Monday, Monday...

Is it bed time yet???

No, I'm not asking about bed time for my boys, I'm requesting it be bed time for ME!  I'm having one of those days.  You know what I mean- I'm sure you do... we've all had one, right???  Let's see, what hasn't gone wrong today???... hmm... I'll share with you what has! I was rudely woken up at this morning at 4:30 by a screaming baby- he wanted a bottle.  I could hardly open my eyes, yet I don't even remember getting ANY sleep at all.  Anyhow somehow I managed to make it out of my room, down the hall and into his bedroom to give him a bottle.  I KNEW I probably SHOULD change his diaper--- he hadn't wet through yet, but I was about 98% sure HE WOULD if I gave him the new bottle and didn't change him, BUT I was just too dang tired, I didn't do it.  BAD IDEA.  Because 3 hours later when I went in to get him out of his crib, he was totally SOAKED along with all of his bedding!!! What made matters worse was that he'd had diarrhea- YUCK! {My poor teething baby.}  No worries though- I just added the soiled crib sheets to my ever growing mound of laundry I needed to wash... How is it, I skip doing laundry for one day, ONE DAY, and I end up with behemoth piles of it the next day?!  Okay, so, after getting up to get Atticus a bottle, I crawled back in bed--- and laid there- unable to go back to sleep.  I browsed through my Gmail, Google Reader, the A.P. News, Facebook and Pinterest--- while waiting for Mr Sandman to help me go back to sleep...  No luck.  I checked the clock and it was then 5:30 something--- I SHOULD have just gotten out of bed, but I didn't--- it was too cold and I was comfy and cozy under our down comforter... Spencer's alarm went off about 15 minutes later... I SHOULD have just gotten out of bed then--- but I convinced myself it would be better to wait until after he was done with his shower and using the bathroom... I waited and waited, and about 5 minutes later, I think I fell asleep... I didn't wake up until 7:30, when I heard the boys all wake up.  SHOOT!!! 7:30, meant I was an hour and a half behind schedule!!!  SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT!!!  The three older boys came in and all piled in my bed while I flipped on Little Einsteins for them to watch- then I grabbed a quick shower and threw on what ever clothes I could quickly find... which basically means, I look like a HOT MESS today... I REALLY HOPE I don't see anyone I know.  My hair is driving me absolutely NUTS today!!!  Not only do I desperately need to get into the salon and have it re-highlighted and cut {problem is I HATE going to the Salon and sitting in the ridiculous hair chair for 3+ hours}, but my hair is also totally static'ee!  Ugh!!!  It gets like this anytime I have the heater on in the house and I just so happened to leave it on all.night.last.night. Oops!  Anyhow, after giving the baby a quick bath and getting him dressed- I piled all of the boys into the shower and made them rinse off on their own.  It's been centuries since the last time they took a bath in the bathtub- poor things... I'm always throwing them in the shower instead cuz it's so much quicker--- but sometimes I feel like such a horrible mother because bath time SHOULD be fun, huh?...  I feel like they're missing out on a part of their childhood... Hmm, maybe I can start getting up at 5 every morning and maybe then I cansqueezebath time into our morning routine... or then again, maybe not.  Perhaps we'll just start doing it on the weekends, like we used to. Oh geez, I almost forgot- Bentley had a nice present in the foot of his pajamas for me this morning.  He'd unzipped his jammies and taken off his own poopy diaper {he messed his diaper sometime during the night}--- luckily it was all just terds, like reindeer terds, but they all gathered in the foot part of his pajamas.  SO GROSS!!! I had to shake them out into the trash can... EwWw! Anyhow, the boys were in and out of the shower FAST---- the older boys dressed themselves as I helped the younger ones get ready...  Have I ever told you how getting the boys ready in the morning is like working an assembly line?  Yep--- it pretty much is.  Diaper (undies), socks, clothes, shoes, lotion, hair combed {oh their hair--- I REALLY DO NEED to cut their hair!}, teeth brushed and jackets on... half an hour later- we were all ready to hurry down and eat breakfast!  Oh breakfast... the clock was ticking away and I had to hurry and think of something to give them so I could get Noah out the door to catch the bus in 5 minutes and the rest of my boys packed in the car so I could drop Ian and Cohen off at preschool.  Oatmeal would take too long to make and cereal would take them too long to eat, so bagels it was with strawberry cream cheese and o.j.  After they inhaled their breakfasts- I hurried them out the door; I blew a kiss goodbye to Noah who walked around the corner all on his own to the bus stop {this still makes me really nervous having him walk on his own... I mean what IF someone kidnapped him along the way or he wandered off?! I NEVER ever let him go alone... can you tell I'm a semi paranoid mom??? It's probably cuz I grew up in the city and I know better}... I literally tossed the other boys into their car seats before strapping them in and zooming off to preschool!  We were already a little late to preschool, so imagine how frustrating it was when Cohen and Ian wanted to take their sweet old time getting out of the car- leaving me to stand in the cold in my flip flops WAITING on them... then they wanted to play in the little bit of snow standing in the parking lot... Um, yeah- as if I didn't have a messy house I needed to hurry home and clean!  10 years later, I scooted them into their classes, got back in the car and sped home with the babes.  Breakfast dishes were left on the counter, my shades were all still shut {this is totally a pet peeve of mine: If it's light out, I prefer to have my window shades open to get the natural lighting.  I HATE when they're closed}, all our beds were still unmade, pajamas were thrown across my bedroom floor and I STILL had a dishwasher full  of dirty dishes!!! {Somehow, last night after I turned ON the dishwasher to clean the dirty dishes, my wonderful husband paused it, so he could make a video for his classes without any background noise and once he was done, he FORGOT to turn it back on!!!