No time to breathe

I've had one of those weeks, the kind that are so crazy busy I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I agreed to all the things on my family's calendar. My time management skills - and those of the girls - were put to a serious test this past week. It all started last Saturday....

SATURDAY
I had to work until 12:30 and Fino had to be at work at noon that day. So the plan was that the kids were going to hang out at Fino's work until I could get there to pick them up. But before going to work he and the girls were stopping by the Engineering Expo because they all really wanted to go (Fino had as much fun as the kids did there). So although the morning was going to be hectic, it was do-able and pretty typical for us.

But no, that was only the first part of the day, there was more.

We had scheduled Ski Club on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. because we couldn't make our regular meeting time on Sunday (I'll get to the reasons why in a minute). So after picking up the girls from Fino's work we had to get home to put on our ski gear, load up the car and meet up with the Ski Club.

But we could only ski for 90 minutes on the trail because then we had to get back home so the girls could change into their dance clothes for their Snow White rehearsal at 5 p.m.

Well, we've had crazy days like this before but I didn't get enough sleep the night before (I have to be at the office at 5 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) and I got really frazzled at home picking up our ski gear.

And when I get frazzled, I do stupid things. So what did I do this time? I backed the van into a snow bank in my driveway.

And no, I couldn't push myself out of the snow even with some help from the kids. So I called Grandpa and he helped us out and we made it to Ski Club about 10 minutes late (yes, it could have been worse but since I had changed the day and time of the meeting I was really worried everyone would leave thinking they misunderstood my schedule change).

I find exercising helps me to re-focus and by the end of Ski Club, I was feeling a little less stressed. I drove the kids home so they could get changed into dance clothes and then dropped them off at rehearsal.

I called Fino afterwards with a plea to pick them up at 8 p.m. when the rehearsal was over. I just needed to go to bed and get some sleep; Sunday was shaping up to be just as crazy.

SUNDAY
I had to work again at 5 a.m. and knew I wouldn't be getting back home until late. The girls and I were signed-up to take Seen Team pictures at the Pirates game that afternoon. Since I live about 35 minutes from Portland (and not done with work until 1:30ish), and I have to be at the Civic Center about an hour before the game begins to take the pictures (around 3 p.m.), it didn't make sense to go home and then come back into town.

But the girls had a Snow White dress rehearsal/preview show that afternoon and wouldn't be able to get to the Civic Center until 4 p.m.ish. So Fino said he would bring them to the Civic Center to drop them off so they could still see the game (L. does NOT like to miss her Pirates games). We had it planned that he would call me when he arrived at the Civic Center doors so I could meet the girls and take them into the game (Fino opted not to go, smart man). That was the plan.

What neither Fino nor I took into account was the fact that the girls would be in full face make-up for the preview show (G.'s an enchanted tree and L.'s a deer). It took a long time for the girls to wash up after the show. Fino rushed them along and met me at the Civic Center much later than planned. But after the girls jumped out of the van and watched Fino drive down the street, we realized that they forgot the tickets in the van! So Fino did a loop around the Civic Center and I jumped the curb to grab them.

It was worth the effort to get L. to this game though even though it was hectic and she missed almost the whole first period. She truly does enjoy being there and she's not happy about missing the biggest game of the season on March 10 when the Pirates play Hershey (she gave up chocolate in hopes that the Pirates would beat them last year). She has a Snow White performance that night.

We got home around 7 p.m. and after a bite to eat, I sat down to plan the girls' Book Club meeting for the next day. But after calling one of the other moms, I realized it wasn't my week to organize the meeting but having already done most of the planning by that point, I opted to just do it. My brain was operating in overdrive anyway.

MONDAY
I worked at the office again Monday morning (got there at 6:30 a.m. instead). Then after picking the girls up from Grandpa's house that afternoon, I had to get all my teaching supplies together for the book club. After the club meeting, I chatted with my friend Meg, who was also having "one of those weekends" and we took solace in the fact that we weren't alone in managing our respective family schedule craziness.

TUESDAY
I had planned that part of this day needed to be set aside for the girls to  finish their 4-H Fashion Revue projects. They had parts of their projects done but needed to finish them so they could be turned by the deadline (Friday). So I pulled out the sewing machines (we have 2) to get them started. But I quickly discovered that neither machine was sewing correctly. Yeah, they technically worked but the tension was off and I couldn't figure it out and didn't want the girls to get marked down on their projects because of the machine's stitching. Fino's the handyman of the family and he had a class that night so he wouldn't be home until late to tweak things.

But Grandpa came to the rescue again when I asked to borrow his machine, which worked perfectly. 

The girls worked on their projects for a while before heading off to their dance classes. L. has class in Limington from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and G. has class from 5-6:30 p.m. in Gorham. Yes, yes, I know it is CRAZY to do that kind of driving back and forth but the girls each love their respective class and are a good fit for each them (ability and group-wise). 

WEDNESDAY
More sewing time was needed to finish up their projects -- which really did come out well  and both were pleased with the results. Then it was off to play outside with their friends in the snow. They needed some unstructured fun time and wanted to celebrate the completion of their sewing projects.

THURSDAY
L. came down with a 102.5 fever and all activities came to a screeching halt. Yes, this is where you blame me for making her sick because of our crazy schedule. But we did have to make a quick run to the 4-H office to drop off their Fashion Revue projects a day before the deadline in anticipation of the big snow storm. I'm really glad I did that because ....

FRIDAY
 ... it was a SNOW DAY! It was just what we needed (even though I worked from home all morning) -- a lazy day! I just love a well-timed Maine snow storm.

And yes, L. is feeling much better now - and so am I.