I missed two days. Monday went sideways in the evening. Doug, my younger son, stepped on a roofing nail. It missed his heel bone by centimeters. It threw us into all sorts of upheaval.
Tuesday was Tuesday, but more so because my parents weren't available to help me and Brian was working. I got home at 8, exhausted and hungry. I didn't start eating dinner until close to 9.
We went to the Discovery Museum in Rockford today. My kids love it there.
Prepping for the trip is akin to preparing for a military operation.
I have to pack lunch and snacks for four kids. I have to remember what each child does and doesn't like. Do we have bread to make sandwiches? Nope, it's moldy, so I have to improvise. That equalled peanut butter sandwiches out of hamburger buns.
Cut up some questionable red bell pepper, had to be okay with Bekah tossing it out.
Remember to bring the boys' doses of Ritalin.
Pack enough water for everyone for the ride home.
Repack the diaper bag (thanks, Bekah, for helping me with that, and also for cleaning out the van).
Make sure everyone has used the potty.
Make sure I have a charging cord for my phone.
Make sure I have the transponder for IPass. (I didn't.)
We arrive at the museum.
Two people want to eat. The rest, overwhelmed by the input, find my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law and nephew.
I am already exhausted and we have just arrived.
Over the next 2.5-3 hours, I attempt to corral the children, thankfully with the help of the other adults. I do my best to sit still and eat some lunch myself, but I am always thinking about the kids.
Are they okay? Does someone have eyes on Doug? Is Brookie okay, does she need to go potty (this is our first major trip away from home post-potty training)? Have the boys taken their noon doses of Ritalin?
I played Wizards Unite, but I was always concerned about something.
Then, it's time to go home.
Do we have all the lunchboxes? Has everyone pottied? I went to get the van and pulled up to the entrance to get the kids.
Who wants a water? Who wants an apple? Do the people who didn't eat their lunch want their lunch? Are we sure no one needs to potty?
Start driving, tentatively, to make sure I'm going the right way. Realize, because Brookie points it out, that I forgot to buckle her in her carseat. Pull over, put on my hazards, hope there isn't a cop nearby. Jump out, buckle her in.
Make it to Culver's but miss the turn, so I have to sit at two stoplights. Get everyone a milkshake (it's a tradition). Almost get to the expressway and hear from Brookie, "mommy, I have to go potty."
Silently curse, then try to figure out where I can stop to take her to the bathroom. Spot a gas station, but miss the turn. Same drill, two extra stoplights.
Lock everyone in the van, take Brookie potty. It takes a lot longer than I thought it would.
Get back on the road. Pull onto the expressway, hear her say again, "mommy, I have to go potty."
I figured it was a false alarm, so I ignored it. Next thing I know, she's sleeping.
We drove through a brief but powerful rainstorm. It was cute to hear my daughter's friend relay a bad travel experience she had last year.
Get home. Brooklyn is sleeping. Have to roust her to take her to Walmart. Realize she did, in fact, have to go to the bathroom. Dig around to find clean underwear and shorts.
Go to Walmart, where she insists she can't walk (her legs are broken). She immediately needs to go to the bathroom. Again.
Basically, have a trip to Walmart that is anything but quick.
Get home, realize it's already past dinnertime.
The night devolved from there.
I haven't quite figured out our grill. I made it too hot and put too many of the steaks on it. This succeeded in charring the steak, but leaving it basically raw. I did my best to make adjustments, but I was worried for a minute that I was going to start my house on fire.
It ends up taking me an hour of fiddling to cook the steaks enough to serve them to my kids.
In the interim, Jeremy and Bekah have kept up a steady stream of sniping at each other. It is exhausting. I am a constant mediator between them. She did something he didn't like and vice versa. They know how best to needle each other and have gotten very good at doing so.
I lost my temper with them. I lost my temper with Doug. I tried, in a very exasperated way, to explain to them how tired I am and how much I just want to sit on the couch and relax.
I felt too defeated to write, but I didn't want to skip three days in a row.
I recently read something on Facebook about how vacationing with kids is really just taking care of your kids in a different location.
I know my kids had fun today, the Discovery Museum is one of their favorite places to be. I hope that, when they get older, they will forget that I burned dinner (again, it's an alarming trend lately), that I yelled at them, that I wasn't the best version of myself.
(Brooklyn is still awake. I am not sure I'll make it until Brian gets home.)
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