TGIM - Thank Goodness It's Monday!

Some of my blogs are short and to the point.  Some are long and drawn out, much like when I’m telling a story in real life.  This is one of those.  If you’re in a hurry, better not try to follow along with this one.  I’ve got a lot of thoughts to gather.  Plus, I’m watching the last week’s “Nashville” episode and it’s distracting me.  Deacon and Rayna?!? …. Finally!! Yay!

Anyway, back to my blog. 

We have all our family over every year on Mother’s Day.  Like ALL our family.  My family, Willard’s family, even family of our family that isn’t even our family but they’re still part of the family because they’re family of our family.  Did you get that?  In a nutshell, a whole bunch of people… usually around 30-35 adults and 15-20 kids.  Needless to say, the week before Mother’s Day is pretty darn crazy around here.  There are days throughout the year when my house is kinda clean.  Some days my yard is mowed.  Some days the garage is semi-cleaned out.  Some days most of the laundry is done.  I can’t bring myself to say ALL the laundry because REALLY?!?! Is that even humanly possible?  But this one day of the year – Mother’s Day – the stars and moon align and I work my butt off for a week and things are as good as they get around here.  Even the laundry that isn’t done is hid well. 

I’ll be honest – it’s a challenge.  With a house of kids, a husband who works over 55 hours a week, and trying to actually do my job (not the mom job, but the one that pays the bills)… having several productive days in a row is a rarity.  There’s always something or somebody – a child, a client, an employee, an email or a phone call that needs my attention more than the dusting the furniture. 

I started out the week feeling pretty confident.  I had 6 days to get things in order.  Let me take you through my week, starting with last Monday.

Monday is the only day that Yuri, Gigi, and Karlie all leave at the same time.  Karlie drops Gigi off at preschool and Yuri at kindergarten.  It’s a traumatizing time for Baby A.  She is not meant to be an only child for sure.  I spend a couple of hours trying to pacify and entertain her and then it’s time to go pick up Gigi at school (11:30).  We get home, eat lunch, I work about an hour, and then it’s 2:30 and time to go pick up Yuri.  I work another hour and then it’s time to cook supper, clean up, get baths, wrestle with Baby-Who-Hates-To-Go-Sleep, and I’m beat.  Day 1 of Project Get the House Clean is an epic fail.

That’s okay.  Tomorrow is Tuesday and I’ll be able to clean all day.  Oh wait, I forgot about a foster/adopt luncheon that I promised a friend I’d attend.  Sooo… get kids to school, go to meeting, put out some work fires, pick kids up, supper, clean kitchen, baths, etc.  Day 2 didn’t go well either.

On Day 3 (Wednesday) I remembered that it was 3 years ago this week that DHR called me to take two little Hispanic kids (a boy age 2 and a girl age 5).  I remember thinking… wow… worst week EVER to call me but I said yes and I had them for about 6 weeks, I think.  They were so sweet and I was glad I didn’t say no.  That made me remember that May is Foster Care Appreciation Month, so I sent out quick appreciation email to my social workers just thanking them for what they do, etc.  I no sooner had hit “send” that my phone rang.  It’s Pam, my DHR worker.

Pam:                      Hey, Amy.  We need a big favor. We’ve got 3 kids…

Me:                        Only if they’re newborn, black, triplet boys…

I thought she was messing with me so I was messing back… Well, she wasn’t kidding, but I couldn’t take all three.  I told her if she couldn’t find anyone who could take the whole group, then I would take the 5-year-old girl as a short-term solution.  Fast forward a few hours…. I was headed to DHR to pick up child #7.  It was almost 6 p.m. when I returned home, and nearly bedtime by the time we got settled in.  And then I remembered that the flooring people were coming at 9 a.m. the next morning to put carpet in my den and hallway.  Oh, and I had to have all the furniture moved out.  Sigh.  Day 3… a complete wash.

The carpet guys were here most of the day on Thursday and I was contained to the bedroom so we could stay out of their way…so very little housework got done but the carpet looks good! Baby A got in a fire ant mound and Gigi smashed her finger in the door, so I spent a chunk of time playing Nurse Mommy. And then Haley Rae shows up with FOUR kittens.  At least three of them had potential homes but for some reason I didn’t understand, we needed to keep them at OUR house through the weekend.  Awesome.  7 kids and 4 kittens.   Day 4… not very productive! But that’s okay because I still have all day on Friday and Saturday to clean, clean, clean!

Wait. What? A meeting regarding our newest foster at DHR at 11:30 on Friday.  Oh, ok.  But as soon as that meeting is over, I’m hitting it HARD.  Riiiight.  I got home from that meeting at 2:00 and Baby A had a temp of 102.5.  If you’ve had a sick baby, you know that all they want is their mama and to be held.  I actually got quite a bit of stuff done, albeit one-handed and with a baby on my hip. At this point, I was starting to get concerned that this whole Mother’s Day thing wasn’t meant to happen this year.  I ended Day 5 holding a sick baby with a temp that had gone over 104 degrees and I started Day 6 in the same fashion. 

Thank goodness our pediatrician’s call group has Saturday clinic.  It wasn’t where I wanted to be, but with a fever that high, I was scared not to take her.  As I’m sitting in the exam room, I get the following text from my mom:

 

For those of you who don’t know, our oldest had a bicycle wreck when he was 8 (he’s almost 21 now) and knocked out his front two permanent teeth.  We’re in the final stages of the implant process, but he’s still wearing fake teeth that he can take in and out.  Well, he WAS.  They’re now floating in the septic tank at my parents’ house.  Sigh. Did I mention he starts an internship in Memphis in a couple of weeks?  And he has to fly to Chicago to meet the CEO of the company next week??  Yeah, he thinks it would be fine to go without front teeth.  He thinks it would make a heck of an impression.  He said, “There will be a couple hundred interns there.  Who do you think he’d most likely remember if I showed up with no teeth?” I guess that’s one way to look at it. 

Fortunately, everybody pitched in (the husband, the kids, the parents, etc) and we got the place presentable.  Now that it’s all said and done, I’m SO glad I didn’t cancel it, even though I saw signs EVERYWHERE! We had a wonderful day with lots of good food and good company.  Baby A was diagnosed with a “fever virus” and was fever-free after just 24 hours.  #7 is the sweetest little girl and has been no problem at all.  Yuri and Gigi are really enjoying having a playmate.  Hunter got fitted for new temporary teeth and they should be in before he leaves for his Chicago trip.  A happy ending to a long week! 

For the first time ever, I am SO glad to see Monday!

Best mother-in-law in the world

Lisa (middle child), Mom, Marla (baby), and me (bossy sister)

 

Can you find the difference?

Gigi cried to keep this cutie and her daddy caved.  He's such a sucker.  The only way I'd agree is if I got to name him.  I'd like you all to meet Lee Greenwood. 
Don't judge.