What do you do?

My sweet and beautiful sister-in-law loves my blog and I heard that she recently asked my Mom about my blog. I believe the story went something like this..."I love Tami's blog. I wish she posted more" My Mom: "She's really busy" SIL: "Busy? What does she do?!?" Wow...that question is so deep on so many levels. Some days I can't list the things I do because they are so great in numbers. So let's just take yesterday, for an example, here's what I did.

1. Woke up at 7am, after going to bed at 1am.

2. Made breakfast for 2 kids, and then cleaned the dishes.

3. Food/water for K9.

4. 2 kids dressed.

5. 2 kids waters and snacks for the car

6. Mommy dressed...of course there is an audience because you no longer have your own identity or privacy.

7. out the door...wait, did I remember diapers and wipes...back in the house....back to the car.

8. 2 kids in carseats

9. Arrive at Mother in Law's house.

10. Clean her house for 2 hours, while the kids have snack and drop crumbs on the carpet I just vacuumed.

11. Make lunch for me and kids.

12. Clean up lunch dishes.

13. shoes/socks/coats/toys and kids back in the car, but not before I have to chase them around to herd them into their carseats.

14. 3 hours at OMSI...2 kids, 1 mommy.....again, it's like herding cats.

15. cook dinner for kids

16. run 2.5 miles

17. clean dinner dishes

18. check email....the first time I've sat down since lunch.

19. 2 kids dress down/brush teeth/bathroom/bathtub

20. 1 kid can dress himself, Mommy dresses the other kid

21. 2 cups with water for kids at bed time

22. make sure that all comfort items are in the correct beds, blankets and all.

23. read 2 stories

24. say prayers

25. good night....for the kids.

26. Listen to a little girl yell for her mommy for 30 minutes.

27. Eat a cold dinner.

28. Do the dishes, again.

29. Call my mom, only to hear the question posed by my SIL...."What does she do?" It was so funny, that I was in tears. I'm certain I didn't list everything I did, and not even one worry or thought that went through my mind all day...like when I couldn't find my daughter at OMSI for a split second. But physically, that's what my body did....and I'd like you to take note, SIL, a shower for Mommy was NOT on that list. I haven't showered yet today either, and it's 1:32pm...I'm hoping that if the kids don't start fighting because I've been on the computer blogging, that I might get a shower.

I would love for my other Mommy Friends to take a moment and make a list either as a comment here on the blog to share with my SIL, or just for your personal use. Writing down what I do during the day really helps me validate that I DO EVERYTHING!!! Sometimes at the end of the day, I feel like I've done nothing because every last thing I've cleaned is dirty, once again. I don't even want to get started on the laundry issue. That's a battle that will one day kill me, I'm certain of that.

I LOVE YOU S.D. You are a perfect mate for my brother, and we are all so lucky to have you in our family. I would encourage you to come to a "job shadow" of motherhood....it will blow your mind and be some of the most powerful birth control on Earth.

Just Plain Cute

I don't have a big story that goes along with this, other than she dressed herself. She's adorable and I love her so very much.

Dog-Nephew

We are watching after my Dog-Nephew, Matador, while my sister-in-law is on Oahu getting married and having her honeymoon. Today we took him for a walk and Tucker loved it! Tucker can't walk our dog Bo, because he pulls too hard and Tucker can't handle him. Tiny, cute Matador can give a tug, but nothing that Tucker can't handle. It was so cute watching Tucker walk him around the park because he kept saying, "Look Mommy, it's like I have my very own dog!" He has been talking about wanting his own pet, but has yet to think of a pet that he doesn't have to clean up the animal's poop. We will probably be getting a cage and a pet rock soon. Until then, we have our dog-nephew, El Matador!

Shut it DOWN!

When you drop your kid off at Fred Meyer Playland and he says he doesn't need to go to the bathroom first, he is lying. He needs to go to the bathroom. He will only tell the attendant that he needs to go as the urine is running down his leg, into his socks and shoes and onto the playland carpet.

Not only did I learn not to trust a five-year-old's judgement on whether he has to go potty or not, I also learned that when your kid pees on the carpet, they have to shut down shop and shampoo the carpet. Your welcome, other moms who were hoping to drop their kids off at the playland for some free childcare. Better luck next time, my kid just peed in there.