Beacon of Hope

Just A Day in the Life of a Mother with Boys........

(Thursday to be exact!)

Warning: Long Post... BUT hey, it was a loooooooooooong day!

5:30 Wake up by body alarm. Used to getting up at insane hour to go to gym. Now impossible to sleep longer.

6:30 Make sure son got up to electronic alarm.

6:55 Make sure husband is up to run son to school for football practice (yeah I know...WHO is crazy enough to start football in February? It's a man thing I guess...)

7:10 Make sure other son is up.

7:15 Make breakfast for other son AND other son. Football son missed breakfast because of insane football practice...in FEB!

7:16 Make sure other son is up AGAIN! Claims he doesn't need to get up until 7:30 today. Believe him.

7:30 Tell him (can't wake up son) it is 7:30 and to get up.

7:30:30 seconds. Tell can't wake up son he is toast if he doesn't promptly arise. Threaten to get squirt bottle.

7:31 Praise can't wake up son for getting up promptly.

7:32 Wake other son...the other other son.

7:33 Finish making breakfast.

7:34 Get dressed in running clothes.

7:35 Realize woke can't wake up son up too late because believed him when said didn't have to get up until 7:30 today.

7:36 Listen to can't wake up son ask why I believed him when he was so out of it and complain that now he will be late.

7:37 Ignore comment.

7:38 Tell can't wake up son to hurry.

7:50 Tell can't wake up son going to be very late.

7:51 Can't wake up son seems very unconcerned. Hug him and tell him I love him as he walks out the door.

8:00 Help other other son finish getting ready. Remind him he needs a hat for Dr. Seuss day.

8:10 Take other other son to school.

8:15 Clean up breakfast mess.

8:30 Get on computer and check temperature and email.

9:00 Decide can handle 37 degrees to run.

9:30 Friend calls as leaving on run.

9:31 Talk to friend on cell while on run...mostly walk to prevent heavy breathing in phone.

10:30 Arrive home from run walk.

10:31 Still talking to friend on phone.

10:32 Make oatmeal and eat it with butter, sugar, and milk. Mmmmmm....

10:40 Do various household chores.

12:30 Finally get in shower after household chores.

1:20 Talk to other other son who called from school about his minutes for reading this week because left his signed paper home. Confirm minutes with teacher.

1:30 Go to other other son's school to help with Dr. Seuss party.

1:50 Earthquake drill during Dr. Seuss party. Help kid's get outside.

2:00 Continue helping with party for 80+ kids.

2:30 Help clean up party mess.

2:45 Chat with friends while wait for bell to ring.

2:55 Arrive home with other other son.

3:00 Take football son to piano after listening to extreme petitions to pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease allow him to quit piano.

3:01 Ignore petitions.

3:02 Arrive at piano teacher's house. Teacher runs out to inform piano is cancelled because kids are sick.

3:02:05 Football son nearly breaks all ear drums within 5 miles due to extreme excitement over cancelled piano.

3:03 Tell other other son there is no piano today. He nearly breaks all ear drums within 10 miles due to extreme excitement.

3:04 Get on computer. Check email and blog.

3:25 Husband goes to work. Working late schedule this week.

3:45 Start dinner. Oldest son requested stroganoff for today but realize out of sour cream.

3:50 Make stroganoff with everything but sour cream. Plan to go to store.

3:55 Help can't wake up son get ready to go snowboarding for weekend.

4:30 Take can't wake up son to friend's house.

4:32 Take football son's friend home.

4:45 Go to Junior High School for parent football meeting.

5:55 Leave meeting and go to grocery store for sour cream.

6:05 Football son keeps adding, and adding, AND adding things to cart. Tell him to stop.

6:10 Arrive home and help football son unload groceries.

6:11 Notice some stroganoff is gone and rice is made.

6:12 Discover oldest son made rice and ate stroganoff not knowing it was still missing sour cream.

6:13 Oldest son said it was good. Oldest son must have been very hungry.

6:15 Finish making dinner. Feed football son and other other son.

6:30 Inform all sons to get busy on dishes.

6:50 Take football son to basketball game.

7:10 Only four team members show so have to forfeit.

7:11 Still play full game. Four on five. Football son scores many points.

