It will always be there, they won't

Yesterday's 'to do' list

1. Wake up early for exercise and quiet time
2. Finish laundry that has been piling up a little bit
3. Clean out refrigerator
4. Wipe down all kitchen appliances
5. Empty, scrub, and re organize two kitchen cabinets (seriously trying to make my goals small and reachable - two at a time)
6. Go through tubs full of clothes in basement and kids dressers. Organize, pitch, and sort for appropriate season and sizes
7. Go over cubbies lessons and verse with K and Jay
8. Make phone calls
9. File papers
10. Deep clean front porch
11. Dust
12. Clean little fingerprints off from mirror and windows in living room - Again

Reality of yesterday:

1. Wake up early to distressed screeches of 3 year old who has decided that it was not a good day and no one should look at/be close to/talk to him
2. Make breakfast for three little boys who each decide that they would like an alternative to toast and oatmeal. They did not get to choose. More screeches. No ice cream cones. No banana pickle sandwiches (I know, I am just a mean mommy!). No left over birthday cake (Wait, that was what I was telling myself...)
3. Try to start my to do list - get clean dishes unloaded from the dishwasher
4. Help K finish his milk as he decides to go on drinking strike number 4,679.
5. Start to put a few dishes into now empty dishwasher
6. Hear, "go pah-eee! go pah-eee!" From a 21 month old who has yet to actually use the potty, but thinks it absolutely necessary to sit on it frequently. Wanting to encourage this, I spend the next 10 minutes or so in the bathroom with him as he stood up, sat down, stood up, sat down ("Not aww-done. Aww-done. Not aww-done!") and chatted constantly about the exciting aspects of going potty
7. Notice the oatmeal caked onto the floor - scrape, scrub, wash
8. Check email
9. Answer phone
10. Notice that it's almost time for the bus to pick K up - mental note to move the van so bus can get through driveway
11. Notice that Noe had indeed needed to use the potty but had, of course, waited till just after we had gotten all of his clothes back on - begin necessary clean up process.
12. Hear bus honk. Leave Noe half dressed. Grab van keys. Grab K, backpack, and walker
13. Come in after moving van and settling K on bus to the lovely sound of full out screaming, pinching, desperate not to share, toddler and preschooler fight
14. Referee
15. Realize it is lunch time - do I dare make pb&j again??
16. Finish filling dishwasher as I spread the peanut butter onto the bread
17. Notice overflowing trash - take out trash
18. Finish helping boys with lunch.
19. Realize my stomach is growling - grab left over Papa John's bread stick
20. Scrub grape jelly from high chair.
21. "Mama, book!" - sit down and read "God Made Me" 7 times.
22. "Mom, we forgot to go outside" (Jay's way of saying, "I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE!") - take boys outside.
23. Play an exciting game of "pokey jet". Let me just say, if you have NOT played pokey jet you have hardly lived my friends! It involves a scrap piece of siding, two planks of wood, a small rake, a sock, lots of dirt and fallen leaves. Good.times
24. Push boys in swings while singing at the top of our lungs.
25. Daddy calls and proposes a zoo trip for when he gets home. Delight in telling the boys who begin to run around in a thrilled daze
26. Comfort Noe, who suddenly is HEARTBROKEN that K is at school. *sob* "Ba-bye K" *sob* "Ba-bye K-hay-hay!" *sniffle, sniffle, sob*
27. Go in to answer phone. Come out to boys in sand box playing "wash our hair" - using sand as water and leaves as shampoo
28. Give boys bath - using real water and real shampoo
29. FINALLY nap time - for them
30. Find blankey, baby, and Gi-gi giraffe. Settle boys into their bed
31. Look at to do list
32. Turn dishwasher on
33. Take a shower
34. Pack bag for zoo trip
35. Talk on phone
36. See Dave and K drive into drive way
37. Wake up boys
38. Have a great time at the zoo, finally being together as a family after a l-o-n-g week
39. Come home and roast hot dogs for supper
40. Cuddle by bon fire
41. Tuck boys in
42. Finally have opportunity to relax and talk to Dave, but eyes-will-not-stay-open
43. To do list laughs at me from it's secure little spot on the desk

Believe me when I say that this was not an exhaustive list. Exhausted mommy, but not exhaustive list. It only scratched the surface friends. There were plenty more details. Some you would thank me for leaving out...

Oh, and the picture at the very beginning of this post - if you look close you will see that Jay is wearing slippers. Some battles are not worth fighting my friends! Not.worth.it. :) But those high water jeans need to be exchanged for the next size up for that growing boy. His mom really should have gone through those tubs of clothing and restocked his dresser.

Well, back to that list...

Just a minute, some one has to go "Pah-ee!"