It’s a chocolate kind of day

Yesterday was a jam packed day. Up at 6.45am alarm, have a bit of breakfast, locate my daughter’s lost bus pass before deciding it’s too cold for the dogs outside (the less hardy ones). Leave them inside with a fairly free rein of the house and we head off.

The middlest is driving and traffic is heavy for this time in the morning (heavy is a relative term and there is a steady line of cars ahead of us but we’re at the top of the speed limit). Drop off the eldest after he offered to “tuck and roll” and then it’s the younger two and I then get to drive, almost forgetting to take the turn for the middlest’s college.

Drop him and it’s quiet in the car again. Get into the city and pray for a parking space – all set and ready for me – thanks :) Into work and decide my broken nail is going to be too annoying for me to just leave alone and make an appointment for the end of the day to have it fixed.

Work was the usual stack of paperwork to be done and slowly worked through. Kids arrive from school and my daughter gets to try on those magnificent knee-high Converse-style shoes (see pic from Instagram).

We leave and I’m getting hassled by the kids saying they are hungry. The youngest boy tells me he needs pasta and lollies for his camp coming up. “Can we have takeaway for tea?” “No!” “Can we have anything?” “NO!” The questions persist.

Get the nail done and it costs more than I expected. Oh well, I don’t cause a fuss but feel a little hard done by. Head on home and collect the middlest from the library. He wants to drive again.

Arrive home and there is a mess of chewed bits all over the lounge room floor, the nest chair cushion is way out from where it should have been too. Thankfully the considerate dogs used the tiled bathroom to poo in. I find an odd piece of cord on the stairs. It looks familiar but it’s only when I get up to my bedroom do I find that they also chewed the curtain tie-back. Bits of tassle are all over the floor.

I asked the middlest to clean up the lounge and he refused saying he wasn’t cleaning up "after your damn dog" that he said we shouldn’t get. Stress levels rise and I shout back at him in frustration. I go and deal with the bathroom floor and clean it up. I ask my daughter to pick up the lounge bits and I’ve cleaned up the majority of my room bits. So much for getting in and getting dinner on easily!

There is still a huge heap of washing up around the dishwasher and sink and the dishwasher itself is clean. No point in adding to the jobs for the kids I unload the dishwasher finding the bowls just aren’t cleaning properly (shadowing I heard is the cause on the radio that morning).

Another load put on and there still seems to be heaps surrounding the sink. I’m hungry so I steal some of the youngest boy’s lasagna that he’s snacking on before dinner. At least dinner is uncomplicated, leftover salad from a weekend barbeque, oven fries and steak on the barbeque cooked by hubby. I also sautéed up some mushrooms but snacked on them as they cooked, oops.

Hubby happens to mention when I’m out with him briefly that since C was down last Thursday my mood has been brighter and it’s been noted by him both on the phone and in person. He wonders what is wrong with me that evening and I reply just stressed after the mess etc.

We finish dinner and it’s straight into study for me and then I realise that C is coming again this evening. Instead of smoothly being able to go ahead with my study I somehow can’t log in on my laptop. Finally 20 minutes later I call IT and have them reset my password.

Get a couple of questions done before C arrives and then it’s straight on with making her a coffee and we catch up for just over an hour. It’s now 9.45pm, I can finally think about sitting down to relax.

I think I’m sitting down less than 10 minutes when I’m asked if I saw my daughter’s Facebook status. No. When I look my heart drops. She is saying she’s close to tears, feels alone, feels ugly and all I hear are lies that have crept into my precious girl’s heart. When I go up to talk to her though she’s fallen asleep, “the wombat” next to her. I hate to see her self esteem rocked and know that she’s not getting it filled up by her Dad and I can’t do it all for her.

She says she hates her new school and can’t tell me what it is she hates, so I feel powerless to help her sort out what she’s feeling. In the morning I tell her we need to talk it through but she hides her head not wanting to deal with it. She hasn’t learned yet that putting it off only makes things worse.

Finally getting some couch time I then had a cat on either side for cuddles and pets. Good therapy. Hubby went off to bed and I chilled for a few more minutes for the end of a movie. When I finally went to bed he was chuckling over Les Dawson moments on his iPad.

Off to sleep finally and some time during the night am aware of a warm bundle curled up next to me, my “babe” has come up to me. Let me tell you there is nothing nicer than having a cat curl up against you at night and a dog on a pillow at your feet! It’s my happy, and warm, place.

Early scramble to get youngest boy to the orthodontist this morning and back to school to arrive at work later than I’d hoped. Reprimands later it was time to get stuck into a “statement of duties”, the tedium that was…

It’s mid afternoon and I’d love for the day to be over already. I can’t wait for the Easter long weekend off!

A less hectic evening ahead I hope!

Pip