So, Tom took off early Saturday morning for a last hurrah fishing trip with his dad, brother-in-law and brother. I say last hurrah because Joey's wife is pregnant with triplets. I think they're seeing the writing on the wall. I wrote a post about being alone while the boys went to Canada last year so I thought I would follow up with one from this weekend too.
Honestly, I was dreading the weekend. For some reason, the kids are just wearing me out these days. The girls don't get a along as well as they once did and Jack is just into everything! They don't entertain themselves as much as they used to and they're a true handful when we leave the house. Not to mention, last time I was home alone with them, I had strep throat and the beginnings of this nasty cold. (This all sounds awful as I reread this. I really do love my kids, honest. They're just in a bit of a phase.)
Honestly though, none of my dreads came to fruition and the kids were truly wonderful. They allowed me to get a ton of stuff done and got along with each other pretty well with only one or two exceptions.
Saturday morning, after Tom left, Tessa and Josie crawled into my bed and some time later, Tessa went out to watch TV. Josie joined her and then I got up around 9:30! Jack was up soon after. Tom made coffee before he left, which I swear, started the whole weekend off on the right foot. I made the kids blueberry muffins and cleaned up the kitchen, threw in a few loads of laundry and then really cleaned the kitchen including sweeping and mopping. I emptied two boxes that had been in the kitchen with odds and ends from the toy room clean out last weekend.
I moved into the guest room and started unpacking the boxes with extra sheets and towels - 5 in total. I stripped the bed (company next weekend!) and organized the room so that someone can stay there. Still working on laundry, I moved to the master bath. I worked a little bit there, but this is the one area I didn't get finished. It really is just a holding ground and hidden away so it doesn't bother me as much. (But, it probably will bother Tom so I need to take care of it soon!) :)
After lunch for the kids, I put Jack down for a nap and went into the basement. I set the girls up with a movie, popcorn and Dr. Pepper so I could try out my long run. After strict instructions "not to bother mommy," I was interrupted after about 10 minutes with a forlorn, then grumpy, Josie who desperately needed lemonade. I was struggling big time anyway due to this stupid cough/cold so I eventually gave in and quit at 5.5 miles. I was attempting 10. Fail.
I took a quick shower and then Jack was up. I decided to take the kids to Hamilton Town Center to get out of the house. Plus, I had a gift card to Red Robin and Tom isn't a huge fan. We hit up DSW and Old Navy before dinner. I scored two great pairs of shoes - one which is an exact (exact!) copy of my favorite shoes ever that just broke a heel on Thursday. I think the kids had fun and I wore them out! Bedtime for them right when we got back. I managed to finish up Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption a whopping two days before our Book Club meets. (Great book, by the way!)
By some wonderful force of the universe, Josie and Tessa slept in until 8:30 or so this morning and didn't bother me until they heard Jack around 9:15. They got him out of bed and I slept until 9:30 again! I think this may have been my key to a great weekend. I finally was caught up on sleep and so were the kids and didn't feel like I needed to steal a nap every day.
This morning, I made the kids cinnamon crescent rolls, cleaned up the kitchen and did more laundry. I decided to try something to freshen up your towels that I had seen on Pinterest. I washed them with hot water and a cup of vinegar and then washed them again with hot water and 1/2 cup of baking soda. It is supposed to make them smell fresh and clean. I didn't notice a difference. But, they needed washed anyway because they had been in boxes for 9 months! I made the bed in the guest room and picked up a little. Meanwhile, the kids played and played upstairs. All three of them - perfectly. Then we took off to CVS and Walmart. Normally, Walmart on a Sunday after church is not a great decision, but today wasn't so bad. And, the kids were seriously angels. I think they knew...
The afternoon was spent folding and sorting laundry while Jack napped. The girls (willingly!) went upstairs with me and picked up their rooms while I put away their clothes. OK fine. I bribed them but it worked! I unpacked more boxes upstairs of bathroom stuff and hung the kids' shower curtain. Finally, we headed outside to let them enjoy their bribe - Flavor Ices. They played for about an hour outside then in for dinner. I switched over even more laundry and picked up the kitchen once again. (I'm sensing a theme here.) I made a batch of whole wheat waffles, after unpacking yet another box to find the waffle maker, and then put the kids to bed.
I had all the best intentions of starting another project tonight - master bath organizing, crocheting, new book, a needle point thing I'm thinking of trying. But, no dice. I'm worn out! All told, I did 10 loads of laundry and unpacked about 10 boxes from the basement and finished 1 book. Not too shabby!
All in all, it was a great weekend at home alone with the kiddos. But, I'm sure ready for Tom to be home tomorrow! I don't know how single parents do it and keep up with everything. My friend, also with three kids, said something about how we're like a shark - we just have to keep swimming. And, honestly, the more I kept busy, the more the kids were busy. There was less TV than usual and more pretending, coloring and playing. I guess they just don't want mom to take a break, which made for a productive weekend.
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