Sometimes I feel like being a mother of three small children has catapulted me into a different dimension where everything has to take place at a much faster and more urgent speed.
Take my husband for instance. When I need help he says, “All you have to do is ask.”
So, I ask. And his answer, more times than not, “Give me a minute.”
To which I would like to scream, “I don’t have a minute!”

I literally race through my day trying to cram as many things in as possible until at last I either fall asleep putting the kids to bed, or drag myself back up and try to get yet more stuff done once they’re all out.

I consider raising three children as a SAHM, equates to three full time jobs. So, I have to work fast.
Multi-tasking is what some self proclaimed busy people like to call it but I’m not sure they are all doing quite as much as they think.
I get so used to it that I forget not everyone is functioning at the same speed. And problems arise when I have to interact with those people.

Like today.

I have a neighbor with a little boy close to my big guy’s age, and all of my kids love to have him and his nanny come over.

However, we seem to have a glitch in our plan making. I don’t know if it is a language barrier, or what. The last three times I thought I had invited them over at a certain time and day she didn’t show up. That wouldn’t be that big a deal if I hadn’t

A) Spent three hours cleaning the house.
B) Dressed and fed everyone on time
C) Told them he was coming and have to explain that he is not.
D) Then need to come up with something even more exciting to do with only over an hour left before nap time!

I am ready to give up on this entire situation. However, my son is not. And every time we see him out on his front lawn he asks if we can have him over. So, today we had plans to give it another go.

Seven o’clock in the morning and time to start the process again. In the name of time and space, here is the short version. Clean the house, feed the kids, change the diapers, dress everyone.

Three hours later, nothing.
Three hours and ten minutes, still nothing.
Three hours and fifteen minutes later, STILL nothing.
Time to take action.

Load the twins up in the stroller, and head out to knock on their door. On the way I coach my son on what to do.
Just go knock on the door and ask him if he is coming over to play.

As we approach I see his little head peeking out the front window as he leans over the back of the couch in his living room. My son beelines it for the door and the kid opens his front door himself. The two meet on the porch where they immediately start planning some sort of major endeavor. When the nanny wanders out calmly chewing, with the look of a question mark on her face.

“We were just coming to see if you were going to make it to our house today?”

“Oh I’m eating breakfast.”

At ten in the morning? While doing nothing else? I ate breakfast while serving three other breakfasts, checking my email and folding laundry, AND KEEPING TRACK OF THE TIME!

“What time did I say I was coming?” she says as she finishes chewing.

“Ten.”

“OK I’ll finish eating and then we’ll come.”

Luckily she offers to keep the big guy. Peeling him away from his buddy and the promise of someone else’s toys inside would mean nothing short of a massive melt down.

At least now all I have to talk down is two angry toddlers that don’t understand why they didn’t get to stay as well. But, they have seat-belts on. So I am at a distinct advantage, if you can call it that.

They scream their brother’s and friend’s name the whole way home. Thank God he only lives three doors down. But, the entire time all I can think of is all the things I could have gotten done had I known she was going to take him for even thirty minutes. Run to the store for the ladybugs he has been begging for, planned for dinner tonight, put socks on with everyone’s shoes instead of letting them all go without.

It is a sickness I know. But, considering I have three times the amount of work to get done in a day I hardly consider it unusual.