Countdown to the move - Day 9

Yesterday was Day 9, and it was Wednesday.

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time because our Wednesday morning Bible Study started back up at church. Our small group of women reunited (plus one - excited to get to know her!), and it felt so good to be back around that familiar table. I have loved every group I've been able to be a part of but this one is unique. I'm so thankful for it.

Getting the kids up and out the door is always a juggling act, and this morning we had to be out by 8 before someone else came to do a few things around the house. The kids were not especially obedient and I was tired from having woken up the night before at 3am unable to get back to sleep quickly, which made me less than patient and less able to put energy into coaxing them into clothes, shoes, coats, and hats and away from toys that needed to stay picked up. Sometimes I think it's a small miracle that we go anywhere, when the baby is crying in her carseat for a bottle while the older 2 run away from me as I try to dress them for the cold weather and convince them their breakfast (milk cups and baggies of cereal) are in the van.

I lost my temper and yelled at the kids before we even left the house, which I think might have worried Robbie because even though he went to the bathroom at my insistence before we left the house, he completely unloaded his bladder in his car seat on our way to Bible Study/Preschool. I was so disappointed, mainly because I only pack one spare pair of pants and one or 2 pairs of extra underwear in his backpack for preschool. So I pulled over and made him try again on the car potty before changing him out of sopping wet pants and into his only spare pair of underpants and jeans. Since his car seat was soaked I had to buckle him into the car without it, which made me so nervous.

Then Ellie dumped her baggie of cereal all over the car, and when I ordered my coffee and drove away I realized they didn't make it right and it was too strong and not very sweet. I think I was just feeling irritable because my jeans felt too snug and uncomfortable (which is fair, my gym attendance lately has been lacking), and I also hate not having a shower each morning and yet I had showered last night and woke up this morning with curly hair, so I went with it and skipped the shower, opting for the curling iron instead to save time. Yuck. Not doing that again, I felt dirty all day!

I felt a little defeated and it was only 9am when we pulled up to church to take Robbie to his Preschool class first. Just one of those days where things seem to go wrong if given the chance, no matter how insignificant. When I dropped the girls off, I realized that Ellie was not placed in the same class as her best friend Fallon (whose mom is my good friend Kacey). It was a huge bummer since they had been in class together last semester and both Kacey and I had been talking to the girls about how fun it would be for them to reunite again in their class!

I brought Maddie with me at first so that I could try to feed her oatmeal before putting her in the nursery but it was too loud and busy for her to concentrate. She did fine without it, even napping in the swing in her class! Sweet baby.

Robbie and Ellie had done just fine, and Robbie's teachers gave him a glowing report about how well he had done using the bathroom all morning. One teacher said that he actually does have to go more frequently than the other kids, but that he does a good job now paying attention to it and going when he needs to, and even when he doesn't if a teacher asks him to try before going to the gym, etc. I was so proud of him and relieved that he hadn't had another accident since we had no back up clothes and it was below freezing outside!

We made our way home, picking up lunch on the way as is our Wednesday routine. All 4 of us are tired by the time we get home, so we eat fast and then everyone naps or rests. I tried laying Robbie down for a nap along with Ellie because he was so tired and hasn't napped in maybe 2 or 3 weeks? No go. I have to give up the dream of him ever napping again. He rested for an hour or so which was good.

The kids played in the family room while I fed Maddie again in the kitchen and then started to work on cleaning out the cedar closet in the basement that was full of clothes no one is wearing right now. I wasn't feeling well - sort of dizzy - and so the fact that the kids played well all afternoon together with minimal fights needing my intervention was much appreciated. Even the one time both kids showed up at the top of the basement stairs naked turned out to be a blessing - Ellie wanted to try using the potty so we sat there together for a little while and she actually peed on it! I put her in a pull-up for the rest of the night and although she tried before bed, she didn't have any repeat success. I was proud of her effort though.

I got the closet cleaned out, which took hours, and brought all the tupperware bins up to the living room. Box count: 7-10! The kids had all the cushions off the couch and were playing in them on the floor when Rob walked in. I said I was picking my battles. :) I made chili for dinner and we fed the kids while Rob cleaned up the family room and kitchen, bathed them, put them to bed, and ate dinner ourselves.

I was thankful for the good parts of the day in light of a hard morning! And now we are in single-digits as we count down and get ready to move, which makes me feel very conflicted. I cannot believe I actually have moments where I feel like "What have we done? I don't want to move!" because really, I know that I do. It's just unnerving to face transition, and I think more so when your kids are involved and you don't know how it's going to unfold for them. I think I'll feel better once I spend some time thinking through what is best for them the day we move and the first day at the house, what I can do to make it a fun transition and not scary or sad, etc. I haven't gone that far down the road in my mind yet, and I think the Type-A planner side of me is panicking that there is not a fully formed plan in place yet!