Day #69 (Stick a fork in me, folks, I'm done)

This morning started off so well (insert sarcastic eye roll). Maura & Amelia didn't want to go to school. Amelia was complaining so loudly in the car that I lost focus and ran over her tricycle in the driveway (her smart ass comment after I said that's what I did: Don't worry, I have plenty other bikes to ride.) We get to school and Amelia threw an even bigger tantrum than she did yesterday at the door (according to her teacher, she calmed down and started playing as soon as I left the classroom *grrr*.) I managed to get back home before Maura's bus picked her up and she yelled at me for hitting Amelia's bike. Maybe if Amelia put it away last night like she should have, I wouldn't have run over and crushed the back wheel, hmm?!?

Then it was time to do the dishes, throw on some laundry, fold and/or hang up the load of clean laundry Patrick left in the clothes basket in the laundry room, and get back to pick up Amelia from school.

While out, Patrick called to tell me that there was either a leak or drain backup in the laundry room, as we had a little flood on the floor. AGGH!!!! Turns out, it must have been a drain backup (the drain for our washing machine is exposed and if there is anything on the drain cover, the water doesn't go down right and can cause a little flood.) I guess that's a good thing, as all I had to do was mop up the inch-deep puddle and clean out the drain. It could have been MUCH worse.

After doing that, Amelia and I did some grocery shopping (well, I did some shopping while Amelia went to play in the staffed play room at the store). Then it was back home to clean up the pantry and straighten out the cabinets with the pots and pans. Tomorrow, it's the cabinets with the dishes and bowls. You'd think that Patrick & the kids wouldn't have a problem with putting things back where they go... considering I labeled ALL the cabinets and pantry shelves with P-Touch labels saying what goes where.

Then Mr. UPS Man delivered a box from Nonna (my ex mother-in-law, who spoils all the kids rotten.) She returned from Italy last week and decided to ship the girls a box of all their presents from her. There were clothes galore for all 4 girls, 2 new Louis Vuitton purses for Julia & Frankie (seriously, WTF?!? I didn't get one until I was in college!), a vintage Louis Vuitton for me (SCORE!!!), and some Swiss chocolates for us all (ahhh...sublime.) She complains about being broke but she's able to afford over $1,200 worth of purses for Julia & Frankie. Granted, her family was obscenely wealthy back when she was younger and her idea of broke is VERY different from mine. Still, if you're that worried about money, you don't spend that kind of money on teenage girls. Naturally, the girls were all kinds of excited and bouncing off the walls, when they saw all the cool stuff she bought them.

Time for a quick dinner (leftover pasta and chicken from the other night) and it was time, yet again, for cheerleading practice. According to Other Mother (see previous posts to understand who that is) and Frankie, all practices are now to end at 7:30pm because it's getting too dark. Even the boys are ending their football practices that early and they have lights on their practice fields. Coach showed up at 7:20pm (again) and decided to keep practice running until just after 8:00pm. This was after telling the girls that she didn't care what time it was, they weren't leaving until they were able to complete the half-time show perfectly. Uhh... they'd probably know the routine perfectly if you didn't keep making changes every week, Coach. DUH!

She really doesn't seem to understand that this is an INTRAMURAL league. There are NO competitions, it's all about having fun. The girls get on the squad because Mom and Dad write a $25 enrollment check (and $35 for mandatory raffle ticket sales and $50 for uniforms and pompoms), and that's it. I don't think there is more than one girl out of the seven on the squad who is still having fun. That's sad.

I'm calling the head of the cheerleading association tomorrow and complaining about this. I don't know how parents who work do this. In our case, Maura gets home around 3:30pm every day. She has to finish homework (yes, first graders do have homework nowadays) and eat dinner before practice. And, in my opinion, she needs some free time to run around and play. If I was working, she would be at an after school program until at least 5:30pm. With practice starting at 6:45pm, it doesn't leave much time for eating. Since practices are still going until 8:00pm and Maura's bedtime is 8:45pm, when exactly would we fit in homework? As it is with me being home, it's still a tight fit to get everything done and still allow 30 minutes of "free play" on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'd hate to see how messed up this would all be if I was still commuting home from Cleveland (usually 30 - 45 minutes by car.)

After returning home, it was time for baths for the little ones and homework review for all the kids before bedtime. Now I need to do the dinner dishes and go to bed.

Stick a fork in me, folks, I'm done.
Mary