Oh to play catch-up

Since I use my blog as a hand-in-hand aid to help my scrapbooking and my Project Life, it's amazing how far behind you can feel when you miss a day (or five). I have been able to, at night, text myself daily snippets of how my days were spent... including significant snippits and whathaveyou to serve as a crutch for recreating my daily timeline. After all, that's the sole purpose I started this blog!

But, my phone died. Oh yes, my sweet little pink Blackberry Curve bit.the.dust. And I am sad. I'm not sad enough, apparently, to get off my butt to go get a new phone. And, I would have gone to the Verizon store to get a new phone if it weren't for the release of the iPhone on the same day. Could you imagine? It'd be like needing something from the grocery store on Christmas Eve night and heading to Wal-Mart to pick it up. Yeah, that'd be a freakin' nightmare.

Any-who, my Blackberry serves as my calendar and my to-do list as well. I keep memos to myself to remember silly things like... oh.. what LOT I'm parked in when I take Josh to the airport. It's a complete memory crutch (but also a big huge life safer). I mean, it is my alarm clock, too!

I posted to Facebook about my phone kickin' the bucket and the line of conversation that followed was so funny. My BFFE Shannon even said I can't leave because my friend Melissa's children would starve. I completely laughed out loud! Isn't it amazing how you can have a true-blue connection to people.... even if just through electronic media? I've made some amazing friends in the blogosphere! I stalk MANY blogs but am followers and true-blue readers of every post to a handful (I'm behind on those, too!)

My phone is where I'd catch up on my Facebook posts... while sitting in the carpool lane being bored or ... waiting for kids at practice. It's nice to have a time-killer. You feel like you're at least accomplishing something but then I think... maybe Ill be more productive with all this new found "down time." Only to find myself twiddling my thumbs during the pick-up lane yesterday at school. Sigh. We shall see.

This morning I was up at 5:55 a.m. and Josh was in my room at 6:05 a.m. He needed help finishing his math homework. He needed me to review his Wordly Wise. He needed me to review his Daily Language exercise worksheet. I needed to feed Ben, get dressed, get Drew up at 6:45 a.m., leave by 7am to get Josh to band practice by 7:15 am... plus all Josh's homework. Oh, yeah, and Josh needed to eat too. Crazy how we have to feed those things so often!

Well, we sit down and start going through his math. I don't really understand why I'm having to basically hold his hand step by step by step by step on every single thing. If I'm having to teach him how to do this so he'll understand what it's asking for... what's the point of him going to school to learn? I thought homework was just work you didn't have time to do in class or extra work to make sure you're understanding the processes and application of math taught in class. He's coming home and saying he "doesn't get it" to the point that I'm having to sit there for 2+ hours teaching him math.

Don't get me wrong, I love my child and will do whatever I can to help him but this means I'm not getting to spend any time with Drew -- WHATSOEVER. I didn't even have time to cook dinner because I was sitting on my butt helping him until 9pm last night and then up at 6am working with him for another hour and a half. Seriously, something has to give here. I'm just not sure what. I didn't sign up to have homework every day for 2+ hours.

Fridays means cereal at our home. It's typically the only day that we do have cereal because of the fact that I have to leave at 7 to take Josh to band. This morning, however, I had to write a "please excuse Josh from band" note to the director since he wasn't able to make it due to homework.

Pat was supposed to come clean today. It's not her usual cleaning day but Ben is sick... or teething... or sick and teething. He's a screaming, snotty mess. My nerves are shot. I'm tired. I should be sleeping right now but I think these moments are better saved in my memory if I record them. Thursdays are her usual day but there was no way I was going to be ready on Thursday. Now, not today either. I don't know when I will be able to have a clean house enough to have anyone walk in that door.

It's like both kids just walk in and throw their crap down and just pick up containers of stuff and just toss them in the floor. Seriously, that's how I feel my house looks RIGHT NOW. It is almost more than I can stand. Luckily, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Tonight, Josh goes camping with the Boy Scouts. Tomorrow he'll be gone all day, too. This means that I have only ONE child to corral and that can be accomplished by sending him to play with his friends. Then, I have a chance to clean. Once I'm on top of it, I have no problem maintaining it but when it just seems to go from bomb to bomb to bomb to bomb, I simply can't catch up.

The paper monster is taking over... the laundry monster is taking over... the toy bomb monster is taking over... the dust bunnies are reproducing like... well, rabbits!

As much as I'd like to throw in the towel and surrender waiving the white flag of defeat, I won't.

I haven't been able to make any of my Mom's League Playdates because of conflicts or sick/tired/fussy baby. I haven't made MOPS this year at all because of scheduling conflicts and today -- a sick/tired/fussy/teething baby. Sigh.

I'm not having a pity party... don't confuse this vent session... it's just sometimes it's good to keep it real with everyone that I can keep it together enough to get what needs to be done... DONE but anymore than that and I'm just... DONE!

Today, I'm done.

I'm going to dust myself off and start over this afternoon. Start organizing one place at a time. Get laundry done one load at a time. Spend a little time here and there to get this paper beast tamed once and for all and then... maintain! Amazing how a freakin week of snow days can throw your ENTIRE LIFE INTO UPHEAVAL!