This is a hard week to describe. It was a strange mixture of challenges and blessings.
The girls had a week off of school but Z did not, Shaun had his first day off in weeks and we were extra-curricular activity free.
This week may be a bit confusing in that the girls were wearing pretty much the same thing all week, but really they were separate days. :)
February 17
I was at the grocery store by 5 AM and spent the day preparing for our annual Murder Mystery dinner. Ideally, I would have done some of it the day before, but I simply could not make it fit. It ended up being a lovely evening.
February 18
Snuggling during a brief break from playing before we gave A (Z's bio sister) back to her foster family after having had her for the weekend.
Definitely our best visit with her yet....she's starting to "get" how things run around here. Of course, the seats in our car now bear her name, but pen comes off of leather, right?
Then we headed to my mom's where we met up with my brother and his family. The kids had a blast playing together and the adults got to talk!
February 19
We really wanted to have a family day while the kids were off of school, so we headed to the Science Museum. I had fevery aches and chills, Aiden was out of sorts and Shaun was cranky about his increasingly critical to-do list not getting attended to, but I think the kids still managed to have fun.
February 20
Hair cuts!
Amanda's bangs were finally long enough to "fix". She's thrilled with the results.
When Z got home from school we loaded the bikes in the car and went to ride. What seemed like a beautiful day to get fresh air and exercise the dumb dog was actually FREEZING toward the evening and with no shield from the wind.
When we got back, hot chocolate was in order.
February 21
This was one of the tougher days I've had in a long time. One of those when the dog gets hit by a car and you end up in the ER with a kid. Oh, and you and your husband are fighting, simply because the love bank accounts are dangerously low. And, you are mad about (still and again) being sick.
Its true. First thing in the morning, a strange man opens our front door and yells to get someone's attention (this is the second time in a matter of weeks a stranger has just opened our front door...weird). Anyway, this man was going to play ball with Trot, but he ran out into the street and got hit.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the dumb dog was fairly unharmed, though returned quite sheepish.
In the afternoon I had laid all the kids down for a nap, in anticipation of going to a Jesus Culture concert at our church that I'd bought tickets for a while ago.
About 45 minutes into that, the school nurse called and said Z had been kicked in the head with a ball and thought maybe something was in his eye. She'd flushed it out and couldn't see anything, but it was really bothering him and it was very sensitive to light and she strongly encouraged me to get him to the doctor.
His doctor, who is inconveniently an hour away, suggested that I go to the local ER. So, I packed up the kids and headed to the ER. It was strange to walk in there NOT a little panicked. When you pay out of pocket, you only use the Emergency Room if you feel that is the only option.
Clearly, that is not the case for everyone. I watched about two dozen people walk in (yes, walk) and none were bleeding, had limbs hanging. Hmmm.
Grateful I don't have to go there often! Oh, and Z is fine. He has a tiny scratch but seems pretty well back to normal and its going to be back to 100%...which just backs up my life's practice of "just give it a few days...wait and see". :)
I ended up missing the concert to get Z to bed and the kids who'd missed their nap. Oh well.
February 22
These three had such a great week together. We were at a slower pace and there was very little fighting.
This is my ACE crew! We were past the critical point of needing groceries (which isn't entirely accurate because we still had half-n-half for coffee) so it had to be done, even though we were working with a short amount of time in between things.
The kids tease me because apparently, before we even get out of the car, I always say,
Ok....let's make this a quick trip! (Grocery shopping is not one of my favorite activities.)
These guys helped me get the stuff we needed, reminded me of the things that were written on the list still hanging on the refrigerator and had the car loaded up in about 27 minutes. Nice!
Shaun's sister and her family came for dinner. We hadn't seen them in over a month and it was a nice treat. It also meant all the cousins were together.
February 23
I dragged the kids out of bed and had them dropped off at my SILs by 8:30 (Grammy and Bobbi and Shaun also pitched in later in the day), then I was off to shoot a wedding.
They were ideal clients and it was a fabulous day. AND, thanks to Shaun and the kids, I came home to a super clean house. That's a good feeling after working 12 hours.
