*updated* Why I am behind on my blog- a snapshot of a typical day right now.

6:00-6:30 Alarm goes off, try to ignore it and sleep as long as possible because I have had many days like this already.

6:30-7:00 Make four lunches, check my email for the first time since yesterday morning. 40 in one account and 60 in the other. Reply to a couple of emails, search for any pressing ones. Begin looking for my quilting ruler that Matthew wandered off with yesterday and I need today.

7:00-8:00 Send oldest off to school, eat breakfast, find Kirsti clothes and socks (laundry pile). Find Ethan and Joseph missing shoes (one hidden in plain sight, the other on the bed). Find Kirsti and Ryan homework folders (desk and kitchen counter). Find Kirsti and Joseph their missing coats (Joseph's room- for Kirsti- and boys' bathroom- for Joseph). Sign Kirsti and Ethan's reading logs and Ryan's field trip permission slip. Still can't find the quilting ruler (and by this point I have searched the whole house- including basement and garage). Send 3 kids to school.

8:00-9:00 Order more Christmas presents online. Eat breakfast. Print needed coupons for shopping trip today. Put pants in washing machine for me, Matthew and Joseph since none of us have clean ones. Gather the rest of laundry. Put pants in dryer and start a real load.

9:00-10:00 Get dressed. Put Matthew in shower with me since he threw up last night (ate too much dinner) and fell asleep before we got home (yes, he threw up at a restaurant) so still smells terrible. Get us all dressed, change laundry, make shopping list, leave for store.

10:00-11:00 Hit AC Moore. Try to shop their sale for Christmas presents while I have two kids. Involves hiding things under coats and constantly pointing interesting things out to Joseph, who loves walking through the store. Successful again, but it is tiring. They do NOT have quilting rulers, but use 40% off coupon on shrinky dink paper.

11:00-12:00 WalMart for grocery shopping. Realize that I am running later than I thought and forgot to grab Joseph's backpack when leaving the house. Having dealt with him not having his backpack for preschool before (he had a melt down), decided not to risk it. Will have to make a stop at home.

12:00-12:15 Get gas in Suburban because gas gauge is broken and 1/4 tank could mean 4 gallons left or 0 gallons left (but never 1/4 tank left). Do a little dance when I see the total (under 1.75 a gallon!!) Try to convince myself I have time to run to the last grocery stop, but just can't do it. When I check my calendar to make sure he really has preschool today, realize it is my sister's birthday. And no luck, preschool is today.

12:15-12:50 Run home. Grab backpack and diet coke (getting tired by now). Drive to school and drop off Joseph.

12:50-1:50 Run to Target (they have something we want for the kids on sale this week and this is the only time I could get it kid free. Not completely kid free, but Matthew is too little to "get it" or tattle and will forget before Christmas, anyway.) Get out with 10 minutes free (because I practically ran through Target) before I have to head back to the school. Run to Michael's across the street- they have the ruler!! Use my 40% coupon to buy it. Get to the school with 4 minutes to spare so I quickly update my Christmas spreadsheet with all the new stuff I bought today (I keep track of ideas, bought items, and cost for each child). And yes, I carry the folder around with the spreadsheet in it all the time just in case I get a minute to spare.

1:50-2:45 Run home. Unload groceries. Hide Christmas presents (this must be done before the older kids get home. TV won't distract them like it does Joseph). Open two boxes from Amazon that arrived while I was gone and hide them, too. Change Matthew, who insists on sitting on the toilet. Clap when he actually pees. Add underwear to his Christmas list. Leave him on the toilet while I change laundry (he refused to get off). Start the dryer, chase a now naked 2 year old running around the house, and clothe him. Yell at Joseph to put his shoes back on, put away the frozen and refrigerated groceries, leave a note for Elise to call me when she gets off the bus, and head for the warehouse store (which I could have done earlier if I didn't have to go back home for the dang backpack).

2:45-3:30 Run through the large warehouse store, did I mention I was there earlier getting gas? Load the car and get home 1/2 hour after Elise, but just as the other three arrive home.

3:30-4:00 Unload car again and put away all the groceries, only missed one frozen thing earlier.

4:00-4:30 Call and email the other room mothers in my kids' class to go over holiday stuff. Also call my brother because I missed a call from him. He called to tell me Joseph accidentally called him earlier while we were at the store. Right as he was getting in trouble for saying "shut up". Call and wish my sister happy birthday.

4:30-5:30 "Help" the kids do their chores, change laundry again, "encourage" the kids to finish their chores. One child in screaming the ENTIRE hour and another screaming for 1/2 of it. Did I mention that I could have done all 5 chores in 20 minutes? Got to love teaching responsibility.

5:30-6:00 Call my mom (missed her call earlier) to go over some projects she graciously agreed to take over for me, make dinner, load dishwasher, wash dishes, and help Kirsti with homework. All simultaneously. Make the tacos, feed the kids, get Matthew and Joseph dressed again.

6:00-6:15 Put on coats and shoes (alas the youngest 2 lost their socks and I was making them go sockless) and put the boys in the Suburban to take them all to scouts. Peter pulls up as we pull out. Stop and give him the scout age boys. Take the younger two back inside.

6:15-7:45 Brainless watching of child programming.

7:45-9:00 Use my new quilting ruler to cut the square and strips I need for a Christmas project that must remain nameless for now. Apparently at his instistance, Elise takes Matthew to the bathroom again and he goes again. Try to get kids ready for bed. Legs so tired, it hurts to stand. Peter gets home late with boys (stopped to pick up the Dark Knight at store).

9:00-9:40 Realize how late it is, force kids to bed. Watch a TV show with Peter. Pray he doesn't make some snide comment about what I did today because the floors still aren't swept and dinner is still not put away.

9:40-11:00 Cut out pattern, iron and pin and get ready to sew. When go to wind the bobbin, realize I am out of the thread I need. Take it as a sign that I just need sleep. But, in the interest of honesty, I did consider a midnight WalMart run for thread.

11:00-11:30 Since he is headed out of town tomorrow and needs the trunk space, empty Peter's car of presents I bought last week . Load dishwasher and put away dinner. Change laundry. Do a suduko puzzle. Go to bed.

This is pretty typical of my days right now. Monday you could exchange AC Moore for JoAnns, take out shopping but add 3 dentist appointments, piano lessons and dinner with interviewing doctor (where Matthew threw up and Elise watched the other kids for the first time by herself). Finished one project (which I also can't mention yet) and started this one (which is when I found Matthew had lost my ruler). Also, doing laundry would be replaced by gathering and sorting dirty laundry. Oh, and Peter did make a snide comment that day and it was all I could do to not sock him one.

Should be done sewing by the end of the week. I hope. Never be done with dentist appointments, though. Or feeding the kids dinner.

*update* As I was getting dressed to go get the thread I needed, Matthew walks up to me carrying the missing ruler. Guess I have two now.