Social butterflies

Jeez o Petes, we have been busy doing everything but what I envisioned.

I guess its ok, it is still summer, for crying out loud. But all this running around has left our homelife in an absolute shambles. Our baby is losing his mind, crying from about 5pm until 9 pm...we try to put him to bed at 7:30 or so and it is just hell...no naps mean evenings of terror, evenings of terror mean no laughing family moments in the setting sun, no family story time, no hum a merry tune and put clothes away...just screaming everyone, dishes and dishes and dishes to the moon and back, no baths, no nothing, really, just hell and crying and then me and Steve completely collapsing.

Campfire Scouts, which is starting off well, lots of new faces and cool families, is the worst one yet--1pm on a Monday. So all morning, I ran around collecting all the stuff we needed for the events--I am a leader of the Little Stars, the under 7 year old group, and I made a scavenger hunt--one was a nature check list and one was a collect as you go thing. i didn't have to save it for today, I could have been more prepared, but today was the only time slot I had, to be honest. It all went well, and the parents and kids seemed to be having a nice time at the meeting today. But alot goes into it, so Monday is completely blown, which I am NOT ok with. Especially when the meetings are technically--get this--one hour long! For me, I was at the park which we met at around 12:15, and left around 3:30. Part of being a leader, I guess.

Charlie fell asleep in the 1/2 mile car ride home, so I parked the car in the driveway and let him sleep, and sat right next to the window and read the newspaper. Then we had to go get Steve from work at 5.

I will have to make big, big strides to have Mondays be salvaged and not be completely given to Campfire scouts, which I know I need to quit griping about, but USED TO BE on Fridays at 10:30am.

tomorrow we will have a day of homeschool. Thank goodness.

Wednesday is the Waldorf Co-Op again, and I do not know if I can do it again with the four of them.

Thursday is Girl Scouts, from 1-3 pm, about 20 miles from here, no siblings allowed. In the past, I have taken the little boys to McDonalds and done the playscape/french fry thing for 90 minutes while Greta is in her meeting. We'll see if that is in the budget this week, money is really, really tight. There is also a semi-nearby library, but it is hard to get them all in, do some fun stuff, and get back out in time. Its alot of backbreaking with Charlie, and I will be ecstatic when he gets to an age where he can just--walk, like a kid. Right now, if/when you put him down on the ground, he RUNS AWAY to kingdom come, to Timbuktu, to China...so I have to haul him in and out of stroller, carseat, baby sling, or most likely, on my crooked ole' right hip. So a trip to anywhere is an effort in major heavy lifting, and so again, that will completely take over Thursday. Ack!

Friday is Homeschool Park Day, which is the kids' favorite thing ever but really, is "socializing" all we do?

Tonight Greta and Mickey, after a harrowing evening of screaming and wailing from Charlie AND Casey, are playing a board game with Daddy. Charlie cried so hard to go to bed that he jumped and jumped and BROKE his crib. The whole bottom fell out.Yeah, cool, right? Like we have $100-300 bucks for some new crib. I know, I know, look online. In all my spare time I will hunt down some old brown crib from some family with fleas and then get some mystery truck and haul it here (when? how?) and then assemble it and have Charlie break it again! yip-pee.

He is in the playpen tonight. Maybe that can be his bed until he is older.

So I am taking a moment to type on my blogs. It is 8:45 pm and the kitchen is condemned, seriously. But I cannot move a muscle in my shoulders, and I am nodding off...