Organized Chaos

That best describes my life right now.

First, Wednesdays are chaotic. Jessica has a car only on Wednesdays. It takes two of us to get everyone everywhere. It goes like this:

6:10 Rick takes Jasmine to the high school to catch the transfer bus to her charter school. He comes back.

6:40 Jessica takes Rick to work so she can have the car.

8:30 Jessica leaves for college.

1:35 I get the twins from school. They are only car riders this one day because the bus gets home too late for us to make tumbling.

1:45 I get the twins in reality because the line is backed up that far.

2:00 Mad scramble to change to tumbling clothes, pick out homework and reading to do in the car, quickly organize jobs for later.

2:10 Need to be out the door for tumbling.

2:20 Time we are usually walking out the door for tumbling (at the dance academy).

2:25 Jessica picks Jasmine up and brings her to the dance academy. She changes there.

2:45 tumbling starts, Jasmine works on homework, Jessica assists with tumbling.

3:30 Tumbling ends and Jessica take the twins home, Jasmine's jazz class starts

4:30 Jasmine's tap class starts

5:00 done with dance, Jessica is at home frantically trying to get out the door to her evening precalculus class back down at the college

We had tried to go to church choir and missions at this time with Jasmine but it was too stressful and she'd end up doing homework for half the night so she and I go somewhere to eat (Chick Fil A, Hardees, Sarkus or Sbarros) and talk for a little bit. Sometimes we take her work with and I'll quiz her on social studies while we eat.

5:30 Adam gets home from Track practice

6-7 We get back home. Rick has the twins fed and working on their homework.

9:00 Jessica gets home

As you can tell, everyone has to work together in order for all of us to survive Wednesdays.

But yesterday one decided he as going to sabotage it all. He couldn't get his shoes on, he couldn't find his tumbling bag, he couldn't find his snack to take etc. We left without the bag, shoes (it was 70F), homework or snack. So then he had to pout over that. Then call attention to himself at the dance academy etc.

I don't use time out. He loves time out. I would give him time out, and he'd want to stay in it when time was up because sitting and doing nothing is his favorite activity. So I give jumping jacks. If he's angry, it wears it off. If he's goofing off, it redirects him. If he acts like he can't do something I know he can do, it gets the blood flowing to his brain (or at least that's what I tell him). It also helps his fitness level. A minor offense will earn one set of 100. Something more major like a fit will earn 5 sets. We don't give more than five at a time. Five sets takes about 6-7 minutes so about the same as time out.

But last night before all was said and done, he earned ten sets. But he was to do them in two sets of five with a break between. I forgot to tell Jessica he owed them. She knew he owed some from poor choices at the bus stop, but she thought he'd done them. I didn't tell her about the others. But I'd told him he was not to play until his homework was done and his sets were done.

I got home last night and he says, "Look what I'm doing and smirks at me." He's sitting on the floor building with Lincoln Logs. And he thinks he's won because he did exactly what I told him he couldn't do--play unti the jumping jacks were done. Grrrr. He'd told Rick he didn't have anything to do and could play. So Rick was unhappy at having been lied to. Amazingly Kayla didn't tell on him. They love to tattle on each other. He thought he was getting away with something. He didn't. And he got sent to bed instead of playing too.

So that was a pretty typical Wednesday.

Life is more chaotic than normal right now because of the things I posted about in that last post. I have stuff for the day and a half of conference, stuff for the cruise and stuff for Disney. Some clothing is going to be used for two or all three of those events (assuming I don't drop something on myself at lunch). They guys are packing separately for the cruise. So we have two hanging bags and several pieces of luggage.


Nope. He's not going. He just has to lay on something!

I'm not sure how much Internet access I'll have along the way so if you don't hear from me between Sunday and the following Saturday, I'm just without Internet. It's a fortune to use it on the ship, and I can leave without Facebook for a week. I plan to spend every minute with my family and connecting with each of them.

Then once I'm home, I'll do things with the twins for the remainder of spring break. They are really fun to be with when they are not playing "games." Sometimes they just have to have control, and then things don't go well. Other times they are happy to go along with the plan, and we all have fun.

They've made a ton of progress in the last two years both academically and socially. They understand family life and what's expected (even when they choose not to do it). Kayla still has to have control in her classroom and I hope that will gradually diminish as she sees it doesn't get her what she wants. And maybe some day she will be a great leader!

We should have a court date for readoption soon.

The driveway is done and is functional, but it's really ugly! Not what I though it would look like. More like a parking lot. Blah. We need to edge it, and then put something around it. Stones or bushes?

When I had to take the SUV in to fix where the lady hit me (no, she hasn't reimbursed my $500 deductible!), I had them take the scratches off the side. They straightened the license plate where the jet ski trailer hit it. I don't recognize the car until I get close enough to see the bungee cord that holds the driver's side mirror on!

They were cleaning each other--until I got the camera out.

Jessica loves this for breakfast.

I will try to post what all the kid's cooked soon. I might set it to post Saturday while I'm at conference.

Well, that's the controlled chaos here for now. How about you?