I Am Supermom

Today was a WFH day, so I did have to get my job done, but fortunately it was also a slow day at work. And that's good, because I ..... took care of a screaming Molly all morning ... picked up Claire from preschool ... took the kids to lunch at Arby's ... took Claire to gym class while the twins and I played in the baby room next to the gym ... got everyone home and gave the twins an early snack so they'd finally nap well (I pushed their naps late for the gym class today) ... did two loads of laundry and emptied the dishwasher ... ran to HyVee for dinner items (luckily my mom stopped by so I scooted to the store while the twins napped and Claire was entertained by grandma) ... made dinner (chicken & wild rice casserole, rolls, and asparagus) ... had dinner on the table by 5:45 and had my mother join us too ... did most of the dinner dishes ... immediately raced Molly to the after-hours clinic as soon as dinner ended (yes, she has an earache in the right ear - my wasted Sunday trip was just two days too soon) ... picked up Molly's prescription at CVS ... and still had the twins in bed perfectly at 8pm. I then sifted through 9 days worth of mail, went online to post to the JCMOMs group (that's the Johnson County Mothers of Multiples club) for advice on ear tubes (one positive response so far), watched a little tv and of course am updating the blog.

So I was busy - maybe not Supermom, but busy. I don't think writing my tasks here today quite gets across how non-stop my day was, but then again, I've always struggled to impart just how busy each day is for me. I think someone would have to live my life for a week to fully understand just how challenging each day can be (especially when a child is sick and crying a lot). I give Molly serious props today though - other than a rough start this morning, overall she stayed in a darned good mood all afternoon and evening despite her ear infection. Clearly it's hard not to compare our three or four days of misery from Lily's rough mood versus Molly today.

My favorite after-hours clinic doc saw us tonight (she also saw us Sunday, but not Friday ... oh wow I've been there every other day), and I asked her "if these were your children would you get them tubes?" and her answer was yes. However, as the girls' pediatrician somewhat implied, I got the sense her quick "yes" was more around 'parental convenience' than the right thing to do medically. But there's a lot to be said for our sanity, and every other day visits to the clinic is not helping us stay calm or helping our financial situation. Our Urgent Care costs run about $150 a month right now. Ouch. And who thinks young kids aren't expensive?

Tomorrow is an office day and I have to decide what to do about the minivan. Freakishly, after visiting the dealership Monday, the turn signals have worked every time today. I am stumped on this one. It would be great to avoid the hassle of another dealership day but I don't want to go back to nonworking signals.

The big news here is Kyle and I are debating dropping one (or maybe both) days of nanny time due to our financial situation this winter. Kyle has been strongly impacted by the failing economy, and we're struggling, so it's hard not to stare at our second largest cost (childcare) and figure out if it's worth cutting back. It's on the table with a decision by end of week. I'm trying to be creative and find her other work with rights to pull her back any time, because I'm not up for another nanny search if we decide we need the usual days covered again. The major upsides of this possible daddy the nanny arrangement? More money in our pocket, a cleaner house, and super happy kids when I get home from the office.