Difficult 2 Weeks

Daddy & Sophia laughing


Gerritt, Anna & Kate snuggling on the blanket outside


Sophia standing! (she has been doing it for a few seconds at a time, then crashing for the whole past week, walking is definitely not far off)


Sophia sleeping in the stroller outside (this was yesterday & she slept for FOUR hours, sleep deprivation is catching up with her too!)


One of my favorite sleeping pictures of Gerritt (he usually sleeps on top of his brown doggie (instead of a pillow) & holds a hot item of the week (book, car, sippy cup, plastic ball, etc). This week it happened to be his monster truck. :-))

I've had the worst 2 weeks in a long, long time. I feel like I am about to loose it from all the unexpected stress. Let's see... What happened?

- A telephone fight with my Mom ending with her hanging up on me (don't even ask, it's a long story)
- ATM skimming incident resulting in someone taking $300 out of my checking account & all of the resulting time-consuming bank/police paperwork/phone calls
- My nanny announcing she was underpaid by $40 last week even though I am pretty sure I paid her correctly
- The whole family being sick with a terrible cold (the type that goes into your sinuses & chest & causes nasty, dry cough lasting for weeks at a time) & resulting sleep deprivation from Sophia waking up every 1-2 hours (the only way she was able to sleep for longer than 2 hours was in almost upright position in a semireclined stroller)
- I didn't receive my Nurse Practitioner license renewal notification & by the time I realized this & mailed the required renewal documents, it was too late to receive the license on time, causing me to miss a week of work & a disciplinary report from my manager
- To top all of these off, yesterday I was backing out of my driveway & hit a lady parked right by the mailboxes (no one ever parks there in the mornings, however, she works for the US Census Bureau & was waiting for my neighbors to come out), resulting in about $1300 damage to her car (I should add that I was sick & very sleep-deprived & running late for work)

All of this in addition to the usual of Gerritt refusing to be potty-trained; me eating only 2 meals a day (if I am lucky; most of the things I attempt to eat are taken away by Gerritt or Sophia) & feeling hungry while working; & Gerritt being really clingy & wheepy in the mornings while saying, "Mommy stay," causing me to run late for work most of the time. Unbelievable! Can these 2 weeks get any worse??? This is a definitely a sign that I am overworked & juggle too many responsibilities. I worked for almost 5 days this week (Tuesday - Friday with a half-day on Saturday) (and that's with calling in sick on Monday for the hospital shift). I am in the midst of ultrasound training, which requires a long commute to a different clinic. With Sophia being sick & unable to sleep this whole week, I am so sleep-deprived, my head is spinning & my ears are ringing & I have a hard time concentrating (only another parent would understand). It is impossible to do it all, especially with such young children. Everything I do I want to do well, & I am just spreading myself too thin. "Slow down" & "Take care of yourself" are my mantras for the next few weeks. My husband took Gerritt & Sophia to his Mom's with an overnight stay today. Hopefully, one afternoon & night free of the kids would be enough time for me to recharge my batteries.