Life is going fast. It always seems to zip by just a little bit faster when we have guests in town. I've realized that it's because I set myself up for a state of being overwhelmed when we have guests in town. I'm just not Martha Stewart and I don't apologize for that...but I do feel a little bit bad that my dad probably loses 10+ pounds on every visit to our house. He is NOT used to not only our vegetarian/some vegan/some gluten-free diet BUT also the fact that we don't necessarily get around to making meals for the adults. Things get so busy busy busy in the day that when the kids take a rest, we all take a rest. Then they wake up from naps and are READY to eat NOW....so you end up throwing something easy and convenient together for them. Mac N Cheese, vegetarian chicken nuggets, grilled-cheeses, etc. Not always the healthiest...and definitely not what my parents want to eat. So the kids are eating that around 5pm and then my dad asks, "What are the rest of us going to eat?". Well, the truth is, after the chaos of dinner, hearing the complaints/crying/refusing-to-eat-what-is-served-and-then-being-cranky-due-to-low-blood-sugar, often I've just about HAD it. Whenever I take the time to prepare healthy, nutritious meals the kids don't want it. Why do I waste my time on them. We end up throwing away a lot of food off their plates. So, lately, once the kids are done eating we just DON'T eat ourselves. Or we make a quick frozen dinner. Let me just throw in there that when it comes to gluten-free & vegan sometimes a frozen dinner is the best bet. There is just NO easy meal that you can throw together. That diet takes a considerable amount of preparation. I'm not opposed to that. I actually (believe it or not) enjoy cooking to some extent. When it's quiet and I can focus on what I'm doing. So almost never :)
Okay, so this post definitely went somewhere that I didn't intend for it to go...but that's how a lot of these posts are. I just open the laptop and let it start flowing. Pair that with a glass of red wine (and no dinner. See above.) and you never know what I might ramble about.
On another note, while my Dad LOSES weight whenever he visits us, I GAIN weight. Not fair! It doesn't help that my mom arrived at our house with a giant bag of M&M's for us. Well, they were SUPPOSED to be for the boys as incentives for sitting on the potty, but tell that to a chocolate addict. I.Have.No.Control. Not when it comes to chocolate. On top of the M&M's my dad bought a giant bag of fancy truffles at Costco while he was here. I've had two tonight so far. With a glass of red wine. And no dinner. Who needs dinner?
Okay, so I guess what I started rambling about in this post was the fact that I set myself up for a state of being overwhelmed because I try to fit way TOO much into the time that we have visitors. I start compiling a list of things I want to get done while people are here a couple months in advance. Things I just can't seem to get done when it's just Myke and I and the kids. For instance, while my parents were here I wanted to: 1) Visit the Children's Museum downtown. We have an annual pass. It's not easy to go there alone with 4 kids and I don't want to go to places like that on weekends when they are crazy busy. Taking the grandparents would be a great idea. Have not done this. 2) Take the boys to California Adventure for their 3rd birthday. We have been planning this for 2 years. 3) Get flowers planted in the back garden 4) Take tubs of too-small baby and kid clothes to the resale shop to sell/trade. 5) Prepare for the yard sale we're supposed to have next weekend.
Those are just a few of the things on my list that I HAVE not gotten done yet. My parents are only here 5 more days and already most of those days are booked and busy. When parents visit I just try to squeeze WAY too much in. I try to schedule every doctor appointment, dentist appointment, one-on-one time with each kid, often a haircut for myself, etc...just things that are easier to do with some grandparents to babysit at least SOME of the other kids. I can only get done what I get done. I need to stop stressing about crossing every item off the list I just need to let it go. LET IT GO...dahdahdahdah dahhhhh (Frozen. I couldn't help it.)
I need to lower my expectations and just realize that some things just won't get done. And that's fine. I'm getting there. I'm working on it. It's a work in progress.
I have four kids. At least one of them has basically told me that I need to pull in the reins and stop running around so much. Owen has started telling them that he doesn't want to go and that he wants to stay home. He's a homebody like Myke. I kind of want to be a homebody for a bit. I think I would have a lot more peace? Not sure. I'll definitely plan a day to just stay at home and play with the kids....soon....just as soon as I finish my never-ending TO-DO list. Hmmmm
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