The New Normal

I'm sitting here looking around the kitchen. The sink is piled with dishes that I feel too sick to wash yet I don't think it's fair for Steve to wash them since it's his birthday in just under three hours. And I think the pile of laundry downstairs has sprouted a life of its own.

Yep, the new normal is going to take some getting used to.

I am in my third week of working at Gymboree Play and Learn. It is my first week of teaching on my own and it's going fine. But the adjustments around the house and to the family are going to take some work.

First of all, I need to start downing the Vitamin C again. I'm not sure if it's using my voice all day every day again (including singing in much higher ranges than I've done in a LONG time) or being around little kids all day but I am sick...AGAIN. I know I will build up resistance and feel better soon, but for now my throat feels it has knives in it and I have to teach two classes tomorrow morning. Even my piano students were telling me tonight that I sounded funny to them. As a matter of fact, the minute this post is done, I'm heading to bed.

Another change in the new normal is that I had to tell the boys' teachers today that I cannot do lunch duty anymore. The boys are bummed, but I am even more so. I love being in the classrooms periodically. It allows me to watch the boys in their school environments and also to get to know the other kids that they spend most of the hours in their day with. I have cherished the time. But I also know that it is definitely time for me to be working and trying to get us on our feet, hopefully saving the house along the way.

The morning routine has also become affected. Especially with the time change, which seems to have caused much difficulty for My Aaron. He is SOOOOO tired. It doesn't help that their scout pack meeting went an hour and a half past bedtime tonight. Poor Mrs. T tomorrow in having to deal with a tired boy. And even more so...Poor Daddy who will have to spend his birthday alone with the boys while I am teaching, dealing with a crabby Aaron and no TV to help with the down time.

And school pick up threw the boys and the girls I carpool home for a loop yesterday too when, rather than seeing me there first thing when they came out from school, they were among the last picked up since I worked until 3 and it is a twenty minute drive from my work place to their school.

Even Lily Pup is definitely feeling the change. It used to be that after the boys left for school she had me to herself for a little while and we snuggled on the couch, periodically casually going outside for a quick moment to do her business. On nice days, we would take several walks around the block. Now, it has become, "Lily, you had better do your business in the next half hour or you'll be spending the morning in your crate until Steve gets home to let you at lunchtime." Whether in her crate or penned up in the kitchen (I refuse to let her have full run of the house for seven hours straight...her bladder is just too small), she is itching to run and play and INSISTS on hours of Fetch when we get home to help her let off her steam. She will not let us out of her sight (not that she ever did before anyway). Her plumbing seems to be all messed up too:(

The house is a mess, there's dirty laundry piled up, and I haven't even checked Noah's reading log for school his week. So this is what's it's like to be a working mom. I know we will all be fine when the new normal becomes just plain normal. I know the kids will not suffer from this at all and in the long run might even benefit... if we can indeed convince the LBPS blood suckers to let us keep our house. I will learn to manage my time better and get everything done around the house and keep order with everything the kids need for school.

Not to sound complaining too much, I have to say that the boys just got home and had an awesome night at scouts, scoring lots of belt loops and patches. Also, Steve and I are really excited about taking the third and final joining class at church this coming Sunday toward becoming members at the new church. That difficult chapter from a year and half ago sure did find itself a happy ending :)

The new normal will take some getting used to. But it will be worth it and I am glad that we are all on board to work together to work toward a smooth transition.