Rocking the single mom gig

things are going pretty well rocking the weekday single mom gig.

the kids and i hang out, we go swimming and every Friday we go to summer movie fun. I spend the day cooking and cleaning up after everyone. but it's relaxed and low key.

certain days are crazier than others, Thursday's we have the maid come and then piano lessons for 5 kids.

Last week was super crazy with the usual Thursday stuff and then the bug guy came and later the 2 big kids got to go see Harry Potter 7.2 with my sister and her kids for the midnight show.

The kids got home at 3 am and i was suddenly wide awake until 6 am. i fell back to sleep until 8 and then my feet hit the floor running for the rest of the day.

movie fun, drove home and fed kids, went for an oil change, got the emissions on the car done, ran to the airport to pick up the hubs, had a few minutes to prep for our date night to Harry Potter with the middle kids Joy and Paxton and the hubs uncle Tony. afterward we ditched the kids at home and went out to 5 guys for dinner. i hadn't been there and thought we'd try something new.

i liked it.  except walking in people kept staring.

one couple apparently was admiring the baby. (she came up and said how handsome he was and was rewarded with big smiles from Patriot.)

 another couple seriously had a staring issue, turned out i looked amazingly familiar and she finally figured out she was in my brothers ward and we'd seen them out with them before plus her kids went to the school Pierce went to for Preschool. she might have thought i looked familiar but her husband spent more time staring at my cleavage than my face.

i hate being stared at .

Saturday, after all week flying solo i needed a break. i had wanted to sleep in that day for once but not sleeping in the same bed all week makes it hard to tolerate the hubs snoring and after i'd had enough sleep it woke me up and there was no going back to sleep.

after making a FABULOUS pancake with strawberries and whip cream breakfast i ran away alone.

to grocery shop. whoohoo

that night we went out with the hubs high school friend and his wife. (the one Peyton went to scout camp with) it was a FABULOUS TIME!  we just went to dinner at costa vida and sat and chatted for a few hours.

I super hope we go out with them again, it was delightful. She's amazing (she was PTO president last year) and we had tons in common (we both have big families) the conversation lacked for nothing . and the husbands were already great friends and are so much alike.

we are trying to work out a vacation next week. and it turns out, i don't love traveling. the thought freaks me out. packing for everyone. going somewhere i've never been. spending money. ack.

we'll see if it works out. it's the only week we have available. and yet it isn't ideal.

i'm beginning to freak out about back to school. clothes for the herd and school supplies break the bank every year.

OHHH but guess who is coming to AZ in September? NEON TREES! we are planning on taking the first 4 or 5 kids. and leaving the littlest ones with someone while we go. all of us are SUPER EXCITED!






© 2011 crazymamaof7

Mom, push play!

yesterday was one of those crazy end of the school year days.

the hubs is in Boston this week.

The morning went remarkably well. kids off to school (we were late as usual)

the little kids and I had errands to run, i was all set to hit a store and i looked back and saw Pierce naked from the waist up. hmmm.

 no shirt , no shoes, no shopping for mama.

so we went home and i sent him in for a shirt and shoes. and we were off.

I picked up the CUTEST bench for my birthday from a girl from the bunko group i subbed in. she refinishes furniture and stuff.

 so i bought it for myself.

then,

i wanted flag buntings. i'm ready to decorate for summer. so we hit the store i saw them at on sale last week.

we got home and i wanted to hang them up. so Pierce and I brought the extension ladder into the front entryway so i could hang one in the transom window above the front door.

i had my hammer and nails and got about 4 rungs up on the ladder and decided it wasn't going to happen, i could just see myself falling and breaking my neck with Pierce and the baby here alone.

 so i left it for later when Peyton got home.

and moved on to baking cookies.

 chocolate chip.

again but i jazzed some of them up with peanut butter m&m's and others with Reese's peanut butter cups. i wrapped a chunk of pb cup in the middle with cookie dough.

oh my they were fabulous. i ate 2 and they sit untouched. apparently we are cookied out. (i made them for visiting teaching treats)

i finished baking them (6 dozen) just in time to get the kids from school.

I was feeling REALLY ON TOP OF THINGS!


