We started the day off well, beginning with a new, more structured schedule. We made it through the teeth, getting dressed, making beds, eating breakfast and all the way through family devotions. I then told them to give me a few minutes to eat my breakfast and we would get started with school. 15 minutes later we all head down stairs, I start setting up the school supplies, and walk into the other room to get a few more things. I come back and find Hayden standing on the bench literally pouring over half the bottle of glitter all over the table, chair and floor. I yell for her to stop, but by the time i was able to reach her, the damage was done.
After vacuuming up the mess, we proceed with school. What should have taken about an hour, took us 2 1/2... We dealt with Maxwell and Landon fighting/teasing/screaming etc, Hayden was climbing all over us, stealing our markers, writing on our worksheets, and quite frankly being a pain in the rear. After about 15 minutes, Maxwell says, "Corinna! I have to go potty!" So I break to take him upstairs, where we put the kiddie seat on the toilet, get his pants and underwear down, sit him on the potty, only to hear after a few seconds "I don't have to go." <sigh> So we get him all back together and head back downstairs. After another 20 minutes of fighting, screaming and crying, I tell both Maxwell and Landon to go play in Landon's room and stick Hayden in her room so we can finish. Kyleigh then says, " I have to go potty!!" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? So she runs upstairs to go potty and comes back saying, "Mom! the boys are doing something really bad!" I then go upstairs and walk in to find both mattresses pulled off the beds onto the floor, and look over to the right and see Maxwell standing inside the dresser drawer trying to climb on top of the dresser, where Landon is standing and preparing to jump off onto the mattresses. If natural consequences didn't mean possible broken bones, I would have let them go.We then ALL head back downstairs and as soon as we start to get back at our work, Gabriel starts crying and his nap time was then over. I go BACK upstairs and discover he had pooped...not just pooped, but blown out of his diaper all the way up his back. OF COURSE! what else would I expect today right? :)
I clean him up and bring him back downstairs with me. We get to our math lesson and I send Kyleigh upstairs to start hers while I finish up with D.J.. Once we are done, I head up to work with Kyleigh and am met in the kitchen by Landon who wants me to get his balloons from the ceiling in the laundry room. I get one, but the other one's out of my reach so I tell him to wait for Daddy to get home and get it. I then go sit with Kyleigh and begin her math problems. 5 minutes later, I hear a crash in the laundry room. I go over and find Landon and Maxwell standing on top of my washer and dryer trying to get the balloon, and all that was on top of both machines was thrown all over the floor. Holy cow, they must think they are super heroes or something! I get them down and decide its time to break for snack. I call everyone into the kitchen, and Hayden comes in with my camera, covered in slobber. AWESOME! They all sit down for a little while and eat... so I clean up the kitchen. They all then go back down and play, while Kyleigh and I finally sit and finish her work. I then send her to go play while I get lunch ready. 10 or 15 minutes go by and I hear a bunch of giggling going on, from what I think is Landon's room. I think, "YAY! they are playing!" Landon eventually shows up in the kitchen saying, "MOMMY!! I all wet!" I look over and he is soaked from head to toe. Holding my breath, I walk through the hall way...discovering then that someone had sneaked their frosted mini wheats out of the kitchen and there was a nice trail of them crushed all down my hallway rug. Then, I reach the bathroom, where I find Maxwell and Hayden, also covered head to toe in water, standing over the toilet dipping the kiddie seat in the toilet water and finding it just HILARIOUS! The floor was soaked, their clothes were soaked, and a whole roll of toilet paper was SOAKED. Apparently Maxwell had to go potty, but didn't want miss Corinna to help, however upon trying to put on the kiddie seat he realized there was a more fun way to put it to use, and his buddies agreed! In the midst of all the playing, he forgot he had to pee and ended up peeing his pants.
They are all down now, or at least, I put them down, my three big kids have already been out of their rooms 4 times saying they don't want to nap today.... but after this morning, they are staying in those rooms so help me God. So full circle back to my first sentence about school and one can only assume that either A) God is REALLY making the choice clear or B) Satan is winning in his attempt to discourage me today!
Now, I am going to sit here and enjoy the Starbucks that my amazing mother brought me after hearing how this day went, and I am going to get lost in the lives of Desperate Housewives... hopefully this afternoon will be better!
