Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Looking Forward to the "New Compassions" Tomorrow

Today actually started out pretty good. Hectic, but good.

Wednesday mornings are always hectic. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not very organized--although I truly do try--or if it's because getting up between 6:00-6:30 to start the day after being up with Ruth once or twice in the night, with the last one being anywhere between 4-5 a.m., is less doable than I'd like to think it is, or what. I've tried quick, easy breakfasts for the kids like oatmeal or cold cereal. Those mornings were truly battle mornings. So I heard about this awesome recipe for breakfast cake from a friend who tried it with her kids. It's great, and the kids eat it without any complaining on their part or begging on my part. When I actually get it prepared the night before and get up at the aforementioned time.

Today was not one of those days. I got up late--6:45, to be exact. Got myself ready, and then it was marathon pace to get the kids out of bed, dressed, fed, lunches packed, teeth and hair brushed, coats on, backpacks together, and everyone out the door so that we could be at co-op by 9:00. We literally like 3 minutes from our co-op site, so you'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal... but as I said, I am not very organized. It seems that the harder I try to be organized, the more I fail.

Somehow we made it to co-op on time. While we were at co-op, everything was great! Then I found out that Hayden pretty much keeps to himself in his class because aside from two other boys who are his age, the room is full of girls, and most of them are 2 or younger. The two boys his age are bigger than him and they play super rough. (That's putting it mildly.) Large groups intimidate him, and he won't play that rough with other boys... at least, not like they play. Then he told another mom in his class that his ear was hurting, which prompted me to call the pediatrician and schedule an appointment for this afternoon. He had been complaining to me about his ear for the last couple of days, but I figured that if he told another mom who he doesn't really know that well that his ear was hurting, it must have really been hurting.

So we get home from co-op, the kids go to their rooms for naps (Abby, of course, didn't take one, and she's the one who truly needed one the most), and then I got them rushed out the door again so we could make it to the pediatrician's office on time.

The pediatrician looked in his ears and at his throat and listened to him breathe and she found no issues and chalked it all up to allergies. Like his mama, Hayden has allergy issues that carry over into the fall. On the upside of all of this chaos, we found out that Hayden gained two pounds in the last month. That's huge! He finally weighs 29 pounds! For that, I am very thankful. His weight has been a major concern for me.

So we go home and Ben and I decide that tonight would be a good pizza night. Abby had a Book It coupon to redeem at Pizza Hut, so she got to use that and we ordered pizza for everyone else. I had the bright idea that since we were having pizza, why not make it a movie night, too? We ate our dinner in the living room while watching Peter Pan.

Here's where the whole evening went straight down the toilet.

Since Hayden doesn't sit through a movie, I thought that I'd let him listen to my iPod. He informed me that he had pooped his pants. I swear, that boy is trying to set the record for the most consecutive days of pooping in one's pants. That really irritated me. I've been telling him every day for the last week or so to go to the potty instead of going in his pants. I don't know why he's been doing this, but I've got to say that I'm sick of it. Cleaning poop out of cloth diapers was one thing; to clean it out of his underwear on a daily basis is quite another.

I got him cleaned up, into come clean underwear and a pair of shorts since it was almost bedtime, and had just started Ruth's bath water when I heard a loud sound and then heard Abby crying. Hayden had gotten mad at her and thrown his sippy cup at her and hit her in the mouth. That just flew all over me! I couldn't believe he would do such a thing! I got mad at him and swatted his bottom and made him stay in his room until I got Ruthie bathed. Then I put him in the bathtub and talked to him while bathing him, and then Ben put him to bed.

So what started out as a hectic day with a couple of hours that were good ended in an awful evening. I went to my room to nurse Ruthie to sleep and felt like a complete failure. Where did I mess up if my kid is being so mean to his older sister? Why did I have such a short fuse with him? Does he really know that I love him, even though I made sure that I told him that several times before he went to bed? Do my kids think of me as a grumpy, irritated bitch who does nothing but fuss at them, or do they see me as loving and caring? I hope it's the latter, but I'm sure that some days it isn't.

All I know right at this moment is that the Bible says in Lamentations 3:22-23: "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Thank God, tomorrow is a new day.

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