Who Needs Excerise When You've Got 6 Kids

Today's Wednesday, and it's the first day since Sunday that I didn't feel like I had done a triathlon. Hey the Ironman has nothing on my day Sunday. My third grade daughter, who turned 9 on Monday, had a basketball tournament this weekend. I think because they were the #1 seed they only had one game on Saturday. After their win, some of her team mates came back to our house for a Birthday party. It was low key, but it was nice.

Nice except the part where I didn't work at all on Friday and cleaned my house like a mad woman. Plenty of Energy Kicker spray that day for sure. I was even on my hands and knees cleaning the hard woods! Uggh no fun. I remember why we usually have parties away from home!

So on Sunday, we spent all day at the tournament which was good and bad. Good because our team won the League Championship and finished the season with a winning 27 and 0 record!! But bad because I spent all day caring for the little kids in the midst of total chaos, and I mean total chaos.

Picture it. I've got my children ages 13, 6, 4, 3 and 1 in a basketball gym filled with at least 2000 spectators. My 9 year old is playing and my husband is on the bench helping coach so he can't help at all. There are 6 courts, 3 on each side, with a small walk way in between. Her games were at 2, 3 and 5 pm.

During the first game, it wasn't too bad because we were at an end court that actually had seating. The courts are a step up onto a platform; well my one year old didn't figure out she could go up on the platform until the fourth quarter. Then all heck broke lose because she was bound and determined to get out on that court. So me and my oldest are doing our best to keep her down, and she is flailing around. Every time I let her down she would crawl up and go spread eagle on the edge; I think she liked the cold of the court. Aside from dealing with her, I'm trying do hand out snacks and drinks to keep the other kids content and keep the peace. They had their DSs, but of course the needed cheese crackers and juice boxes.

The second game was delayed, and by the time it started, the 1 year old is totally over it! We were at a middle court this time with barely any seating so I stood at the end walkway while the other kids played, and I held the baby and tried to rock her and keep her calm. Then my basketball obsessed 3 year old daughter gets out her ball and starts dribbling. Ugggh I'm trying to quiet the baby, keep track of the others and make sure she doesn't let her ball go flying into another court. Thank goodness for my 13 year old. She helped enough to keep me from going insane! A woman brought me a chair toward the end of the game so I sitting up on the platform trying to rock a squirming worm.

In the break time before the last game, I ran an errand and that at least gave the little one some time to sleep. When we get back, we are on another end court which I thought would be good be good because it was the end of the day, and there was finally a little room for the kids to move. My 1 year old was almost content. She was walking around, but there was another little girl who kept trying to pick her up. Everytime the girl tried she would throw a complete fit, and the girl wouldn't stop! Unfortunately the top seat of the bleacher was lose and my son found it completely humorous to bang it up and down. I kept telling him to stop, but a few minutes later he'd start doing it again.

Finally, the buzzer sounds, and the game is over! A few pics and we can go home, right? Well just as they are about to present the trophies, bang, bang, bang. My son slams the bleacher seat again only this time his baby sister's finger is there. Her thumb turns purples and bloods pouring out. I am losing it on my son in the most calm, angry voice I can muster while I'm holding the baby and trying to snap a few pictures. I get my husbands attention, hand him the baby and run to the office to get a bandaid. I had the bandaid on for all of 10 seconds before she managed to pull it off with her teeth. A couple of minutes later, we round up all the kids and head back home!

I was exhausted, but that was nothing compared to how I felt on Monday! I literally felt like I went through a marathon and someone was beating me the entire way! It was rough but I am a very proud mom who stuck it out to watch her daughter's shing moment! Afterwards my husband innocently asked me what was wrong, I shot him the look, and said, "I just had all the kids in there all day." He quickly dropped that subject, ENOUGH SAID!