One step forward

I started today with a lot of plans. First we put on our baker's hats to make some muffins for breakfast. Fun, right?

Well, we were about to put the muffins into the oven when the whole tin tipped over. Woops. Both kids shed a few tears, until I pulled out another box of their favorite muffins. Phew!

That is pretty much how the whole day has gone... One step forward, two steps back.

Here's another example. I was calling to schedule one of about umpteen doctor's appoitnments I need to schedule before our insurance changes this month when I smelled something, not a pleasant something. I followed my nose to find Seth behind closed doors with a little problem. So while I'm talking to the receptionist, I'm cleaning him up and I can't find the wet wipes because Katelin has stashed them, where else but in her bedroom closet with the toys. Seth, in the meantime is running around the bathroom and decides to wash his hands.

Never mind that we reviewed how to wash our hands just this morning. Never mind that we have actually practiced using just a little bit of water and one drop of soap literally just an hour ago. Never mind that Seth got in trouble just two days ago for dumping the entire bottle of soap into the sink (these are actually the pictures from that day). I guess that the soap and water and bubbles were simply too much to resist.

You are probably grateful that I can't chronicle the rest of the day in pictures because Katelin took photos for an hour and used up the batteries. You won't have to see the 500 pieces of tiny paper confetti Katelin threw all over the living room, dining room and into Lina's exersaucer. You also won't see her vacuuming all of that confetti with the vacuum extension. And thank goodness you won't see pictures of me losing my cool or listen as Seth runs back to his bedroom and says to Katelin, "Mama's mean."

Of course, you also won't see the look of surprise on Seth's face when he found me hiding behind the bed after "seeking" for several minutes, you won't see Katelin playing with her alphabet flash cards forming and spelling new words, and you won't see me lying next to Lina as she drifts off to sleep. I haven't scheduled all of the doctors appointments. I haven't finished the project I was working on for our RS activity. I haven't folded the laundry or even cleaned up the lunch dishes, but the day hasn't been a total wash. Sometimes you just clean up the batter, wipe up the bubbles, vacuum up the confetti and move on with the day as best as you can.