}... Mr. B. (that would be Bentley) was on my heels, asking me for some more breakfast- because apparently a bagel and sippy cup of milk isn't enough to fill him up- AND demanding at the same time that I start his favorite movie--- Whinnie the Pooh.  I grabbed him some Goldfish at his request {I tried to serve him some fresh fruit, but he didn't want a banana OR an apple} and popped what I THOUGHT was Whinnie the Pooh, into the Blu Ray player... turns out it wasn't.  I'd put in Tangled, which was a HUGE upset to Bentley.  HUGE!!! Oh and have I mentioned, he bugs me at least a dozen times every other minute to use the toilet!!!  O.M.G.!  I LOVE that he likes to use the potty now at such a young age, but just the fact that I have to help him up and off of the toilet, oh about a thousand times every day, because otherwise he'd fall in, (he's so tiny)-- I HATE!!! I can't get ANYTHING I normally DO, DONE!!! Generally speaking, I like to tidy up my house BEFORE the boys wake up in the morning.  Any loads of laundry that need to be folded, I fold before they wake up; I empty the clean dishes out of the dishwasher, open all the shutters on the windows, fluff the cushions and pillows on the couch, make my own bed--- you get the picture... I like to have order to my house BEFORE the CRAZINESS begins.  After they wake up I help them put their books that they'd read the night before back on their bookshelves and I make their beds.  After they've showered and dressed, we put all their toiletries back in their proper places, throw dirty pajamas in the dirty clothes hamper, and all their breakfast dishes are put in the dishwasher- counter is usually cleaned before we even go out the door to school- I LOATHE coming home to an unsightly mess in my house.  Today was positively NOT one of those "usual" days...  I hurried around while the two boys were at preschool picking up the mess I "usually" have cleaned before they've gone, so ALL of my "me time" {that would be time for myself to run errands, read or do whatever with just Bentley while the babe naps} was GONE!!!  I was even several minutes LATE picking Ian and Cohen up from preschool!  I hurried home, all while chatting with my sister on the phone...  I unloaded the boys out of the car and back into the house... I laid Atticus back down to take the rest of his nap and Bentley too... For a while there it was just my sis on the phone with me and Cohen and Ian who wanted to play with blocks while watching the movie Polar Express... Sure- anything to keep them busy long enough just so I could wrap up my conversation with Tricia... anyhow, somehow, while I had my back turned, the two raided the peppermint bark I had stashed in the corner on the kitchen counter... AND they trashed the toy room and the living room! I swear I wasn't on the phone for very long- they're just REALLY good at getting into LOTS of trouble while I'm talking on the phone- that is the very reason I refuse to usually answer my phone if they're awake!!!  Not before too long, I was coming down the stairs after switching loads of laundry and I looked out the window to see Noah and his buddy Eliot getting off the bus!  They were home from school already!!!  How on earth did I miss that it was THAT time of the day, already?! Geez!  I hate Minimum days. They totally throw me off!  I've been asking myself all day what happened to my weekend?!  Seriously, it feel like yesterday was just Friday, what ever happened to Saturday and Sunday???  I spent nearly 2 hours this afternoon trying to find songs for our family Christmas video postcard... I really can't believe Christmas is just around the corner.  Have I mentioned I haven't done ANY Christmas shopping yet; I don't have any clue what I'll get the boys, especially now that Spencer refuses to get a pup. I still haven't found a song for the Christmas card. Why's it have to be SO DARN HARD choosing a song?!  I looked over Billboard's Top 100 songs from this past year and everything is either not appropriate OR it's country! I'm SO NOT a Country gal.  Spencer wanted me to use LMFAO's song, "Party Rock Anthem"... um, yeah.  I'm not so sure my parents or the rest of our family would really appreciate listening to that on the Christmas card... who knows though- I just may get desperate and use it....  In general,  I LOVE Christmas, but I think I may be ready, already for it to just be over and for January to arrive.  Can't life just slow down a little?!  It always seems to slow down during the month of January--- I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed and hope that it does this next year too.  I need a good "slow down" or pause in my life. I could go on and on about my cRaZy day--- I have no one else to blame though but myself.  I SHOULD have woken up earlier in the morning when I was ALREADY awake, and I SHOULD HAVE gotten all the boys clothes for today, along with their book bags packed and ready LAST NIGHT!  I've found it always helps to prepare for the next morning the night BEFORE.  That's how I like to roll, and it's just about the ONLY way that works for smooth sailing the following day, for a family our size.  Here's hoping things settle down some and I can have a much smoother week ahead. And HOPEFULLY I can start and finish our family Christmas video postcard this week...  I just saw this one (click here)  linked to a blog I read... I don't know the family that made it, but GEESH, after watching it, it sure makes me feel like a total amateur...  I've tried consoling myself all day long and I've been telling myself that the person that made it is 1. probably in the movie film business as a film producer or editor and 2. he/she probably isn't a mother to 5 busy little boys... Who knows, maybe they are.  Perhaps next year, I'll step my movie making skills up a notch and get started on our Christmas video card a month or two early, and maybe then I'll have something that looks like the one this family made.  B.T.W.  I never knew until today that it's suddenly a new trend to make and post Christmas video cards in lieu of sending out real Christmas cards!

