Outside a lot, house is a mess.

A few months ago I gave up caffeine - except for the occasional piece of dark chocolate.  While it was a super tough transition of headaches, tiredness and crabbiness...oh, and trying to figure out what I could drink if I wasn't drinking Diet Coke it really did help my overall health.  I don't think I've had a stomach ache since, I don't ever get really hungry and crash, and I just feel better overall.  However, I am craving a diet coke today like none other and, since we've been outside so much I really haven't been keeping up with the housework - and since I've added 90 miles of biking to my weekly routine I'M TIRED!  I don't want to play catch up from last weekend when I spent all day sunday fixing my washing machine.  Argh.  It never ends.  It doesn't help either that I haven't seen Paul since early last week since Law School finals are ruining both of our lives.  Boo.  

While I love the warmer weather (its 64 today!) I'm not loving how messy my house has gotten.  After my bike home from work, running with the stroller to pick up the boys, coming home to this beautiful weather I literally drop my bike bag and the boy's school bags and grab a snack and come back outside to enjoy the wonderfulness we haven't seen in 7 months.  Then, since I live in St. Paul and I can't just leave the guys in the backyard so I end up grilling every night and run inside, prepare, run it outside without cleaning up the mess then running back in to grab something, out ASAP to check on them -----the house is getting messy.  Then we eat outside and I run the dishes in really quick to get back outside to hang out with them.  There's no cleaning up in the process...at all.  THEN, since the boys have gotten filthy from playing outside they need a bath almost every night so right to the bathtub.  By the time they're in bed, I need to work for a little while, Paul comes  home so I chat with him while he eats dinner then its like 11pm and I'm exhausted and don't want to clean up inside.  Its hard!

A diet coke is the answer to my problem.  A little extra energy for the 3rd shift. (first shift being work, second shift being a mom, 3rd shift being a homemaker).  The problem with drinking a diet coke is that once I start I JUST CAN'T stop!  So, tonight since Paul plans on getting home around 1am when the school closes, I'm hoping I can get everything cleaned up and ready to go for the weekend.  Sigh.  Can I do it?  YES I CAN!  but I'm so tired.  sigh.  

We have plans for tomorrow and they don't include cleaning the inside of the house!  Paul is gone most of the day (school opens at 8...), so the boys and I are going to make a bigger sandbox with real sand v. the little rocks we have right now.  Jaime wants sand so sand Jaime will get.  Do you guys have a sandbox?  Last weekend I picked up a bunch of landscape stones for sandbox - I think its going to be a good summertime play area for the boys - yep, they're taking up MORE of my gardens :(  Tomorrow we are also doing the following:  Trip to Best Buy, Trip to the Dump, trip to Target and Menards.  I also need to figure out what to get everyone for Mothers Day.  Law School sucks, I need a diet coke.

Have a GREAT Mothers Day, ANN!  Take care!