Much better today...

Yesterday, I took all 5 of my kids with me to my dentist appointment. I woke up with a headache, a sour mood completely drained of patience. Of course we had to be there early, but slept late. Rushing to get ready is by far my least favorite thing to do with children. Yet I do it pretty often. Almost everyday!  I feel like a broken record. "Please feed the dog." " Hey, Did u feed the dog?" "The dog ...can u feed the dog?" (DEEP BREATH)! "I am not gonna remember to remind you again...can u please do it now..so he doesn't starve all day?" My #2 gets distracted very easily. I will ask her to put on shoes, then find her in her room reading. I will ask her to brush her teeth, instead finding her in the backyard. We often joke that she is not from this planet. Doesn't matter how early she starts...she is always the last to be ready. My #1 is usually second in command. My mommy guilt often nags that I'm too hard on her. I ask her to do too much. Truth is, I do. She rises to the occasion. I reward her as often as I can. The boys are 4, 2 , and 10mo. Getting them ready requires a lot more hands on work. They run. I chase. They won't. I bribe. Sometimes, I beg. Most often, I repeat, repeat, repeat until I yell. It feels to me in our hectic dashes to get ready, I speak constantly. A consistent verbal stream of instructions pours out of my mouth non-stop until we reach the car. Its exhausting!
We made it to the dentist. It took 2+ hours, all the while my 5 minions waited in the bathroom sized waiting room. I only had to ask for 2 breaks to threaten  their lives. Many people complimented me on how well behaved they were. I was proud. My mood improved greatly.
Instead of returning to our empty, hot, depressing home. We went to the family fun center. Epic genius parenting move. Although I am prone to sarcasm, I am being quite serious. We had a great time. The air-conditioning was wonderful. There were no half-packed boxes glaring at me. The kids had fun. There was no fighting, no crying, no whining.....from me or the kids. Sometimes, when all I wanna do is crawl in a hole, the best thing to do is get the heck out of the house. It was the perfect break from Moving Madness 2014. It was exactly what we needed.
 I spent this morning appeasing mother guilt by working overtime. She is never happy....kept complaining I hadn't gotten enough done yesterday. It's all about balance. Right? Balance is a bitch!