Family time

So, we experienced a new family adventure today: Family Pictures. Considering that we all slept until 7:00 am this morning - which has to be some kind of record - and my sleep was unbroken by Princess KT's need for bottles - I woke up feeling very optimistic.

Alas, reality set in far too soon and dashed my hopes of the idyllic family time spent together laughing and casually posing for pictures which would capture the beauty & life of our family. NOT that they turned out badly - they didn't. In fact, they turned out fairly well and as soon as I can, I'll be posting some here. But we are all still feeling the aftershocks of a 12.0 earthquake on our emotional Richter scale...

So I was a little ambitious with 2 changes of clothing... So my face decided to break out this week and the horrible PMS I suffered last week was only the tip of the iceburg compared to the horror of the no-longer-PRE-MS of this week... So I bawled my eyes out in the shower while we were getting ready because I was so tired and Claira had already been combative in the few hours we'd had together in the morning... So Claira & Kaity BOTH pooped 5 minutes before we were supposed to walk out the door... So I had a 2 month old that decided to eat an hour early - JUST as we were getting ready to take the girls' Christmas pictures... So my husband was having a nervous breakdown trying to keep Claira from destroying the photography studio in the span it would take Kaity to drink her bottle... So Claira finally fell asleep after spending 2 hours in the photography studio or running rampant in Sears when I couldn't get to her fast enough or telling me she had to go potty only to flush the toilet when we got there and crying to leave the bathroom...

By the time we were done with pictures, I don't think any of us liked any of the rest of us. There was yelling. There was crying. There was cursing. And there were whimpering begging prayers for sanity and strength. And a shot of whiskey. Okay - I didn't really pray for that, but if I'd been offered today, I don't think I would have turned it down.

We get 2 days a week to be together as a family. Saturday is spent adjusting from the week-long adjustment to work, Sunday is spent racing to make up for what feels like lost time on Saturday, and preparing to go back to work and start the whole schlamiel all over again.

I'm still so freakin' tired I can't see straight and just want to sleep. Really - I think if I could have a weekend of uninterrupted sleep, I'd feel better and have a much better attitude. I could probably even think more clearly and act more sanely and react less sharply.

I think even God is starting to get tired of my whining or is at least trying to stimulate my sense of humor - my devotions today were in I Thessalonians 5:6 - Therefore let us not sleep...

Seriously...

Back to Work

So it's my first day back and SO FAR SO GOOD. I wore shoes (and not houseslippers like I did to Geyers last week), and so far I've remembered all my logins & passwords and how to transfer phone calls. I've been busy enough to keep my mind here, so I haven't missed the girls too much. Yet.

This morning before I left them at Mama Taylor's, I was talking to Kaity and telling her to be a good girl (like she could be anything else) and I said to her, "Don't tell Mama everything," and she smiled a HUGE gummy grin like she was laughing out loud. It was utterly fantastic and made my day.

Claira, on the other hand, is going to have a real adjustment to our new schedule. It's not that she doesn't want to go to Mama's - she's in heaven, I'm sure. But she's not the kind of kid who likes big changes, and we were finally getting settled at home while I was there. And she REALLY doesn't like it when someone else has to wake her up, and for a few weeks we'll have to do that until she's adjusted. She had a very tearful morning and really wanted to be held while Greg & I were both trying to get ready and out the door on time.

I've already started getting myself up earlier than everyone else. Well, let's say I PLANNED to get up earlier than everyone else so I could have MY time and get things done, but Miss Kaity has decided she's an early bird and is waking me up even before my alarm goes off at 5 am. Ugh - remember my previous posts about sleep deprivation??? I'm right there and I don't think I can sacrifice much more sleep without doing myself (or someone else) some harm at this point... I've been having dizzy spells the past couple of days and have decided it's because I'm sleep deprived.

I really want to get us settled into our new routine and make sure they get used to the way things are going to be, so Greg & I can get settled and relax, too... With his work schedule spanning long hours sometimes, and my online classes, we each have our own priorities to add to the mix, but getting the girls settled in and "normalized" is my main goal. If anybody has any suggestions, I'll gladly welcome them...