Since I'm discussing family Christmas video postcards, I thought I'd share the links to some old ones I made during past Christmas's. Click here, here and here {Noah was just so tiny in this last video---I'd forgotten how little and precious he was!}.   Our boys LOVE watching these over and over again and I honestly, I can't help but keep thinking to myself, "GEEZ!  What was I thinking wearing that?!" or "Oh wow!  (insert name of one of our children) sure looked kinda funny as a baby! How come I NEVER knew this until now?!" {You know that saying, "Love is Blind"- yeah, sometimes it is}.  Anyhow, I'm off to make dinner and do F.H.E. with fam.  I DID remember to book tickets for myself and Cohen to ride on The Polar Express train with Santa--- we go in two weeks AND I also remembered to schedule a photo shoot at Thanksgiving Point for the boys with Santa a week from now!  I can't wait to see how some of those pictures will turn out.

We're still counting down our days until Christmas with our books.  Last night, the boys unwrapped and read the book, "Babes in Toyland".  Actually Spencer read it to them, and he didn't even really read it to them because the book was too long for their short little attention spans, SO he ad-libbed.  The boys didn't know any differently and still enjoyed it.

Oh, I nearly forgot.  So this morning, while I was upstairs and home alone with just Bentley  (Atticus was sleeping and the boys were at school), I could have SWORN I heard the door to the mudroom open and close. REALLY!  I paused from what I was doing, and tried to think if I really DID hear what I THOUGHT I heard... It didn't help any of course when Bentley thought he heard the same thing I thought I heard, and exclaimed "Daddy!"--- assuming it was Daddy who was downstairs, home from work, walking into the house from the garage.  I started to FREAK!!!  Was there REALLY an intruder in my house?!!!  {See, I told you I'm slightly paranoid}... I called out from the upstairs, "Hello?"--- of course if someone had broken into my home thinking everyone was gone, I wanted to give the robber an advance warning that I WAS indeed home...  there was NO response.  GREAT I thought- this robber's was going to be sneaky.  I hurried down the stairs, swung open my front door {you know, for just in case if I had to make a quick exit out of the house}, grabbed one of Bentley's little elephant push toys that had a pretty solid stick handle on it {for just in case if I had to hit the robber}, I drew a deep breath and then bounced out into the kitchen where I thought the suspect might be...  No one!!!  No one was there.  Okay, so maybe they fled back into the mudroom or the garage when they heard me call out from the upstairs, but I checked all of those places too and no one was there.  I was hearing things.  No one opened and closed the mudroom door, but wait, if I was only hearing things, how did that explain Bentley hearing the same thing I thought I heard???  It was right at that very moment as I was pondering about it that a cycle in the dishwasher began. The noise startled me--- the little spinning thing inside the dishwasher must had hit one of the pans I threw in there.  I quickly realized it was the dishwasher that Bentley and I had heard, scaring us to think that it was someone in our home.  GEEZ!  I just about peed my pants because of the dishwasher!!!


*I didn't get to edit this post until AFTER our boys had all gone to bed around 7:30, so now that I'm finished--- I think I'll head upstairs and crawl into bed!

Oh and b.t.w. this evening's count down Christmas book was
Little Porcupine' s Christmas, written by Joseph Slate.  It's an adorable little book that Noah's teacher from preschool two years ago gave him...  It's very cute and clever- with a moral.