Just another Manic Monday…. Here are the Bangles singing it to get you in the mood.
Honestly my Mondays are no more manic than any other week day but I often find myself singing this song on Monday mornings.
Ready to see what Day 1 of Week in the Life looked like for me?
Wake up, drag downstairs to make the coffee, then park on the couch until 6:30. I’m a morning person but I’ve found that spending 30-45 minutes scrolling my phone or reading before I have to actually get up and be productive makes it easier to face the day.
By 7:10, lunches are made and Felisa has left for school. Time for me to get myself dressed and ready to go. While I’m getting ready I’m thinking through the day ahead. I forgot to go to school yesterday to get the Maypole out of the shed so I guess I’ll have to do it this afternoon. Also I need to remember to bring the Mothers Day gift boxes to school so the kids can start painting. The kitchen is still suffering from the sick dishwasher effects of last week so I decide to go ahead and unload the dishwasher and start loading the dirty dishes before second crew leaves. At 7:26 I realize that we should’ve left one minute ago. Then I realize that Ryan never came downstairs. Ron offers to drop him off but he’s ready in just 7 minutes. If they walk fast, they should make it to the bus on time.
7:49 a.m. Rocco and I are back from our walk around the block. I realized while we were out that I forgot to schedule my Marine Corps Museum post to go live this morning. I read through it again, make a few changes, and hit publish. My phone is reminding me to put the car seat back into the car before school. I forgot a couple weeks ago and it’s such a pain to bring Lilah all the way back to the office while I run home to get it. I finally got smart and set an alarm for Monday mornings so I will remember to make sure it’s in the car before I leave.
8:14 a.m. I managed to get the car seat into the van before I ran out of “snoozes” on my phone. Victory! Make my second breakfast and iced coffee to go. I never ate first breakfast and now I’m starving. Decide for a quick poptart on the way out the door.
8:40 a.m. At school and checking on my ant farm. Hmm. Are they plotting an escape? They are all gathered at the top of the ant hill which seems even higher than it was on Friday. When I pop open the top to add water or seeds, they can make a break for it! It reminds me of the scenes in Finding Nemo when the fish in the dental office aquarium are plotting their escape back to the ocean. Luckily for me I can still safely open one of the hatches without any possible escapees. I add some water and a few seeds. I’m not sure they actually need the seeds but I figure it at least gives them something to do to carry the seeds down to the bottom of the nest. I feel bad for them. The ant farm is great for viewing but not great for long-term ant residents. Once they’ve dug their nest, there really isn’t anything else for them to do. Well, except plan their escape! I then waste several minutes googling whether or not ants drink water. Google offered conflicting information about this so still not sure. However, time’s a wastin’ so I better get things ready for school to start! The kids will be arriving soon.
9:50 a.m. Something amazing happened so I took a minute to write it down. A direct quote from one of my students.
“Ask the teacher. She knows more than us.”
Wow! Knock me down with a feather!
12:20 p.m. Leaving with Lilah. How was class today? The worksheet was hard for a few of them. We got step one done for the Mothers Day cards and got the base paint done on the boxes. There were arguments over religion (they like to say that God does or doesn’t do certain things) and since everything is a competition for these boys, it can get serious pretty quick. I always try to head it off and distract as soon as possible. May Day practice went surprisingly well for a Monday. Of course I’ll be adding the ribbons soon which always sets us back. Oh and let’s not forget all the pinecone wars on the playground. Why why why do they have to argue about everything? Why why why does everything have to be a competition?
12:46 p.m. Dog duty for Geno and Ziva done. Their backyard is so peaceful. A nice break after a morning spent with 5-year-old boys. Of course I’m covered in dog hair now but I’m more relaxed so it’s a good trade. Heading for Safeway to grab a sandwich and a Starbucks before going back to school to get the Maypole out.
1:39 p.m. That didn’t take too long. I have liberated the Maypole from the shed of doom, lugged the base onto the playground, and added the ribbons to the pole. Ready for practice tomorrow. Anyone want to place bets on how many heads will be lost when we add ribbons to our dance?
Back home I retreat to my happy place, aka Mommy Horizontal Land, for a break before taking Rocco out. I’m reading my book again so I stretch my break as long as possible.
2:25 p.m. Rocco is done waiting. He comes up to pester me and beg for his walk. Off we go… Felisa is coming in from school as we are heading out.
After the walk, Felisa gives me the news – soccer practice has been cancelled today. That means dinner doesn’t have to be done as early which means – more time to read my book! Are there a million other things I should be doing right now? Yes! But I’m in the middle of a book which means the world will have to wait.
5:13 p.m. Really need to get dinner started… On the menu tonight, pizza pasta, a family favorite.
5:32 p.m. Ron is home from work and Bella is off to Grandma Duffield’s for a visit.
6:00 p.m. Bella is back. Dinner is ready. No practice tonight means we get a bonus family dinner this week! Yay!
After dinner I finish the dishes I started this morning. Felisa goes over to the elementary school to do her soccer homework (no practice means homework instead) with Carly. Bella drives us to church for mass and CLC. Then I’m back home to get started on this blog post (even though I would rather be reading – see the sacrifices I am making for my readers?!).
8:54 p.m. Time to pick up Bella.
9:17 p.m. Home. Take Rocco out for his bedtime walk. He’s tired tonight too I guess or else he’s just being nice. He takes care of his business right across the street and we’re back home in no time. Grab my bedtime snack and head upstairs to finish this post then hit the rack. Star Trek: Into Darkness is on while I’m working which makes me happy.
Come back tomorrow to find out how Tuesday goes.
I’m not sure if I could even get close enough to the shed to set it on fire!
I was thinking you might use some sort of rocket-launching fire-starter so you could stay far enough back. Haha!