An average day

Woke up at the sound of my alarm clock at 6:25. Didn't even push snooze, just turned it off and went back to bed. Woke up to Will whining loudly in the room next door around 6:55. Ran in there as fast as I could in hopes that I could sneak him out before Joe and Sam woke up. Will was soaked in pee. And I wasn't quite fast enough, Joe woke up. I quickly got them out, woke up Pete and asked if Will could take a shower with him to rinse off. Woke up John and Dan for breakfast. Served cold cereal, not enough time to make anything. Heard Sam waking up in the monitor. Nursed him while I read the scriptures to the oldest 3 and ate my breakfast. Hurried John to the piano as soon as he was done eating for a quick practice. Then Dan followed. Fed Sam some oatmeal cereal mixed with mashed bananas. Since everyone was up and fed, I decided to try driving John and Dan to school, instead of walking them to the bus, then heading over to the YMCA to workout. Had a heck of a time getting everyone dressed, boots on, coats on, gloves and hats on and out the door. Dan was complaining because he didn't want to get hot lunch at school. He wanted me to make him one (changed his mind 5 minutes before we were leaving). Joe was moving at the speed of a snail. Sam was getting fussy, he had been ready and in his car seat for apparently way too long. Finally got everyone in the car. Car continues to make weird noises when the engine is running, especially when the temperature outside is 0 degrees. Joe and Dan start fighting in the back seat, apparently over a neck rest. I'm already on edge, and the screaming pushes me over. So I start yelling at Joe and Dan, Joe is sobbing (because of Dan, not me). And still sobbing. And still sobbing. I'm about to lose it. I get to school and say goodbye to John and Dan. I feel kind of bad that they had to endure that ride and me being impatient and hope they don't start school in a bad mood as well. The steam has finally blown over by the time we get to the gym. I take a deep breath and apologize to Joe for yelling at him. We thankfully find a parking spot very near the door and hurry in. Drop the kids off at child care. Sam is fussy and tired so I throw a blanket over the carrier and tell them he should go right to sleep. I hang up my coat, get a good workout in. Ride a bike and race against a pacer for 30 minutes, then run for 15. Listen to a conference talk while I run and say a prayer in my heart. Ask for forgiveness for yelling at and being impatient with Joe. Cool down, stretch, go to grab my coat and... it's gone. I know right where I put it, and it's gone. The most expensive piece of clothing I own, my black North Face down coat that goes down to my knees and I where every. single. day. Gone. I frantically look everywhere, through every single locker, on every single hook. I know someone stole it and that it's gone forever, just like that. I'm nearing tears, but hold them back. I ask the front desk if anyone has accidentally taken a coat and returned it, but nothing. I right down my name and number and description of the coat for them. I text Pete because I feel like I have to complain to someone. Then I try to move on. I call a GMC dealership and schedule an appt to bring in our car to be looked at. It's nearing the 2 hour limit for child care, so I go get the kids. Sam apparently cried for 30 minutes, then only took a very short nap. He's still in his carrier, but happy and with a toy. I get the kids and take them to the room next door for a free trial class. "Messy Play." Will refuses to do anything and wants me to hold him the whole time. Joe looks interested and sits down at the table. The project for the day is painting with shaving cream mixed with paint. The lady in charge mixes up a few colors and puts them in front of Joe. Joe is very thoughtful on projects and doesn't always dive right in, so the lady gets a paint brush herself and starts painting all over his paper. As if he doesn't know what to do. He just sits there with a frown on his face, watching the paint brush, but doesn't say anything. Finally she goes to the other side of the table and he starts painting himself. I sit on the floor with Will next to me and nurse Sam. When Joe's done we head home. I cook some pancakes for Joe and Will with some leftover batter from a few days ago while holding Sam and talking to Pete. He's sorry about my coat. I put Sam to bed. Will wants to play the iPad, so we listen to a few stories of Frog and Toad then I let him play a couple games while I eat lunch. Leftovers from last night, chicken, rice and beans. I squeeze in a few pages of the book I'm reading, These is My Words. Joe's turn to play the iPad, and Will's turn for a nap. I finally convince Will to come upstairs and read a book with me with chocolates (his weakness). I give him the option, my bed or John and Dan's bed. He chooses John's. We read Go Dog Go and My Nest is Best, then I close my eyes and lay next to him. He's out within 2 minutes. I hear Sam waking up in the room next door. I quickly reply to a few texts before Sam gets too loud, then bring him down. I nurse him while I read a couple books to Joe. Blizzard and The Day the Crayons Quit. Joe works on some Perler Beads while I feed Sam. Broccoli/carrots and avocado/apples. Will wakes up (so soon??) and wants to be held. And held. And held some more. He must really like me. Before I know it, Sam's ready for another nap and it's time to walk up the street to pick up John and Dan from the bus. We all bundle up. Boots, coats, gloves, hats... except me with a coat that's not as warm... grrrr. Joe rides a tricycle and Will a scooter. I tie a rope to their bikes and pull them up the hill so we can move a little faster. The sun is out and it feels much warmer than temperatures in the teens. John and Dan arrive and we all walk home. Will takes off on the scooter and Dan and John run to keep up with  him. I stay back with Joe who wants to ride slowly and go over every piece of ice on the road. Joe goes inside and John, Dan and Will run/ride around in the circle at the end of the street. Dan excitedly says "Mom! Come here!" I walk down to see a lone christmas ornament hanging on to the bottom of a tree that is sitting on someone's curb, ready to be picked up. Dan asks if he can keep it. I say why not. It has been set out as garbage. It's some sort of Asian ornament. Chinese maybe? Nothing like what we have. He wants to save it to hang on our Christmas tree next year. I say that would be fine and to maybe put it in his box of treasures. He and John admire the intricate designs. He's excited to