Today was very very busy. In the morning, I took care of more house chores, and then we had Lydia’s volleyball practice at 9, Ammon’s soccer practice at 10, and I coached Clarissa’s soccer practice at 11:15. After Ammon’s practice, a lady backed into me in the parking lot, so I will need to get the dent fixed now.
Clarissa’s practice was a bit more difficult this time, in part because halfway through, the majority of the team was memorized by a patch of mud they found by the field. When I asked the kid who seemed to be the leader of the group to leave the mud and come focus on practice, he plaintively said, “no”. Ha ha. Eventually parents came to help, but it was a more distracted session for sure. Still, I enjoyed it. Lydia, Mary and Ammon waited patiently while I coached.
It was super hot, and the kids were all very good for all of it. To reward (and hydrate) them, we got slurpees after all of it.
I took a nap back at home because I was feeling exhausted. Also, my allergies have been going haywire and my eyes itch a lot. I have a full battery of attack for my allergies (nose spray, eye drops, zyrtec, and a netti pot) which is helping me survive, but this seems to be peak season for me because it has been rough.
After my nap, I blogged a lot to catch up, while the kids watched TV and were around the house. Mary and Lydia also did some music practice.
Then we all went to celebrate my uncle Norm and Aunt Judy’s 50th weeding Anniversary. What a milestone! I had an incredible time. The kids were perfectly behaved and played a lot in Danny and Jennette’s yard (where the party was hosted). I got to catch up with my dad, Chris, Dallin, Andrea, Stacey, Norm, Judy, Ed and others. It was a great reminder how much I love my extended family and how special they are to me. The music, weather, ambiance, and company were all so wonderful and I felt very very happy there.
Also, I just have to say that having Lily gone has given me so much respect for her every day. Managing the kids all by myself (which she does every day M-F) is totally insane! I’ve just learned that I have to pick a few things from all the things I want because it is literally impossible to do everything I want. What I mean that is I can either a) be pleasant b) accomplish a task c) give attention to Clarissa d) give attention to Ammon e) give attention to Mary f) give attention to Lydia g) give attention to Basil or h) do something for my sanity. If I’m really feeling great, I can do two things at a time on this list. Meanwhile the house is falling apart, I’m not cooking any meals (yay door dash!), I didn’t do real music practices with the kids (like Lily does), or do a reading lesson with Ammon, dishes and messes are piling up, laundry is growing exponentially, the girl’s hair is growing tangles (Clarissa’s hair hasn’t been brushed since Lily did it before she left), I’m getting grumpier by the minute (Clarissa cries for Lily just about every time I’m stern with her), and losing hope on any sense of getting ahead. Additionally, late in the day today I had the horrifying realization that I fed the kids garbage all day. Clarissa didn’t eat breakfast, and I missed that fact since I wasn’t paying attention. Then They all shared giant slurpees after activities. Lunch was chick fillet (chicken and fries), and dinner was the treats at Norm and Judy’s Party which was grapes, cake and cookies. Panged by guilt, I was shoveling carrots and cucumbers at all of them just before bed, and they didn’t go down until 9:30 because of how late we got home. Wow, I was so tired that I decided to go straight to bed even though I had every intention of folding the 4 baskets of kids clothes that still need folding. I realize that Lily runs this rat-race every day, and that I’m almost entirely unavailable during my work hours (which have expanded lately). Anyway, all of this is to say SO MUCH RESPECT for Lily and all full-time parents. It also give me greater empathy and desire to be a better partner having had this experience. Apparently one of my kids told Suzanne at the park that Lily does most of the parenting in our house. The kids must also have been empathetically aware that I was in a little over my head these past few days! Lily is such a good parent and it is very hard to fill her shoes when she is gone!
Here are some more scenes from Lily’s Vegas trip:
Also, here are the before and after pictures of the house we are selling in a couple of weeks. We think Moroni did a great job!
