My new keychain...

that I received for Christmas is the Vancouver Canucks logo that reads "Mom's Taxi". Before I had kids I would see these types of key chains and think, yeah right. That'll be the day that I spend time driving my kids everywhere. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Another example of how wrong I can be.

And my kids aren't really in any activities other than my oldest who is trying out for the district soccer team right now. But here's an average week...
Mon. - C has interval training from 6:30 - 7:30 pm (I drive)
Tues. - X has basketball after school until 3:30 pm (my husband picks him up)
Wed. - C has basketball after school until 4:00 pm (my husband picks her up)
Thurs. - C has indoor soccer from 6 pm - 7 pm (another mom drives her daughter and mine to this one)
Fri. - C has interval training and indoor soccer from 4:15 - 6 pm (I drive one way, another mom drives home)
Fri. - L has psychologist appointment from 4 pm - 5 pm (my husband picks up X from school at 2:40, then picks up L from school at 3 pm and makes the 45 min. drive to the appointment
Sat. - someone usually has a birthday party to attend
Sun. - we try to ski as a family

But of course, the above doesn't take into account early dismissal days for the elementary school and the middle school, doctor's appointments to re-new the prescriptions, trips to buy groceries, phone calls from the school to ensure L's diabetes is being properly managed, phone calls from C asking if a friend can come home after school with her, yada yada yada....you all know how it goes.

My calender is colour coded with each kid having their own colour, and before the ink from the printer is dry, there's usually something new to add, change or delete. I don't think the people who schedule the launching of the space shuttle are even skilled enough to take on the job of a mom or dad who has to juggle this stuff every day. (We certainly don't make the money the NASA people do!)


And yet we manage to run our households fairly efficiently (don't you dare walk on my clean floor!) even if it feels as if we're always behind on the laundry and the garbage can is overflowing. What do you mean we're out of peanut butter again?!

I would like to see household management as an University degree program with at least a two year internship and practicum requirement. And if you are already working in the field of household management you should be allowed to challenge the final exam and your years of care giving for children with special needs count as double time served. Then, when you are awarded your doctorate of household management you are automatically given a huge salary of a gazillion dollars with full benefits.

I'm afraid the wage would still work out to about $.03/hour.

How was Mother's Day?

Did you have a good one? I did. My kids made me cards and gifts at school and I honestly do like those the best. I know, I know, they're kinda cheesy but I still love getting them.

The weather here all weekend was warm and sunny, and if I'm not mistaken I may have a slight touch of sunburn on my face. I asked the kids to wash my car for me - with their dad's help. I started out watching them all argue about who got to hold the hose, who got to use which rag (who knew rags were so coveted?)etc. Then of course my husband was trying to show them the proper way to wash a car...they couldn't have cared less about the proper way. So what if the soap dries on the car. So what if you wash the wheels first not last. I finally had to go inside - I couldn't keep a straight face. As I said, the weather was warm and sunny, and as I looked out my kitchen window I could see all 3 kids inside the car, with the doors closed, windows up, spraying copious amounts of Windex on the windows and everywhere else. But hey, my car is kinda clean and they had fun.

It's always hard on Mother's Day for me when I think about my kids' birth moms and wondering how they are doing. I hope they know their kids think about them on this day, and well, every day really. But Mother's Day must be especially difficult for them. How do they answer the question from strangers.."Do you have kids?" What about all those store clerks who although well meaning, say "Happy Mothers Day" to every woman who looks like she should be a mom. It's gotta be tough. I know it was really tough for me before my first daughter came home when all I wanted to do was be able to celebrate Mother's Day as a mom.

Have you seen the movie "Hotel For Dogs"? We rented that on Friday night after an exhaustive search for bathing suits for my two daughters. (That's another long story!) I didn't realize a major part of the story line is that the two main characters are in foster care. Don Cheadle plays the role of their social worker and it was great to see his character portrayed as caring an sensitive. The foster parents certainly aren't the smartest people, but in the typical "everything works out in the end" story line, they provide entertaining adversaries for the kids. The movie also shows how difficult it is to place siblings, especially older ones, together and makes mention of the many moves kids in care make.

This week will prove to be another busy one with car maintenance today, vet appointment tomorrow, my daughter's 11th birthday tomorrow, dance practice for one child, soccer for two kids - different times, different fields, a hair appointment for me (yea!) and our respite care provider coming over Wed. after school to get prepped before...are you ready?...my husband and I go away for the long weekend without children!!! Yes, it's finally going to happen! Can't wait for Friday!