show it to Joe once inside. I make some hot chocolate while John, Dan and Joe work on Perler Beads and fight over the snowflake paper punch, and Will paints on the easel. And Dan helps him paint. And John helps. And Joe helps. I try to keep them away and tell them it's Will's painting, but Will doesn't seem to mind too much, so I let it go. The hot chocolate is done, I serve it with whipped cream and marshmallows. John asks if he can watch a movie. I say how about a show that's a little shorter. He complains about a show, and I give in and say a movie would be fine. They all agree on How to Train Your Dragon. Movie starts, house is quiet. I catch up on dishes then decide I should probably shower and change out of my stinky clothes. I hear Sam in the monitor starting to wake up. The shower is now or never. Sam will have to wait. I walk in the bathroom and remember that I was going to try to unclog the toilet. Will put a few toys in there yesterday and flushed. I was able to get a large lego piece out and a toy motorcycle, but he told me there was one more in there. Then Dan had gone #2 and used a substantial amount of toilet paper and clogged the whole thing up. Even the water was no longer draining. I get an old bowl and spoon and start scooping it out and take it downstairs to the other toilet to dispose of. I'm finally to the bottom. I put on some gloves and reach in to see if I can feel the toy, but it's too far up there. I tried. I hop in the shower hear Will crying and coming up the stairs. I'm not sure what happened, but he comes in and decides he wants to take a shower too so comes in with me. He's all smiles and loves the hot water. That kid and showers. We finish up and get dressed. I don't hear Sam so go and check on him. He's gone back to sleep. Sweet. Will wants me to hold him. And hold him. I sit down and watch the movie for a bit. Will finally seems content to sit by himself, so I start making dinner. Pete's got a late night and won't be home until 8, so I make a family staple that I know the kids all like. Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and orange juice. The movie finishes up and dinner is almost ready. It's almost 6:00 and Sam is finally waking up after his 3 hour nap. I hold him while I finish up dinner, get it served, then nurse him while I eat. I save a plate for Pete and put it in the fridge. Sam didn't nurse too much, so I get him some pasta I had blended up a couple days ago and mix it with a little cottage cheese (is that ok for a 7 month old? I can't remember...) Dan offers to feed him half way through and I wash the dishes. The kids seem to be getting restless so I tell them if they can all get on their jammies past then we can play the jelly bean game. Will's already in his pj's, Sam's still in his pj's from last night, and Joe... has already changed into pj's? He only changes if he has had an accident, and he changed without telling me. I asked him if he peed or pood. He peed. Ok. John and Dan are quick, then we sit in a circle on the run in the family room and pass the container of jelly beans around, taking one at a time. Will eats his the second he chooses. He hands me a half eaten butter popcorn-flavored bean at one point, he doesn't like those. John and Dan save every one of theirs to be enjoyed later. Joe starts saving his half way through. I eat mine as I take them. There are a couple of butter popcorn ones left at the end that no one will take. We end up throwing those away. I tell the kids they have 15 minutes of free time. I head up to Joe, Will and Sam's room to work on moving a few toys/books around so that things are more accessible. I remember I never did change the sheets on Will's bed after his accident, so I change those too. Sam lies on the floor with a toy and the 4 other boys have some kind of wrestle mania on John and Dan's bed. They take turns coming into me crying after they've gotten hurt. I pat their back and ask if they're ok, and within 5 seconds they're right back in there jumping on someone. Sam starts to get pretty fussy so stops me short of finishing. I put him to bed and help the kids brush their teeth. Joe has peed in the clogged toilet and flushed it. The water level is back up again and still not draining. Grrr. We say family prayer and John and Dan hop in their beds and start reading their books. John is nearing the end of Harry Potter (1) and Dan is in the middle of The Life of Ty. I try to sneak Will and Joe into the bunk beds, but Sam is still awake. Maybe he was almost asleep, he starts crying pretty hard. I smell something gross as Joe is climbing the ladder up to his bed and tell him we better take a look at his pull-up. There's a full ball of poo in there! What?! I ask why he didn't use the toilet and he said he couldn't find the stool when it was time to brush his teeth (what does that have to do with anything??) I get him cleaned up and back in bed. I hold Sam for a minute but he just doesn't want to calm down. So I put him back in bed and let him cry it out. I think he's over tired. Joe and Will amazingly fall asleep with the noise of his cries. Pete gets home and tells John and Dan good night. He changes his clothes then gives the toilet a try. Cleans it all out and is able to get the toilet to flush with water. He tapes the toilet lid to the seat and writes "Only pee pee!!!" on the top. The toy is still in there. Do we get a plumber out here or live with a toilet that only half works... Live with it for now. That darn Will. I hop on the computer and catch up on e-mails and visiting teaching reports. Pete eats dinner and works on his 1000 piece puzzle. It's beginning to look like it might actually get done. At 9:30 pm we decide to put off other things that need to get done and watch Downton Abbey. Season 5, episode 1. Sam wakes up crying hard (very unusual), so I nurse him while we watch, then put him back to bed. We both eat a little ice cream. Half way through I start nodding off, so I get some carrots and hummus to snack on to keep me awake. Finish the show and look up vacation rentals on airbnb. We're hoping to go to New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine for part of the kids winter break. There are 2 we have narrowed it down to. We can't decide, so decide to sleep on it. Before we know it it's midnight. There is still a lot we want to talk about. Like how each kid is doing and what each kid needs right now (are we missing something?) and how we can make things run a little smoother here at home... we'll try to find some time this weekend. Now it's 12:30. Lights out. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.