The work of a housewife is never done

"The work of a housewife is never done," the husband said to me on Saturday night as I quickly got to work processing 20lbs of blueberries seconds after I tucked the kids in bed for the night. I giggled and thanked him for finally noticing. He is right though. I spend most my day running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. It is not even 9:30am and I have made blueberry muffins, a loaf of bread, folded two loads of laundry, watered the garden, and kept 5 kids in line. Oh, snap!
Things have been harder than normal around here. Z's explosive aggressive behavior has finally decided to make an appearance. You are told of what a kid's behavior can look like and then you meet the kid and can't believe they are capable of such aggression. It is a shock to the system once you finally experience it. I also struggle with the policy that the agency I work for has: you may not physically intervene with an escalated child. I have a residential background. I believe that when a child is physically acting out and is a threat to themselves, others, or property, I should help them be safe by doing a hands on intervention. My agency believes that if a child is physically acting out to the point where it is a threat to safety, the police should be contacted. I don't want to call the police because a 7 year old child is angry, you know what I mean? They have bigger fish to fry.
Z enjoys music. It helps him calm down. My game plan is to start playing music on my phone (Thank you, God for smartphones!) when he becomes escalated. Its kinda hard to stay angry when listening to calm and uplifting music, right?
I have discovered that Monster is part fish. That kid has no fear of water. We went to the pool yesterday and Monster was essentially diving in and not wanting help (obviously, we helped the kid out cause he sinks like a brick) but he doesn't panic if his face is underwater for a few seconds. In fact, he loves it. Bean is also turning into a very competent water creature. He was learning to tread water and jumping into the deep end and springing off the bottom of the pool to came back up to the top.
The canning season is upon us as well and I have been busy putting things up. I have done 20lb of blueberries, pounds and pounds of zucchini  pickles, peaches, 30lbs of green beans, and strawberry jam. I just got another 30lbs of peaches that I need to process tonight. Soon enough pears will be in season, and then apples...I will have a very well stocked pantry this winter. I think I am going to experiment with making dill pickles as well. My supplier has a pretty good deal on pickling cucumbers.
Alright, faithful readers, I am going to quit while I am ahead. I fear that if I continue to ignore the kids for much longer I will hear screaming.
Happy Monday!