Chaos Ensued

Yesterday was one of those roller coaster days. That delicate balance between work and home was ugly, and although there were blissful moments there was some real chaos around these parts. Perhaps I should just walk you through the day...

Daddy and Evan headed out the door, and Issa and I planned our day. Our big project was planning her first week of menus, and we tackled that right away. Then we cleaned up the toys and the kitchen before we talked about how the rest of the day was going to play out. I'm trying desperately to finish my dissertation revisions, and my fall class starts today. Pair that with a stay home week for Issa and life gets a little complicated. We agreed that I would work a little and then play a little, and she decided that Play-do was the answer. So...we set up all the stuff upstairs on the table, and she persuaded me to sit at that table to work.

It took me twice as long to do everything, but it was fun to watch her play and talk and giggle. We eventually took a break for lunch, but then we returned to the art table. I lost count of the projects, but I know she announced it was the most fun ever.

We went to pick Evan up a little early, and then we were headed to the library. Issa is a bit of a celebrity now, so pick-up takes a little longer. We finally gave the last hug and were headed to the van when Issa tripped. She's my daughter, and down she went. Sure enough: there was blood on the scene in the form of a scraped knee. I grabbed the first aid kit from the van and started patching her up. Just as I was finishing that, I look over to see Evan has dumped the package of tiny little expanding balls his teacher has given him all over the van. (I so wish I had a camera! The only way to explain these things is a picture, but I will try in a bit. Hold that thought.) We finally round all of them up and we're off to the library.

We pick up our prizes and scour the shelves for train books we haven't read yet. Almost an hour later, we emerge victorious and head home.

While I make dinner, the kids decide they are going to play with the packet of balls Evan's teacher gave him. Apparently, they play with these sometimes on rainy days, and she wanted us to be able to try them at home because Evan loves them so much. He was thrilled! The raw product ranges in size from the tiny little pearl beads on old-fashioned Christmas ornaments to peas. What I neglected to realize is the package holds 200. I gave them a big bucket of water, a dish towel, and a couple of spoons. I heard them laughing as I was cooking, but I was just enjoying the moment. I slid dinner in the oven, came to check it out, and about fell over. The balls had expanded to about twice their starting size, but there were 200 of them...and when they are wet they easily turn to mush...as soon as they start to dry they bounce...and there are 200 of them. And somehow...water is everywhere. Three beach towels later the water is almost cleaned up and the balls have been chased down. It's funny now...it wasn't so funny yesterday.

Today, Issa and I are cleaning the house, Daddy is coming home early, and I'll head to class as soon as he gets here. I'm loving the time with Issa, but I'm feeling a bit pulled in six million directions today,which means I am struggling to stay in the moment. Next week, we will fall into a new routine and I will miss all the unstructured time, but right now I'm craving a schedule and some predictability. So...I'm using this as an opportunityto find the humor and practice being in the moment--doing enough without feeling like I need to do it all. After all, sometimes just playing Play-do is the most fun ever.