Anatomy of Day Gone NOT as Planned

So.

I am the Preschoolers and Peace gal who loves routine.  Schedules.  Plans!  But...

My wise friend Cheryl has often said to me, "Hold your plans loosely", and I am getting lots of practice doing just that these days.

For those of you who might think I've got the corner on organization, I give you

Tuesday, January 20th

8:00 5-year-old crawls into my bed to rub my back.  The day has begun well!

8:10 Mother-in-Law calls from next door to tell us that the inauguration is coming on and do we want to come over and watch it?  I *thought* it was going to be on at 11:30, but apparently that's real time, not California time.

8:30 Put strata (made yesterday by my friend who helps us on Mondays) into the oven.

8:35 9-year-old, 7-year-old, 5-year-old, 22-month-old, and I go next door to watch the inauguration.  No sign of the teenagers- they prefer their warm beds in the morning.

9:30 Come back home to feed baby.

10:00 Eat breakfast, read devotional, send everyone on a hunt for my small Bible, clean kitchen, fold a load of laundry, listen to phone message from food co-op coordinator.

11:00 Put 22-month-old in the playpen in the family room with the intent of starting our history study in the schoolroom.  13-year-old reminds me that his guitar lesson will be in that room in 15 minutes.  Move playpen upstairs to my room.  Forgot Beatrix Potter DVD downstairs.  Who needs a gym?

11:15 Start history.  Can I tell you how thankful I am that Linda Hobar has recorded The Mystery of History???  I push "play" and sit down to check email.  Diaper desperately in need of changing.

11:19 Crack open a can of Diet Coke.  I'm off the wagon, but as my best friend says, "Its not Vodka".

11:30 Search Google for photos of Chinese foot binding.

11:35 Search Google for photos of acupuncture.

11:50 Discuss St. Simon and the Coptic Church.  Discuss Eric the Red (we're going chronologically).

12:00 Clean up schoolroom.  This after my little friendly but loud lecture about actually doing your job rather than claiming to have done your job.

12:03 Discuss inauguration on the phone with my husband.  Put away Christmas books while talking.  Conversation ends when he arrives at the pool for a noontime swim.

12:08 Continue to encourage the cleaning of the schoolroom.  Collect library books for return.

12:20 Send children to do their morning chores.  It's not morning.  We're pretty darn majorly behind, and by the way- our two hour Circle Time has been reduced to 45 minutes, and we only studied history.  "Hold your plans loosely"... Grab 22-month-old and 8-month-old to go put the littlest guy down for his nap.

12:25 Carry 5-year-old downstairs.  She still can't walk until we see the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow.

12:26 Read aloud in the living room.  Tell 5-year-old to sit still and stop fussing because she didn't get as many pretzels as she wanted. Correct 22-month-old 11 times while he sits in his little booster seat and eats pretzels.  Knit seven rows on a baby bootie.

12:45 Ask 13-year-old to start celery with peanut butter for lunch.  He's the Tuesday breakfast guy but he was nowhere to be found when breakfast needed to be started.

1:00 Discuss the fact that it takes more calories to eat celery than is to be gained by it.  Listen to the 15-year-old tell me about a movie he, his brothers, and cousin plan to make about facial exercise.  Practice facial exercises.  Crack ourselves up.

1:15 Talk to best friend on the phone.  We will miss seeing each other as she passes through our town today :(

1:20 Hear 11-year-old frantically practicing the piano because his lesson is at 2:00.  Watch the celery and peanut butter disappear.  Watch the crackers and apples disappear.  Watch the oatmeal cookies disappear.

1:35 Sneak upstairs to write this.

1:40 Tell piano players to get into the van.  "Take your math!".  Give 13-year-old instructions for feeding and playing with the baby.  Try to find lip gloss.  Make-up is a priority.

2:00 Drop two pianists off at piano.  Drive to chiropractor with 15-year-old for adjustments.

2:30 Back at piano teacher's house.  Paint the remainder of her kitchen cabinets that I couldn't finish the night before.

4:00 Home.  Have long conversation with best friend on the way, finishing as a load of laundry goes from washer to dryer.  Approve two snack requests.  Tell everyone downstairs to come upstairs for school help.

4:20 Spelling with 9-year-old.  I spell "raving" wrong just to get a laugh out of her.

4:40 Realize I didn't pick up my food co-op order.  Really, really, bummed at myself.

4:52 Check Facebook.  Why?  I don't know.  Feel guilty that I'm not downstairs checking on the other schoolwork being done at the kitchen table.  Getting up now...

I'll stop there, partly because I'm thinking you're bored about now and partly because I can't remember.  Are you all feeling better about your days now?

Enjoy today, and hold your plans loosely!