Taming Me on Tuesdays!!

There are days that I am certain I can conquer the world and others that I am certain the world is going to swallow me up while laughing a creepy little horror movie laugh with a baby crying in the background for added effect. O.K. so that was a bit extreme, but maybe it’s the cool air with Halloween drawing near that has me thinking so “Spooky.” At the beginning of the school year when the extracurricular schedules kicked in full throttle we realized that Tuesdays were the only days all week, including Sundays that we had NO practices, NO dance, NO appointments, NOTHING!!! Scott and I decided that due to our complete lack of time every other day of the week we needed to savor our Tuesdays and really try to use these as family down time. I decided that on Tuesdays I would cook a big meal, we would eat as a family and just relax for one night during the week. All has gone pretty smoothly until about 2PM today…. All I wanted was roux, the weekly menu said Gumbo, the cool air says gumbo so Gumbo it is. We had just left the doctor where Hamilton received his first round of shots then lunch with Grandparents. All I had to do was run in grab the ingredients, head home and get dinner on the stove. But no, why would I have thought buying ingredients for gumbo would be so easy?? OH I don’t know maybe because this is Katy and 75% of the people here are from some part of Louisiana why in the world would the local Wal-Mart decide that roux should be pulled from the shelves???? Yes, you read that right… No roux. If you have no clue what this is, it is the base for the entire gumbo, without it you don’t have gumbo. No worries, it’s Tuesday, and today is do nothing day so Scott can grab it on his way home. Back at home, still stewing over the fact that I made a trip to Wal-Mart only to leave there still $50 poorer and without what I need, Hamilton starts to fuss. One of the kids starts talking about how they had a bad day at school with friends, Harrison comes to me not feeling well, John Scott calls and says the coach wants him to stay for the 8th grade games and Scott calls with an unexpected evening appointment. Did I mention it was “Parents Time to Learn” at the elementary school???? Immediately the world began to swallow me, I felt completely useless and I couldn’t seem to get it all together, to make it all happen. My frustration level elevated and quickly I wanted to reenter Jr High and tell all those mean girls what they can do with themselves, I wanted the Motrin to take the pain away from both of my babies that weren’t feeling well, I wanted to call the 8th grade coach and ask him why he chose my son TONIGHT, and I wanted to call Scott’s clients and tell them that I was pretty sure they could have picked another night to steal my husband!!! Yep, Losing it!!! I grabbed my fussing 8 week old held him close, closed my eyes and took about a 30 minute cat nap…After waking, I called a great friend, told her I just didn’t think I could make it to the Parent thing tonight and asked for another idea for dinner. Immediately I realized I can’t do it all, and I needed to tame my coo coo crazy expectations of myself. I happened to have all of the ingredients for the same dinner my friend was cooking so dinner was done, The Motrin had both baby boys more settled, and I emailed the teachers and told them I couldn’t be there to please let me know if there is something I needed to know. Frustrated to Tamed = MUCH happier Momma !!! What’s my point you might ask besides venting? Sometimes when the world is starting to swallow you up, and your responsibilities seem too much, find something to help diffuse you. A nap, a call to a friend, a walk, anything that will help you re prioritize your responsibilities and expectations of yourself. The evening worked out just fine, we still had our down time and we held true to our Tame Tuesdays!!!