pages

Monday, February 14, 2011

The Baby is naked and happily rubbing a kiwi across her forehead

The Teenager has learned many ways to get out of doing her chores. One night she found the ultimate solution.... she caught the flu :) Right in the middle of a sink full of dishes she dashed off to the bathroom. A few minutes later I heard her muffled voice calling me. "Mom ..... Mooooooom." I opened the door to find her hugging the toilet bowl. Poor kiddo ..... and she was just bragging that she was the only one out of the nine of us that hadn't been sick with that bug yet. I sent her to bed and crawled into my own bed shortly there after... too tired to finish up the dishes or tackle the laundry. Suddenly I was being woken up abruptly by my husband. "It's 7am, is the Teenager going to school?" he enquired groggily. "Oh NO!" I moaned. She was supposed to be out the door ten minutes ago to catch her bus .... she obviously didn't set her alarm clock last night. I jumped out of bed and raced to her room. I gently shook her shoulder. "How are you feeling? Are you gong to school?" I asked. "Yes," she mumbled under her blankets "I feel better." "Get Up! Get Up!" I whispered urgently. "It's seven o'clock already - you slept in. I think you missed the bus."
The Teenager sweet talked Daddy into dropping her off at school on his way to work and within twenty minutes they were out the door and gone.
Now everyone was behind.... WAY behind.
Typically the Teen is up at 6 am and gets ready. I get up and put the coffee on, preapre breakfast, and make lunches for all the kiddlings and pack their back packs. Then at 6:50 am I wait at the end of the driveway with the Teenager for her bus. Once she's safely aboard I head back to the house to wake up the little ones and get them ready for school. They have to get dressed, eat breakfast, brush their hair and teeth and all that good stuff then climb into their snowpants, coats, boots, hats, scarves and mitts then put on their back packs and then we head out to the end of the driveway to wait for their big yellow school bus.
Once I get them on the bus I go back to the house to pour another coffee because the first one I poured is untouched and stone cold. Like I said, this is a typical morning. But this morning wasn't typical. We were all runing behind .... WAY behind. Once my Hubby and Teenager left ......
Daniel (who doesn't do mornings well) is very difficult to get up and motivated. The whining and arguing that comes out of that little darling is unbelievable ... and he doesn't like to suffer alone. If he's grumpy he makes sure everyone has the opportunity to get on the "grumpy bus." I have to stand in his doorway to ensure he gets out of bed and dressed otherwise he will crawl back under the covers and go back to sleep. He is miserable in the morning but sometimes it's hard not to laugh. "WHERE ARE MY SOCKS!" he growls and sobs. "NICHOLAS TOOK THEM I KNOW IT!" "Daniel, they're already on your feet...." I remind him calmly. "OH..." he says angrily. Keep in mind that we are running late and have to get to the bus stop on time. I follow behind Daniel as he stomps upstairs to the kitchen table. He throws himself onto his chair and drops his head to the table. (BANG!) "OUCH!" he hollers accusingly. "You did it to yourself silly." I respond. "I KNOW, but it hurts." he grumbles.
The Baby, sitting in her booster seat at the kitchen table,  is now naked and happily rubbing a kiwi across her forehead while she sings "Spider, spider, spider" (her rendition of "Itsy bitsy spider")
Little Susan and Latoya are in their bedroom doorway in their undies giggling and taunting their brothers calling "Nanny nanny boo boo" as they scurry behind the bedroom door. "Girls, get dressed!" I holler as I swipe the fruit from the Baby and hand her a spoonful of cereal instead.
"Daniel get your head off the table and eat - NOW!" my "serious" voice booms. "I'm tired." He whines at me and grudgingly sits up and shovels cereal into his mouth.... spilling milk and cheerios across the table and down the front of his clean shirt, then wiping his lips across his sleeve.
"Stop staring at me!" Shane hollers to Nicholas. "I'm NOT!" replies Nicholas. "I'm just looking in your direction" he refutes. "You are so - you're just trying to make me mad!" Shane yells. "I'm NOT! God gave me eyes so I can look at things!" Nicholas yells back. "MOOooom" Shane calls (although I am only two feet away from him) "Make him stop looking at me!" "Both of you - eyes on your cereal. Hurry, we can't be late!" I reason impatiently.  I hear a scuffle under the table... "Ow! He's kicking me." "Am not!" "Are too!" "STOP IT!!!" I raise my voice above theirs. "Right Now! Just STOP IT! We have to go - finish your food. Girls go brush your teeth." I order. "But we didn't get our cereal yet" the older one whines. "Why not?" I ask. ""Cause we didn't get dressed." she says in a tiny sheepish voice. I turn around to give her my full attention and am surprised to see two partially clad little ones in the livingroom. "Why are you still in your underpants?!?" I ask in amazement. "Cause we don't have any clean clothes out." little Susan says matter of factly. "Why didn't you tell me this twenty minutes agon?" I ask in frustration and bewilderment. "We were busy playing!" they answer happily in unison. *SIGH* "Sit down and eat in your underpants" I say to them. "Giggle, giggle, giggle" from the boys. "ENOUGH!" I hiss as I race downstairs to get the girls something to wear to school. I brush their hair between spoonfuls of cereal and order the boys downstairs to brush their teeth and "put your deodorant on!" I remind them.
