#MicroblogMondays: deadline stress

My apologies for not returning any comments on last week's #microblogmonday. I've been under deadline stress and will be until Friday.

Combining working (from home) with the kids' school schedule is a little daunting at times. Last year I could still tell M. Gourmand's sitter that I would pick him up later and ask another mom to pick M. Sensible up from school and take him to the park. Now M. Gourmand is also in (pre)school, but just mornings. So I have two hours to work in the morning when he's at school, two hours during nap time, and if I have any energy left 1-2 hours in the evening when the kids are in bed.

More thoughtful blog posting and commenting to come next week, hopefully.

#MicroblogMondays is another great idea from Mel at Stirrup Queens. Join in!

#MicroblogMondays: inappropriate pink

Although my TTC days are behind me, pink on my panty liners still makes me flip out. What the hell were they thinking at Nana (or Libresse, or whatever they're called abroad)...?!

#MicroblogMondays is another great idea from Mel at Stirrup Queens. Join in!

#MicroblogMondays: to party or not to party

The other day in the park M. Sensible was a bit upset because one of his best kindergarten friends was going over (together with his parents and little sister) to M. Sensible's best friend/girlfriend that evening and of course M. Sensible wanted to go too. So I said I understood, but explained that we can't just all go join everyone without invitation, and I sure would talk to his mom so we could plan a playdate soon too. Well, ok, ok, but of course he still felt a bit left out. And funnily so did I - Why? Why do I always think that they don't like me as much as the others because they set up more dinner dates together? So I tried to kick myself in the ass and told me to get some self-confidence.
The next day we saw everyone again at a birthday party of yet another kindergarten friend. One of the two moms looked really tired and hungover. Turned out the dinner date had actually been a sleepover, lots of alcohol was consumed by the adults and of course they hadn't hit their pillow before 3 am and she was woken up by her baby at 5:30 am, with the other kids following at 7 am. I felt conflicted. There was the little jealous pang again for missing out on a fun evening but at the same time I know that even if I am invited or going out for a girls night, I always go home as one of the first ones because for me feeling like sh*t the day after (which then also means yelling at my kids etc) is too high a price to pay for just a fun night. That probably makes me boring, or at least sensible (a label I've been given my entire life already). I could add that the other two moms are at least 5 years younger than me but I don't think age has anything to do with it. Even when I was a teenager my parents wondered if I shouldn't be out dancing with friends on a Friday night...
Do you like going out late (and getting drunk) with friends even when you know you will not have the chance to sleep in and you might be grumpy and unpleasant to everyone around you the following day? Or are you so lucky to have a partner who would just take over the next day so you can recuperate (which is not the case for me)?

#MicroblogMondays is another great idea from Mel at Stirrup Queens. Join in!

#MicroblogMondays: La Rentrée

Is summer vacation for a mother of small children ever really relaxing? We had lots of fun, but I can't say I was rested upon return (especially since M. Gourmand thought it was too much trouble going to the bathroom on the campsite - so much easier to let mommy clean up the mess… I must admit I threw away a few undies…).

Today the second week of school started with both boys attending. Last week I immediately noticed how much easier life is for the younger child. School was already familiar to him, while his brother had again to navigate a new situation as his Kindergarten class is located in the building of the elementary school - so tears for M. Sensible, big smile for M. Gourmand (who has everybody's favorite teacher as well so how can you not smile).

I now have at least my mornings back (and who knows, maybe also my blog?) - and some part of the afternoon too as M. Sensible stays at school all day and M. Gourmand takes long enough naps for me to get some work done. If I get as far as to revive my Cultural Differences series, there will certainly be a post on the topic of "La Rentrée" too.

#MicroblogMondays is another great idea from Mel at Stirrup Queens. Join in!