Well it's probably a good thing that my last post fell on Tuesday, because if I had written something about my husband going back to work AFTER 2 Wednesdays ago there probably would have been a lot of swearing. Last week's & today's Wednesdays were A LOT better. In fact, I straight up rocked them. But let's go back a couple of weeks...
I work until 5:30 at the daycare and swimming lessons are at 6:30. In that hour I have to gather my oldest 2 (who are at daycare with me)... pick up Sofie from her daycare... feed the older kids & get them organized for swimming... calculate Juliet's carbohydrates & insulin requirements for supper... entertain Sofie... drive to the Y... get the kids changed & poolside STAT. Oh yes. Now if you don't think that any of that is a big deal then you can go read someone elses' blog. If you'd like to read about how I turned my worst nightmare into an organized evening with time on my side... do read on.
So my first attempt at this Wednesday evening thing was pretty scary. I managed to get the kids out of the daycare at 5:30 and was able to pick up Sofie and get home by like 5:45. I hauled everyone inside (my first mistake) and sat the kids at the table & Sof on the kitchen floor. She eats at daycare (phew). She was happy (lucky for me) to sit there with a cookie while I made the other 2 a gourmet meal of peanut butter sandwiches. Then it was time to grab the swimming gear... re-dress & get out the door. In the family changing room with babe in arms I probably sounded like a dictator the way I had to verbally maintain Sam & J's focus on getting into swim stuff. Time was not on our side and they aren't the best at staying focused. We actually made it in time, believe it or not.
Just when you think you can sit & relax for half an hour while the kids swim, the baby on your lap squeals & squirms because who wants to sit on mama's lap when there's a whole (wet) pool area to explore? Pool decks gross me out and there was NO WAY Sofie was going anywhere but on my lap. She didn't think that was much fun... nor did I after 15 minutes. Grrrrr. Then comes the end of the lessons. Getting the kids out of the wading pool after a lesson is always fun and it's even more fun when you have a 25lb baby to carry around who is trying desperately to escape. What is also loads of fun is the chaos in the awesome family change room after a lesson. Who's idea was it to make the FAMILY change room at the Y the size of a walk-in-closet anyway? Sofie wasn't going down in there either and so again with the dictatorship to attempt a quick & smooth transition from swimsuits to PJs... which was way too much to hope for.... but I totally kept my cool. Shocking, I know.
By the time we got home it was an hour past Sofie's bedtime so I hurried to get her down. It was an hour past everyone's bedtime for that matter, but I had to tackle homework & snacks before the other 2 were actually ready for bed. Trying to take bedtime snack away from my kids is like telling them Santa doesn't exist. END OF THE WORLD. Nine o'clock rolled around before they were getting tucked in. Awesome. Breathe.
Needless to say some serious planning needed to go into the next Wednesday if I was going to A) tackle it again alone and B) do it without valium. Lol. So.....
Swimming bag was packed & ready to go when I left for work... towels, suits, goggles & jammies. There was no way we were going home after the daycare round-up. What a waste of time getting the kids out of the car to eat & then back into the car to head to the Y. This time I planned to hit up a drive-thru for supper and bring it to the Y but my husband actually cooked up some KD before he went to work so after getting Sofie I swung by the house and ran in to grab it. Sorta drive-thru-ish. The kids ate at the Y and I put Sofie in the play care because she was bound to have more fun crawling around in there then sitting on my lap poolside. GENIUS I tell ya! I was able to help the kids get ready for lessons and poolside with like 10 minutes to spare!! Tonight we did the same thing but hit the McDonalds drive-thru (ya ya I know... brutal) AND I squeezed in some nursing time for Sofie as well. Booyah! It was fabulous. So fabulous that I think in January I'm going to turn 2 of my weekday evenings into trips to the Y and add in some swimming for Sofie, floor hockey for Sam & some MUCH needed yoga for me. Ambitious? Maybe. Worth a try? Hell yeah.
I work until 5:30 at the daycare and swimming lessons are at 6:30. In that hour I have to gather my oldest 2 (who are at daycare with me)... pick up Sofie from her daycare... feed the older kids & get them organized for swimming... calculate Juliet's carbohydrates & insulin requirements for supper... entertain Sofie... drive to the Y... get the kids changed & poolside STAT. Oh yes. Now if you don't think that any of that is a big deal then you can go read someone elses' blog. If you'd like to read about how I turned my worst nightmare into an organized evening with time on my side... do read on.
So my first attempt at this Wednesday evening thing was pretty scary. I managed to get the kids out of the daycare at 5:30 and was able to pick up Sofie and get home by like 5:45. I hauled everyone inside (my first mistake) and sat the kids at the table & Sof on the kitchen floor. She eats at daycare (phew). She was happy (lucky for me) to sit there with a cookie while I made the other 2 a gourmet meal of peanut butter sandwiches. Then it was time to grab the swimming gear... re-dress & get out the door. In the family changing room with babe in arms I probably sounded like a dictator the way I had to verbally maintain Sam & J's focus on getting into swim stuff. Time was not on our side and they aren't the best at staying focused. We actually made it in time, believe it or not.
Just when you think you can sit & relax for half an hour while the kids swim, the baby on your lap squeals & squirms because who wants to sit on mama's lap when there's a whole (wet) pool area to explore? Pool decks gross me out and there was NO WAY Sofie was going anywhere but on my lap. She didn't think that was much fun... nor did I after 15 minutes. Grrrrr. Then comes the end of the lessons. Getting the kids out of the wading pool after a lesson is always fun and it's even more fun when you have a 25lb baby to carry around who is trying desperately to escape. What is also loads of fun is the chaos in the awesome family change room after a lesson. Who's idea was it to make the FAMILY change room at the Y the size of a walk-in-closet anyway? Sofie wasn't going down in there either and so again with the dictatorship to attempt a quick & smooth transition from swimsuits to PJs... which was way too much to hope for.... but I totally kept my cool. Shocking, I know.
By the time we got home it was an hour past Sofie's bedtime so I hurried to get her down. It was an hour past everyone's bedtime for that matter, but I had to tackle homework & snacks before the other 2 were actually ready for bed. Trying to take bedtime snack away from my kids is like telling them Santa doesn't exist. END OF THE WORLD. Nine o'clock rolled around before they were getting tucked in. Awesome. Breathe.
Needless to say some serious planning needed to go into the next Wednesday if I was going to A) tackle it again alone and B) do it without valium. Lol. So.....
Swimming bag was packed & ready to go when I left for work... towels, suits, goggles & jammies. There was no way we were going home after the daycare round-up. What a waste of time getting the kids out of the car to eat & then back into the car to head to the Y. This time I planned to hit up a drive-thru for supper and bring it to the Y but my husband actually cooked up some KD before he went to work so after getting Sofie I swung by the house and ran in to grab it. Sorta drive-thru-ish. The kids ate at the Y and I put Sofie in the play care because she was bound to have more fun crawling around in there then sitting on my lap poolside. GENIUS I tell ya! I was able to help the kids get ready for lessons and poolside with like 10 minutes to spare!! Tonight we did the same thing but hit the McDonalds drive-thru (ya ya I know... brutal) AND I squeezed in some nursing time for Sofie as well. Booyah! It was fabulous. So fabulous that I think in January I'm going to turn 2 of my weekday evenings into trips to the Y and add in some swimming for Sofie, floor hockey for Sam & some MUCH needed yoga for me. Ambitious? Maybe. Worth a try? Hell yeah.
