Mommy needs a time out

Yesterday ended on a downcurve, and it' all my fault. I got up in the morning and took my kids to Erin's house, picking up 2 double tall non-fat mochas (payment for babysitting). Headed to work, and finished up just before 1. Met Erin (and she bought me another mocha) and my mom at McDonalds to pick up the kids and do a 3-car shuffle (I gave Erin her car back, she gave me my van, I gave the van to my mom, and my mom gave me her car. Now you know all that was involved in switching cars when children are involoved, right?).

Then I decided that we would go check on the in-laws place and the kids could nap to and/or from. The TALKED a blue streak all the way up, the entire time we were there, and the entire trip home. No napping, so "spacing out" and no peace. They weren't being bad, I just didn't want to be incessantly talking for over 2 hours. Especially when I thought they were going to take a nap.

So we get back to Bham, and they say they want to go to Costco (oh did I mention that I got another mocha on the way to the in-laws?). So we go, I try to look at cameras (will post about that later) and I got lots of stuff, but failed to by cat food (the cats have about 8 kernels left in their bowl) and milk (you need milk when you have a boy who hardly eats and a husband that eats cereal in mixing bowls). And about 3/4 of the way through Costco (700 people per hour door counts, the Seahawks had just lost so everyone congregated at Costco to mourn or something) the 3 mochas and no food was kicking in. I was sinking fast, shaking and very irritable.

So we bee-line it to the front, lines for once aren't bad, but Larry has an opionion on WHOSE line I should get in (personal and competency is how he chooses, I first look for a familiar face, and if their line is reasonable, I'll go there, if not, I'm about speed) and Larry takes the kids to the back of the warehouse to go to the bathroom and check out the forklifts. I get "dinner" (pizza) and wait. And wait. So I go out to the car, unload, and wait. I head back inside and wait. Ah, here they come. Now my attitude is shot.

I get home and there is a GIANT box on my front porch. I mean like 6x4x2. And all the Costco crap, and all the crap that I cleaned out of my van and tossed into my mom's car, and then I open the door and PU. Larry chose (I assume it was a decicion becasue you couldn't have missed the pile or the odor) to ignore the nasty pile of dishes while he was home ALONE all morning (since I took the kids with me to Erin's) and so now I have a smelly house, about 30 minutes of cleaning the kitchen, I'm hungry, tired, and now I see no end to my work tonight. I think Larrys name was being burned into the pile of dishes as I seethed while I washed them.

Then I decide (why?) to build the piece of furniture that arrived. This kids talk a blue streak through that entire process too, as well as sneaking off with pieces of styrofoam to anhilate.

So I got them to bed at 8. Sat down to chill out and wind down. Natalie starts crying about needing her daddy (this has become her nightly routine and I've quit buying into it) and so I scold her and return to bed. At 8:45 Larry gets home and who is still crying? Natalie. And who comes running up stairs, wide awake? Brady. At 10:45pm, Brady is STILL awake, he'd been up since 8:15 that day! So I think the little sucker finally fell asleep before midnight... and was up this morning at 8:30... Natalie had already been up for half an hour. Ugh. Mommy needs a time out.