September at work is our busiest, craziest, make it or break it month since it's the end of the fiscal year. I kind of love it in that I'm-really-productive-under-pressure kind of way. School /PMO is back in session for the kiddos. Routine has come back into our lives, and I embrace it! I want to give it a hug, I missed it THAT much this summer.
[Tag on his way to school Monday. SK not pictured, as she was still in PJ's and under the weather :/]
We've been working on getting Tag and SK set up in the same room this past week, which so far is going OK. I don't want to say anything more, lest it turn into the disaster I fear and don't have time for.
I feel like I can say good things about the potty training situation, though. For real. It's done. I think we built it up and made a big deal of it, and Tag was kind of intimidated by the process and by failing. But once he got past his first real #2 situation, it's been pretty much smooth sailing. Lately he's been insisting on standing up to pee, which is not always awesome, but I let him. Because he's learning to clean up after himself, so he can help tidy up the accidents. PRAISE BE! The other day though, he insisted he stand up to poop. And, after saying "no" 10 times and a mini melt down from him, I was like-- OK. Stand up to poop. Let me know how that works out. He called me in when he was done and I suppose worked out the logistics in his head and realized it's best to sit.
I will say that potty training was a good wake up call for me on all my presumptions. I definitely recall making comments like "if my child is old enough to ask for a diaper, then he will be potty trained." Well, truth be told, I probably wouldn't have even had him potty trained at 3 except I had Miss Molly helping me, AND I knew he needed to be for 3 year old pre-school. The thing is, that comment was stupid. I apologize to whomever out there I said that to, and I apologize in advance for any other similar statements you may have heard from my arrogant mouth. We can all say whatever we want about parenting before we get to the stage where we have to do said parenting, and then we'll likely eat our words. From now on, I say--SURVIVE! JUST KEEP GOING. DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO.
A neighbor of mine was telling me how she had her adopted son potty trained at 18 months. I was like, seriously???? And then I literally said, "I don't believe you." And she responds, "I was a single mom. I couldn't afford diapers any more." And, then I got it. DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO. And, props to Ms. Cynthia! One day, she's going to be on HGTV or some Oprah spin off winning a car for her awesomeness. OK, I digress.
[Sunday morning, sick day in mom and dad's bed]
Back to what I have time for (or not). You know that saying "... like a well oiled machine" or "... run a tight ship." That's how it is around here. We run a tight ship. Our daily schedule varies, but here is a sample of how Monday and Today should have gone based on the schedule.
MONDAY
7am-wake, feed everyone breakfast, have a quiet time, tv show for kids, etc. prepare for/check in at work
8am-get ready for school (pack bags, lunches, cups, diapers, etc.)
8:30am-B leaves for work
8:40am-leave for carpool (allow 15 minutes to actually get in car and leave) takes 5 minutes to get to school.
9am-drop tag off in carpool
9:15am-drop SK off at PMO
9:30am-Jodi home to work
11:55am-Jodi to pick up Tag in carpool line
12:15am-Home, feed Tag, eat lunch
12:30pm-Molly arrives, Jodi back to work
12:45pm-Brentley picks up SK from PMO
1:00pm-SK and Tag go down for naps
(Molly preps dinner while kids nap, cleans,etc.)
4:30-5:00pm- Brentley home from work (works 5 minutes away also), lets Molly go
5:00-6:00pm- Jodi off, depending on meetings, work to be done, etc.
6:00-8:00pm-Dinner, family time, bath time, reading time, BED TIME!
8:00-10:30pm- Jodi + Brentley time. Maybe work time. Bed time.
TUESDAY
7am-wake, feed everyone breakfast, have a quiet time, tv show for kids, etc. prepare for/check in at work
8am-hang with the kids upstairs, do chores, work if needed
8:30am-B leaves for work
9am-Molly comes, Jodi work.
1pm-Kids nap. Molly works her magic
4:30pm-B comes home, Molly leaves
5-5:30pm ish-Jodi off, depending on meetings etc.
5:30-8pm Dinner, family time, bath time, reading time, Bed time.
8-10:30pm- Jodi + Brentley time. Maybe work time? Bed time.
REALITY
But Monday and Today did not go as planned. Story has had a virus since Saturday night (same one Tag had last week), and couldn't go to school Monday. But luckily, Tag woke up at 6:30 am, and SK not until 8:30, so I got some work done that early morning. She was quiet and sleepy all morning, so I was able to work most of the morning until time to get Tag at 11:55am. Molly came at 12:30pm and made quick work of getting the kids down for naps, the house and dinner while I worked. We ate an early dinner (which was YUM), went to Walmart (mostly just to get out of the house), and then came home to bath time/bed time. I went for a walk at 7:30 with the RGC ladies.
