What happened?!?!

I've barely got a moment to get a cup of tea & make my way back to the classroom while trying to avoid stepping a goose-poop... Then I spot them - a gaggle of geese waiting to attack me (or perhaps they just wanted my All Bran bar!). What has become of my life?!?

I'll tell you what's become of it: I've joined the ranks of many women; I am, once again, a working mom. Yay me...I think.

This is my first week, so it's almost trivial for me to say that I'm overwhelmed. That's the understatement of the year! In between sorting my children out from babysitting care of their "nonna" (God bless our moms!), getting laundry done, making enough chili to freeze for two years, baking zucchini bread (to munch on when I'm super-stressed), and trying to fit in some cardio (yeah right!), I barely recognize the life that was once mine.

So true when people tell you to cherish every moment. I'm missing it now - those days when I felt like I'd need a wig due to all the hair-pulling I was inflicting on myself - how I wish I had them back. I tell myself, however, that I will get back to that in a short while. See, I'm only full-time during a three-week training, after which I will work only three days per week. This is a luxury that makes me truly grateful.

On a side-note, my daughter really pulled through for me with our potty-training dilemma. I wanted to get her going in order to ease things for the grandmas who are kindly taking over kiddie-duty while mommy's at work (I know, I am extremely lucky & I know it!!!). I failed to realize that I needed to go easy on my baby... But she was the bigger person between the two of us, and she gave mommy a huge back-to-work present. Thanks Cheech! Mommy's proud... Now back to studying for my training-test tomorrow (yikes!)...

I'm unravelling fast!!!

It is currently 6:50pm on Monday evening & my naturally high-strung nature is getting the better of me. You see, my daughter has been sitting on the potty for nearly two hours. No, your eyes do not deceive you. She really has been sitting there for TWO SOLID HOURS!!! It's a battle of wills now. She's holding it in...refusing to give me the satisfaction of merely going to the potty, doing her thing, flushing, washing her hands & carrying on with the day.

For the past three days, I'm guessing we've spent 27 out of 72 hours in the bathroom. Can you understand what I mean when I tell you that I'm spent/done/knackered/ready to throw in the towel?!?

Add to that the grief that my son is giving me. Poor kid is teething, but he's making me miserable right along with him.

Plus...my mom went through a procedure that knocked the wind out of her sails (subsequently knocking the wind out of mine & everyone else's!).

Oh...and my husband has been working non-stop for the past three days due to some transportation conference supporting women's shopping habits or something of the sort....

Hang on while I make myself a chamomile tea....

Can you spare a few more minutes? Good! So I've finished preparing a dinner that no one is particularly interested in eating. On the menu tonight: butterfly pasta (farfalline), prepared two ways - with a cheese sauce for my daughter & with a meat sauce for my son. Me? I've had an All Bran bar & half a yogurt. I ate my pathetic little dinner while standing over the stove stirring the farfalline. Said farfalline are now sitting on a table, stone cold! As a matter of fact, I think I see our cat, Chancho, munching on the creamy cheese pasta as I blather on in the pity party that you've had the misfortune of stumbling upon.

Earlier on today, I prepared homemade chicken nuggets for lunch. But wait - after preparing the nuggets (with their crunchy coating), I proceeded to PEEL the coating off the nuggets. Why not just grill some chicken, you might ask? Why, it wouldn't be the same! No no no. They MUST see their mother painstakingly dip the chicken tenders in egg, then coat them in seasoned breadcrumbs. WHY? Because it amuses them...And I KNOW for a fact that they're conspiring against me. A three year old and a one year old (nearly four & two, I might add!).

Okay, I'm having a rough couple of days & I think my blood pressure is on the rise, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.

I'm at the end of my rope. See that? That's the end of my rope over there!!!

Next Monday will be the first day of "back to work" & I'm afraid that I will have exhausted all my energy by then. Mind you, compared to this past weekend, I'm sure it'll feel like I'm at Club Med!

Karate Kid

I feel traumatized! All of this because of a playground bully....and she was only 2 years-old!!!

I'm looking into turning my children into full-fledged "Karate Kids"! My daughter will start preschool in January, so I have a few months to prep her. My son will follow suit next year. Neither of my kids are overly aggressive, rather they are quite the opposite. Oh sure, they'll fight with eachother, but they've never raised a hand to another child. We've taught them that hitting/pinching/punching/biting/etc is NOT okay, and they seem to have accepted that.

Fast forward to today, and I wish I would have taught them karate! They were both victims of a 2-year-old bully. SHE DREW BLOOD...LITERALLY! Now I'm sure her intention wasn't to lacerate their flesh, but that's exactly what she did. Both my children have claw marks on their cheeks which I tenderly cleansed & rubbed with an antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. So who's fault was it?

1. The mother's fault? Well, she was truly mortified by the whole ordeal, apologizing profusely & administering lectures & time-outs to her daughter.
2. The monsterous child's fault? Hmmmm...she's only 2. Plus, she didn't have fiery demonic eyes which screamed "Spawn of Satan".
3. My childrens' fault? Should they have defended themselves better? But they're so gentle by nature.
4. My fault? I've never really taught them to fight back. I always try to instill a sense of compassion, forgiveness & understanding.

So here I am, trying to figure this all out. How will I handle this when my children are off to school? Most likely with antacids for the ulcers I'm likely to develop...no doubt!

I suppose my first step will be to treat them both to some s'mores after their nap, after which I'll take them to their first karate lesson!