What a Day!

I had some cute little pictures of Rhett I was going to post this morning, but when I tried to log in, I realized my internet was down. Normally, this would send me into a frenzy of phone calls to husband, internet provider and any friend who might be trying to send me at email right this second and was wondering why I hadn't responded for so long! But today wasn't like most days. I was so busy, I didn't really have a chance to even worry much about the computer. I decided that, since I had such a crazy (not bad crazy, just crazy) day, I'd make you read a play-by-play of it. If you decide to stop reading now, I'll understand. I just like to vent...and make my day sound busier and more important than anyone else's, so bear with me.

7:00 - Get out of bed. Finally. Alarm has been going off since 6:00 because I was supposed to run 3 miles. Didn't feel like it. I'll run tonight.

7:00-7:45 - Sort laundry, drink Spark, and enjoy the quiet. Check email and plan today's blog.

7:45 - Reese gets up. Get her juice, get Avery's clothes for school (Don't forget belt...she HAS to wear a belt today!) and dress Reese. Fix breakfast for the girls and go try to wake Avery.

7:50 - Avery's not budging, so I wake Rhett. He's always ready to get up if it means food is waiting for him.

8:03 - Avery gets up. I dress Rhett, fix Avery juice, and give her her breakfast. Remember she needs a lunch. (Last week was Spring Break and I'm out of the groove.) Still haven't fixed Rhett anything.

8:10 - Give Rhett a bottle because it's not looking good for bananas and cereal, as we have to leave in 20 minutes and Avery still isn't dressed and her hair needs to be fixed.

8:15 - Realize I'm not even dressed yet. Fix a quick bowl of oatmeal and eat it while washing face, fixing hair and getting dressed. Babysitting for a friend today, so no need to look good (as I would ordinarily look fabulous. Avery's teacher probably thinks we're homeless, the way I go up there sometimes.)

8:30 - Begin yelling at Avery to move it...fix her hair, throw Rhett and Reese in car seats, come back in and find shoes for everyone. Friend calls to make sure I'm still babysitting today and wants to know where to park her car. Remember that cement guys are coming today to extend our patio...have to move car and trash cans.

8:45 - On the road to school. Reese and Avery are fighting, but everyone is dressed and buckled. Look in the rearview and realize Avery has syrup and pancakes all over her face. Dangit. Forgot to brush her teeth. Again. Find spare wipes under the seat and clean her face.

9:15 - Back home again. Pull up front to see friend and three children waiting for us. She brings the kids in. (These aren't her kids...she keeps them in her home every day. There are two two-year-old boys and a 4 month old girl.)

9:30 - Panicked. My friend has just gone over the instructions for keeping the three kids. The two boys? No biggie. The sweet baby girl? Just diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and on medication that has to be given. I must open capsule, and pour into half a teaspoon of applesauce every feeding. Friend says this is no biggie, she does it several times a day and besides, it's all written down, so what could possibly go wrong?

9:35-10-ish - Relatively quiet. Toddlers are outside playing and baby is sleeping. Cement guys show up, so I have to bring kids in. I cheerfully take glasses of water to the cement guys and offer them anything they need while they are out there.

10:05 - Baby wakes up. Supposed to have bottle at 10:30, so I guess it's a good time for medicine. Gulp.

10:10 - Baby is screaming. Mouth is full of applesauce and water...she will not swallow. Some of the medicine didn't stick to the applesauce and thus, fell off the spoon. I am busy finding every single granule that fell off the applesauce, fearing that I have done something so horribly wrong and that I should call my friend to have her come get the baby. Taking care of a baby who is sick is a big responsibility and I fear I have just screwed up the one thing I had to do to keep her healthy.

10:15 - I think I've found every teeny tiny speck of medicine and forced it into her mouth. I fix baby a bottle and she refuses it. I hold her and she screams herself to sleep.

10:30 - Realize I forgot to give the boys their snack and this must be why they are circling me like hawks in the kitchen. Promise to feed them lunch at 11.

11:00 - Fix lunch for Rhett. He eats heartily, never complaining.

11:10 - Fix turkey sandwiches and baked Doritos for toddlers. Stupid move. Should have given them the sandwich first. No one eats anything but the chips. Everyone is mad that I am trying to force them to eat. My own toddler removes her jeans and stands on her chair, half naked, yelling for cookies. The other two start to ask (less loudly) for cookies. I say not until we finish eating and they are all mad again.

11:30 - Give them some grapes and give up. No cookies, but at least they had some nutrients.

12:00 - Kitchen is cleaned up and it's time for naps. Spend 45 minutes trying to get three 2-year-olds to lie down. Put on Barney and this revs them up more. Cement guys are out of water.

12:55 - One is sleeping on the couch, one is in the pack and play and Reese is banished to her bed for jumping on the couch while others are trying to sleep. I sit and feed the baby, who is now accepting that the only way she will eat is if she lets me feed her. She has given in. She is so tiny and so precious. I miss having a newborn.

1:30 - Friend comes to get the kids so I can go get Avery. Notice that the one on the couch has wet his pants. :(

2:15 - Back from picking up Avery. Cement guys are ready for me to put kids' handprints into the patio. I've been dying to do this ever since we decided to lay the patio. It takes four tries because Reese refuses to keep still, but the guys are patient and smooth it over for me so I can re-do it.

2:30 - Strip couch of pee-pee cushions and throw in washing machine. Thank God we decided on a denim sofa.

2:35 - My friend, Jennifer brings her baby. He's the only one who is supposed to be here today...besides my own of course. The others came today because I prayed for a way to make some money and the calls came pouring in. (Thank you, God. No complaints, here.)

2:50- Baby is in bed, my kids are watching TV, and all is calm.

3:10- Two older kids, who I occasionally watch after school, show up. They stay until 5:30-6 most days, but they are easy. I sit down to clip coupons.

4:00 - Aaron comes home early so he can get ready for Mavs game (I won't get to run after all, as this is a last minute invite for him). We admire patio. I go back to organizing coupons.

4:10 - Aaron brings me wet jeans from the girls' room. Reese is again nude, so she is obviously the culprit.

5:00 - Aaron and Avery leave for the game. Friend picks up baby and leaves. It's just Reese, Rhett and I.

6:00 - The three of us are eating dinner. I remember cushions in the washer. Fold clothes in dryer and switch cushions over. Take clothes into girls' room. Hear something.....Bathroom door is closed. Light is on. Uh oh.

6:05 - Softly say "HOLY SHIT" because someone has closed the sink drain, yet left the water running and the floor is COVERED with water. It could have been anyone, so I decide against calling the parents of every child who was here today to force them to come clean it themselves. I just get busy cleaning.

6:15 - Back to eating. Delicious healthy salad. I feel like I could use a beer. I eat 5 Reese's eggs instead.

6:30 - Remember Aaron got Internet working again. and log on. Check for poker money. Nope. Oh well, I can still waste time.

7:30 - Still on computer. Haven't cared for a child, cleaned a speck or folded an item of clothing in almost an hour. Aaaahhhhhh, sweet escape.