"Girls, go brush your teeth" I assert "Hurry boys, bring up the snowpants and grab the backpacks ... I'll grab the lunches."  Oh my gosh!!! No one made the lunches lastnight....I discover as I open the refrigerator door. I rip open loaves of bread and begin to butter everything in sight as I shout out directives from the kitchen.  "Daniel, get the girls boots and stuff ready please?" "Why do I gotta do it all?" Daniel grumbles as he kicks the boots down the stairs, stubbing his toe on the door frame, making him angrier and fiercer than before.
"Latoya and Susan, go get your things on" I persuade. "Little Susan doesn't have any boots" Shane remarks. "What?!? Of course she does" I return.  "Well I can't find them" he utters desperately. "Hurry up - Get ready!" I shout into the air as I skip down the basement stairs, hurdling the mess of coats, boots and snowpants that have accumulated there. I look in the dryer ..... I think I remember putting the wet boots in there lastnight (I hope I did anyway.) "Okay, got them" I declare to myself. Back up the stairs I go, finding Little Susan struggling to get into her snowpants and Latoys frustrated because her zipper is stuck AGAIN. Over my shoulder I can see Daniel standing in the garage making faces at the girls through the window. "Quit it!" they yell collectively. "Nicholas, put the lunches in the bags please" I implore. Sandwiches, fruit and water bottles are flying faster than ever before. "First Bus!" hollers Daniel. "Oh Lord, the next bus will be here any minute" I think to myself as I urge my body to move even quicker. "Go, go, go, grab a bag and get outside" I direct as I toss the back packs onto the garage floor and push the button to open the garage door. Up goes the door and out runs the dog. Little Susan is still struggling to get into her snowpants and my stress level is soaring. "Will someone PLEASE help your sister" I ask exasperated. "Make sure you all have your hats and mitts on and zip up your coats! Go! Get to the end of the driveway! Hurry!" I exclaim impatiently as I shove them out the door. "I don't have my boots on" Latoya cries as I drag her down the driveway. "What? What the heck have you been doing? Where are your boots?" I petition. She points back to the house. "Go get them - Hurry!" I pronounce. "I am NOT driving you to school" I announce to all of them "there is not enough room for everyone ... you HAVE TO catch the bus - HURRY!" We get to the end of the driveway - breathless and red faced with adrenaline coarsing through my veins.
I try to relax and breathe as I look expectantly toward the road hoping to catch sight of the big yellow school bus. But the road is quiet.
The birds are happily singing their songs as they dine on the birdseed we put out for them each day. The sun is shining and the stark white snow is crisp. The air is still bitter cold. The kind that steals your breath away when you first step out into it. Everything around me is serene and peaceful but everything in me is still on edge and out of balance. "God why do some mornings have to be this way?" I think inwardly.
"The bus isn't coming" Shane says flatly. "What do you mean?" I ask irritated. "That bus that just went by was OUR bus. The first bus went by earlier" he informed. "Well why didn't you say something earlier - when you saw the very first bus?!?!" I asked incredulously. "I don't know, I just didn't" he said quietly. I turned around and stomped off back to the house. I was fuming and overwhelmed. I felt like crawling back into bed and crying for a while.  I didn't have enough room in the vehicle to drive them all to school by myself so I called my husband at work..... I explained our dilema and he said he was "on his way."
So I stood at the window and watched the kiddlings standing at the end of the driveway, looking up the road, waiting for the bus. Eventually, one by one, they turned around and slowly made their way back to the house. My Husband showed up a short time later and we loaded the kiddos into both the vehicles and drove them to school. On the way back home my frustration overflowed and I cried all the way home. The Baby sat quietly in her car seat and offered a "sowwy" every now and then. It wasn't until I was home and busy tidying up the house that I realized I didn't have to call my husband and interrupt his work day .... I could have driven the kids to school myself. I only had six kids with me not all seven (as my Husband had already taken the Teenager to school earlier that morning) so we WOULD HAVE all fit in the van ........ What a morning it was .... thank God these days don't happen all that often.
I didn't bother telling my Husband about his unnecessary trip home to rescue me - I am not sure if he would have been ticked off about it or not ... but it tickled me to know that he would drop whatever he was doing at anytime to come and rescue me :) He's my knight in shining armour (somedays he's just my goofball in aluminum foil) either way, he's mine :)
Happy Valentine's Day my Husband :) I appreciate you!
______________________________
Join our mailing list and receive notification EVERY TIME we post a new entry! Just enter your name and email address in the "Join the Mailing List" section on the right - Weekly updates will be delivered right to your email inbox :)
Don't keep it to yourself ...... share this blog with your family and friends or post it to your profile on Facebook (click the Facebook button on the righthand side!)

Have an amazing week and enjoy the milder weather :)
Blessings to you - from my Fish Bowl to yours :)
Lucy

1 comment:

  1. I love you Lucy! I am such a blessed man to have you as my princess!
    I wouldn't have been"ticked" at you! I am here anytime you ever need me to be!
    Thankyou for the nice Valentines cookie!
    I love you so very much!
    Happy Valentines day to you too baby!
    Love: The Hubby :-)

    ReplyDelete