[shanpine]

I realize this is kind of random and perhaps a complete waste of time...but it sort of made me feel justified in my exhaustion at the end of the day. When my dh comes home and tells me he had a stressful day and crawls into bed.....sometimes I stand there and think....I'm tired too. Why am I so darn tired?
So I decided to figure out exactly what I was doing all day to wear me out.
I'm telling you.....you ought to try this.
Write out what you did yesterday....and you may be amazed that you're still standing!!!

Went to bed around 12:15 because I had to get the cupcakes finished for Ethan's birthday party.

Up at 5:45. Did quiet time, made a lunch, bagged cupcakes and put them in freezer, put chicken in sink to thaw, wrote out 5 thank-you notes, went to basement to printout mandatory form for marathon that has to be in by 10am tomorrow, got kids up, got kids dressed, fed kids while quizzing on spelling words and memory verses, stripped guest bed and threw sheets in wash, emptied dishwasher, fed chinchilla, got kids hair and teeth brushed and left for school.

Picked up other 4 carpoolers, reprimanded Carolyn for throwing water bottle at other mother, get to school WITHOUT a tardy (despite REALLY long train), deposited 6 of the kids in their classes, took Carolyn with me to deliver fundraising stuff to other kindergarten mom, loaded Carolyn back in car and drove to preschool.

Arrange after school playdates for both boys, reprimand Carolyn for throwing a monkey at my head because she didn't want it, sat in car for 5 minutes and filled out marathon form, took Carolyn in, delivered thank-you notes, met with Preschool director and planned activities for child care for the Young Life banquet on Monday and went home.

Threw sheets in dryer, stripped Bennett's bed and threw that in wash, refilled sink to continue thawing chicken, opened windows in the house for fresh air, went for a 3 mile run.

Returned home, cut up chicken and put in marinade, cleaned sink, quick shower and left.

Went to Barrett's office to fax marathon form, went to Walmart, called place where we're having Ethan's party to confirm, called Parents as Teachers to schedule Carolyn's appointment, home to unload groceries.

Unload and put away groceries, put Bennett's sheets in dryer and load of clothes in wash, bake 2 dozen cupcakes and a pan of brownies, made guest bed, chat with my mom, help friend load clothes racks and tables into her car leave to pick up Carolyn.

Pick up Carolyn, listen to teacher explain why she had to sit in timeout for throwing cup at another girl, come home, put clothes in dryer, read Carolyn a story, put her to bed, make Bennett's bed, frost brownies, call restaurant who is donating supplies for our school carnival to confirm, divvy up all the "prizes" that the kindergarten class has received for the carnival, make a pile of third grade prizes for carnival, cleaned up mess, ate almsot half a bowl of cereal and my mom came over.

Left for meeting with financial advisor, made phone calls to set up Ethan's "surpise" birthday visitor, went to meeting, come home.

Say hello to the two extra boys, bag other cupcakes and put in freezer, visit with my mom for a few minutes, set up Wii for Ethan and his friend, wake Carolyn up, fold laundry, let chinchilla out for "supervised visit" with Bennett and friend, get dinner started, get Ethan and friend OFF of the Wii, catch chinchilla and return her to cage, send boys outside, greet spouse, finish dinner, put food on table, feed 7 of us, send one boy home, clean part of kitchen, encourage boys to pick the pumpkins and jalapenos in garden, send other boy home with jalapenos, determine what children desire to be for Halloween, bathe Ethan and Carolyn, dress Carolyn, put away the rest of the laundry, sort out Carolyn's clothes that are too small, finish cleaning kitchen, read Ethan a story and put him in bed, encourage Bennett to finish homework, put Bennett to bed.

Straighten up house, clean around chinchilla and feed her, write out and address a few birthday cards, shower, return some emails, convince Carolyn that she MUST sleep, throw another load of laundry in, start dishwasher, get coffee maker ready for morning, shut windows.

