My life doesn't seem to take a break. My last vacation consisted of driving 8 hours with 2 small children and a husband who has decided he "just can't do long car rides", followed by the stress of in-laws. Don't get me wrong, love my sister in law and her family, but there is stress involved there, just no doubt about it. Few days there, 8 hour drive back, 24 hour turn-around, and then 5 hour drive for work, 2 days in the office, and then up at 4 AM to drive back home another 5 hours. All with my 4 year old and my 8 month old.
Last two weekends have involved people visiting, which I LOVE, but there is no recharge. I work 5 days a week for my main job, then there is the cooking, cleaning, parenting part of the insanity. Then people arrive and you spend a good amount of energy being social. I am constantly fighting the remorse and guilt at not being able to do MORE with my children since I work full time. Especially my daughter who asks every morning "mommy, can we go somewhere today?" and when I explain that mommy has to work I get "I miss daddy." She isn't being mean but when daddy is at home it's his day off, so he can focus some energy. Mommy is here all the time but it's a tease because I am working. It's pitiful that she gets excited to go to the grocery store because at least it's something better than sitting around here all day.
I digress. So, this last adventure was my sister in law, her husband, and their 14 year old staying at my house. I have a 3 bedroom 1200+ SF beach box. So, imagine this:
- Small bedroom - nursery = crash test baby
- 2nd Small Bedroom = the Expert's room - Uncle slept there.
- Living Room = 2 couches - 1 aunt, 1 teenager
- My master bedroom (queen bed) = The Yard King (daddy), The Expert, Myself & the Crash Test baby because we didn't want him crying and waking the house guests during the second half of the night.
YEA...cute huh. It's all good, it was just a couple of nights, but it's exhausting. There is no down time, there is no escape. It's tragic when you find yourself taking an extra long time in the toilet because it's the only place you can go, lock the door, and NOT TALK TO ANYBODY for 5 minutes. And the constant coordination, when you are as OCD and control freak as I am, you burn yourself down trying to keep ahead of it all. Meals, clean up, ensuring they have what they need. Trying to dissuade your dear in laws from COMPLETELY spoiling your daughter or feeding the baby something they either haven't tried yet or shouldn't have. Sigh.
And then the day they are getting ready to leave, crash test baby is up over night with a fever. So we have fever throughout the day, acetaminophen isn't doing anything. Send hubby to find Motrin....guess what, there was a recall in MAY...never saw it, never heard about it...unless you go to buy it, at this point, how would I know...CUTE, LOVELY...ARGH. More stress. Overnight we have fever so more, so we head to the doctor's office. Guess what it was...NOTHING. a. no fever at the office (it started to creep back on the way home) b. no ear infection, c. no inflammation, d. no chest congestion....it's VIRAL. The magic "i dunno" diagnosis. So we have to "monitor" it. Was told "if you have another really bad night come back tomorrow".
In truth I love my doctor and truly there is nothing else she can do for me, BUT....every time I go in my insurance poops on me, every time I go in, I have to take time off of work, and I have to take a sick baby & a bored preschooler to the doctors office waiting room, and when you are there for a sick baby visit that means they have to work you in and you sit, and sit, and sometimes sit some more. Hence the desire to throttle the preschooler, throttle the baby, and pray for something with more kick than coffee. And once you DO get back into the room, you go into the complete time warp of waiting behind a closed door for the doctor the "be right in".
AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
Look, I am not classically claustrophobic BUT....stuck elevators, major traffic jams, jammed locks on public bathroom stalls, and doctor's office exam rooms make me INSANE. I want to start running into walls and screaming because I figure they will have to come OPEN THE DOOR. And if you open the door to let the insanity OUT, they all give you the "you impatient b*&^" face. Well, yes I am but NO, I am trying not to chew off my arm!
Leave doctor's office, buy Pedia-sure and something to placate the expert, NO WE ARE NOT HAVING CHICKEN & FRIES....finally get home, feed everybody, turn around twice, feed me, update all involved parties on the health and well being of the baby, nurse baby, check email, fight with Expert about eating her lunch.
Yup, I am sitting here, slamming my foot on the ground PRAYING that this roller coaster ride of a summer just Stops. In the midst of my chaos just now, I sneezed and ended up with a bloody nose, no, my system isn't completely overfull at all. I was one of those kids that got nauseous on the merry go round at the play ground, no wonder I feel ready to fall on the ground and cry uncle....
O.M.G. Hugs! I hope you get a break soon! And...yeah. Been right there with ya. Except my family doesn't get along well, so replace "relatives visiting" with "calls from someone who's hyperventilating about not-much THAT LAST FOR HOURS and then they call back again 5 minutes later to talk for another hour and then want to know why the kids are still up?" Either way, GUH.
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