A period of imperfection

I have pretty much been a blogger since I had children. I began with a little blog that was private and I am actually in the process of going back through it which is such fun. I am even going to repost here because I think one or two of my 5 or 6 loyal readers will get a kick out of that.

Anyhoo - the main purpose, for me, of blogging is that I really love being a Mom. I understand how fleeting childhood is and I want to remember what I was feeling and how I was doing during the days of my life. (Anybody here ever watch Days of our Lives? I just totally had that guys voice in my head - THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES....)

Anyway - I digress.... I have had a lot of trouble with my blogging since all three kids started elementary school. It is not for a lack of material (which has caused bloggy breaks before) or from a lack of the funny (also another reason for bloggy breaks for me) but rather a lack of time. I honestly don't know where the days go.

When the children were babies things were not perfect but there was also a lot of calm. Babies nap and babies want to be held and there are lots of opportunities to sit when you are watching babies. I would compare life with babies to being a small town firefighter - a lot of sitting around interspersed with moments of extreme terror/horror/exhaustion.

 I would describe the time in my life when my babies were preschoolers as lather, rinse, repeat. I really loved being a preschool Mom. I could sit and build blocks all day. I miss Caillou and I can play Toy Story Yahtzee with the best of them. I stayed home after my third was born and once again - those days were not perfect (are any days really?) but they moved pretty slow and also had a bit of a rhythm to them. Wake up, watch The Backyardigans. Eat some cheerios. Have a disagreement about socks. Give in about the socks but insist on the jacket. Head to preschool then run around like a chicken with your head cut off to run as many errands as humanly possible in a 2 and a half hour period. I actually jogged in and out of stores. Then pick up preschooler. Head home. Have a long and involved conversation about Splat the Cat. Read a book, read another book, cuddle for a while get preschooler down for nap. Then make the age old decision that every mother of napping preschooler makes - watch a television show, facebook, do something productive.

Anyway - now here I find myself with Elementary schoolers and myself in an Elementary school. I would classify this as a very fun time but it is also an age of imperfection. It was pretty funny. Here is the conversation I had with my girls this year:

 Me: "Girls - you know how last year on Valentines day I had balloons on the front porch and hearts for you to follow to your Valentines treats after school"

Girls: (expectantly) "Yes!!!!"

Me: Yeah, well, that is not going to happen this year.

 Girls "oh"(In all seriousness we had an awesome Valentines day, totally pulled it off and went skiing. The kids said it was a Valentines Day to remember.)

 I seriously pull stuff off seconds before it happens. Getting the right kid to the right thing with the right stuff is not always easy.

 I also feel that it bears repeating that the laundry situation is completely out of control. I really thought it was hard when they were little but the laundry that three elementary schoolers generate in Massachusetts in the winter time is crazy.

That is neither here nor there though and although I continue to digress I have to say I am not complaining. This is a really fun time. My kids are hysterical and they still like me. I understand that these days are also fleeting. It is just a period in my life where things cannot be perfect and I am great with that. I am way too tired to sweat the small stuff.

 I also have so much that I could blog about. It is like not getting to talk to your best friend for a week. You honestly don't know where to start.

 Maybe my next post will be about Frank and Freya (our pug and new lab) oh yeah - we are crazy - got a new dog. She is AWESOME though.

 Maybe my next post will be about the 6 year old and the 8 year old pushing the 11 year old down the stairs while on her belly to see how fast she would slide only to be horrified that she started flipping end over end halfway down.

 I could blog about the weather. OH I could blog about the blizzard.

 I could quite literally - go on and on. Oh wait, I am doing that already you say? Anyway - we will just have to see what comes next. I can't believe that I have been able to type this much without anyone interrupting me. I just don't know how to make myself stop typing. Maybe I should wrap this post up. Hmmm how can I do that? What would be an interesting way to end it? Maybe I will just stop typing.