A Moment of Desperation

Of course I've been too busy yelling at my kids packing to blog ever since Jenny added "changing our blog to Blogger" to her packing/to-do list. And I kept thinking, wow, this is a fresh start in a way, I should post something momentous or witty or philosophical. Instead, I'm choosing to confess what happens when you dare say the words "things are under control" like I stated multiple times when we had grandparents over for Nick's birthday cake on Sunday.

It's appropriate now to mention that last week Ryan started bailing out of the crib and was so proud of himself that he didn't nap all week, which means I got no packing done during the day as planned. It's also appropriate to mention that when he is not tormenting Nick, knocking down his block towers or tearing apart his lego creations, he is smacking the baby or trying to ride him like a pony. Sweet Ryan, oh he really is so sweet and tenderhearted, but he has a knack for rising to the occasion when stress is oozing from my pores.

I've moved the kids over to my parents in an attempt to keep them out of the boxes these last few days. After packing into the wee hours of the morning, Ryan started the day off by pouring himself a glass of cranberry juice, which translated to an entire container spilled onto the kitchen floor. After washing the floor three times and still sticking to it, I decided we were going back to our house to "get a few things done". After a series of sibling fights, baby not napping, and a box of packed, unfrozen freeze pops leaking out of a box onto my carpet, I threw in the towel and we spent a few hours eating lunch, playing tennis and going on a hike in the woods. Enter nap time.

I needed 15 minutes of sleep SO BAD because I know I'm going to be up very late tonight since Shawn is teaching tonight and we have a lot of things to do when he gets home like unload our whole attic. I was desperate. After a series of crib bailings and an unsuccessful attempt to get Ryan to lay down on the bed with me, I finally broke. I went to the car, brought his carseat in and strapped him in it, in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn (note: his older brother happily sits on the couch doing the same thing, unrestrained. Why does one of my children LOVE TV and the other can't watch it longer than 60 seconds??) I laid down for 20 minutes and here's what I found when I woke up. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and this, friends, was at least a successful mission.