My Trench Has Been Deep of Late

I have not had the opportunity to see outside of my trench very often this year. My kids have their needs. The house and I have our own. And my husband needs a few things I can give too. Sometimes, his need is fulfilled simply by making sure the kids needs, the house's, and my own still allow him time to study. And that is why I have not recently had a chance to climb out of my trench, take a breath of fresh air, look around, and communicate (commiserate?) with the other trench-dwellers.

Writing is once again on my radar. I posted again to our family's blog after a long interval sometime a couple of weeks ago, in preparation to take on some writing work again. The very next Monday found me already committed to a (rather boring, but also easy) project, so my hopes of catching up my blogs for a few weeks before getting a real assignment had to be laid aside. I am now in the stride of this project, and since I am nearly writing the exact same thing for every post, I can do it without thinking and within the space of about an hour.

Today's struggles were many: I was too tired; I didn't know what to cook for supper; the kids would have to watch a second video; I was too tired. Ultimately, I bit the bullet, and got to work. An hour later, I can happily report that my submissions are submitted, my dinner is half started, and unfortunately, my kids are probably still watching Goofy. There are worse things. (For instance, I am being tempted to start nearly every sentence of this post with a conjunction, and while I approve of that occasionally, the novelty quickly wears off.)

I have gathered my thoughts and written down what I need to do this week. My laundry day is planned, an outing to the Zoo penciled in, and my submissions, my work(!), noted. As I re-enter the world of the work-at-home-Mom, I want to reign in the CHAOS and establish routines or I will end up living in a home filled with crusty dishes and people running on little sleep (which may happen anyway from time to time).

Ironically, taking on more work has allowed me this break, a chance to look around and call out to inhabitants of other trenches running alongside mine. I create and reflect in the midst of the needs I must fulfill. Then I dive back in and do all those mundane things that mothers do and that their families cannot live without.

(Photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com)

My Trench was made of Diet Coke and Poop!

Wow. It's been over a month. I have tried numerous times to get back here to post my straight-from-the-trenches story...even started typing it out twice (!!) but something (or three little someones) always interrupted me and eventually I lost what I had started.

So, right now, this beautiful Sunday afternoon, as I should be doing my menu-planning and grocery list-making, I will recount the events of that fateful day IN FULL with no interruptions as all FOUR of my boys (this counts Dear Hubby) take naps. Thus it occurred...

My oldest son (DS5) had to be on the local Christian radio station at 8 a.m. one morning. We had to leave the house at 7:30 which is VERY early for us "late-birds" as he likes to call us. I didn't want to wake my other children up so early, so I asked my mom to come over, with the promise of a "birthday breakfast" afterwards. (Her birthday had been the day before.)

Everything went beautifully. We made it to the station, DS5 did just what he was supposed to, we made it home just in time for the Baby to wake up and be fed, and everyone was dressed and ready by 9:30 a.m. We took her to McDonald's (Mom's birthday, but the kids are the ones celebrating) and all three boys even behaved well enough that Mom and I had a good chat while we ate. Ahh, heavenly.

Mom had to be at work by noon so we took her back to our house to get her car by 11 a.m. Since all three boys were already dressed, already fed, and already strapped into their carseats, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to head into town to get a specific errand done. (I had portraits to pick up at Target.) First wrong choice.

As we got into town I remembered that I had some mail in my purse so I made a quick stop at the main post office. Parked the car, cracked the windows, locked the doors, and ran up to the building to shove the mail in the correct mail slot. In the less-than-a-minute it took for me to get back to the car and sit in my seat, something dreadful happened. You see, I had brought my newly refilled LARGE DIET COKE (LDC) with me from McDonald's to sip on during my errand run. My LDC was still almost completely full as I pulled into my spot at the post office. My LDC was empty and the top was askew when I got back in the car. Hmm...

