It's Been A Long Day

Since I last posted, things have gone very well. I've gotten Jacob all registered for baseball (although we haven't landed on a team yet. I'm hoping for a very low level team since his skills aren't quite there and so that he can actually have some fun!), I got the quilt pretty much done (I'll post pictures tomorrow) and the house has stayed remarkably clean. I helped out with first grade workshops all morning Wednesday and then helped out with Chat 'n' Chew for both boys during their lunch hours. One of the secretaries, Mrs. R, asked me if I wanted my own desk since I was there all day.

Thursday started good...I went in to the school to help out with clerical work for Hannah's teacher. I wish I had the parental involvement that her teacher has. Every Thursday, a parent goes in to do her grunt work for the week. Copying, laminating, making folders, sharpening pencils...that sort of thing. It's usually an hour or two worth of work but it's fun because I usually get visitors from various people (other parents, teachers, counselors and paras...occasionally, the principal will stop to chat) so I get to feel the heartbeat of the school. I usually volunteer once a month so I've gotten to know everyone pretty well.

I was in the office, sharpening pencils and off in my own little dreamland when I feel a hand on my back and hear, "how'd you get this crap job?" I jump about 10 feet into the air and turn to see Mrs. R, one of the secretaries. I laugh and say, "well, it's a mindless job. I don't mind it much." She laughs and begins talking to Miss Kim, one of the paras, who is making booklets. I didn't even notice her walk in. Who knows how long she'd been there...I was fantasizing about my trip to Chicago in April while sharpening pencils. Mrs. R and Miss Kim begin talking about Starbucks and how Miss Kim's bringing everyone coffee on Friday. Mrs. R starts to write down her very complex order.

I laugh and say something about her not being very particular and we all start to talk about how Miss Kim got this commercial espresso machine for free and how she's scared to use it because she'll blow up her house when it hits me that I love really being part of this school and that it's really nice that I've gotten to know everyone within the school so well. I finish up my work and head out for home.

I get the dishes from the morning done and dinner into the crock pot. I even get the kitchen swept and mopped when I begin to do more work on the quilt. Wow! I'm feeling productive today!

Back up to the school for Jacob's mock trial. I meet Mike there and laugh when Mrs. R goes to ask Mike if she can help him. I decide to head back home for 40 minutes since I've been at the school for what seems like an eternity for the past two days.

Once I pick up the kids, all hell breaks loose. They can't even get out the door of the school without a fight breaking out. I'm not talking verbal...I'm talking a kicking/pushing kind of fight. That Hannah, she's a little instigator.

Somehow, we make it home and I get the kids a snack. They're getting along fairly well when I announce it's homework time. Daniel can't do his homework without talking to himself and that causes Jacob to punch Daniel in the arm. WTF? Of course, the punch in the arm does not go unanswered so Daniel tries to push Jacob out of his chair. At some point, they stop pounding on each other and begin teasing Hannah. Okay. Everyone to a different room.

Daniel finishes and Hannah finishes but Jacob's left a ton of work for himself for tonight so he's frustrated and mad that he's still working. He begins arguing with me about vocabulary. Seriously? I have a freaking English degree. I know what I'm talking about. My writing may not be grammatically correct all of the time but I know that the word modest can be used to show that someone thought their raise was too little. That argument caused a 20 minute stop in work. Mostly because I told him that I wasn't going to do it for him nor was I going to even help him ("but mooooooooom! None of these words make sense!" Yes they do but you don't believe me) so he was totally on his own. Amazingly, once he realized I was done, he got the work done in record time.

Unfortunately, it was now 5:45 and time to go to TKD. he was mad that he'd been doing homework from 4-5:45. Well, that's what happens when you pout and whine about not wanting to do the work instead of actually doing the work. He would have been done an hour earlier if he hadn't been complaining about the amount of work he had to do for about an hour.

Any two of my kids, on their own, are fine. Add all three and you've got a fight. They fought all the way to TKD and didn't even get out the door to go home when the fighting started again. That landed both Hannah and Daniel in their rooms for quite some time once we got back.

It doesn't seem as bad when I write it out but, believe me, it was horrible this afternoon. If I could have started drinking at about 4:15, my life would have been much easier. 53 days until I leave for my Girls' Week with Emily in Chicago. I might get a tattoo.