Just another Manic Monday!
I decided to start this blog to get stuff off my chest. I'm a dedicated Mom with a Job, well two - I have a home business too. I just need a place to vent - no names, no blame, just pure steam. So, let's go!

This has been a crazy weekend. My husband is out of town and our two kids were just out of control! Which, in turn turns me into raving-maniac-Mom at times. To top it all off, it rained all day on Saturday and was very soggy on Sunday. Can you say bored!?! My son, he's five, was bored, but he can at least entertain himself - for short periods of time that is. The baby, 19 months, is another issue. She requires constant attention. She doesn't like television - I'm not complaining here, that's not necessarily a bad thing, right? She does like to wander around the house and pull down anything that she can't see though - that is a great challenge indeed!!! Picture Mommy lunging at tables to save the family photos, plants, etc, with a resounding "Nooooooooooooo!"

Well, let me just say that I've never been so happy to be sitting quietly at my desk at work!!! Thank God it's Monday! Woo Hoo! I've often recounted to the fine teachers at the kids daycare that, "you know that feeling you have on Friday evenings when the kids are ready to leave for the weekend? Well, that's how I feel on Monday mornings!" Ha! I love my kids, don't get me wrong, they are the light of my life! I just can't handle them alone for long periods of time. That's were raving-maniac-Mommy comes in. It's a chain reaction at it's best. The more upset I get at their behavior, the worse they behave. I can see this in retrospect, but at the time, I simply think that I'm going insane and that they, the children, have secretly conspired to drive me to the funny farm. Keep in mind that the baby can't really speak yet - but I know what she means by e-i-e-i-oooooo. I'm guessing that's some sort of code she's worked out with her brother for 'let's make Mommy crazy!'

Okay, so I still have a bit of pent up craziness left in me this morning. Probably due to the fact that I didn't get breakfast and chugg-a-lugged my coffee in the car while putting on my make-up, while singing along to Dog Train and Cow Planet (Dog Train is a great Boynton CD - , BTW! - highly recommend it!) . Well, small favors here - at least I did get coffee. For some reason I didn't wake up until 8:00am this morning, only an hour late! We made it in in record time though! The kids got to eat cereal in the car - ohh they love that! I'll pay for that later too, getting the crumbs out of the nooks and crannies of the upholstery and the car seat. I digress.

So back to why I'm so c-r-a-z-y! Did I mention that my in-laws and my husbands sister are arriving later this week - and that my husband is away until their arrival? Well, at least my his brother will pick them up at the airport when they arrive Wednesday evening so I can stay and tuck the little ones in that night. My hubby arrives home at dawn on Thursday - yes the red eye. He'll drive home and then we'll all go visit the family - as a family. Free day for the kids! Long day for Mom and Dad! My sister-in-law will be staying for a respectable two weeks, while my husbands parents will be here for six, long weeks. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The good news is that they usually stay for eight weeks! Sigh for small favors - very small.

The last time the in-laws were here is still strikingly fresh, it was a mear 15 months ago. They arrived just before the birth of our baby girl and stayed until my maternity leave was just about done. At least I go one week to myself - it was Thanksgiving - wow was I thankful!. Okay you'd think with two estra bodies I could conquer the world while on maternity leave, right? Extra help with the baby you say. Bah! Companionship while I stayed home you say? Bah! Entertainment for my preschooler you say? Bah!! Oh, did I mention that they don't speak english? And I don't speak their language? Did I? No, I guess not. Well, they were the anti-help, plan and simple. Not only did I not get to spend really quality time enjoying my new baby girl and my hard earned leave, I had to take care of them too!

This couple is not your average visitor. They don't drive, they don't take public transporation (and we have a great metro system), they don't go to museums, they don't do anything by themselves. They wait until the evening, and then they tell us they're board - they want to do something - usually turns out to be shopping. Oh, yeah, that sounds like fun. It's 7pm and I need to get my kids fed and to bed, and you want to go to Wal-Mart. Have fun!

My hope is that this trip will be a bit different. First of all, I get to go to work each day. Yeah!!!With the home business, I can even escape on the weekends if I choose. Woo Hoo! I also have a plan this time. Each weekend has an activity that does not include a mall. Only the National Mall since we're in the DC metro area. We will do lots of activities all under the guise of let's entertain the children. My husband and his brother are blissfully ignorant of the plan - but they will follow, or else! The wives have been brewing over the past several weeks getting the activites on the calendars to make this fun for everyone... dammit! If they want to go to the shopping mall, so be it, but our plan is to have then so tuckered out from the weekends that all they want to do is relax during the week. We'll see how it goes.

Well, I have three more days and nights by myself with the kiddies. I think I can make it! I will enjoy the alone time in the quiet evenings. I can also look forward to a four day weekend on account of their arrival. Not a bad trade off if you ask me. Hopefully I'll get back to post later in the week. This has been a time-waster, but at least I feel like I've purged some bad feelings and don't need to burden my co-workers with my never ending saga of Mommyhood. Till next time...