It's Exponential, Ya'll

Math was never my best subject. I did okay with Algebra, because it MAKES SENSE. It is just formulas that you plug numbers into and it is LOGICAL. Geometry, and Trigonometry...not so much. I never got as far as Calculus. I wanted to be an elementary school teacher people, Calculus was not required.

However, there is this thing I like to call "Mommy Math". Like the fact that when you have had 1 child and then you have another, the workload doesn't double...it multiplies! And it multiplies exponentially with each additional child. So if you had 2 kids, and you add a third, instead of having 50% more work, you now have 8 times as much work! (Figure 2 to the 3rd power, and you'll see what I mean.)

All that to say that it is taking me a whole lot longer to catch up around here since my trip to Magnolia, my surgery, and our trip to the Dude Ranch. It seems that just like kids, housework multiplies exponentially as well when you miss a day, or two...or 7!

On Friday, I FINALLY made it to the grocery store...I had to, we were slowly starving to death from lack of food. Yes, I had all four of the kids...yes I was completely exhausted....BUT I did fine and wasn't in any pain...ya-hoo! Then yesterday, I thought I would tackle the dishes and the laundry and try to get those things caught up. I obviously didn't have any cakes to do. (I'm taking a two week break after surgery and not taking any new orders.) And the man was going to take the three biggest kids to the Indy Car race in Dallas, so it was just going to be me and the Little Man. So, no Kids (well, just one little one), and no Cakes, so it was going to be Dishes and Laundry this time. I had BIG plans, people...BIG.

However, as it turned out, the race wasn't until 8:30pm and even with a 3 hour drive, they still spent most of the day at home....with me.

So, I wasn't able to work all day like I wanted to. There were too many interruptions: "Mom, I'm hungry"; "Mom, can you help me?", "Mom, come see this", etc., etc., etc... By the time they left, it was dinner time for the Little Man. So, I fixed his dinner, and while he was tied down in his highchair happily enjoying his ravioli and bananas, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, (I told you I was behind!) and then I fixed myself something to eat. There was still about an hour and a half until the Little Man's bedtime, and with no brothers or sister around, I had to provide the entertainment for the evening. Which means, there were still no dishes or laundry getting done! I had managed to do 3 or 4 loads of laundry throughout the day in between all the "Mom!" calls, but I still had a TON more. Finally, I got the Little Man to bed, and finished loading up the dishwasher and at least cleaning up the mess I made from my own dinner. :) I finished folding the two loads of clothes that were waiting for me in the living room, I transferred the stuff from the washer to the dryer and started one last load for the day, and that was it. I was toast, and my big plans for finishing ALL the laundry and ALL the dishes were thrown out the window!

I am consoling myself with the thoughts that when my kids grow up and look back on their childhood, it won't be the messy house, the mountains of dirty laundry, or the constant search for a clean spoon that they will remember, but the fact that when they called "Mom! Can you come and video tape me doing this?" This mom said, "Yes, I can!" and she did... And besides, I still have today to catch up on all that laundry!