Thursday Deep Breathing...

Contrary Kerri is being a butt today, so I'm deliberately shutting out a lot of external cues and random thoughts.

It is Freak-Out Thursday after all, so I am taking a deep breath and choosing to believe myself as I pat my arm soothingly and say "It's really going to be OK. Your life is not falling apart, and the children--while their motives can never be fully understood--will not succeed in driving you off the cliffs of insanity and/or burning down the house. The younger two were little turkeys, staying up until friggin' 1130 last night, but their lifetime sleep patterns are not in jeopardy, and neither are your yours. I know it sucks that you gave up Coke, but remember that the last time you caved it didn't even taste very good, and you felt like poo the next day. I promise, you will feel way better if you skip the soda and junk for now. Also, you will survive the fact that you completely forgot about yesterday's preschool conference amid the terrible day from Hades. You'll make it up and they will still like you even though you flaked out. Plus, you're fit and pretty. Just hang on until tomorrow and re-evaluate, OK?"

So in the spirit of this post, here is what I have done today:

-Made sure the boys were dressed & groomed before they ate breakfast & watched Mythbusters. It wasn't anything magical, but one less thing to worry about once school time grew closer.
-Got His Highness to kindergarten. On time, no less, and with his teacher gifts. So now said gifts are off my counter--even better.
-Emailed preschool teacher to apologize for flaking out on the conference. Requested a reschedule.
-Did the Wegmans run with Captain America and Tiny E. Decided to let both keep napping in their carseats upon returning home, thereby creating a little breathing space until His Highness got out of school. They slept, I got a little blogging in on my phone; it works. (Smart thinking, Skerrib)
-Fed everyone two of the day's three meals.
-Kept everyone wiped-down and freshly diapered where applicable.
-Made a chocolate glaze for the Bundt cake we're bringing to our church small group tonight. The cake looked a little, um, rough, but tastes awesome.  And now with the glaze it looks mostly passable.  Plus I like saying "Bundt cake."
-Kept everyone inside on a beautiful day. A sad choice, but sometimes some of us forget certain social graces or how to tell Mom where we're going before we go. So instead we play in our room and talk with our friends through the window screens.  Or so I've heard.  

And here is what I will do in the hours to come:

-Grab a change of clothes for the Cat Daddy so he doesn't have to wear his uniform all evening at our small group cookout.
-Buckle the children into the car and meet the Cat Daddy at the cookout.
-Eat, drink, and connect with folks.
-Eat dessert.
-Try to leave at a reasonable hour, so we can get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour, so I can get myself to bed at a reasonable hour, because tomorrow is a jogging morning and while I HATE getting out of bed, I LOVE being up early once I'm awake. And we all know how I feel about jogging.  And in case I haven't mentioned it before, Friday is my favorite day of the week, so there's a lot to look forward to about Friday mornings.

It seems like I'm seeing a whole lot of posts lately about parents (moms in particular) being gentle with themselves, remembering that it's a hard job, refusing to join the compare and compete game, and just being kinder to everyone in general.  I'm not sure if it's the next trend, or just a "thing" or what...but I will go on record as saying I'm a firm believer in kindness and letting people be who they are, strengths and weaknesses included.

There is probably another blog post buried in the above ideas, but I really do need to go gather my children.  I have a feeling Tiny E has found her way to the top of the bunk beds again.

Carry on, friends. Carry on...