Tuesday morning I had a 7am conference call, so I was up at 6:30 to work. Call gets moved to 9am at the last minute, so I got to see my boos a little more than planned. Tag and Story slept in the same room for the first time last night and didn't wake until 7. Beginners luck, I fear. 9 am Molly arrives and I have back-to-back conf calls until noon plus one more before Story has her 18 mo well check at 3pm. I tell Molly to put the kids down for early naps, get them dressed for the doc and pack snacks/cups. Work until 2:30 and rush to get ready to leave. Thankfully, I showered last night, and my hair goes back into a bun! My neighbor Ashley comes over because she's locked out and needs to not melt in the 90 degree heat until her hubs gets the key, so she stays at the house while I rush the kids to the doc visit. Zero time to talk, BOO! Finish at the doc and get home at 4:45, just in time for Brentley to take the kids so I can attend another conf call at 5. Work till nearly 6, when B brings home Chic-fil-a (whoop!). Make home made (Fosters) brownies for family at church in the hospital, while B gives kids a bath. SK poops in tub, so I rush upstairs to help. Get kids cleaned and in PJ's in time for B to go visit said family, but brownies weren't ready in time :/
And that's just how it is some times. After a year or so of this rigmarole, I've come to embrace some truths.
First, there are SO many ways in which God pours out his grace in days like today and Monday. I mean, my 7 am meeting could have been on, and I'm a little afraid of talking to people in Israel at 7am about important things. I just don't have my brain screwed on quite tight enough at that hour. And, it could have been 6 am. Last week it WAS 6 am. But it got moved to today at 7am, then 9am. To me, that's a gift! I see Molly as such a gift to our family. I had a lot of anxiety and stress about hiring a perfect stranger to come in and care for our family, and I prayed and cried over this decision. But God delivered! And a year + later, she's still here blessing us daily with her service. I went to the doc to check in on SK, and she's healthy and beautiful and growing so well. Tag went with us, and the whole way there we talked and told me to not have a wreck, not to hit other cars, not to run over trees. He reminded me that green lights mean "go." He opened doors for me at the doctors office. He told Dr. J all about Story and how she had a fever. When she got her shots, he was so affected and told me over and over that when he sees that Nurse again, he will tell her "that's not good, and don't do that!" He and Story made my heart swell. When I got home, Brentley was home in time for me to jump on my call. That doesn't always work out, but today it did. Again, GRACE!
[Hanging around waiting for shots...]
Second, not ever day happens like this. Some days go exactly as planned. Some days go better than planned. Though we obviously always have a plan! Some days I have no meetings. Some days end with me going straight to bed at 8pm. There are always Saturdays and Sundays which are OUR days to do just family things. One Friday a month, Brentley's mom and step-dad come keep the kids while we work, and it's like as exciting as a birthday around here. The kids LOVE it.
Third, I don't actually know anyone whose life looks like this, but that IS OK. As much as I like having other examples to compare myself to (usually to torture myself in guilt, envy, or pride) I don't have any comparisons for this situation. After a few years of stressing how our lives look compared to others, I think I'm finally over it. I'm embracing this life where we run a tight ship. It's a season. It will change. It will look different a year from now. I find joy every day in my family and our life together.
Lastly, when I think about it, I can't see my life any other way. I'm the type of person who squeezes the minutes out of a day. I think I'd do that even if I won the lottery tomorrow. My parents can attest to this-- as I distinctly remember conversations where my dad would say to my mom, "Jodi's involved in too many extra curricular activities and needs to focus more on school." But to me, going to school at 7am to lead FCA devotions, having school all day, a volleyball game at 4, then staying late for another club meeting until 8pm was what I JUST HAD TO DO. And of course, I had to work Friday nights and Saturday mornings at Ray's Cafe, and ref little league basketball games on Saturdays, because I needed money to shop at the worst mall in North Carolina and eat at Applebees with my BFF's!
And my precious mother, (who is like me in this way) fought for me to be allowed to do so. And no, I wasn't a straight "A" student. But I mostly made honor roll (gold card, holla), and got into college. So I think at the ripe old age of 30, I've embraced the truth that, I'm more of a "Jill of all trades, Master of none" kinda gal. Always have been.
So this is how things are for us around here. We've got baby # 3 on the way in T-11 weeks. We're rocking out school, schedules, the amazing Miss Molly, work, church, family life... and there isn't time to stop. only time to JUST KEEP GOING! I could fret about it all, or admit that I love it. We're blessed.
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