A little background:
My husband has two little girls (from his previous marriage) that we get for a few holidays out of the year and usually for the entire summer! The oldest is 7, the youngest 3. Lately, they've been calling me "mommy" which was totally weird/awkward for me at first, but I'm sort of liking it now. I get lots of 'I love you's and hugs and kisses. I mean, who doesn't like a 3 year old with angel-blonde curly hair falling asleep on you? However, with the great stuff also comes the other stuff. Like trying to figure out 3 healthy meals every day for those growing bones, the constant "Why?" question, the occasional temper tantrum, possible injuries. I tend to call myself "The General" because I feel like a General with her troops!
So now that you know a little background, here's what happened yesterday:
It was mid-morning and I had started to clear off our dining room table so I could start folding laundry on it. In the midst of the clearing I saw something spectacular - my new Coastal Living magazine had arrived in the mail the day before and had been hiding beneath the various coupon books and other mail. I set it by my laptop and oh how it glowed! It's bright blue cover against the dark wood grain of the table and the sunshine spearing onto it...it was delicious. I had to page through it! I'm one of those people that likes to relax when reading (be it a magazine or a novel), so I figured once I was done folding the laundry I'd take a little break and go through it. Then all of a sudden it was time for lunch. Yummy honey ham sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Thankfully, my choice was a hit with the girls/troops. While we were eating, I thought Wouldn't it be nice, if after lunch I could stretch out on the cool leather couch in the living room (the girls have taken over the family room which has our one and only tv) get a cold glass of lemonade, maybe re-paint my toenails and above all else, read my new magazine! Oh how nice it would've been...
After lunch, I started carting my items over to the couch. Laptop, cell phone, magazines. Then I went upstairs to try and decide what color toes I should have. At this point the girls, who were playing on our skeleton of a pool table like an indoor jungle gym, had gotten into a tiff and the little one had followed me upstairs to tell on her sister.
To make a long story shorter, by the time I had removed my old, chipped toenail polish and was re-painting them I was completely surrounded. One kid on each side and a dog in front, all huddled in and watching 'mommy.' *sigh*
Then came the inevitable question, "Can you paint my nails?" Well of course I just don't have the heart to say no to the little fashionistas in training. My only request was that they think patriotic. Since the 4th of July is quickly approaching (4 days away!) I figured that if they had patriotic nails that would be awesome. Oh the debate on which colors and where to place them. Finally they decided and off we went. The eldest troop asked to paint her own nails. Since she's notoriously meticulous and always very careful I decide sure! Why not? So long as she sits on the wood floor (just in case). I then proceeded to show her how to open the bottles and wipe the excess paint off inside the bottle-neck before taking the brush out etc. It turns out she does a stellar job!!! Proud mommy right here! There was only one drip on the wood floor, which of course was easy-peasy to clean up.
Somehow in-between all of that, the youngest troop got her blood-red nail polish smeared smack-dab in the middle of her forehead. It looked very much like a major head injury. I had to laugh at this one...it was too funny. I even sent her upstairs to my bathroom where there are floor-length mirrors so she could see herself. Unfortunately I also found some smeared red glitter polish from the little one's toes on the leather couch...not good. But I'm sure it'll come off eventually.
At this point, we're done painting and I'm hoping they'll want to watch another show in the family room or play in their room so I can read my magazine without being interrupted... Not quite the case... The YCT (Youngest Child/Troop) was getting sleepy. Oh no!!! No napping in the middle of the day! If she falls asleep she's wide awake when it's time for bedtime! Tickle-torture worked for a few minutes...but I knew what I had to do. Wake her up by giving her a popsicle! This was a little trick my mom used to use on me. It totally worked but having them eating their snack in the adjoining dining room I couldn't read my magazine... The constant telling them to eat over their bowls and don't let the dog eat it, and use your napkin were too distracting. Finally when they'd finished they scooted into the family room. Ta-daaa!!! Time to enjoy. Oh wait, no...not quite...now the dog is going crazy because she sees a giant grey squirrel outside!!! So...I take my laptop, cell phone, magazine and my glass of lemonade and I head upstairs to the loft. Perhaps up here the dog won't see any furry creatures she wants to eat. I am now sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair around a small round table which is currently occupied with a giant puzzle. Hmm. "MOMMY!!!!!!" Uh-oh... Apparently there's a rabbit outside eating our vines in the garden. Great. So I run downstairs and through the house with our 65lb dog chasing after me, smashing into my legs and accidentally scraping up my ankle with her nails which tend to slide uncontrollably on the wood floors. I am now in the family room and look outside and see that stinkin rabbit chomping away in our garden on our grape vines!!! I shoot outside - but by the time I get out there he's gone.
Okay, back upstairs into the loft. Now ECT (the Elder Child/Troop) is with me. She wants to work on the puzzle. *sigh* So I just sip my lemonade and surf the net a little and then what happens? The dog throws up. What else could possibly happen, right? As I'm cleaning up the "ick" on the upstairs carpet I hear "MOMMY!!! THE RABBIT IS BACK!!!" So back I go running down the stairs and outside onto the porch and that rabbit has the gall to still sit there stare at me. Without thinking and nothing to throw at it - I run out into the yard to chase it back into the woods. Afterwards, I look down at my dirt (and probably dog poo) covered feet and freshly painted toe-nails and sigh once more.
I never did get to read my magazine. After I came back in from the rabbit chasing it was time for dinner. My husband was working late and I had made a beef roast in the crock pot which had been cooking all day and made the house smell delectable. I decided to let the girls eat at their regular dinner time and then I'd eat with my man when he got home later. ECT really enjoyed it, but YCT wouldn't even try it!!! It's so frustrating when this happens - and it happens with YCT more often than not. You want them to eat. You want them to eat healthy. When they won't even try something - what do you do? After 10min of her sitting and pouting and my getting more and more frustrated and trying to get through to her that what was in front of her was dinner and that was all she was getting - I bribed her with my husband's favorite salt - Lawry's. She wound up eating most of her potatoes (didn't touch the carrots or the meat)...but at least she got something inside of her.
My man came home a short while later while we were all watching Rocky & Bullwinkle and all was well in my little world. There were of course, the little hiccups in the evening - YCT has heat rash on the back of her neck and wouldn't stop crying when we put her to bed, etc...but all in all it was an okay day. I got to bond with my girls. Paint their nails and enjoy their antics. I got lots of 'I love you's and hugs. There were those little slivers in the day that were just beautiful. However, I was SO happy to crawl into bed and pass out.
It is the next day and I am up early. I have hot coffee and my Coastal Living magazine sitting next to me on the table. Finally, I have time to read it. Enjoy it. Savor it. I have my 'mommy time.' Who knows what today will bring...but I know that in the end I will try and find the good in it.
