Exhausted

You probably haven't been missing my blog posts like I have. That is because, for me, blogging is a way to document what goes on in our family on a somewhat daily basis and it is a way for me to sort through my thoughts and reflect on my life. I haven't had the time or energy to do any of those things recently. Let me explain.

I am a mother. I have two wonderful daughters whom you should be well acquainted with by now. Kayla is 2 1/2 and Elise will be 1 year old next month! They are both very active. Elise especially is throwing me for a loop being such a doggone early walker. She's still so short that it's easy to almost run over her if I'm in too much of a hurry around the house. My peripheral vision just doesn't see her sometimes. And she's getting FAST too. I run down the hallway to grab something in the kitchen and she's right behind me two seconds later. She can also open cabinet doors and drawers now and she found a shelf she can reach in the pantry where I had some crackers. She has been caught sneaking a few several times this week (before I finally just got smart myself and moved the box to a higher shelf).

I am also working about 3 part time jobs currently. I am very blessed to have them, especially since two of them are work-from-home jobs that I can do with the girls running around in the background. I correct high school essays online several times throughout the school year. This is the busiest time because February and March are when the majority of the high school students are taking the exit exam for the year. I just finished a scoring session tonight. Reading essays for 4-8 hours a day (depending on my work schedule for the day) is hard enough, but the majority of them are absolutely terrible. I taught third grade for two years, and most of the third graders could write better than a lot of these kids. Plus the information they come up with is both amusing and pathetic. For instance, I read an essay in which the person wrote about Neil Armstrong. He wrote that he walked on the moon and then explained that when he got cancer he rode his bike in races across the country. Apparently he morphed Neil and Lance into one wonderful and amazing Armstrong superhero. I have also read many essays that informed me that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. freed the slaves. That's only a little taste of the sort of stuff I get to read (without the terrible grammar and run on sentences of course). I rejoice when I read an essay that has a logical thought process and uses big words. Or should I say uses commodious words?

I am also working on several projects for Immaculate Heart Radio. Chris is working crazy overtime each week and still not able to get everything done that needs to be done, so I am now his assistant of sorts. I have been working on a project and learning some Pro-Track. I have to admit that I have been enjoying learning something a bit outside of my usual duties and I am quite proud of the accomplishment. It also makes me appreciate what Chris does even more than I already did. It is a lot of work to keep the radio station on the air and running smoothly. I have also been subbing here and there as I am able.

I have miraculously been keeping up with my normal duties of cleaning house and cooking meals (but only just barely). My motivation for cooking is that by the end of each exhausting day, I am starving for something home-cooked and delicious. Tonight I made home-made meatballs to go with our spaghetti dinner and I was reading essays and salivating from the smell of them cooking. My motivation for keeping the house clean is that I have OCD. But I told you that it's really only for certain things, so some of the cleaning still actually needs to be done at the moment... However, Kayla's toys and books are tidy so that a)the place doesn't look like a complete pig-sty and b)I am not a complete wreck obsessing over them being out of place. Not perfect, but staying afloat.

Just to keep you informed on what the girls like to do while I am working...
Elise generally just walks around, waving her arms excitedly. She still takes two naps so she is asleep for a good portion of the day too. She also likes to follow her sister around, open drawers, and come back to where I'm sitting periodically for a hug. Kayla spends long hours reading and organizing her books. She organizes and plays with her shoes, and now she also spends a lot of time in her room pulling every article of both hers and Elise's clothing out of the dresser. She "dresses" her baby and plays some sort of really fun imaginative game which I get the joy of helping her clean up at the end of my work shifts. On a positive note, I am getting a whole lot of extra practice folding and putting away clothes in a very timely fashion. I was pretty good at it, but now I think I pretty much rock it. Kayla also does this ABC floor puzzle. When she finishes, she has me take it apart so she can do it again. I am actually impressed at her ability with this puzzle.

I believe I will take a nap tomorrow to make up for all the long days and late nights this week. Then maybe I will be able to get back to blogging after that...........