Weary of Whining

That is what my instant message status said today - does that give you any idea of what kind of a day it was? Sirah and Ciaran just could not find a tone of voice that cold qualify for anything other than the label of whinese. It also seemed that no matter what I did or said I only further complicated the situation and seemed to escalate the whining. It was wearing and I am weary now.

Still we did get quite a bit accomplished throughout the day. School went very smoothly for Rhiannon and I. Ciaran managed to do some reading and some Explode the Code and I read aloud to him. Rhiannon and I worked through quite a bit and she was in good spirits and very helpful today. After school we managed to clean out the girls room which is typically an all day event. I keep trying to find new creative ways to help organize their stuff so they can keep it clean themselves. But two girls in a small room is not much of a recipe for neatness I have accepted. We reorganized and cleaned together for most of the afternoon so their upkeep is easier - we will see how it goes.

I also worked on Christmas presents - I am trying to be good and get ahead of the game this year so I can actually enjoy the holidays with my family and not pay more in shipping then I did for the gifts. Since we are out of town we have to ship to everyone on our list in many different states. Somehow I always think I am starting ahead of time and end up shipping the week before or sometimes the week of Christmas. One year we FedExed presents - that was ridiculously expensive and to not be repeated. So I figure starting in mid-November gives me hope. I'll let you know how it goes in a few weeks.

The great thing is we have a fresh start ahead of us tomorrow and another great day planned. We have a busy day which after today I think will be a good thing. Rhia is going on a field trip for older kids with another family in our group, we have a fitness class and a trip to the nursing home plus our regular Wednesday night activities planned. Typically I do not like having that many things scheduled in one day but I am actually looking forward to it tomorrow.

Any great tips on how to handle these days? I have muddled through, lost my temper and apologized a few times and look forward to tomorrow. Days like this also remind me how thankful I am that they are rare and not my everyday life. We all have challenging days - I figured I would write about one so everyone knows it isn't all magical every day and we are real with bad days too.

Peace,
Tenniel