I think I am loosing my marbles

I am tired already and it is only Tuesday.
 
I was doing quite well yesterday. I was working my way down the list of all lists, ticking off items as the day progressed. I always add a few really easy things to make me feel good. All kids now have a dental appointment, half the kids have an optician appointment, one kid has a GP appointment and the cat is booked in for her annual immunisations, too. I removed all food stains and other uncategorised stains from a woollen rug. Isn't that Vanish stuff amazing? I bet it is really bad for the environment. I managed a quick trip to Ikea to stock up on cheap coffee and only spent £37 on other "essential" bits and pieces. I returned a Scotland football strip that won't be needed because the little ones football club now has their own strip. At half the price. In between the list items I did the washing and all the other housework that needs doing.

I even printed a suitable family photo to add to Christmas cards. It was taken during our family holiday in Cornwall. I am superwoman.

But then the kids came home from school and reality caught up with me and stubbornly stayed with me.

After a lengthy argument about the "right" duration for a cello practice, Annie did actually sit down to practice, rather than just argue about it. Unfortunately the finger board has come off, probably during a tumble of teenagers or as a result of general bashing and banging the poor old thing. With no man in the house and no glue either I had to call the man to find out where wood glue might be hidden. In plain sight in the garage it turns out. I hate the garage with its fusty smells and cobwebs and avoid entering it at all costs. It is Richard's man den really. But I did fix that cello all right, I think it is holding together for now, once the glue is dry. Music lessons are overrated and probably the most stressful additional activity a child can choose... So much nagging, so little progress. I don't know why mine keep at it, there seems little pleasure involved. I started playing the cello when I was thirty and I think I enjoy playing much more because I started late and because I wanted to, not because the school offered free lessons. Having said that, I have not played for a year now. Maybe when I am unemployed.

This morning I had to make my own coffee, setting the mood for the day. I am really spoilt, Richard makes me a cup of coffee every morning but unfortunately he is away for work.

Work was just awful.

Halfway through the morning I got a text from a friend to alert me to the fact that Alistair's very first Birthday party clashed with another party, for which a venue was booked. The invites had already been given out of course. I rearranged the party because I am nice.

Later, when I was cooking away happily in the kitchen, I heard howling over the sound of sizzling chicken and the noise of the extractor fan. It was James, stuck in a doll's high chair, unable to get out or even move. No tugging or pulling did set him free, he was well and truly stuck. I don't know how he got in or why. A dash to the garage for tools to dismantle the wretched seat was required. In the meantime, James was completely hysterical, not helped by the other three dancing around him with the giggles. I did take a photo but I think it would be mean to show it.

Then we ate the burnt chicken.

Two days in my life. Never boring but sometimes tiring.

Christina x

Edit on Wednesday: Adding insult to injury: I left the house wearing my dress inside out....