Why I'm Exhausted, and a Smarty Pants

In the days leading up to our Cookout, I had been running kids around from cheer camp to football training to work, furiously cleaning our "home space," and finishing the rec room with fresh paint. Todd has been feverishly painting old patio chairs, laying laminate flooring and carpeting in the apartment, and painting walls. I helped finish the apartment painting, including the doors, cleaned the bathroom to look less like an old garage station restroom, and cleaned the refrigerator so we could use it without contracting E. coli. I weeded the front gardens at 9 a.m. on the hottest day of the week until my fingers were sore and I was soaked to the skin with sweat. It's been 5 days and my legs are still sore.

We made two trips to Home Depot and one to Ace Hardware, one Costco run, three liquor runs, several grocery trips, and one - as it turned out, wasted - midnight run to Walmart for a volleyball net that never got set up.

I got in a text message argument with my ex, because apparently we're overdue and he has a new girlfriend so his balls have grown back. What's the problem this time?  Last weekend (his weekend) he just assumed I'd take Owen for his football equipment since it was at 11 a.m. and ex had "plans for the kids that [he guesses]  now [he'll] only be taking Ava to." I simply pointed out that no one even asked me and that I require consideration of MY time as well.  This launched him into a lengthy, accusatory message about me moving his kids "so far away" from him and he's missing out on things and "now it's affecting me every single day."  Since he followed that by saying he didn't want to talk right now because he's very upset, I chose not to point out how many "things" he didn't show up for when the kids attended school less than a mile from his house.

But I did point out how it was no trouble for him to drive his kids an equal distance to his then-girlfriend's house  each weekend to spend time with her and not miss her 3 bratty sons' sporting events. Of course he denied it because "it wasn't every weekend, smarty pants" (for reals, ya'll) and then went on a tirade about my obligation to provide all transportation of kids to and from his house before admitting we were getting off topic.  The point was, he "made plans that can't be changed and wasn't aware about [getting the football equipment] and wasn't reminded."  I pointed out that he had a copy of all the football information since early June and I assumed he'd noted all the important dates and not my responsibility to remind you.  Can't argue with that!  And he didn't, but he'd have taken Owen if it wasn't for these plans he can't get out of!  So by now I'm thinking, omigosh, he must have Phillies tickets!.... but apparently girlfriend's brother must be some REALLY big deal that one cannot escape his backyard birthday party without forfeiting a refund. 

Anyway, Owen got his football equipment, which took no less than an hour while I waited in the car playing Bubble Witch Saga on my phone - because, after all, we're NOT expecting nearly fifty people at our house the next day.  Nevertheless, all the preparations, including cleaning, got done thanks to an unexpected night off of work (though I still had to drive Owen to his dad's). Speaking of cleaning, I'd like to acknowledge herewith how radically different the standards are between the-five-of-us-alone clean and 50-people-are-coming-to-dinner clean.

In the afterglow of a great party, I cleaned most of it up with some help from my drunk little brother and found myself in bed at 10, falling asleep and wishing someone would just cut off my feet.  When my daughter is away, sleep is blissful and strange because I don't have to get up to check her, but the dog more than made up for that by vaulting me out of bed at the sound of her retching at four o'clock in the morning.  Alas, I couldn't get her outside in time and she vomited on the edge of the carpet.  WTF?!  Why is it they always stop just TWO INCHES SHORT of the hardwood floor???

I was up again at 5, feeling dizzy, to shower and wake my brother up twice so he could get home when I picked up the kids at 7.  The rest of Monday was spent racing back to our town to drop the car off for service by  8:30, a consult with a new orthodontist at 1, then cheer practice at 6, and a quick stop at the store two hours later to replace a gallon of spoiled milk. (Seriously, this has been the summer of spoiled milk.)

Yesterday we commenced more running by rising at 7, departing for PA at 8:30, and dropping the kids at my dad's for a pool day while Todd and I attended a funeral in our old home town. We rushed back for the kids at 3 so we could be home in time to pick up the car from service, eat a quick dinner, change out Ava's pump site and drive her to cheer practice at 6 again - where, btw, I sat in my air-conditioned car for two hours out of concern for possible lows after swimming all day and two hours of outdoor cheer practice, and hand wrote this blog post. 

I'm beat.  And, having been so busy, am behind on my writing... like my beach trip two weeks ago and our party on Sunday, plus random thoughts.