One step forward, five steps back

Seems like whenever I feel like my life is starting to feel normal, it gets shook up and we go backwards. I know that is to be expected with my kids, but some days I would just like a "normal" family. One where I don't have to wonder each day if I will recieve a phone call from a teacher or sometimes even the principal. One where I don't have to be a physicologist and try to figure out where the current behavior pattern is coming from. One where normal discipline works, and you don't have to resort to daily time-outs and month long groundings. The feelings of inadaqucey that most parents feel seem to just surround me some days. I think more than going through the daily trails is the worry about the future. Will I have enough time to teach my children before they get to an age where the decisions they will be making are more than "will I talk in class" and "will I lie about cleaning my room or doing my homework"? Children learn so much in the first few years of their life, things that are much harder to learn when they are 10 and 11. Self-Esteem and confidence are so hard to gain at this age when you haven't had it before. I know that it's all possible, but some days it's hard to see the day when there will be any results. Especially when you start to see results and then we just turn around and go backwards. I love my children, all of them. And here I am complaining in this blog. That is something I had decided not to do, but somedays it just seems overwhelming. Of course, other days it's all wonderful and I wouldn't change for the world. Therefore, life is a roller coaster, and I guess I have to have the downs to appreciate the days that are on the top and the eternal view that I see when I'm up there.