Friday, July 19, 2013

The Day of the Domestic Diva

Today was one of those days where my ambition went into hyperdrive and I transformed into the Domestic Goddess. I was so amazing, I couldn't hardly believe myself.  It was a day of cleaning, cooking, baking, play dates and swimming lessons.  Would you believe me if I told you I made my own cheese from the milk of our very own goats?  Well, believe it!  Today I was everything I always wish I could be...except I wasn't.

Why is it that even on the really good days when it seems like everything is going right, things can so quickly go wrong?  Why is it a three-year-old has the power to derail my sense of accomplishment with one three minute tantrum?

I was up nearly two hours before the kids this morning and I did not let the grass grow under my feet today.  Before the kids were up I had cleaned the bathroom and the living room, done a load of laundry and folded three more loads and started vacuuming the floor. They came downstairs and I gave them breakfast before mopping the floors, taking out the trash, doing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen and the dining room.  When all was done inside, I headed outside to clean the kiddie pool because the girls had a play date at noon.  Are you tired yet?  I sure was!

To much to do!  Must keep going!  After nearly five hours of housework, it was time to feed the girls lunch and get them into their swimming suits and slathered up with sunscreen.  Not a moment too soon!  Their friends came down the drive just as they were suited up.  I got to spend an hour visiting with a couple friends as the kids played in the pool.  Soon it was naptime for the little tykes and our guests had to leave.

My girls were still enjoying the pool and who am I to end a good thing early?  I headed into the house and decided now would be a good time to make some goat cheese.  It only takes 20 or 30 minutes to prep, so why not?  I could have it done and hanging in the cheesecloth by the time my little one needs to come in for a nap.

Nap.  It should have been a four-letter word today.  I had to go out and deliver the hateful news at 1:40 and you would have thought I had told her I was going to string get up by her toenails.  A very uncharacteristic, full out, screaming fit.  That child landed herself in timeout faster than she could repeat, "I DON'T WANT A NAP!"  I have a feeling that reasoning with an over-tired three-year-old is somewhat akin to trying to reason with a delusional mental patient.  They are talking nonsense.  They are completely out of sorts.  They are convinced that they are right and will make you believe it too, even if what they are saying is coming out as complete jibberish to anyone listening to them.  Anyway, nothing a three minute timeout can't fix, right?

Eventually calm is restored and it is off to bed.  (But not before the truck book in which every little flap musty be opened and every picture identified)  I have about an hour and a half before swimming lessons, so how about I start some ciabatta bread to spread the goat cheese on?  Ok.  I grab all the ingredients and get them working in the bread machine.  Not only have I gotten all this done, but now I have an hour to channel surf while I put together my cousin's wedding gift and get it all packed for shipping:-)

Soon the bread machine dings and I get the dough out on the pan so it can rest and rise while I'm at the pool with the girls.  Now it is time to wake the beast.  Do you ever have one of those moments where you want to ask, "Who are you and what have you done with my child?"  That was the case when I tried to convince my daughter to put her swimming suit back on.  "I can't do it!  No!  Let me do it myself!  I don't know how to do it!  I don't want your help!"  I finally told her that if she didn't suit up herself, I would do it for her.  This resulted in her throwing the bathing suit across the room and a lot of screaming.  Ok.  Timeout number two.

I get her sister and all of our junk strapped and packed into the car and go back into the house.  I then struggle with a kicking, screaming, fighting child and finally get her into a swimming suit.  (I imagine this must be what it is like to dress an angry cat)  I quickly rush her out to the car and get her strapped into her carseat before she had a chance to strip it back off.  I climb in and turn down the driveway, only to now see that sometime within the last hour a giant dead tree limb has fallen down and is blocking the end of the driveway.  Just what I need.

After all I just went through to get out the door we might not make it out of the driveway?!!!  Someone has a twisted sense of humor.  I turn and tell my girls I don't think we can go and tears of disappointment immediately start welling up in the eyes of my five-year-old.  "Fine!  Don't cry!"  I think we can make it with a little off-roading.  We squeeze between the branch and the ditch and we are off.

Just another day in the life of this average woman trying her best to be Supermom.  We can start of with the best of intentions, but life will always happen.  We cannot control all the actions of our children, our husbands, our dog, the weather, or even the trees and shrubbery.  We can do all the right things to set ourselves up for success and glory only to have everything turned on its head.  I look back on the day and I am honestly impressed with what I got accomplished, but I am more greatly aware of how things seldom go as planned.

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