A Snapshot of My Afternoon

Confession: I'm kind of a control freak about putting things back where they belong. I nag and nag about it - put your shoes on the shelf! Hang up your coat! Put your uniform on the hook! - but, hello, with 8 people in the house - I don't have time to help you find your coat/hat/shoes/belt/special favorite pencil. That's a common refrain, heard oh so often around these parts - I'm sorry that you cannot find YOUR stuff. Please put it away where it goes and you won't have this trouble.

Case in point: uniforms for Muay Thai. When we come in the house every Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday, I say the same old tired refrain: Go INTO the laundry room. Remove your uniform. Hang up your belt.

If it needs to be washed, I will wash it. Just put it on the hanger and for the love of God, hang UP your belt. If you forget YOUR belt, you are doing the pushups from the instructor - not me.

3:30 We arrive home from school. Knowing that dinner is going to be leftovers, I have a few minutes to try to cram in some work. While I am writing a post for Diets In Review, I give Riley a spelling test. I give Emma a spelling test.

3:45 I decide that it's time to tell people to get their uniforms on and I'll start packing dinners. It's going to be an easy night, I think to myself. Many times we are running late to the first class because the homework load is heavy/people don't cooperate/dinner prep takes longer than I expect - but tonight it's all going so smoothly. Maybe we won't be late to class. I'm proud of the fact that we are ahead of the game, I'm not yelling, and everything is awesome. I'm good at this.

4:00 I'm yelling at Gabe to get his uniform on. I've done this FOUR times in 15 minutes. I'm getting aggravated. Emma, on the other hand, has her uniform on. She's proud of this fact and tells us all. Repeatedly. No one cares. We tell her. Repeatedly. She doesn't care.

4:10 Food is mostly packed. Spaghetti in containers, salad and apple slices. Bottles of water. I'm feeling good about being ahead of the game. Gabe, on the other hand, cannot find his pants. No wonder. Emma's wearing them. I suck at this.

4:12 - 4:27 I'm rooting through piles of clean wash, cursing at myself for not being more on top of the laundry. Gabe has checked his room, Emma's room, both kids have checked their gear bags, I've sent Mackenzie to check the dryer - nothing. No black pants anywhere. Now we are late, and I'm steaming. I'm yelling at everyone within hearing distance, and feeling terrible about the fact that we are late AGAIN. I super duper suck at this.

4:28 Mackenzie grabs a pair of yoga pants, tosses them at Emma, who slides off Gabe's pants (yes, they wear the same size) and we fly out the door.

Which explains why I'm late literally everywhere I go - because something like this happens every.single.day.

And explains why Emma had on flared yoga pants while she was in boxing class.

And why I'm a crazy person.

If you were Emma's pants - and please to note, this is the SECOND pair of martial arts pants that she has lost - where would you be?

Comments

[Elizabeth]

Not putting things up immediately was one of my Mom's "button pushers". She was a total neat/control freak about stuff like that and she only had 2 kids. I'm a clutterer by nature so we clashed alot. Mom also hated being late. IT DID NOT HAPPEN. PERIOD. For example, my wedding started 5 mins early.

Then again, she just had the 2 of us and we were not as involved in activities like y'all are. I'm constantly amazed and awed by how much you get done on a daily basis.

[Lesli]

Oh, this made me laugh...so similar sounding to life here (with 1/2 the kids, that is), right down to the martial arts (which we had tonight) and keeping those uniforms where they need to be, the searches through piles of laundry, the repeated entreaties (I initially resolved to not yell anymore for Lent, have since revised to "not yell really loud"), to just put things back where they belong for crying out loud, and two kids who can wear some things in the same size...who are named Emma and Abe; told you it sounded similar!

[Melanie]

Just wondering . . . what if you don't look? Announce what time you're leaving and then leave at that time. What are the consequences? I used to yell & scramble for sports & this fall I stopped. My kids knew what they needed (gear, water) and either they were ready to leave on time or they weren't. I explained that I was done keeping track of their things and it was their responsibility. They only forgot water once after that and I don't yell anymore. (Ok, well, I still yell -- but not about sports / music / dance gear) Sometimes we're late, but I refuse to search for sports gear anymore. And I'm much calmer. (Granted, I only have 3 kids . . . so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about!)

[Sabz]

Have you looked *behind* the washer/dryer? Things can mysteriously end up there. It will be a pain but just look.

[Gina]

SO familiar! I had that internal conversation this week (we're early=good mommy; we're late=I suck at this)

[Shelly]

I am a control freak about where things should be. I have taken my boys without shoes, clothes or whatever they lost. After being embarrassed 1 time, never had a problem again. My husband is another story, but I am not his mom and I am not here to hand hold him. If he loses it, it is his problem. He gets pretty mean when he has lost something, so I I don't help him. He has got to treat me nicely as it wasn't me who lost his stuff. My mom was pretty famous for teaching me everything has its place and my things were my responsibility, not hers.

[Lynn]

I am so glad I'm not the only one that has these kinds of problems. Thanks for making me laugh (at myself, too). I'm working on not blaming myself for everything everyone does wrong.

[Rox]

OMG, I started hyperventilating for you, perhaps because I'm in the same boat today ... We're having a major fundraiser in our house (backyard, actually) tomorrow evening for 60+ people, and the kids were taking forever to clean up rooms that shouldn't have been in such disarray anyway! When I peeked in on my daughter at 3:45, she was hanging. up. necklaces. -- from a huge, tangled pile she had dumped in the middle of her floor, where she'd also dumped her desk drawers and a bin of doll clothes. I think I yelled 'til I cried and pulled some hair out. Even the dog was scared.

All that said ... girl learned to clean up reallly fast, and then she offered to buy me a glass of sangria. Good, smart girl...

[Becki]

If I were the missing pants, I would be 1 of 2 places...between the washer and dryer, or under someones bed. I know that I am not supposed to be taken off in a bedroom, but I like to hide and pi$$ everyone off for causing lateness.

[Emily C]

I'm with Melissa on this one.

I have a girlfriend whose parents required all 8 children to be on time for church; anyone not ready at the appointed time was physically helped to the car so the family was never late. She ended up at church once with no shoes. Emphasis on the "once".

I don't know, but there must be a way to transfer the responsibility . . .

[J from Ireland]

Oh Jaysus Carmen we must be related!!
Made me giggle though.
Best wishes hon.

[Headless Mom]

I'm with ya, sister.

[kyooty]

under the dryer? behind the dryer? in the bathroom closet?Under her bed? behind her bed? in her closet?