I dropped most of the kids off while i took some with me to get happy hour at sonic. where i realized i'd spaced an appointment for Peyton at his school for next year. We'd missed the orientation since he was only on the waiting list. so i frantically called and they said come on in at 4:00.

awesome! so we headed home and i wanted to get the ladder out of the front entryway before i left the kids with Liberty while i was gone.

so i made Peyton climb the ladder, hammer in nails, and hang the bunting, it of course took some trial and error to get the nails in the right spot. and get the bunting hung .

so we were in a hurry and were  2 minutes late again to the meeting. SHEESH! i can't win!

in the mean time i had an appointment for visiting teaching at 4:15 i was missing.

so once we were done at the school, and i dropped him off  i rushed to go visiting teaching.

by then i was over it! we were having  pizza for dinner.

so i called and ordered,

 hit the pharmacy and bank

and then picked up pizza and went home.

over dinner Joy reminded me we needed to do the invites for her birthday party she wants to have Friday.(her birthday is in june but to invite school friends, you have to do it early). and Paxton had a "celebration of Learning" at school.

so i loaded 6 kids (Peyton stayed home) into the car to hit the celebration of learning and then TARGET for party invites and a tshirt to tie dye for Paxton.

as we got out of the car at school i said," don't touch anything, don't run around, don't talk, you may have 1 cookie only and don't embarrass me!"

we were walking in and i noticed Pierce had no shoes on. CLASSY!

we passed someone walking in. i knew his face, . he recognized me too and smiled and said hi. but i couldn't place where i knew him from. which bugged me, i finally realized where i knew him from. and decided i HATE being so recognizable/memorable. (he was a counselor  at the place we went to counseling before, not our counselor but we'd see him while we waited or made appointments or whatever)

we checked out Paxton's stuff for a minute, wanting to leave asap, just because everyone was with me.
i was so glad we'd revamped his Albert Einstein poster. his was one of the better ones there, instead of ONE THAT SUCKED.

when we left the kids decided they needed to watch a movie during the drive to target.

they'd opened the screen. i hit power the movie was going. PREVIEWS. bah.

so it kept going and got to the main menu finally.

Kid: MOM push play!

Me: there aren't any batteries in the remote!

Liberty: i put extras in the console, starts digging for them. and installed them. INCORRECTLY. hands me the remote because she can't get them back out.

Paxton: mom push play.

Me: it's not working. i have to get the batteries out.

JOY: mom push play.

(I'm struggling with the batteries)

Hope: mom Push play!

pierce: Hope stop hitting me. MOM HOPE IS HITTING ME.

JOY: mom push play.

still struggling with the batteries while driving.

Paxton: Joy stop it! MOM PUSH PLAY!

I finally got the batteries out and in the right way.

 push play.

right about then we arrived at TARGET.

they unload, and i say, "no running around, don't touch anything! STAY OUT OF THE ROAD! Pierce get in the cart you don't have shoes!"

we hit the $ bins.

insanity ensues.

MOM CAN I HAVE THIS (hopping up and down)

mom can i have this? (waving something in my face)

Oh mom look at this can i have it?

Mom we need this! and this and this!

oh oh oh MOM MOM MOM! LOOK! i want this!

we grabbed the Tshirt for Tie dye Tuesday.

and hit the party section.

while i'm debating between the super cute rock star party and the sweet cupcake stuff, the kids have grabbed dollar fake microphones. and are talking into them simultaneously! you know the ones with a spring inside so it echoes? one is annoying. 5 is insane.

Singing, dancing. blathering on.and they start in with the MOM can we all have one of these?


NO YOU ARE KILLING ME! put those away.

i picked the rock star party stuff. because it was fuchsia and black and blue and it matched my house better.
(they have CUTE ready made pennant garland thingies.) and let's face it it's my birthday week and i wanted those.

Joy didn't truly care. so i bought them. and plates. and party favors.

and finally we headed to the register.

Paxton and Hope and found these giant flying disc things in the $ bins and the lady rang them up and handed them back to them . I looked over and they were in between the exit doors and throwing them into the air.

AWESOME.

please stare at me like i'm an idiot. i feel like one.

EMBARRASSING.

anyway. eventually we made it home and played some rock band together. i played guitar while i held the baby. that takes skill.


everyone got to take a turn or two and i sent them to bed.

i started off the day thinking i was pretty well on top of things. by the end of the day, we all know i have no clue what i'm doing and i should NEVER take the herd shopping.

OY!





















©2011 crazymamaof7