One of those Mondays

Monday was a rough day.  I gave four baths and had things thrown at me.  There was lots of crying, lots of screaming, and lots of mommy wanting to run away. 

It started off normally.  Husband got up, went to work, and the girls and I were left to our own devices.  I had just received my second CSA box and wanted to make something creative to use up a few of the items in it.  I had a ton of tomatoes (from the box, from my dad's garden, and from my own garden) that needed to be used.  Thus, homemade tomato sauce!  How hard could it be?  People do it all the time.

It's actually a lengthy process (when you have two children vying for your attention).  Peeling and deseeding a bunch of tomatoes is quite time consuming.  Then they get to simmer for a few hours.

Since I decided I could use my time a bit more efficiently and multitask, I chose to make zucchini bread at the same time.  I had zucchinis from the box as well that I could use.  That part was easy peasy.  I love the breadmaker.  Throw everything in it and it does the rest.  Seriously, no mixing, no mess.  Just measure, pour, and let be.  My kind of cooking.

Since tomatoes were going to simmer and bread was going to rise, I also decided to boil a whole chicken to make some chicken broth and get some chicken meat.

And boil some eggs.  Always good to have boiled eggs around.

And brown some meat.  Eggplant lasagna (with meat because Husband can't live without it) sounded like a nice meal to have.  I could use the sauce I was making with the tomatoes. 

I think that was it.

Anyway.

We had been out late the previous day so the girls got to skip their bath.  However, it was not to be avoided any longer since Princess smelled like vomit (she gets carsick and our long drive on Sunday was no exception).  Flower just smelled like sour milk.  Yes, I let them both go to sleep like that.

Princess played by herself all morning in her pajamas while I bathed Flower, washed a car seat and other various items (I have washed Princess's doll at least six times and STILL cannot get out the smell of vomit.  My next plan is to find an exact replacement somewhere), and started Googling how to do the tomato sauce.  I pestered Princess about getting into her bath, trying to let her make her own decision (plus, I didn't want to deal with a tantrum.  I figured eventually she would come around.  One of those pick your battles things).

Princess is great at excuses: "Right after I finish this, Mom." Or, "Just let me do this one more time."  Since she was entertained, I didn't push her to get into the bath until after lunch.  Then I reminded her I needed to wash her hair.  She HATES getting her hair wet.  I don't know what it is, but it completely freaks her out.  Subsequently, we rarely wash her hair unless we have something special going on, it stinks, or it's just been too long and I feel like I need to be a better mom and have a clean kid.  I had been reminding her all day that she was going to take a bath and we were going to wash her hair (we have to prepare her for things so she doesn't freak out as much.  Gives her time to process what's coming).  Once she was in the bathtub I reminded her again.  She told me, "Not yet."  After a bit, I told her I was washing it and that was that.  She did ok, but then wanted me to stop rinsing the soap out of her hair.  Which I told her no, and I would stop when the soap was gone.  Well, she didn't like that.  She got very, very angry and decided to start throwing all her toys at me and yelling at me to stop (I really hope the neighbors can't hear us).  I got up and left, telling her I would come back when she was done and ready to apologize to Mommy.  I swear I went back and forth from the kitchen to the bathtub at least twenty times.  It was the power struggle of the decade.  Princess screaming and yelling at me to come back, me telling her she needed to apologize for throwing things at Mommy.  She wouldn't, so I left again.  Repeat.  Eventually she caved (score one for mommy points!).  I finished her up, got her out and dressed, and she was good to go.

In the meantime, Flower decided that her digestion was up and running and let out everything she had for the past week.  Straight in the bath she went, a change of clothes and more laundry for me. That was bath number three of the day.

Somehow the time just goes by and pretty soon it's 5:00, Husband is about to head home from work, the house is an utter disaster, Flower has a tooth just barely poking through and doesn't want to be put down, Princess keeps demanding food, tomato sauce is splattered everywhere, the cat was in your way so you stepped on it, and you're exhausted from being woken up a million times the night before and you haven't been able to catch up.

Princess wanted to eat and I told her she had to wait until I was done with dinner.  I hadn't given her enough attention that day as I attempted to multitask the kitchen and she was at her breaking point.  She threw her dish as hard as she could past me and into the sink (she's into throwing things lately, I guess) and thought it would further her cause to yell at me that she wanted food NOW.  Well, the dish bounced out of the sink and broke on the floor.  I was not happy with how she was treating me (seriously, where does this come from?), and gave her a nice spanking on her bottom, made her pick up the pieces, and sent her to her room.

From which she then had to go to the bathroom (I really can't say no to that one, and she knows it).  Then she wanted to not go back into her room.  No way was I letting her out.  I told her she could stay there until Husband came home.  Cue screaming, crying, sobbing, screaming, running after me down the hallway after I forcefully carry her to her room multiple times.  Next I hear her throwing her toys down the hallway in a fit of rage.

Oy Vey.  I'm going to have to Google ways to help children express their anger.

Then I go back to the kitchen to juggle my messes and a crying Flower.  All the while Princess is screaming at me in the background.  Husband calls to say he'll be late, of course.

I put a crying Flower down to at least try to make some sense of what I have going on (it is so hard to think when children are screaming).  The meat is done, the chicken is done, the eggs are done, the bread is done.  I get the eggplant lasagna done and put in the freezer.  The sauce came out pretty good, although a tad burnt (oops), and I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up.  Princess did stop screaming at one point.  If you're wondering what she screams, usually it's just, "MOMMMMMM!!!!!!  MOOOMMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!! MMMMOOOOOOMMMMYYY I WANT YOU!!!"  Over and over and over. 

Husband comes home and asks me why Princess is asleep in our bed.  Oops.  I guess when I was trying to ignore her while in the kitchen I missed her sneaking out of her room and into ours.  Where she had knocked over my nightstand and everything on it, as well as thrown items into the bathroom.  This kid is thorough, I gotta give her that.

Husband came home with a migraine, so he took some medicine and went to bed next to Princess.  I packaged up the dinner that I had planned, gave Flower her bath (bath number four of the day), and put her to bed.       

Then I went to bed.  In Princess's bed.