You Know It's Monday When...

* You forget which way to turn your shower head and alternately burn and freeze the crud out of yourself
* Coffee cannot be made fast enough
* 27 pound child must be carried to car with bag, coffee, and 20-pound cat darting in front of you to get out
* Signs for "Slow down, children present" make you snarl (hey, it's almost May)
* The wrong date is on the agenda board and no one notices until fifth period
* You are inappropriately angry at the "angel" who pointed out the date was wrong
* Coffee was all gone by second period and you look wistfully at your mug throughout the afternoon
* Email does not exist until third period
* Your lesson bores you
* Face muscles actually hurt from all the eye rolling
* Final bell at 3:19 simply causes you to stare into space
* Until you remember you don't have to be there anymore
* Drive home from daycare is completely silent
* Working out is dumb
* You're pretty sure if you hear Jillian from the "Biggest Loser" exercise video tell you again that "abs don't come for free", you will march to where ever she is and eat her
* Dancing with the Stars is actually entertaining
* It is really good there is no wine in the house

The Queen of the Meltdown

Mondays are not my friend on pretty regular basis. I always have meetings or some sort of super fun commitment after school. Then, I end up picking Em up late and either dinner or exercise (or both) is rushed and not fun.And, to make things even better, Justin is in class til late.

But this one was extra special.

1. We have two days of testing (read minimum days) this week and the kids were feeling surly, and guess who they thought would make a nice target for their frustration? Well, it didn't work out so well for them, but it wasn't the pleasant, quiet Monday I had hoped for.
2. I had an hour long tutoring session after work. I avoided the pizza, but this was the fifth one I've done for the kids, and I was feeling a bit frayed around the edges.
3. Finally, once I got Em home, she had the mother of all meltdowns. Seriously, it brought tears to my eyes.

Our evening started sweetly enough. Em skipped her nap today, and so she nodded off in the car on the way home. I didn't fret, and it was nice to be able to listen to the news without: "Play a girl song, Mom!"

I propped her up on the couch and proceeded to work out. After a couple minutes, she woke up, a bit groggy, but still pleasant. She complained that she was hungry, so I made her what she requested (this is important evidence for later)--a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Em climbs up to the table, and I continue exercising. Then, our perfect little evening is blown to smithereens.

"Mommy, Mommy, my hands, my hands!" Em screams this with such fear that I rush over thinking something might actually be wrong. But I see nothing. Her hands are covered in peanut butter, but there doesn't appear to be anything else wrong. So I give her a napkin, help her out, and try to go back to my Tae-Bo.

"Mommy, help me, help me!" Now, she is full-on crying and losing it. I stop the DVD and tend to her. Tears streaming down her face, sobs wracking her body, she screams to me "Mommy, it's poopy! Poopy!" I start to get a little panicky that maybe she did have an accident. But no, it's just the peanut butter.

However, now Em is not to be calmed down. No matter how much I try to convince her that she doesn't have "poopy" on her hands, she is inconsolable. Even after I wash her hands. Even after I give her an early bath. Still sobbing.

It isn't until we read all 3 Fancy Nancy books and I plop her in front of Kung-Fu Panda that she is happy again. I stagger off to the kitchen to make some sort of dinner, amazed at how quickly my quiet evening became a thing of the past (along with my sanity.)

Things are good now. Justin came home, and I retreated to the bedroom. Now, the baby is in bed, the dishwasher is humming along, and the laundry is a'spinning. All is well.

But I'm still hiding the peanut butter for a couple days...

Nonstop Mama!

I felt very productive over spring break. Well, I must have forgotten what it means to get things done cause today was bonkers.

My girl slept all night in her own crib. Not a normal occurrence, so of course I kept waking up panicky. I got up around 6:15 after grunting at the alarm for 20 minutes. Made coffee, put together my lunch, and actually ironed (Whoa.)

My sister and brother-in-law were still staying with us, so my sister got to hold Em as she woke up. Hay loves to take care of my daughter: get her dressed, do her hair, and sing her songs. It is one the most beautiful things to behold.

Because of everyone's help, I got to leave for work early. By 7:30, I was in my class room, planning for the week, deleting emails, and tidying things up. The first three periods flew by and it was 11:30 before I sat down. (Funnily, I needed to use the restroom between each class...don't have my school bladder back yet.)

I ran around getting things done during my prep, taught two more periods, and all of a sudden it was 3:19. I taught 8th period, got ready for my sub tomorrow (I'm going to UC Davis with students), and by 5, I was out the door.

At home, I had two seconds to say hi to the cats, and then I was off to the gym to run. I had a pleasant 30 minutes to watch re-runs of America's Next Top Model (I love watching skinny girls struggle to walk in high heels.)

By six, I was back at home, bathing my very sticky girl and making dinner. Nothing fancy, just garden burgers and a salad, but for me that's an accomplishment.

Now, I finally feel like I am winding down. It was a great day, and the weather was great. I can hear my husband reading "Ten Apples up on Top" to Em, and it's very hypnotic. I hope I can stay up to watch that New Amsterdam show (very cute cop), but I don't know. My bed looks good.