the pain is ... unbearable

The primary reason that I am able to function every day is because I know that Charlie will be home in the evening to help out. And at the end of a long week, I know that he will be around to entertain the kids so that on Saturday morning, I can do things like change our linens and go to the grocery store to restock our house for the following week.

But today...

Today, Charlie is working on the jungle of lumber and screws that will soon take over our entire backyard. The parts that he needed arrived yesterday. And because he hopes to get this thing put together as soon as possible, I told him this morning that SURE he could have the WHOLE weekend to put it together while I kept the kids busy.

Today, there are Santa Ana winds howling in from the north east and I thought it would be great fun to take the kids out to fly a kite. But flying a kite in 40-mile per hour winds with three-year-olds and a nine-month-old, by yourself, isn't too bright. Because children that are three-years-old don't always follow simple directions like "Stay away from the string" and if they walk in front of a kite and tangle themselves up in the line before it is whipped in to the air, the kite string will cut them like a friction saw and you will listen to screaming for the next HOUR.

Today, our children are convinced that the world revolves around THEM. Whatever it is that they want, they shall have. So even though their uterine comrade is laying on the ground crying in agony over the 1-inch cut on their leg from the kite string - they will insist that IT IS THEIR TURN TO FLY THE KITE. And even though the winds are so fierce that they would be sucked out of the earth's atmosphere, IT IS THEIR TURN. And if I don't listen, they will lay on the ground and kick their feet while screaming and thrashing about, hysterically.

Today, after threatening to leave the kids at the park if they didn't get their tushes in to the car so that we could go home, I arrived home to remember that since I didn't go grocery shopping this morning, the only thing that we had to eat in the house was garlic cheese bread, avocado, organic peanut butter, bleu cheese, pickles and caliente chips. Which, unfortunately, are not the most pleasing foods for a three-year-old palate. So, they drank lots of milk for lunch. And ate sour pickles.

Today, my baby has started to cry every time that he sees me. He is happy as a clam when he forgets that I exist, but as soon as he remembers, and notices that I am not holding him in such a position that he can pull EVERY hair out of my head, he is wrought with tremendous sadness. He has also discovered that he doesn't like avocado much either and with foods that he does not like, it is best to pick them up and SMEAR them in our own hair.

Today, I realized that ALL the chores that Charlie and I usually split up on the weekend are falling squarely on my shoulders. And unless I want him to take a break from building the playground - which will only delay the day that I can put our children in the yard and they will STAY there - I need to go change some oil and rotate a few tires. Or, take out the recycling and pick up dog poop. Same difference.

Today, I realized that without any kind of break from small children - with no relief in sight until NEXT weekend - it might be necessary for me unwind by taking a nice hot bubble bath.

With my hair dryer.