Rush Rush Rush

Today was one of those days where I feel like I'm rushing the kids from one thing to the next. Rushing to get out the door for the free lunch at the elementary school across the street. Rush them through lunch to get to Ana's t-ball game on time. Rush home to change Jane's poopy diaper, then rush to the store so we can get back for Jane's nap. No wonder the kids just want to go home and relax! I'd be sick of being rushed too! But we did have fun eating lunch. All of our neighborhood friends were there, and we got to talk to them while we ate. And Grandma and Grandpa Hymas came to watch Ana play t-ball, so that was extra special. And at the grocery store, we bought a special treat for the kids to munch on in the car on the way home. So it wasn't all bad.

And I managed to slip a nap in today, too. After the grocery store, I put Jane down for a nap. Ana wanted to finish playing a game on disneyjunior.com from yesterday, so I let her and Benji plant magical flowers in a magical garden while I laid down on the couch for a bit. Except the moment I laid down, suddenly Benji felt the urge to yell my name over and over until he found me on the couch. Then Ana started crying because she pushed a button on her game, which pulled up a window that she couldn't click out of. So my nap got off to a rocky start. But then I got like a 20 minute, light, I can hear the kid in the background so I'm not really deep sleeping kind of nap. So it was good.

Actually, you know what woke me up? I hear the kids fighting over the computer and crying. Then I heard something really sweet. The went into their bedroom and said a prayer. I heard Ana saying, "Please bless me and mommy to be in a better mood (sad, but true), and help us to get along, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Then Benji said his own prayer out loud, repeating everything that she said. The faith and sweetness of those two!

Then we played Twister for a few minutes before Thad called to look at rentals online together. I don't know why we bother looking at rentals in Pendleton. We just end up getting discouraged because there are so few rentals available there for some reason.

Unfortunately, today was a lazy sort of day. I have been feeling discouraged that we haven't sold our house yet, and that we only had one showing last week, so today I rebelled and didn't pick up .. anything ... all day. So while we were enjoying a delicious dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, strawberries, and a green salad with lettuce from our garden, I got a call that someone wanted to come look at our house. In an hour! Oh. Crap.

More rushing. Rushed through dinner, rushed the kids out the back door, then I cleaned like I've never cleaned before. I literally grabbed everything on the ground (toys, groceries, the Twister mat and box, shoes, diapers, dirty clothes, etc) and threw them in a laundry basket, which I threw into the car. I ran around opening windows and turning on ceiling fans to air this place out. I shoved clothes under beds, cups into nightstand drawers. I had to clean poop off the kids' toilet from this morning, wash mirrors, clean sinks, floors, etc. I kept thinking, I'm not going to make it, I'm not going to make it! This is going to be the first showing where they show up and I'm still here! And I'll be mortified! At 6:40 p.m. I yelled at Ana to get all the kids in the van. (Poor Jane fell down the garage steps as she was climbing down them). I was vacuuming like a crazy woman at 6:45 p.m. when they were supposed to be there. I didn't have time to mop the kitchen floor, which had pasta smeared on it from dinner. Oh, well, you can't get it all every time, can you? We pulled out of the driveway at 6:47 p.m. I was praying that they would be late, and they were. Thank goodness! Then I drove around the neighborhood calling friends to see if anyone had a diaper I could borrow cause Jane had a poopy diaper and I didn't grab a diaper on my way out. Or any of the kids' shoes for that matter! My good friend Joanna was kind enough to lend me a diaper, and invite us to chill at her house for a while.

What an evening! So the kids got to bed late. Again. It's been challenging trying to find a good time to talk to Thad with him being 2 hours ahead of us. We've been talking to him before bed, but then the kids get to bed late. Tonight I was just sick of them getting to bed late, and they were being stinkers, so I just put them all in bed with no books or prayers, scriptures, or songs. I felt a little bad, but I just wanted them to be in their rooms quiet! And Ana and B fell asleep surprisingly quickly. Jane, unfortunately, did not. I'm not sure why, but she's been struggling to fall asleep for the last week or so. She just got all four molars in so that was a headache for about 3 months, but now that they're in, I'm not sure what's keeping her up. She literally cries for hours. It didn't help that we spent all last week at my parents' house, and she was in a pack n play in the basement. In a closet, no less:)

I'm trying to le her cry it out so she can get back to her normal routine. She cried for a little more than an hour I was almost ready to go in an get her out when she fell asleep. Thank goodness! Now I can eat my chocolate milk shake, and read my book: "Seven Miracles that Saved America." A fascinating and enlightening read. Cozy pajamas and warm bed, here I come!