The Blur

…Or what others may call the weekend!  Having a large, active family is exciting and rewarding but also can be exhausting.

 Back in my younger days the weekend meant meeting friends for lunch (after sleeping in late of course because I went to a party Friday night after work), a little shopping, and then partying on the DC club strip.  Getting home at 5:00 in the morning – only to repeat it all again.

 Now that I am a wife and parent of 5 kids – my weekends look completely different.  To all mothers out there! – I know your new weekend life seems crazy and hectic but it pays off and fills your heart with pride and joy!  Hang in there!!!

Here are how our weekends look now:

 Friday

• 6:00pm – everyone arrives home from school and work
• 6 to 7:30 – Cook dinner, eat, get ready to leave for son’s basketball game (this includes making sure littles ones    have pottied, basketball son has applied extra deodorant, and that all of the faces are clean)
• 7:30 – leave to go to game that starts at 8pm
• 8 to 9:30 – attend basketball game, scream at the top of my lungs, possibly make other parents angry because of my sports mom personality, hug my son (and other players) at the end of the game – win or lose
• 10pm – arrive back home and everyone eats a late night snack
• 10:15 – get the little ones in bed hoping they fall asleep quickly for a smooth Saturday (tired littles ones make for a long, long day)
• 11:30 – 3-year-old son comes into my room asking if we can go to a restaurant for dinner tomorrow (REALLY – your spoiled butt should be asleep). My husband decides to go in his bedroom and lay in the floor beside his bed until he falls asleep
• Midnight – that’s the last time I remember seeing on the clock – so I am assuming I passed out

 Saturday

• 7:30 – How is this even possible!  My 3-year-old is up asking to watch Paw Patrol!
• 8 to 11 – My husband and I are downstairs refereeing between the two youngest children who argue over a dirty sock or a piece of lint, fixing breakfast, cleaning (and pushing the teens and preteens to do their chores), writing out bills, and planning out how we are going to tackle our busy day
• 11 to 12:30pm – go to my oldest son’s basketball game – love watching him play!  I remember when he was 7 years old just learning the rules and now he is 17 – and shooting three’s like no one’s business
• 12:30 to 1:30 – reluctantly eat a quick lunch at a fast-food establishment – I do not like feeding my seedlings this fast food but I am balancing my sanity versus full tummies.  If they are hungry and are taken to the next event without eating – I will lose about 200 strands of hair plus a few extras will turn gray
• 2:00 to 3:30 – attend my third son’s basketball game – seeing this reserved, funny little boy transform into a dominating, leader on the court is an amazing feeling – sometimes I am in awe of the fact that I created this being
• 3:30 to 5:00 – return home and watch the two youngest play basketball trying to imitate their older siblings – I love having a big family
• 5:00 to 8pm – take the family to a restaurant at the request of my 3-year-old.  (I thought he had forgotten but he reminded me at least 372 times within the last hour).  The family favorite is Outback (unfortunately – the staff there know us by name as soon as we walk in).  We sit, eat, talk, laugh!  Even the babies are well behaved tonight.  An elderly couple walks over to our table on their way out and comment on how wonderful our children are behaving and how they love that fact we have a large family and we seem happy with each other’s company!  Again – I love my family
• 8:00 to 9:00 – Leave the restaurant and my 14-year-old wins a debate with me regarding why it is important to go to the local ice cream shop after dinner.  That boy is so smart – he is going to be a lawyer or engineer and retire me one day!  Therefore – ice cream it is.
• 9 to 10pm – Arrive home, give baths and put babies to bed.  Pray they go to sleep fast TONIGHT (since last night was a bust)
• 10:30 – Both of my babies come in my room and ask me to scratch their backs, they are also hungry and want an applesauce pouch!!!  I threaten that they are not getting anything else to eat as I point to my husband to go and retrieve the pouches for them so that they won’t be hungry in their sleep.
• 11:00 – the tummies are full and they are fast asleep
• 11:00 – 12:00 am – my husband and I finally get to talk.  We take care of a few things for our business and discuss possibly being able to watch a quick movie.
• 12:01 – start to watch a movie
• 12:02 – We are asleep and the movie is watching us

 Sunday

• 7:30 – My 3 year old wakes up and wants to watch Paw Patrol (is this Groundhog’s day?)
• 8 to 10 – My husband and I are downstairs refereeing between the two youngest children who argue over a dirty sock or a piece of lint, fixing breakfast, cleaning, and planning out how we are going to tackle our busy day
• 10 to 1 – attend church with the family.  The kids were not as restless and I thought they would be – they did really good and actually listened to the music and preaching
• 1pm – my daughter asks if we can go to IHOP after church.  Again – unfortunately the staff knows us by name – sigh……
• 1:30 to 3pm – We sit, eat, talk, laugh!  An elderly couple walks over to our table on their way out and comment on how wonderful our children are behaving and how they love that fact we have a large family and we seem happy with each other’s company!  The older gentleman places a $100 bill on our table and says it is on him for the great job we are doing as parents – Again – I love my family and am thankful for this couple’s generosity and compliment
• 3 to 3:30 – we arrive home and all the kids run off to their corners of the house to play with their toys and video games!  I collect my coupons and grocery list and prepare for my tremendous task of grocery shopping for the week.
• 3:30 to 6 – grocery shop and rack up a hefty grocery bill (even though I used coupons and my shopper’s discount card).  Feeding 5 kids, a husband, and a dog is an expensive task!!
• 6 to 7:30 – arrive home, cook dinner, feed family and clean the kitchen!
• 7:30 – 11pm – give the babies a bath and put them to bed.  Threaten that I am not going to keep giving them food when they get in the bed as I hand them an applesauce pouch.  Help the older boys prepare for the upcoming week by signing papers, interpreting study materials, filling out college application data, and talking about teenage life issues.
• 11pm – I finally get to sit in bed and talk with my husband about the upcoming week and tasks that we need to accomplish.  I pull out my planner and document what needs to happen over the next week.  I pull out my work laptop and complete some assignments to try and get a little bit ahead for the week.  Afterwards, I write a blog about my wonderful, exhausting journey as a mother, wife, and professional
• 2am – The Blur ends for me and I fall asleep in between putting coffee in my mouth and swallowing. Choke a little as the coffee runs out of my mouth and down my throat.  Quickly look over to make sure my husband didn’t catch that – but he is fast asleep too!!  I lay it down now and get some rest before the 6am alarm sounds.

 So yes – I have traded my weekends of meeting friends for lunch and partying but trust me – I would not have The Blur any other way.  I only have 18 years with my babies being at home under my watchful care and I want to make every minute of those years count. If I don’t do anything else successfully in life, I want it to be said that I was a fabulous mother to my children. So give me The Blur over money, fortune, fame, and partying any day!!!