The Dream Vs. Reality

The Dream:
We are getting ready for a nice long trip to Colorado.  We look forward to it every year.  However, it is a lot of added stress on me.  I have to pack for three people, make arrangements for someone to take care of the house, the 2 cats the bird and the hermit crabs.  The lawn will have to be watered while we're gone, since we don't have a sprinkler system and it is 1000 degrees outside.  It's a lot to think about.  So, last night I made a list of all that has to be done this week.  The plan was to not wait until the last minute, to not be stressed.  This is how I envisioned today going as I made my list.
I would go to bed early on Sunday night and get plenty of rest, so that I would have the energy for all that needed to be done.  I would wake up early Monday morning while it was still cool (as cool as it gets at the end of June), do my Bible study with a cup of coffee on the patio and weed the flower beds before the kids got up.  Then, I would water the lawn, take a shower and get dressed while the kids ate breakfast and got dressed.  Next, we would run to the grocery store to get a few last minute things we need for the trip.  Then, we would have lunch and make the volcano that I've been promising Aidan.  Finally, I would turn a movie on for Aidan, put Ella down for a nap and work on all the laundry that needs to be done before I can pack.  I would check all these things off my list and still have the afternoon free to spend with my family.


The Reality:
I fell asleep on the couch on Sunday night while watching Gran Torino (great movie, btw), woke up at 11:30 and decided to go to bed, later than I had hoped.  I tried to fall asleep, but Mark coughed until almost 2:00 in the morning and it was well after than when I was finally able to drift off to sleep.  I woke up at 6:45, a little later than I had hoped, but still pretty good.  Just as I was about to get up and sneak outside to get some work done before the kids woke up, Aidan came running into our room like a ghost was after him and jumped in bed.  So, I made Aidan breakfast and went to get dressed.  While I was getting dressed, Aidan woke up Ella, because he needed someone to play with.  Ella was in an extremely bad mood.   Not to be deterred, I told the kids they could jump on the trampoline while I weeded the flower beds.  Ella did not want to jump on the trampoline.  She wanted me to hold her.  I finally convinced her to get in the swing and let Aidan push her.  This worked great for about 37 seconds.  Aidan decided to tie Ella's swing up with a bungee cord, which resulted in a lot of screaming.  I gave up on weeding the flower beds, since Ella was being so needy and Aidan was being so ornery.  I decided to water the grass.  I set up the sprinkler and went to turn the water on.  In the mean time, Ella and Aidan made some adjustments to the sprinkler which caused it to spray directly at me when I turned on the water.  The water spigot just happens to be right next to the back door, so water also sprayed into the house.
Not giving up on my list, I took the kids inside and turned on cartoons, so I could take a shower.  Everything seemed to be going smoother now, so we all got dressed to go to the grocery store.  While at Wal-Mart, Aidan started pouting because I wouldn't let him ride the bikes in the store.  Ella decided that she wanted to have a fit for no reason, so she laid down spread eagle in the middle of the floor and started screaming as loud as humanly possible.  I finally had to take her to the family restroom to calm her down.  When I left the restroom, two Wal-Mart employees were standing outside the door listening.
And, it wasn't even noon yet!

Maybe my expectations were just a little too high?  My new goal for the day is a family nap!