I had a pretty rough time this week, not sleeping well and single-parenting 3 little ones doesn't make for good mental health. On Wednesday, after a few melt-downs on my part, I had a Jesus-take-the-wheel moment. I really was in the car, and laid my head on the steering wheel while the kids whined and fought in the back seat.
Well, I think He was listening, because yesterday I had a tighter grip on my sanity, and that is very, very good for my oldest daughter.
While I was folding laundry upstairs, she sugared herself. She got a stool and a measuring cup and opened the sugar canister and poured cups and cups of sugar on the countertop, played in it, and when I found her it was covering her from head to toe. She had sugared eyelashes. If I had the presence of mind, I could have taken a very artful picture and used it at Christmas with something about sugar and spice and everything nice. But I was not feeling very nice. So I carried her to the tub, and went back downstairs to clean up.
It was a good time to finally clean my kitchen, and as I was scooping muck out of the broken garbage disposal, I temporarily forgot it was broken and flipped the switch. It actually turned a bit, I could hear it. So I felt for the jammed penny, and it moved a little. Perhaps the gunky slime had loosened it? So then I had a great idea (because I am a GENIUS) and I poured some canola oil in there. Then I grabbed a spoon, to try and pry the penny upwards, but instead the penny slipped down completely. I tried the switch, and it worked! So I got that goin for me. Which is nice. (Btw, the guy who invented tiled countertops? NOT a genius.)
So I’m still cleaning sugar, talking to my sister on the phone, when water starts trickling out of the ceiling vent in the living room. Yeah, that’s what I said. Ran upstairs, and Mary had dumped buckets of water out of the tub and our bathroom had about an inch of standing water. An entire basketful full of towels later, it was soaked up, and Mary was in bed. Hey, now our bathroom floor is clean. Which is nice. (Jimmy’s comment: I guess Mary is in a bucket of trouble! Get it mom? A bucket?)
Had a decent dinner of leftover spaghetti, walked the kids to the park to kill time, since Mary took such a late nap, and let the kids watch a movie while I put Katy to bed. Came downstairs to find Mary trying to mix her own chocolate milk, with a gallon of milk and the squeeze bottle of syrup, at the COFFEE table.
I don't remember exactly what I did, I know I yelled just a little, and put Mary to bed. But there was not even the slightest mental image of spanking her. And I think we may have Jesus to thank for that.
Mary doesn't stay in bed very well, however. I am currently holding a pink pony, a pink puppy, and a pink carebear hostage, because every time she gets out of bed, I take a buddy. If she stays in bed until my ten minute check, she gets a buddy back. I am about to go for the first ten minute check.
But I am feeling very curiously serene. Somehow this is all ok. In a few days, we leave for a lengthy visit with my parents, so I think I am going to make it. And the girl will live to see another day.