I sat there staring blankly at the empty cup for a few seconds as my mind whirled around the possibility that I drank it and forgot. Suddenly, I realized what happened. I looked down and noticed that there was a rapidly running-toward-the-back-of-the-van puddle of LDC streaming under my seat. As I slowly turned around my eyes met those of my DS5 in the way-back seat of the van. He had decided that he wanted to sit in MY seat and watch me run up to the building and back. He has recently graduated into a booster seat and now has the power to strap and unstrap his little body into his seatbelt at will. Obviously, on his way into my seat he knocked over my LDC and spilled it all over the front of the van. Rather than tell me what happened he picked up the empty cup and put it back into the cupholder and sprinted (if that's possible in a minivan) back to his seat. And left me to discover the disaster on my own. Oh boy.

Although this was just a terrible accident, I was still very upset. Partially at my son for not telling me what had happened (I was lucky that the spill was on the floor and not in my seat or I would have sat right in it without knowing until it was too late!). But mostly, and I'm very ashamed about this but willing to admit it, because I really LOVE an LDC...and I had lost it in a matter of seconds! Sad, I know.

Well, since I was already in town and really wanted those portraits, I decided to continue on my way even though the upholstery in my van was getting stickier and Diet-Cokier as each second passed. (That's why they invented the Spot-Bot, but that's another post entirely.) I got to Target and hauled all three sons inside. Grabbed a cart. Baby in his bucket seat attached to the front. Check. DS3 in the back basket of the cart. Check. DS5 riding on the end of the cart. Check. All is harried, but well. We head over to the diaper section and as I'm quickly comparing prices in my head, I smell something. Something poopy. Not baby poopy, although I do start there first. DS3 was in the throes of potty-training and had been doing very well. He was wearing a pull-up (thank goodness not regular underwear) and even though I had asked him before we got the cart if he had to go to the bathroom, he decided to put his poop in his "underwear" instead. I should have known when he got quiet. He was crouching in the back of the cart. Telltale signs.

You might think that this is the last of my disaster-filled morning, but you would be wrong! Because of the poopy pants, I quit price checking and just grabbed the nearest diapers that were the right size, zipped to the portrait studio to pick up those portraits that started it all, and sprinted up to the registers. At this point, Baby is getting hungry and is starting to fuss. I pick the shortest line I see and empty the cart. Baby is really starting to cry now so I calmly soothe him with words and give him my knuckle to munch on while he waits. It doesn't work. I act unconcerned, but I REALLY WANT TO GET OUT OF TARGET AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! She rings up my purchases and after I stick my Target card into the reader I wait for the signature box to pop up. I wait. Still waiting. By this time my DS5 is dancing around and getting in the way of other customers, DS3 is still poopy and crouching in the back of the cart, and Baby is screaming. AHHHHHHHH!!! Oh wait...that was me screaming...and still waiting for the signature box.

To make a long story even longer, that computer froze. She called for "tech support" and a nice man came out of his computer-y office to help. His "help" was to take me to another lane and re-ring up my entire purchase. Yes, that's right. Unpack the cart, re-load it onto a different belt, re-ring everything, and re-pack the cart. And don't forget dancing DS5, poopy and crouching DS3, and screaming Baby.

(On a positive note, the nice tech support man gave me $7 cash for my trouble. I don't know how he came up with that number or why (I hadn't requested any compensation) but $7 is $7, right?) Is it a sign that I am a terrible writer when I use parentheses inside parentheses?

FINALLY, we get out to the car, load our purchases in and begin the awful process of changing DS3 into a new pull-up. Once that mess is cleared up, poopy diaper is properly disposed of, windows are down, and everyone is back into their seatbelts, I start the car and head out of the parking lot. And from the back seat I hear, "Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we go to McDonald's?"

I'll let you imagine for yourselves what my response was.

The End.

The Rockford Files: Introduction

I'm Karalin, currently a SAHM with three young boys in Rockford, Illinois. DS5 will be starting public school Kindergarten at the end of August, so that will be a huge change for us. DS3 is a VERY typical 3 year old right now. He and his older brother fight ALL OF THE TIME, but are also the first to come to each other's defense against other people (including me!). DS4months is a sweetie. He is so good-natured, sleeps through the night, patiently waits for his meals while I settle the older two into their next activity.

