Aiming at my foot.

Sometimes I think I am my own worst enemy when it comes to simplifying my life. We went to all this trouble to find and hire someone to help with kids - one of the main reasons being that without family here, I don't have that quick help you need when you have an appointment or errand that really can't handle kids. Well, yesterday the kids' school supply lists were looming over my head all morning. I convinced myself that I really needed to use the morning wisely and get some work done instead of heading out to tackle the list. Lunch rolled around and if I had decided to start the shopping then, I probably would have had time to get it done before Joanna needed to leave. But nope - I decided to keep working, thinking I could leave the kids with Kyle later in the afternoon and go shop. Kyle comes home and I am still working. He mentions he needs to run to the campus to get our financial aid check (yay for another anchor around our necks!). I have this bright idea that he can study first, and then we can *all* go at the same time. He can run in and get his check and afterwards we can stop by Walmart and try to look like we made an effort on the list. (I have no intention of getting everything on the list - it is RIDICULOUS the things they ask us to buy and I start to get the feeling that they are using us to stock their supply room. Why am I paying thousands of dollars a year for this??? And other parents are paying twice that. Nu-uh - ain't gonna happen.)

So, Kyle studies for a few hours. I finish working and get kids shoed and cleaned up. Around 5:00, we take off. The older two start fighting in the car right away - and the baby gets mysteriously quiet. *glance back* "SULLIVAN! Stay awake! Do NOT go to sleep. Guthrie, play with him, tickle him, anything - don't let him sleep." We get to listen to crabby Sullivan squeal every time someone tickles him or talks to him obediently. I knew it was a bad idea to skip nap-time.

Kyle manages to be fast at the school and we drive away with half of our student loan proceeds in our pocket. We drive 15 minutes to Walmart, circle the parking lot for another 15 minutes, remember that 6:00 on ANY day is pretty much the craziest, zooiest time to attempt shopping in Mexico, but we park anyway. One hour, lots of Addie whining and drooping (man, she is looking tired now), a little Guthrie complaining ("Why does *she* get a puzzle?"), and a surprisingly pleasant Sullivan later, we are done checking out and just waiting for the world's slowest bag boy to finish his job. I can't help but wonder what possessed me to think I didn't need to do this earlier when I could have left all THREE (four if you count the husband who HATES this stuff) at home. *Sigh* Read it on my forehead people - S.t.u.p.i.d.

Now, it is 7:00 and tummies are rumbling, babies are fading, and mommy's blood sugar has dropped like nobody's business. Our lifeline appears to be Costco right across the street. One cheese pizza sounds like just what the doctor (or fourth year med student) ordered. Kids + husband = stay in the car. I run to the counter, order our pizza, get myself a pina colada smoothie (instant happy) and a couple of drinks for kids and husband. And I wait. and wait. and wait. I crane my neck to see if the pizza could be nearing the end of the pizza oven. Nope. So, I stupidly wait some more. and a little more. Finally, Kyle is exasperated and tells me to talk to the employee. "Is my pizza coming?" "Of course." "Are you sure because I'm watching the oven and there are no pizzas coming." "Oh its coming, I assure you." "Uh, okay thanks," I say as I sneakily follow her with my eyes to see her go check and realize no pizza is actually coming and watch as she slips a cheese pizza onto the back of the pizza oven. *sigh again*. She must have read my forehead when I ordered. Must get thicker bangs.

30 minutes after arriving for that- "they always have one waiting," says Kyle in response to my "we need something fast" comment - pizza, we are back on the road. Kids drank half my smoothie instead of their own Sprite, but the half I did guzzle has made me feel temporarily peppy and I enjoy the time to chat and relax with husband while kids play. And then the quiet. *glance back* "SULLIVAN - wake up baby! You have to eat dinner. Do you want some cheese???" (Burn my fingers as I pull off a chunk of melty cheese and hold it in front of the A/C vent to cool it off.) "Here's some cheeeeeeese, Sully!!" Older kids: "Hey, why don't *we* get cheese?" Sully takes the cheese, puts it in his mouth and promptly falls back to sleep - only this time with the added bonus of a choking hazard lolling about his tongue. *sigh again* I hate when he goes to bed without dinner. He always wakes up hungry in the middle of the night.

We get home, baby in bed, kids eating pizza, fun. After dinner and a super healthy dessert of a donut, we lay kids in bed, Kyle is off to finish studying and I sit down to wrap up work (yes, after ALL of that, I still hadn't finished the work part of things).

Fast forward to 2:30 in the morning. Little hand is patting my arm, "Mommy, mommy, I ann eat betfast." Crap - he's hungry. One sippy with milk, pull him up in bed and pray he sleeps (he does). Wait, I'm hungry too. (no joke.) Try to ignore it, surely I am stronger than this. 20 minuets later, no go. Must eat something. This is a joke, right? Stomach is now convulsing in anger and lack of food. Raisin Bran. Ahhh, NOW sleep is good. Back upstairs. Addie is curled up on the end of the bed under Kyle's feet. That cannot be comfortable. Carry her to her bed (man, she's huge.) Now sleep. Here comes Guthrie. "No G-man - you have got to sleep in your own bed. I'll talk to you in the morning." Back to his bed. NOW sleep. *beep beep beep beep beep* Elbow Kyle before alarm wakes up Sullivan who is the ONLY one getting sleep at this point. After three snoozes, Kyle gets out of bed, just in time for Adeline to come wandering in. I threaten her with her life, "Sleep - don't talk." She sleeps on Kyle's side - although still curled up at the bottom of the bed.

Now sleep - its starting to get light outside. Ignore. Just sleep.