Now here I sit. Wondering if Carolyn will stop yelling and go to sleep. I guess that no one else cares about these details....but somehow, seeing them in black and white makes me realize that maybe......just maybe.....it's ok if I'm tired.

Not ok to go to sleep necessarily.....but ok that I'm tired.

[JosieWales]

I care about these details. Because they are a lot like mine, except with a full-time teaching job thrown in. I tutored after school for an hour, managed to hit the gym for 50 minutes, then picked up the kids. I love my husband beyond reason, but last night he watched 2 hours of Ghost Hunters while I fed the kids, bathed the kids, put each to bed separately, did the dishes, fed the dogs and the cat, folded 3 loads of laundry, started another load, got clothes ready for me and the kids for the next day, got lunches for all 3 of us ready, got myself ready for bed and finally collapsed. I know he's exhausted too...but the key word is TOO!

No wonder you are tired. No wonder I am. Hugs.

[SKL]

I don't really have time to feel tired. After the girls go to bed, I work until I can't work any more (usually until around 2:30am), then collapse.

I usually don't wake up very early, but I manage to get a lot done before 9am - get 2 tots fed, ready, packed, and dropped at school; straighten up the kitchen, beds, living area, bathrooms, my bedroom; and usually get myself ready too. Yesterday a.m. I also needed to take out the garbage. Then worked from 9:00 until 5:30pm (with enough break to make & eat a pbj sandwich and salad for lunch). Around 4pm I received a delivery for a substantial piece of furniture (unfortunately unassembled) - three heavy boxes that I needed to carry into the house myself - what's with FedEx? And I processed a few RSVPs for my sister's baby shower, including one from her haggy MIL who wanted to talk about all the reasons she would rather not come. 5:30, picked up the kids and prepared & shared dinner, and while the kids took their time eating, I opened the furniture boxes and inventoried and organized the hundreds of parts, in between taking several stressful work calls. Then cleaned the kitchen and gravitated toward the bathtub where the kids played, reviewed letters, bathed, dressed, brushed, flossed, and combed. (I dress the kids in their school clothes at night to save stress in the morning.) Helped DD1 send an email to an auntie. Had a little time before bedtime, so the kids got to watch a few song videos while I straightened up. Made final arrangements with former nanny for babysitting next evening. Then bedtime, followed by another conference call which lasted until about 10pm. Then upstairs to work on what I was pressured on the conference call to deliver by morning. Finally collapsed sometime in the wee hours . . . .

Of course there are hundreds of time-consuming details mixed in, e.g., the never-ending responsibility of guiding/disciplining/protecting/teaching/grooming two toddlers, dealing with minor health issues, touching base with the people you have to communicate with every day. Some of this is actually energizing, some of it depends on what kind of mood I'm in.

But the thing that seems to make me most tired is if I have to make numerous stops with my kids along the way, e.g., on shopping day. Maybe it's the sheer tedium of getting them in & out of the car seats at every stop (while being patient with their budding independence), or the tiresomeness of having to remind them for the 9000th time what they can & can't do in a store, or maybe I'm just old and my feet hurt! I don't know, but I find I have a lot more energy at the end of the day if I don't try to go to more than one or two places with the kids. (Though I really do enjoy taking them with me, most of the time.)

I don't feel resentful, because I have no husband/partner to resent. I am not sure whether having someone to help/resent would make me more or less tired . . . probably more. (On the other hand, he might come in handy with the unassembled furniture . . . .)

[JosieWales]

Let me say I don't resent my husband! Sometimes I just get aggravated w/him if he collapses on the couch--because I want to collapse on the couch! And he does come in handy with such things as box-moving and furniture-assembling.

ETA: SKL, you are my hero. Idk if I could do this w/o a partner. You rule.

[jules17]

Goodness, I can relate. I don't even have the time to list my day, but with a 3-year-old, a 2.5-year-old, a 4 month old, full-time grad school, and getting the house ready to go on the market, as well as everything else, yes, girls, yes!

[lmvsmom]

I seriously would have had him fold the 3 loads of clothes while he watched his show!