oh what a day...

i'm going to tell you about this long day i've had. why, you ask? because i care about you, my dear readers. i want you to go to bed tonight feeling confident in your parenting and your little darlings. the feelings you will get after reading this post. because you will be thinking "at least little tommy didn't do that!" tuesdays are my most hectic day, work wise. you didn't know i have a job on top of parenting all these children? yes, i do! i do in home childcare for a one year old, a three year old and the three year old's six week old baby brother! now tuesday is the only day currently i have the new baby on top of the others. he's a good baby, as are the others i babysit, but it's still quite a few kids! (five under three if we're counting... but who's counting?) so by the time all the little tykes are picked up, i'm needing to get out for just a bit. we're going to run to the store for a few things. don't you love how i made that sound so light and simple? we'll just hop on over to the grocery! as opposed to what it really is- taking five young children to a public place where they are not allowed to run, yell, touch or wander away! now i have very strict guidelines for behavior in such places and for the most part, my children are very good. but they are still children. and they still greatly outnumber me! so we pull into the parking lot and i begin getting every one out. it is at this point i notice that the princess is not wearing shoes. only her little orange and white frog socks. i asked her why she did not put shoes on. she responded that i did not tell her to. silly me! not realizing i had to make it clear to my five year old that shoes are necessary every time! clearly my fault! the worst part is that she was playing outside when we left, apparently without shoes. so we manage to make it through the shopping without losing/strangling/leaving anyone there. we head home and get everyone inside. i get all the kids seated to eat a late dinner (did you know that 6pm is late here? we're like the elderly- that's practically bed time!) so i'm trying to inhale a salad (while mentally telling myself it's a pizza) and nurse the baby when i notice that the little guy is missing. where do you think he is? playing quietly in his room? watching tv? coloring a picture for his poor, overworked mother? nope. he's upstairs throwing things out the bathroom window. things like books, roll of toilet paper, shoes and even the plunger. oh yeah, and saying "uh oh!" with each toss. as if it's some sort of accident. i manage to drag his little body out of the bathroom without throttling him, all the while reminding myself that beating him will only land me in jail. i calmly put him in bed without snack and left the rest for theMr. i will certainly not be climbing on the porch roof myself to retrieve those items!
now, here we are, two hours later. all the kiddos are in bed. the house is quiet. theMr will be home from work soon. and thankfully, tomorrow is a new day. a new chance for things to be destroyed and peed on and argued over. ah parenting, such a joy :)


*Her first time in a "big girl" cart, isn't she adorable?