I was a first grade teacher in a public school before I had children and I LOVED it! But I always knew that I wanted to be home with my kids. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of paying someone else to watch my kids for most of their waking hours while I went and took care of OTHER people's children. Not for me. So, here I am five years later. It has gone by so fast!

So, that's me in a nutshell. I have some stories and some questions that I'll share or ask later. But right now I need to finish my menu plan/grocery list so that I can head to the store after I next nurse the baby.

Thanks Patty and April for letting me join in!

Stay tuned for a straight-from-the-trenches experience I had a couple of weeks ago...

Just a check in!

I just wanted to post really quick and let you know I am still here! We are full swing in summer vacation now. No early mornings, no backpacks! And my 21-month-old has been wearing only a diaper for most of the day! I am really relishing the days more this summer because...I may be a SAHM for only about 10 more weeks! I have been asked if I'm interested in a half-time teaching position right here in town. Part of me screams, "noooooooo! I'm not ready to go back to work!" but I know it would be great for our finances, and I would really enjoy it.
And...our electricity just "blinked". I think it's getting ready to storm, so getting off the computer would be a GOOD idea.
hugs to all!

Dressed for Success

So, when working from home, dressing the part of the working woman really helps to shift your mindset. I know a lot of people who work from home do that, so I've been trying it out. Sometimes it's as simple as changing out of my Teva sandals and into something with a heel. Today I'm wearing a fitted polyester skirt and biz casual sweater, in addition to the wedge sandals that have become my write-from-home uniform.

And while I haven't actually finished much of my list below, I'm starting to feel like I can, which is important.

Not Working

I like to plan. I like to plan more than I like to put my plans into practice. So I end up procrastinating actually doing what's on my plan to keep planning. Nothing gets done that way.

Another hitch in my planning is that my plans are dependent on the sleeping schedules of two other little people. And like the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, once you enter the situation and try to measure or categorize what's going on, you change it.

So of course just when I thought I had a good schedule going with my toddler, my baby decides it's time to start crawling. She doesn't want to sleep any more -- she wakes herself up and wants to crawl around the bed.

My hopes for the organization and high that come with working isn't materializing yet. But it may be that I'm just having an off day: it's raining, so no park for the kids; I slept in, so I lost a few hours; and I've been procrastinating up a storm, so I lost a few more hours.

Argh. Ok. Deep breath. Don't linger worrying about what you didn't do perfectly. What can I do now to get back on track?

• Check my schedule
• At least I am dressed and so are my kids.
• Figure out what to do with Maggie to wear her out for her nap.
• Start dinner in the crock pot.
• Look at budget and plan for a couple of extra expenses tonight.
• Write like mad as soon as the kids are sleeping.

Deep breath.

Here I go.

(Photo: freefoto.com)

Back to the Grind

I've taken another writing project with Content Divas so I'll be busy for the next two weeks (this time I'm doing a half-project instead of the full 22 days of submissions). I'm a little nervous since last time there were days where I felt like my writing kind of took over my life.

But I'm also excited. This stay-at-home-Mom is looking forward to devoting her brain to more than just working on grocery lists or the logistics of trying to get out of the house daily with two people under the age of three in tow. I've got high hopes for doing various aspects of my day better this time around than last. For example, I have my menus planned for the next three weeks (until we go on vacation!!), so hopefully that will be less of a slow-down point to my weeks.

Finally, I'm looking forward to the increased level of productivity that comes with having most of the day scheduled. Work -- especially working hard -- can be a high: many of us are naturally happy when we have real work to do (as opposed to my playing around on this blog and pretending that people read it). Not necessarily ecstatic, just content (and not depressed).

A podcaster I have come to really enjoy is Kh. Krista West on Ancient Faith Radio. She has some spot-on things to say on that final point (in fact, I think I took some of that point from her because it so resonated with my experience), so I'd like to point any readers I may have in the direction of her podcast "A Tailor’s reflections on the prayer of St. Ephraim" which is really an excellent reflection on the value of work.

So, wish me luck! It may be another bumpy ride, but I can only get better at it. :)

(Photo: FreeFoto.com)