Figuring It Out

Daddy was gone all weekend. He left Friday at o'dark thirty and is flying back tonight from Seattle after a very successful conference. Usually, Daddy being gone all weekend is just about enough to make me wave the white flag of surrender. Y'all. You know I love, adore, and cherish my children. But...I am very used to parenting as a team sport. When it's the two of them against me I start to go a little batty.

 

However, I think I finally figured out how to do this: I stopped trying so dang hard. Usually, when Daddy is gone I try to pack every moment with fun so we miss him less. That results in two things. First, I'm exhausted. Second, we miss him more because he's not there to have fun. So, I tried a new approach. We did some fun, and we did some normal.

 

Saturday morning, we got up, I made pancakes, and the kids played while I got ready and made a grocery list. Then we all headed out to get the groceries and all of the supplies for Teacher Appreciation Week. When we got home, the kids played while I put groceries away, and then we started the big gifts for the week. We decided to make chalkboard flower pots. I already had the paint, so we bought the cheapest little pots we could find and went to town:

 I am so proud of these kiddos. They painted every single pot. I helped with touch ups, but they hung in there for the first coat. Issa did the second coat, too, but Evan couldn't figure out where he had already painted for the second coat and threw in the towel. He made the most pitiful face and said, "But it's already gween."

We finished all of the smaller gifts, made cards for teachers, and decorated Mother's Day cards to mail. It was a very crafty afternoon. And in the midst of the mess and chaos and arbitrating of sibling squabbles, I was still zen because I got smart. I hired a baby sitter.

Brad and I had theater tickets for Priscilla, but since he was out of town for the whole run, I asked my neighbor to go with me. When I was most craving adult interaction late in the afternoon, the two of us got way over-dressed because you can do that for this show, hugged the kids, and headed out for a girls' night. It was brilliant! The show was hysterical and the company was just what I needed.

Sunday was proclaimed a pajama day. We read stories, did yoga, and finished the pots:

The kids had chosen petunias, and they did all of the planting. Then, they broke out the chalk and went to town:

I think they are pretty darn cute:

Issa also did a big one for all of the non-classroom staff (principals, custodians, secretaries):

Her plan is to drop it off in the office.

 

The end result of our weekend: 

 Look at those happy kids. (Yes, they are behind the couch. It's their club house. Why not?)

We had a little fiesta for Cinco de Mayo, and they snuggled in to bed without fuss pretty early. Then I snuggled into a hot bath, ready to do this last stretch before Daddy gets home. I finally figured it out: when I feed my soul, I am so much better able to feed theirs. Now if I can just remember that...