Mom and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

I must admit, yesterday was a rough one. It's a shame. We try to keep our Sundays worry free. We usually get up, go to church, have a relaxing Sunday afternoon and a big Sunday dinner. All in all, it's a good day spent focusing on the Savior and spending time as a family. Maybe our mistake was spending a good Saturday together as a family (it just so happened we all ran errands, had lunch, hung out all day together) It was a great day, and I'm beginning to think those days don't normally come in twos.


I usually keep my blog pretty light and share pics of the kids, recipes and crafts. But since my journaling has been pretty slack lately, I'm going to attempt to post more about what is REALLY going on in our house. It may come back to bite me, but that just seems to be the story of my life anyway.


Soooooo yesterday started as usual. Running around like crazy trying to get three kids ready for church and be out the door by 8:45 (this rarely happens, but we try). Everyone piled into the car and the "I forgot something" started. (the rule of thumb for me is 2-3 trips back into the house before actually pulling out of the driveway - does this happen to anyone else??? It's maddening!) First trip in was for the sippy cup that I knew Brooke would only guzzle down in 2 seconds during the first part of church. She's almost 2, why do I bother?


Anywhooo, I run past the fridge and notice smudges across it. This is quite common in my house. For those of you who have stainless steel appliances and small children, this occurrence is probably every hour of the day. These smudges were different however from the normal dirt and slime that is usually in my kitchen, they were placed there deliberately in the form of a happy face and a big round body (you know, the kind you find in the back windows of your car - again compliments of the kids). UUGGHHH. Kids. I grabbed the sippy and head back to the car. We actually pulled out of the drive way and made it 2 blocks before I found the culprit...... don't let the smile fool you.

Lauren is our resident artist and feels the need to share her creations with all. When I asked her what she made the picture with, I prayed her answer would be baby wipes (these seem to do OK on the fridge) Nope - no such luck. "You know, the orange wipes" she kept saying. Orange wipes? I couldn't recall any orange wipes in my cleaning arsenal, but the thought of anything citrus made me nervous (IT STAINS STAINLESS). Such a stupid name for a metal that actually stains! So we made a u-turn and I ran back in the house to try and clean it before it set in and stained. I found the small sample package of Orange 409 cleaning wipe open under the kitchen sink where Lauren had gone to get something to clean her white shoes with. To make a long story short, we now have a permanent stain of a happy face with a big fat body stained onto our fridge. Our fridge that is only 9 months old. I tried every cleaning solution I could think of, but it's still there. In just the right light walking by, there it is - smiling at you. Reminding you that until your kids are grown and gone, you will not possess anything nice OR new.


I've always loved the saying "The best part about having kids is making them!" Crude, but true. I'm SURE my hubby would 2nd that (on second thought he would be the first in line to give an "amen")


So that's just how the day started. The rest was just more of the same. Kids that had a difficult time listening, a two year-old that didn't want to nap, the big batch of cornbread muffins I made for Nate's Thanksgiving feast today (only to read on the package that they may contain walnuts and we have a child in his class with a tree nut allergy) I was just glad when the day ended.


I really think the underlying stress is my mother-in-law is coming for Thanksgiving this week. I wish I could elaborate, but someday she might actually learn how to access the internet and read this very page. A strained relationship would be made worse. Are you feelin' me?


So here we are, it's Monday. Let's hope today goes better.....