I've Learned My Lesson

As some of you may know, my threshold for caffeine tolerance is low. In fact, up until a few years ago, I couldn't even tolerate one cup of chai without going bezerk. Let's just say the house has never been cleaner then when I've had a bit too much of the stuff. Not too mention I hate like a crazy person.

Which isn't really unusual, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Over the last few years I've been working on my tolerance level and it's improving quite a bit. There are some days that I can have a cup of chai or tea after 3pm even and still get to bed a decent hour.

And for a night owl like me, a decent time is like 11pm to midnight, on a school night.

Yesterday however my whole routine was thrown off. The state of Wisconsin has district wide teacher's conventions for Thursday and Friday. Therefore the kids have off of school. Our church is hosting a Fall Teen Retreat which some of the kids from our church and school went to.

They were to leave on Thursday morning. This would imply, for those like me-who think logically-that our school is also out. The oldest are homeschooled, but LiL' J is still at the Christian school. Since the camp hosted a Fall Retreat, with the idea that all the kids would have Thursday and Friday off, we just assumed that meant our school too, which is majorly connected to the camp.

We even asked the kid if he had school. He said no, because he overheard his brother telling everyone that all the kids have the days off. You'd think we'd double check but, you know, it made sense. Why would the church participate in this retreat knowing that more than half of the kids going attend the Christian school, if they didn't in fact have the days off?

So I sleep in a little later than usual, I tidy up, make my to-do lists, and make some coffee. Yes, you read that right. I, Melissa, actually not only know how to make coffee now, but I intended on drinking it. I guess in my absence I never really thought about blogging about this minor change in my life. What with my whole person and life being a constant metamorphosis, such a tiny detail, like becoming a coffee drinker at 33, seemed insignificant. But I have and I am and so that's that. Maybe when I'm not feeling like a drug user in withdrawal I'll share my journey into the world of java. The kind of java that doesn't involve frothy-icy-goodness with 54 grams of sugary chocolate sauce that is which was the only way I'd touch coffee before. Although, I do take cream and sugar, thank you for asking.

I thought you should know that, you know, in cause I ever get invited to your house for a grown-up tea party; grown-ups only of course.

So where was I? Yeah, so I'm a flakey mom that didn't get her seven year old off to school. Instead I let him watch The Chipmunk Adventures pretty much all day. No, they don't play The Chipmunks on TV anymore. But, uh...Hello, I am a child of the 80s and what kind of mother would I be if I didn't share the adorableness that is the Alvin and the Chipmunks? Tchah. A very uncool one.

My children have a crazy mother. I think that is enough. I might be certifiable some days, but darn it, I'm cool. I can't believe I let the boy miss school though. Not only did I listen to my husband, who took the word of a seven year old and a seventeen year old, but I also let him eat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and jalapeño Crunchers for breakfast.

OK, you can all stop gasping now. I know it. What WAS I thinking? Goodness sakes sometimes I'm patting myself on the back and other times I wonder why God saw fit to give me four children. I know some of you aren't judging, you know you've done it too. What do you think pop-tarts are? It's candy disguised as a breakfast food. And if the school can serve ketchup as a vegetable now, then my child had a vegetable for breakfast. Potatoes are vegetables. True enough, that's a weak excuse, but my husband made up for it later when he brought the kid a burger. Hmm, my child's diet today consisted of candy and burgers. Maybe I should just shut up now.

Anyways, J and Mooch were at friend's houses. I was trying to clean, make phone calls, occupy Vinny, and corral LiL' J into something more productive. He felt the need to rewind the movie over and over to the same part. "We're the boys, we're the boys, we're the boys of rock-n-rowllllll...yaw" Then I had to call the insurance company because for some reason or another (it's always something) they can't find The Husband's license on file. In all that, I guess I didn't notice that I had drunk way too much coffee. I drank three full cups in fact, and I never even paid attention to how late in the day it was.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I have been up ALL night. I haven't slept in 22 hours. Yes, it's 10am and I'm going to finally go crash. J will be happy; he will have gotten out of school after all. They are old enough to do most of their book work without my having to hold their hand, but I can barely get J to concentrate on his studies while I'm sitting right next to him. Never mind if I'm sick or out of sorts.

I've learned my lesson.

I won't drink more than two cups of coffee.
I won't get off of my schedule
I will only drink caffeine before noon.

I won't, I won't, I will.

On a totally random note, it's a rainy, overcast, blustery kind of day. I want hot cocoa with whipped cream, a big bar of dark chocolate with almonds, a pair of fuzzy-wuzzy knee-high socks, and my Pride and Prejudice DVD.

I do, I do, and I do know that I am stubborn.