Stepping forward

Suddenly realised time is speeding up again. Days have blended and weeks are slipping by without recognition. There actually isn’t that much left of the summer holidays.

Next week the boys have soccer camp, then the BH is off for three weeks, and then there’s only a week until the schools go back. Umm, not good as two of the kids are starting new schools and they all need new shoes and various other bits to start the new school year off with. Can’t leave it until the final week either, as you end up pulling your hair out because the shops have sold everything in your child’s size.

And because we’re fully booked for Thursday and Friday this week, I realised all I had left to get ourselves organised was TODAY!

Thankfully this revelation came at about six this morning and I quickly got out the clothes lists and began compiling what was needed. Geeze Louise, only mad or stupid people would have four kids! Figure I must be in the stupid pile as I didn’t exactly give any prior thought to how much the little darlings would cost in sweat and tears.

But moving past hitting my head off the desk as personal punishment, by seven the catalogue of requirements was complete. I even got carried away and came up with a meal plan for the week, as well as working out which shops should be tackled first on the basis we’d walk down town trying things on one way, but not buy until we were heading up town the other – that way ensuring less hissy fits about shoes and jumpers!

And wow, am I good!! We’d done the food shopping by nine, and finished the uniform requirements by midday! MIDDAY!!! I’m so stunned and pleased with myself, I’m sitting here ignoring the laundry without the tiniest flicker of guilt. All it took was seven shops and an uncountable number of threats whispered at the children, but it’s done, really and truly done. Well except for plimsolls for J and three pairs of trainers for the boys, but hey, that’s nothing!

Of course I’ve still got to order some new sew-in name tags and spend a week or two attaching the things, and there’s a couple of hems and sleeves which need taking up, but still, what’s that in the grand scheme of things?!

The only downside was the cost. Bloody hell that hurt, but whether I'd done it this month or next, it was bound to, so hey-ho I’m not even going to let that bother me.

And something kind of funny happened when we were out. One of those coincidence things which makes you laugh when talking with a stranger. We were in the final shop in town sorting out blazer, lab coat, sports kit and stuff for R, when I noticed a mom I sort of recognised from his old school. And yet she was buying the same blazer as us. So I ambled over and asked if her son was changing schools, indeed he is, and though he’s a year younger than R, they both looked pleased that there’d be someone they know on their first day.

She was very interested as to why we were moving R, but I avoided saying too much, and anyway they’re in the same boat, so how much needs to be said?

Anyway that wasn’t what amused me. It was later when I was dropping R off for his fencing taster that I got to smile, as the same Mom and son were there too. We laughed and agreed we are bound to bump into each other everywhere now.

She then commented that she thought we may live near her as she’s passed me in the valley a few times. Sure enough they’re our neighbours!

So she then suggested getting our boys together, but not next week as her son’s doing soccer camp. Big surprise, so are mine!

It’s a funny old world, to think I’ve never spoken to her before and yet our lives mirror each other so completely.

So anyway those were my two steps forward for the day. But you can’t take two steps forward without taking one back, can you? And the step back was icky and had an amusement factor of minus twenty.

P’s a lackwit. I would say idiot, but we don’t use that word in this house. Ugh, can’t even think how to put this, but my bumbling numpty of a son ran around the deck without looking where he was stepping, and what does he step in? I mean how many doggy poops are there on my deck or in my garden?! One, exactly one! Does he notice it, even after he slips in it? Of course not! At least not until he’s walked it into the deck grooves, through my kitchen, across the lounge carpet, rode S’s bike smeared it on the back of his trousers and plodded into the office to tell me.

Give me strength!! This is the nonsense I don’t need!! And I got tough with him, and made him wash his own shoes. You should have seen his face when I handed him the gloves, bucket and brush to scrub his shoes, whilst I tackled the rest.

Yep I’m a mean mommy with a puppy who could poop for Britain, in fact I swear more comes out than goes in! And now… now everything is done (except the second load of laundry and three emails, which I’ll tackle later) and I have half an hour until I have to rush about again. Bliss.