Leo's Back!!!

I could have cried happy tears of joy when he got home last night at around 7:30. I met him on the porch and hugged and kissed him and felt a huge sense of relief. That was a fleeting moment of calmness. Once he got in the house, it was chaos. Belle met him at the door with, "Dad, can I show you the cheer I made up?" Gia got in on the hugs and the boys continued playing their video game while breaking to wrestle. I told them Leo was home and they came up, hugged him and went back down to continue their fighting. I couldn't get a word in edgewise with Belle talking while Leo ate the Lou Malnati's pizza I knew he'd appreciate after his long trip. He helped me out by giving Gia a bath, listening still to Belle discuss everything that was going on in her life.

After Gia was in bed, Leo wanted to hear what was going on with the boys but they were very busy wrestling. I tried telling him that this was how the whole week was. I finally went and told them that they were hurting Leo's feelings. They came upstairs but could not pull it together to have a normal conversation. Both Leo and I became frustrated when they kept screwing around, fighting and generally being silly (Tommy is everyone's toy and has no problem doing anything to get Nico to laugh at him). You know how they say the sound of children's laughter is like angels singing? Well last night, it was like nails on a chalkboard. The boys couldn't understand why we were aggravated and when Leo said no to Belle's request to watch her video of last year's cheer competition, she stomped off saying, "Dad only cares about football. He never wants to talk about cheerleading. This after he watched her routine, endless back bends and a few cheers she made up. I think, finally, after everyone was in bed, Tommy felt bad and went into our room to tell Leo how his game was.

This morning I needed to go to Target (and really was looking forward to going alone) when Leo informed me that he wanted to go see a football game (where none of our kids were playing...this drives me nuts) and by the way, could I wash his shirts for today's game? Since it is Sunday, I wanted to make French Toast for the kids. After Leo informed me that he was taking the boys for a haircut at 10, I had to race to get breakfast done so that I could run through Target (of course that didn't stop me from spending over $100...though I did forget bread) to be home so he could leave. I have my nephew's birthday party at 2:00 in St. Charles and then Nico's game at 5:30 in Wheaton. I am angry about that because it was supposed to be at 6:30 but they moved it up. I hate when they do that. I have things on the schedule from the beginning and plan around it. When they change things, it is so irritating. We have lights on our field so I don't see why they changed it. Ordinarily, I'd just go late to his game or not go at all but it is Homecoming and when they announce the players, they give their mom's a flower. I don't want Nico to not have anyone to give one to so I have to be there before the game starts.


After thinking of all I have to do today, I have to ask: Why does my life feel like a race I am rarely ever winning?