I’m sick and had little sleep last night – very, very tired and worn out. Running at work, packing/doing laundry, and getting ready for the vacation is tiring me out!
Highlights of the Morning and Commute:
- I have alone time with Red this morning. She sits in my lap and we talk about me going to her school all day and her picking me up. She thinks this is funny; we keep going back and forth with this. She seems in a really good mood. I hold her, rock her, talk to her, hug & kiss her.
- I scurry around after my shower trying to grab more of the kids clothes from their rooms to pack — bathing suits, dress shirts, socks, etc.
- Downstairs the kids are eating; Twin Crazy and Twin Husky are both eating cereral with milk and yes they are spilling all over the place. I spend some time cleaning up milk and refilling their bowls.
- I gather clothes for Red and Big Bro while they are eating.
- Diaper changes with Twin Crazy and Twin Husky — he is moving around and wants to play with choo-choo trains so we need to do a “stand up” diaper change. He also says he “hurts” so I scurry looking around for diaper cream. I come back and Twin Crazy is busy cleaning Twin Husky with wipes. Her change is great; she reads a DVD cover and is still.
- I help to change Red and Big Bro. We are running late. I still do not have any coffee or any breakfast – and am very groggy from the cold medicine I had last night.
- OK time to go! We’re behind schedule! We gather their shoes, jackets, lunches, our bags. I change the last load of laundry. From this we have what we need to finish our packing tonight. Drop offs are going to be very hectic.
- 1st drop off: Twins. They wave goodbye to us.
- 2nd drop off: Big Bro. A huge problem. This switch in drop off messes him up; there are no teachers out there and just parents – but I don’t have time to wait for the teacher… there are some moms there that I know but he didn’t feel comfortable with them – he chased after me, crying. Finally another mom arrived with his REALLY close friend – we’ve been over to their house for playmates and dinner so he feels really comfortable with her – she saves me and grabs Big Bro’s hand. My heart hurts as I run back to the van.
- 3rd drop off: Red. It goes fine. We find the kids in her class looking at books from the book fair. She has her own book with her that we bought yesterday and she is happy.
Today is the last day of work before vacation. I need a vacation desperately. Today will be busy. I really need to focus on getting materials out from the meetings last week, and starting preparations for the meeting we will have after I return from vacation — Getting the Agenda nailed down and distributed. I also have some business development items that I need to follow up with and also admin items like time sheets and expenses. Plus some various meetings in my calendar today so hopefully I can focus around these meetings.
I was running like an idiot all morning, with no coffee, no breakfast, 3 drop offs, and work — all after traveling last week and not having our mother’s helper around. I feel like I’ve regressed a bit. Once this last meeting is finished I need to scale back to a 3 or 4 day work week. This must happen. Please encourage me with this – it is scary for me to take a step back!
Highlights of My Working Day:
It was crazy busy today.
- Two debrief meetings post-event from the meetings from last week; we discussed how things went and things to do differently, and also specific follow up things we can do as a result of the meeting
- I had a business development call with a potential member of a new forum we are launching. It went well but we need to think through how to position/frame this particular forum
- Sent off materials for the conference I will be missing next week while I’m on vacation.
- Spoke with a guest speaker for an upcoming meeting to help her frame her presentation
I am also walking away with a TON more work to do tonight – I have to send out meeting materials from last week, complete and submit my timesheet, organize sales meetings for a new forum we are trying to sell, and make introductions to specific forum members on behalf of another Director. I will need to do all of this tonight when I get home, and before finishing packing.
I am on a train now headed to a meeting. So Hubby is home with the kids (and hopefully the mother’s helper). I will miss them tonight. I might be able to see Big Bro and Red before they go to sleep. But tonight is honestly going to be crazy with the work I have to finish and the packing I have left to do….
Dinner and Bedtime:
- I drank a Guiness. Did some work at the bar.
- Got home and read some books to Big Bro and Red.
- Did some more work. Finsihed up work at 9:30 PM.
- I will post this by 10 PM.
- I will then need to pack — the rest of the kids stuff and also my own.
My dinner consisted of a Guiness. I might eat some Cheerios before I go to bed tonight. I am exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally.
I plan to send infrequent posts during vacation, but I can’t make any promises!!!!
Until later,
– Mama K
Mama In Motion™ 
Ok, I’m going to be honest here. As much as enjoy reading about your very full life, I think you should slow down on this blog a bit. We are so much alike that I can understand why that would be hard for you. I take on more voluntarily than any normal human every would. I push myself relentelssly, totally striving under pressure.
If you find writing a release, then my all means blog away! I would just hate to think that this was adding more stress to your life. Love ya Mama K!
You are too funny Mama N! This project is really at this point therapeutic for me. It feels good to get things out. So much has been held inside for so long that this is a release that I need. I’m not sharing everything here though. There is much more to the story – as there is for everyone. I would love to see you soon, hopefully next time I make my way to Philly, hopefully with a subset of the kids. Thanks for your concern. We are going on 20+ years together! Albeit with a large hiatus in the middle, but we’ve haven’t skipped a beat.