laptop for school. No internet. 

Check router. No power.

Check desktop. No power.

Check power strip. No power.

Call Leighton. Again.

He sends me to the basement to look for a tripped circuit. Nothing.

I check the legend, switch 2 circuits for the living room, and head upstairs to try the power. Nothing.

I head back to the basement, switch 3 more circuits, and head upstairs to try the power. Nothing.

I head back to the basement, switch all the circuits, and head upstairs to try the power. Nothing.

The kids walk around the house, flipping on all the switches. All the lights come on, except for that one corner of the house. They have fun.

I am confused.

The lights come on. The t.v. turns on. The fish tank is on.

I am still confused.

12:00 a.m. - I am ready to start school. Finally.

Tyler wakes up. No school yet.

I think about the circuit issue. I remember the broken dishwasher. I wonder . . .

I clicked the dishwasher on.

Rrrrrrrr . . . It works!

I am surprised that the dishwasher is on the same circuit as the plugs in the living room, but I am happy that it works and humored that we washed all the dishes, for nothing. 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. You know, stuff like reading a couple chapters of our book, talking about synonyms and antonyms, making the life cycle of a butterfly out of dried pasta, coloring pictures of mealworms, discussing what makes a good leader, doing some math, playing on the computer, practicing reading, making dough, rolling out tortillas, playing outside, making brownies, wrestling with daddy, taking out toys, putting away toys, taking out toys, putting away toys. Taking out toys, putting away toys.

And of course, washing more dishes.