7:50 Cheer because win game by pretty large margin. Win doesn't count since had to forfeit.

8:00 Arrive home and go upstairs.

8:00 Turn on fireplace in bedroom and enjoy warmth and a little relaxation. Ahhhh...

8:10 Get laptop out and check blog...begin to remember warning from blogging friends blogging could become addicting. Nah...

8:25 Football son calls for me and tells me to please come here now.

8:25 Don't respond to football son because feels so good to relax in front of warm fire and decide if he really needs me right now he will come find me.

8:26 Football son calls again and tells me better come right NOW... "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease."

8:26 Say, "What is it, my darling football son?"

8:27 Football son yells..."Moooooommmmmmmmmmm! "

8:28 Leave cozy warmth of fireplace to go see what is such an emergency.

8:29 Really, really, REALLY wish had just stayed by hot and cozy fireplace.

8:30 Survey scene and feel self getting hot and getting much, much hotter, but in a different way than fireplace heat. A VERY different way. Under collar begins to feel very hot.

8:31 Not happy to see cause of alarm as football son is cleaning huge mess in hall.

8:32 Ask football son what happened.

8:32 Football son explains just got out of shower and was coming out of laundry room and drying hair with towel so eyes were covered and couldn't see. Hmm... Was surprised and amazed towel is NOT on floor (for once) but around neck.

8:33 Smell heavy floral scent. See candle wax spilled all over carpet in upstairs hall. Not just spilled, but scattered in a 6' x 3' area. Feeling even hotter. Resist urge to tighten towel around football son's neck.

8:34 Realize can't wake up son must have decided to wax snowboard using scented and VERY expensive candle...UPSTAIRS...ON CARPET...leaving candle on heating element...IN MIDDLE OF FLOOR... right in way of football son's foot. No longer have urge to tighten towel around football son's neck, but around can't wake up son's.

8:35 Grateful no school tomorrow so can't wake up son is at Powder Mountain for long weekend or life may be in extreme jeopardy.

8:36 Assess damage.

8:37 Order football son to get old towels and iron.

8:38 Begin disaster clean up.

8:39 Place towel over wax and begin ironing over it to remove wax. Previous experience with wax on tablecloths using this process (due to having five boys who love anything with a flame) comes in handy.

8:45 Getting very frustrated...not working as well as hoped.

8:46 Tell football son to Google how to get wax out of carpet.

8:47 Football son reads the steps. Realize need to use brown garbage sacks instead of towels.

8:48 Have him find all brown garbage sacks in house. Finds three.

8:49 Husband offers to go to store to get more. Take him up on offer and tell him better bring home entire case.

8:50 Start process again using brown sacks. Works well.

9:10 Still ironing sacks when husband arrives with only ten more.

9:15 Husband uses ice in bag to freeze big wax clumps and scrape it off with spatula. (Google's first step before using iron.) Begin to thank the heaven's for Google.

9:16 Tell football son to cut open sacks so can use them easier.

9:30 Still ironing sacks. Still getting up enormous amounts of wax.

9:40 Wonder if will ever end. Wonder if can't wake up son knows what fate awaits him when returns.

9:44 Choose to look on bright side: candle at least smells good, wax is white and NOT flourescent pink, can't wake up son is gone until Saturday night much to his great luck and safety, and best of all...this may just make a great blog.

9:50 Suddenly feel guilt that didn't go in laundry room and DO laundry before sat by fireplace so would've seen candle and prevented entire disaster.

9:55 Guilt leaves immediately when think of can't wake up son actually waxing board with expensive candle WITHOUT permission, on carpet...PURPLE carpet no less!

10:00 Still ironing sacks. Gone through many. Very, very many.

10:15 Wax still coming up.

10:38 2 hours, 10 + garbage bags, and O nerves later...finally appears wax is all off.

10:45 Last words before crash in bed..."I NEED chocolate NOWWWWWWWW!!!!"

This picture doesn't do it justice...just imagine this as a 6 foot long mess and scattered all over in a three foot span. Most of it isn't even visible.

"Jodi"- rella

Using the ice and spatula method first on a small part...

Yep, some of it even went down the stairs! It was a family affair...well, at least for the FIRST half hour!