Bite-size chunks

When I worked in the corporate world, one of the things I did was Organization and Time Management training. Ha! If they could see me now! Have you ever had so much going on that you feel like the proverbial blue-arsed fly? Well that's me right now. We have less than a week left at school, and I think I might well implode by then. (Yes, less than a week!)

This morning, I suddenly realised it's little one's birthday on Monday. Not that I literally forgot when his birthday was, but I calculated that I only had till noon to shop unencumbered, I mean unaccompanied by him. I therefore slowed the car down and kicked him out as I passed school, and got to Target (large ASDA like store) by 9am. Yes! A personal best I think. Of course all he's asked for is Murdoch, one of the Thomas trains, which would be the only train not on the shelf. I bought Diesel 10, but he can now read a bit, so he'll know it's not Murdoch. What to do? What to do?

Inevitably, the list I'd made was safe at home on the kitchen table, so I speed-wandered around the store trying to will it back into my frontal lobe area. Indian food was coming through loud and clear? Oh yes, my 12 year old's grade is doing an Indo-Chinese performance tonight and we're allocated an Indian-themed snack. If I'd been in England there's be packets of popadom crisps all over the place but here? Cajun, Hawaiian, South Western, Tex-Mex...nothing east of New York. I was only looking for a bag of Bombay mix fer crying out loud. Now I'm going to have to apply myself - or take nothing. Ooh, tempting. They'll never notice. There's always too much food after these performances and we usually leave straight away anyway. Yes, that's it. Nothing!

Fabric pens next. Christ - they had every bloody-buggery kind of washable marker. Who needs washable - I want it to stay on. This is for the crazy quilt giant cusion cover complete with kids' fabric photos I'm still making for the little one's class gift to the teacher. (A tradition over here which is out of control in my opinion. Our school has banned store bought gifts since they were getting bigger and bigger and looked more like bribes than thank you gifts. It now has to be a small token or something hand made, so big mouth here decided on a fairly labour-intensive project which she started less than a week ago.)

Popped a few more things in the cart/trolley-with-the-wonky-wheel - cleaning products, three bottles of cut-price Merlot, birthday cake mix (shut up, one of the school kids is allergic to eggs so I have to use a packet mix), and two father's Day cards. (Those gifts will have to wait.) Then dashed across the road to the giant craft store. I can usually spend hours in there, buying stuff for when I have enough time to do projects without a deadline - all of which end up in the far recesses of a cupboard, gathering dust and guilt. This time however, I was on a mission for the sodding fabric pens - and there they were. Hundreds of them. I was rooted to the floor with indecision. Glitter paint pens - no the kids will just pick it all off eventually. Ink that poofs up and feels like velvet - ditto with the picking. Unable to just PICK ONE I bought a five pack and just hope it'll do. I am only writing their names underneath the photos anyway. I was going to stitch them, but somehow came to my senses on that.

Also remembered to buy a zip/zipper for the top of the cushion cover, two wrought iron hanging basket things for when I have time to see to the garden and a blank t-shirt for 5 year old-to-be. (Now that I have the fabric pens, I might as well make him a t-shirt to wear on his birthday.) Oh and I found a great iron-on transfer for my older son with an electric guitar on.

Hmmm....I'm getting the distinct impression that a lot of this stress is entirely self-induced. Why I don't weight about 90 pounds I just don't know. Oh wait - it's probably the Merlot.