Ewww - Tuesday as Monday

Scott has one of the only set schedules at the hospital. And whenever he considers transferring to a new floor, he always ends up staying put because of the Monday - Friday night gig he's lined up. So, we actually have a set weekend, although for us it's Sunday and Monday. So, Tuesday is our version of Monday. And what a Monday it was. Blech.

We spent Sunday morning worshipping with Kainos 101, snagged lunch, and then headed over to Cedar Crest College to watch dear Carrie Moore in a play, The Goddesses, Part 1. Definitely a great inspiration to watch if you're female. Definitely a kick in the pants if you're male. Afterwards, Carrie arranged a tour of the theater and then took us on a tour of the campus. It was fantastic. We made it home to eat Sloppy Joe's out of the crockpot and then after putting the littles to bed, Scott read aloud while Shelby, Dawson, Isabelle, Tucker and I urged him to keep going until we finished the book around 10 pm.

Monday was a pretty casual Monday for us. Dad taught Scott and Dawson how to change the oil on Big Red (pinching pennies everywhere!) and I learned how to change an air filter. Calc 3?no problem. Combustion engine? completely lost. Then I went to the eye doctor and Dawson took Scott and my dad to the movies to watch "A Christmas Carol." All three raved. Jenna was in town with Sadie so we all stayed together to visit, and before I knew it it was 5:30 and we were just leaving my parents. Of course, the fact that Tucker took a marker to the neighbor's trash can, white vinyl fence, siding, and basketball hoop emblazoning each with a bold "TUCKER" didn't help us leave any faster, either. (We tried everything to clean it off, but in the end, the fence is still signed. The neighbors won't let us fix it, either.) The kids got up in bed, exhausted after the late night and day of hard playing/bike riding outside and Scott and I watched TiVo while eating a pizza. Yum. He took a brief nap while I folded laundry with Elias. Scott left for work (night shift) and I went to bed.

This morning started out pretty great. I came down with Elias and we played for about 15 minutes before he went to sleep in his swing. I did morning chores and finished up around the time Aidan came down. We snuggled up together to read the book, "One Morning in Maine" by Robert McCloskey. (Aidan chose to sit in Abigail's car seat, which we had brought in the night before to clean once we discovered her diaper had really, really leaked. Anyway, it was reassembled and waiting for Scott to return home with the van and Aidan decided that it was the perfect place to sit and read. I, myself, prefer the couch.) Eventually, we were joined by Tucker and then Keats. Abigail was let out of her prison (er, uh . . . I mean crib with a net over it to keep her in one place) shortly afterwards and eventually the older three trickled down. And that's when it started to change.

I say the older three came down, but really I should clarify that it was the nasty, grouchy, crabby versions of Shelby and Dawson and the "I'm too tired to really do anything" Isabelle. Their attitudes were more contagious than the Swine Flu, and eventually all 8 kiddos were in a mutiny.

"I'm hungry."

"Where's my milk?"

"I want my jeans - are they clean yet?"

"Do we seriously have to do school today?"

"waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"Mom - he won't give me back my bear!"

"Mom - that isn't even his bear!"

"Stop touching me!"

"Eww! You're breath stinks! Go brush your teeth, you swamp monster!"

"I can't find my hairbrush - who took my hairbrush??"

"Why can't I dump the Lego bin yet? I want to!"

"Where's dad - he would say yes." (For the record - no, he wouldn't.)

"Abigail smells bad!"

"GROSS!!! Elias threw up all over me!"

"Who put my hairbrush in the diaper pail?"

"Moooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!"

Ahh, the sweet sounds of a cheerful family working together to accomplish a day filled with ambitious, yet completely attainable, plans.

Order was actually restored relatively quickly, but the damage was done. My peaceful mood shattered, I never really got back into the groove of the day. Sure, we got just about everything done on the goal list, but it sure wasn't smooth. It truly reminded me of the Manic Mondays of my teen years - trying to get back into the swing of doing *blech* when I had had such a great weekend.

Time heals all wounds, right? Perhaps one night of sleep will reset all our attitudes for tomorrow. Let's hear it for Wednesday/Tuesday!!