Yesterday was an especially aggravating day. It started normally for a Monday - get kids ready, drop off E at Summer Camp, attend toddler gym class with M, grocery shopping, etc., but after E got home it all went downhill, and by the time Jon got home at 6:30pm, I wanted to punch something.
First were the two giant messes the kids created yesterday that were very hard to clean up: E knocked over a bottle of maple syrup and didn't notice until much later, and M scattered Jon's 'Smart Bran' cereal all over the couch. The maple syrup was sticky as hell, and unrelenting in it's decision to adhere to the floor tiles (Jon told me even after I cleaned it took him 1hr to get remove all of it), and I had no choice but to start cooking dinner even though the floor was still sticky (which pissed me off even more). Then, I was in the midst of cooking when I saw M dig through the cupboards to take out the box of Smart Bran, and could have lunged to stop here, but was in the middle of a task. Next thing I heard was E screaming that M made a mess, but of course I couldn't see how bad the mess was until later.
It wasn't until I finished cooking that I saw the mess. The Smart Bran looks like hamster cage food/cage liner, and it's the same bloody tiny size. And it was ALL OVER THE COUCH in thick layers. There was so much that I had to empty out the handheld vacuum. Meanwhile, every time I lifted up the cushions to get to the bits that had fallen through the cushion gaps, I saw more cereal shower through the foundation of the couch and onto the floor. I was so angry, I yelled at the kids to go shower (which to be fair they dutifully did, because In I think I startled them).
Second were the fights. After E got home she started playing with her dollhouse and her new Ghost Spider doll, and M wanted to join in. They kept fighting and there was some hitting and crying and screaming. Totally normal for them. It was quiet for a while when they found the Play Doh (that I now have to go clean up, 18h later). But after I shouted them up the stairs to bath, and was already seething trying to clean up the cereal, they started fighting over the positions in the bathtub and were screaming for Mummy. God damn it.
Third were the unnecessary (but also typical) bullshit that the kids do. At one point, I think after E shoved her away from the dollhouse, M somehow found a pair of scissors. I was at the computer and suddenly heard a snipping sound, and turned around to see whole locks of hair all over the ground and I screamed. I was just trying to get a short rest before cooking dinner. And now there was a toddler with chopped off hair (somehow not that noticeable, but now she has hair shorter on her left side), and lots of fine hair flying all over the place. Even before that however, I had been nagging E to do her Kumon work. Every day, especially when M is around, I need to constantly nag E to focus and concentrate on doing her Kumon. One time it took her 1 and a half hours to finish it, when it normally takes 30 minutes. It is just aggravating getting her to focus. Then of course later, while I was cooking, I saw M dump snacks out of a plastic bin for no good reason. She just thought it was funny. I later made her pick it up.
Fourth was the weather. There has been a heatwave in NJ for the last 2 weeks. Yesterday I finally started developing a heat rash. Urgh.
Fifth was the lengthy time needed to make dinner. I was making chicken pot pie, with the idea that it would give a good amount of leftovers for at least two dinners + other lunches for the week. That did mean however that I spent at least 1 and half hours cooking yesterday, not even including the actual clean up. Cooking for that long is just exhausting, meanwhile you are distracted and the kids run wild (see: M grabbing the Smart Bran).
Anyway today M is in daycare. She started 2 weeks ago, and every day except for the first day drop-off has involved a lot of screaming and crying. Today however, she didn't fuss at all. I tried bribing her with Youtube on the way to drop off and a new unicorn stuffed toy, and maybe it worked. I don't know. Let's see how drop-off tomorrow goes.
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