Perfect Timing

My night last night:

• Fight rush-hour traffic to pick up the kids
• Get the patient updates (they've been sick most of the week)
• Stop at the house to pick up my Costco coupons
• Go to Costco to spend $150 on stuff that we literally will throw away (diapers, wipes, tp, paper towels, formula...)
• Unload kids and stuff at home
• Get Lily her "juuk"
• Check on painting touch-ups in basement that were supposed to happen during the day
• Find 3 or 4 obvious misses from the painter :(
• Get Lily a "naak" (fruit snack)
• Start scanning the cupboards for something to make for dinner
• Get Lily a yogurt (she can actually say that word really well!)
• Start dinner
• Lily reminds me (aka throws fits) every 90 seconds that she's "hunky hunky hunky hunky hunky hunky hunky hunky hunky" (hungry)
• Check on Tessa (still sleeping in her carseat)
• Do 3 days worth of dishes while dinner is cooking
• Serve dinner
• Lily pours dinner into her hair
• Tessa wakes up
• Bathe Lily
• Bathe Tessa
• Put Lily to bed
• Check out pictures the girls had done last weekend
• Make Tessa's cereal
• Go to the store for Seuao, who decides that he REALLY likes yogurt and needs some for lunch tomorrow (he ate all 7 I bought last weekend)
• Put away groceries
• Get Seuao dinner #2 - he didn't like dinner #1
• Sit down

So, I just sit down - Tessa is back asleep, but stirring. Seuao's watching something or other on tv, and Tessa starts to fuss. I look at him with the "are you going to get her?" look... And it begins....

Apparently I don't understand what hard work is.

I know my husband has a difficult job. I know he works long hours and it's a physically demanding job. That's why I usually don't mind typical evenings like last night - I don't get bothered by taking care of him and our family.

I do get frustrated when I have spent literally every minute of the evening taking care of him and our kids and our home, to have it all completely discredited because I have an office job during the day.

I'm not one who usually needs validation. That's not why I'm writing this - I don't get my feelings hurt easily. Last night I did though.

After our "discussion" Seuao went to bed. Tessa wanted nothing to do with sleep, so I was up with her until about 11:45. Guess who woke up at 4:30 this morning? And guess who had to get up with her? She still doesn't feel good and fussed and cried unless I was holding her until about 7:00 a.m., 15 minutes before we're supposed to leave.

Seuao and his 7 hours of sleep went off to work this morning, and I still felt bad. Part of it is that I don't feel good either and am on antibiotics. But I'm sure most of it is the perpetual lack of sleep I'm suffering from.

However, tonight after work, I am heading up into the mountains with two of my favorite girl friends to GET AWAY!!!!!!! We have been talking about this for about a month or so, and all babies are staying home with daddies! The timing couldn't be more perfect - maybe Seuao will be reminded how much work it really is to take care of these kids. I know he won't be trying to juggle laundry, dishes and house stuff too - taking care of the kids will be the extent of his duties, but that's ok.

I'm going to get some of the breathing room that I desperately need. I know when I come back tomorrow I'll be prepared to be a better wife and mother, so I don't feel bad at all for leaving. But, I'll admit - I am also looking forward to hearing how much "hard work" it was to take care of these kids!