"Pictures of Perfection make me Sick and Wicked"

....Which is why you will never find them at our house.
I had actually started composing in my head some sentimental post about how Emma's 5th birthday marks the 5th anniversary of me being a mom. I was going to say something along the lines of I didn't know how invested you really get in your children as a parent. I would do anything for my kids. And you love them so much it hurts, yadda, yadda, yadda. That's all true, but then today happened. Our good week kind of derailed.
Fridays usually go quickly for us. There is story time at the library, followed by play group at the church or at a park, weather permitting. And then I drop Emma off at school, have lunch, put Elizabeth down for a nap and the day is downhill from there. Today wasn't like that.
First off, our power went out last night. So Ryan's alarm didn't work. Thank goodness for an early morning phone call. (Can't believe I'd ever say that, right Dad?) I hadn't slept well last night, having had one of those nights that you just can't find a comfortable spot to just "be." So I was a little slow moving this morning. There was no story time at the library, since our usual librarian was taking the day off. Hence, I had lost the push to get out of the house as quickly. I jumped in the shower around 10 am. When I got out of the shower, but wasn't dressed yet, Emma yells through the door that the other bathroom sink is full of water and won't drain. I tell her to get out of that bathroom and I'll fix it in a minute. I pull on my clothes pretty quickly, wrap my hair in my towel and vacate the warm bathroom. I go in our "master bath" (it's an itty bitty room with a sink and a toilet, but we like it anyway) and find Elizabeth standing on the toilet making (for lack of a better word) soup from liquid hand soap, a little water and toilet paper. The bag my make up sits in has water in it, and most of my make up is on the floor. I say most, since my eye shadow and eyeliner, with a couple of bobby pins, are in the bag of water. And water is splashed on the floor. I'm not real proud of my reaction; I lost it. I started screaming like a maniac, first at Elizabeth and then at Emma for letting her sister do this. Like I said, not one of my finer moments. My kids react exactly like they always do. Emma goes crying to her room and Elizabeth says I'm Sorry and starts smiling at me. I'm so not in the mood for her sunny disposition. And then I start the cleaning process. I take the towels to the laundry room and discover tempura paint on the table. Hm. Those were up high. I know for a fact Elizabeth could not get those down; plus she had been busy making toilet paper soup. So I call Emma out, and she denies it. Telling the truth is not always her strong point. Eventually she admits to it and I clean up the mess on the table while she howls in her room like I mistreat her, which I do not.
I really should know better. I should not take leisurely showers while both children are awake and out of their room. Clearly 8 minutes in, out and dressed is way too long to leave them unattended. That's when Emma cut her own hair, two years ago. Shame on me, I was in the shower. I usually shower during Elizabeth's nap. She can't get into too much trouble locked in her room. Or, I put in a movie, which I forgot to do this morning.
So, for those of you who wonder why I didn't attend play group this morning-- I was cleaning. And in my anger, I said we weren't going to the park as punishment.
And that was my morning. Sadly, the day hasn't been a whole lot better. As my friend Christa says, if everyone is still alive when Daddy comes home, today was successful. I hope so.