I can't keep it all in my head anymore. Work, bills, errands, soccer, gymnastics, preschool, playdates, grocery lists, what to make for dinner, who needs to be where at what time -- which is always followed by who needs to be picked up at what time...and everything else that's supposed to be stored at the ready somewhere in my head. I try to be organized, I really do, but some things slip through the cracks now and again.
A couple months ago, during a particularly stressful week, I completely forgot about a lunch date with friends. I was horrified! I profusely apologized, and I think they forgave me. Honestly I had no excuse. I simply forgot. Too much on my plate I guess.
Both kids have been doing a great job of keeping my on my toes, though. I get reminders all the time about what I'm supposed to be doing. Sometimes subtle, most of the time not so much.
The other day I had to make an important call during the day (which I try very hard not to do) and the kids (of course) took advantage of the situation by raiding my craft bins in the spare bedroom. I kept watch for the most part but had to walk away a couple times because they were squealing and talking loudly and I didn't want to be rude to the person on the other end of the line. At one point their chatter turned to yelling, and I finished up my phone call to get back to them. Just then, Liam comes running full-bore out of the spare bedroom, carrying something I couldn't see but knew it was something electrical because of the tell-tale white power cord dragging behind as he made a bee line for an outlet. I ran after him, but he made it to the outlet first, plugged in the cord as fast as his little hands could manage, and proceeded to insert the tip of a GLUE GUN into his ear!!! Like it was an ear thermometer! Talk about heart attack for the mama. So...the golden reminder of this little "lesson" is: Don't forget that Liam is TWO and must be supervised at all times. And believe me, although I did laugh a little after I caught him in the act, I thought about what might have happened had I not caught him. Those glue guns heat up in no time at all, and if he'd decided to try this little stunt in the bedroom only one minute before, the results could have been horrible. This event also reminded me that I own a glue gun, which I had completely forgotten. Note to self: glue gun needs new storage location. For now it's up on the highest shelf in the cupboard.
Another reminder this week of an item on my to-do list came from Quinn. My early riser crept into our bedroom at the crack of 6 am as always, that day dressed in her pajama shirt along with a jean skirt. I said, "Oh, you're wearing a skirt today?" Her eyes widened and she sputtered, "MOM! This was the ONLY pants left in my whole drawer!" I pulled her close and laughed at her reference to any sort of bottoms as "pants", and also at the fact that the poor girl had no choice but to put on the skirt. She pushed away from me..."Mom! This is SERIOUS! It was the ONLY pants LEFT!" Reminder: Unless I want a bare buns girl running around tomorrow, I better do some laundry today.
I'm pretty sure life will continue on this busy pace for awhile. Meanwhile, I just keep trying to stay on top of it all. My honest feeling is that I can just be confident I'm doing the best that I can. I'm only human. And I am very thankful I've been blessed with two terrific children that keep me busy. Sometimes in the mundane tasks involved with taking care of the to-do list, it's easy to forget. Life without my kids would definitely be less hectic, but I can't imagine that life.
