Mom Confession

Well I'm feeling like a total hypocrite for my spouting of "how to have a good day" stuff two days ago, cause today I was GRUMPY. And unfortunately it wore off on everyone else. I think the problem was being woken up and not waking up on my own. (*See note to self at end) I woke up to a big pounding on the door at 9:00. Why was I still in bed? I shouldn't have been and won't be again (*Yes, see note to self at end)- someone was here to pick up Melodie. Um, Mel? Last I heard, as we planned the day out the night before, you were leaving with her father for orchestra at 9:15? I asked her what was going on, she forgot about this thing with the neighbor, she'd double booked herself. She quickly decided to go with the neighbor to be an elf helper for a little Christmas service project, and Corey still had to go to orchestra without her cause he'd volunteered to do something there today. Anyway, so she was off and Corey was off, and my day was off on the wrong foot.

Now had I had my habitual school morning with some quiet time in the car to pray and affirm my mood (can't believe I'm missing my school morning schedule!) I might have had a normal day. But, although it wasn't a big deal, the pounding on the door like there was an emergency and not knowing what the crisis was and answering it in my robe, yeah, just set me off on the wrong foot. I got dressed and started to zombie walk my way around my house. And as I beheld the mess that was my home the downward spiral began. Want to see pictures? Oh, fine. Yes, this is our current life. This is what happens the house usually looks like on Saturday mornings, (after kids have a movie night and Corey and I are gone on a date) but I just wasn't ready for it today. Here's the evidence, first one:

This small pile of paper, which I recognize "is not Valley Forge", (speaking with the big picture in mind of trials that people on this earth have endured) was made my Melodie last night. And now she was not home for me to chastise or ask to clean it up. Grr. Why didn't she clean it up last night? She had been making beautiful snowflakes to decorate the house with. Good idea, but...

...poor Melodie's snowflakes just happened to be created in a house with little girls who are just too curious when they see something new taped to the windows and walls. Ooh! What are these? (rip and pluck them all off the windows...) oh, they're snowflakes! Cool. Smash and crumble into a pile and throw it somewhere. (That was Lily and Sophi who did that.) Let's go look at the girls' bedroom:

Hi Abi, how you feeling? (she's been sick for 4 days) Sigh. Again, Melodie's not here to help her sisters clean, therefore probably not going to happen until she gets back, and who knows when that will be. Let's go look at the boys room:

Hmm, better than usual, so that's nice. And since it's 11 in the morning I'm glad to see that they're all finally out of bed. (Poor Joseph had such a busy day yesterday, with no school and a full day of skiing to put in, poor chap, it's pretty rough.)

Next room, the laundry room. Ahh, my desk. My laundry room desk. My personal dumping ground that the kids rummage through occasionally and make more disorganized that it already was. How to fix this bad habit, I do not know. Right behind the desk, the laundry piles:

Clean piles all over the floor. Since no one around here knows how to fold. I try sometimes, but I just get it all messed up. I can hardly tell any of the boys' clothes apart, so I try to have a boy and girl basket and they can fold them... yeah, never happens. Gotta help them make a habit there. To my room:

I have made my bed! Good job me. Blankets all over the floor. I'm not liking that cast iron above my bed, another project that I do not ever get to cause I walk around like a zombie trying to process where to start with cleaning this place. And do not look at my dresser...

NO! I said don't look! Here we have the one downside of being tithe payers ~ Malachi 3:10 "there is not room enough to receive" or store all the blessings, they overfloweth. And back downstairs, ah, Joseph is awake and has eaten his breakfast. Does he see all this mess around the house that I see? Yes, he is studying it closely, looking at one of the spare Christmas lightbulbs that Lily threw up in the sky like rice at a wedding. So, Joseph, shall we lay around today and look at it all or shall we clean it up? Yeah. Ok, I shall continue to walk around and look at it all.

I turn behind me to behold the closet, and that was when I started to give up. "I'll just clean the house after they're all in college..."

All I ask these children, ALL I ASK (ok that's not true) is that they PLEASE PUT YOUR SHOES IN THE SHOE CUPBOARD AND COASTS IN THE COAT CLOSET and HANG THEM UP and Please, we timed each of you doing this simple mundane task and it took 10 seconds top, AHHH! And how's that for a mom confession? Sigh. I just can't keep up with these kids... Kids... Kids? Where are these kids? There they are!

 

Yes, of course! The 2 year old is doing the hokey pokey on the island counter!

Sigh. Well, on the bright side, as I nurse Natalie for hours on end I get to read a lot. I'm learning all about how to get on top of my game. And someday I'll do it, too. As for now, it's midnight, and that was the longest uninterrupted time I've had to blog in a long time. Goodnight.

*Note to self, I shall begin to establish a habit of waking up before my little hurricanes do and I will listen to Piano Guys and say and think happy thoughts and pray and stretch and breath and I love these kids more than anything!!! I know it seems like foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14), but you just have to be a parent to know. :)