My Night Tonight

So here's how it went tonight.  I had a crappy day at work.  One where you question why you want to be a teacher.  All I could think of was coming home to the 4 people I love most in the world.  The girls get home and the trio get started and finished with their homework.  Megan says hers is easy and she can do it at Fazoli's.  Tuesday night is $.99 kids night with a craft in their party room.  Megan usually doesn't like to do the craft so she and I talk while the girls create.   We have a really pleasant dinner.  Megan starts on her homework but doesn't get done.  It seems like an awful lot of homework and I'm wondering if she misheard the teacher's directions.  We had gift cards to Graeter's Ice Cream and so we head there for dessert.  Again more pleasantness.  The drive home?  Delightful. 

Then....it starts.  

The crazy, single  parent flurry that happens when I try to be in 5 places at once. 

I start the shower for Abby, Brigid, and Caroline.  I put Caroline in but she wants me to wash her and her hair.  I tell her to get  her hair wet while I run downstairs and help Megan who by now has had a complete meltdown about how hard her math homework is. 

While helping her, Caroline starts to let out huge wails of, "Momma I need you!"  I go running upstairs to see what is wrong and she is just feeling "lonely".  I help her finish up and while she is rinsing I go grab the guinea pig bowl to start feeding them. 

I had back downstairs to help Megan with another problem.

 I start washing the gp bowl and Caroline yells, "Done!" 

I run back upstairs and usher Abby into the shower next. 

I'm trying to help Caroline dry off while Megan starts crying again.  Back downstairs I go. 

Help Megan. Feed the cats.  Head back to the guinea pig bowl. 

Caroline comes downstairs, "Is there going to be a tornado?"  She is terrified of them and currently obsessed with them. (hmmm, can't for the life of me figure out where she gets that from :)  ). 

Megan moans some more.  Help her. 

Abby yells, "I'm done!" 

I put the food in the gp bowl, run it upstairs, and yell for Brigid to get in the shower.

 Megan yells.

 Caroline followed me upstairs to ask me more questions about tornadoes. 

I start  back downstairs when Brigid informs me the water is too hot.  I turn it down. 

The phone rings.  It's Ali but I can't get the phone. 

Help Megan. 

Brigid yells for me. I run back upstairs and go into the bathroom only to find that Brigid can't reach her washcloth...sitting 3 feet from her on the counter.  She had called me all the way upstairs because she didn't want to get water on the bathroom floor. 

Caroline's still following me to ask about tornadoes.  Help Brigid out, turn the water off, make sure Abby has put underwear on and then Megan yells.  Back down to help her again. 

Caroline gets on the laptop to check the weather forecast.

Run back upstairs, help Brigid, then try to start a load of laundry.  It will eventually take me 45 minutes to put one load in the wash because of all the frickin' interruptions I get. 

Realize it is now after 8 p.m. Caroline wants to know what this word is:   m-a-n-d-a-t-o-r-y.  I ask to see what she is reading and it's something about tornado warnings being mandatory.  I tell her to shutdown the laptop and go upstairs to brush her teeth.

Megan is still crying saying she can't possible do all this homework.  I look at her page: factors, divisors, products.  There is a reason I've never taught above 3rd grade math.  I'm trying to help her and here comes Caroline with more questions. 

Phone rings and it's Ali again.  I answer because she has called twice in about 15 minutes so something must be up.  I only manage a brief conversation before I have to go.  Still trying to do laundry. Brush teeth.  Homework.

Get the trio in bed all the while reassuring Caroline that no tornadoes are going to hit tonight.  Tell Brigid that if she comes in my bed one more time tonight she is grounded (It's been 5 straight days in a row).  Back downstairs.

Finally get Megan to a stopping point and send her upstairs to bed.

I wash the inside of the crock pot that I didn't get done from last night's dinner.

Back upstairs to make sure they are in bed.  Megan has dirty feet.  Wash them.  Tuck in the trio again.  Caroline refuses to sleep with Megan because Megan whispers in her ear that tornadoes are coming tonight.  Megan gets upset that Caroline leaves her room so she marches in to the trio's room and grabs an almost asleep Abby to make her come into her room for bed. 

I put Caroline to bed in Abby's bed where Brigid is also sleeping.  Don't ask me why no one is sleeping in their own beds.  I've given up that fight a long time ago.  Sleep on the roof for all I care.  Just please sleep. 

Caroline cries that she needs a nightlight.  I grab the one out of Megan's room (she doesn't use it) and put it in the trio's room.  Turn it on and turn the main light off.  Megan is now upset that I unplugged her clock while unplugging the nightlight.  Give her and Abby kisses and head downstairs to type this.

Take my medicine, start typing, and breathe.  Get almost done with this then Abby and Megan show up. Abby has heartburn.  I've already given her the heartburn medicine she takes so I fix her a glass of milk.  They head back upstairs.

5 minutes later Megan yells that Caroline is pacing the floor in the hallway worried about tornadoes.

I'm pretty sure that by the morning I will have had a least two more interruptions by Brigid and Caroline climbing into my bed.

I watched Kate + 8 last night.  Saw her and her kids sightseeing in New York City.  She had sh**loads of help while they ate ice cream and had a blast.  I must admit I was somewhat bored watching how easy it was for her and her help.  Quite cushy.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't have nights like these.  I think I should get my own reality show.  Let's see if anyone could handle one night of my reality.

I'm tired just typing this. I'm sure your worn out from reading this.

This was my night tonight.