Hats Off To You Parents

Everytime I come home I am reminded of all the hard work of stay-at-home moms and single parents. Handling my niece and nephew, cooking, cleaning, and trying to run and errand or two during the day takes a lot of patience, flexibility, sense of humor, and energy, among other traits!

Today I woke up to find my niece had pee'd on the carpet and had tried to clean it up herself, which only made it a lot worse since she had tried to use toilet paper. Bits and pieces of pee-soaked toilet paper were all over the carpet, just screaming, "Good Morning!". Nice. LOL!!

Then it was time to make breakfast, which consisted of Lucky Charms cereal. My nephew is generally a good kid and I didn't have any headaches with him today. My niece, on the other hand, refused to eat her cereal with milk, and even then all she did was pick out the marshmallow shapes and left all the cereal in the bowl. When she finished I cleaned up the kitchen and just as I got everything cleaned up, she said she was still hungry. Argh. So then I had to pull out another plate and fed her preztels and ham slices, which was another mess I had to clean up and which delayed my grand plan of having us out and to the park by 10AM-ish.

Getting out of the house was another issue. Getting two kids dressed and ready to leave the house was a chore. My niece insisted on changing her outfit a few times. Then she wouldn't leave me alone when I tried to get dressed or use the bathroom. My nephew kept reminding me to bring bread to feed the ducks which generally doesn't bother me, except that his younger sister is now in that phase where she likes to copy him in every way possible, whether it's in behavior or in phrases they say. Imagine two kids just nagging their aunt. Argh!!

When we got back from the park it was snack time and then finally I had a few moments to relax. I even had time to check email and have an interrupted conversation. I also managed to unload and reload the dishwasher. It feels like the basic household chores just never end. As in, 'didn't I just unload the dishwasher???"

When they woke up from their nap it was back to work. I made lunch for the two of them and again, my niece just somehow manages to make such a mess. I was finding bits and pieces of food on the floor, on the table, on the chair, and on my clothes. LOL.

This was only half of the day!! I'm exhausted! I'm too tired to even finish writing about the rest of the day!!

I love the kids to death but I am seriously tired!!! I really admire and respect all parents out there!

I've got another long day with the kids tomorrow.

You all have a good night!