No, no, no all of my Atlanta readers. I did not pick up a side job cleaning the famous "adult club." Within minutes of arriving home from Pensacola, I found Molly putting baby powder all over her pink stuffed pony. I asked her what she was doing, and she said "now he is a white horse." Fabulous, Molly is giving her stuffed animals dye jobs. What next? She of course put baby powder all over the room. At least it smells nice in there. I guess it is similar to the carpet fresh you sprinkle to freshen the room anyway. I caught her right before she started to lotion the horse up as well. That could have gotten messy. I found myself using the attachments to vacuum the strange stuffed animal and all of the other places Molly baptized with powder.
As soon as I arrived home, I sent Mike out the door for food and beer with friends. I figured he has earned it after a week alone with the kids. He has been doing the preschool carpool, taking Colin to tumbling, and handling all of the rest of the kids needs, all while trying to work from home. Every time I spoke with him while I was in Pensacola, he started to sound progressively more tired. His conversations frequently included "so, what day are you planning on coming home?" The children were fed, happy, and they made it to school. I gave the teachers a "heads up" that daddy would be doing the mommy gig all week. I told them to expect crazy outfits and hair standing on end, and possibly the wrong school bags. I told Molly's teacher to bring a hair brush and some rubber bands. She smiled and assured me she would handle Molly's hair. Poor Mike...He has no idea how to even begin fixing Molly's hair. I tried to show him, but I am sure she went in looking like she slept in her hair. In fact, today Mike walked up to the children's salon up the street so he could get a hair cut, and the children would be entertained as well. One of the girls offered to fix Molly's hair, and Molly came home with cute little pig tails. Mike tried to tell me that he had fixed her hair like that, but then he admitted what happened. I shook my head, and told him "You realize she did that because you took your daughter out in public looking like a hot mess..." He just shrugged his shoulders, and I laughed. Oh well, if that is the worst thing that happened while I was gone, he was doing pretty well. I still have about four loads of laundry, and at least one more load of dishes. I guess he has yet to master the art of taking care of the children, completing all of the household chores, and getting the kids where they need to go.
At one point during my stay in Pensacola, I received a text from my friend Sandra. It simply said "I just saw Abby(our dog) running across the church parking lot with Colin, Molly, and Mike chasing after her...Hilarious." I was shaking my head, and wondering why in the world he would make his life more difficult by adding the challenge of the dog. I can barely get us all out the door on time on school days. I would never add the challenge of bringing our pet as well. When I asked him why, he said "well she just looked so sad." My response "Mike, she is a basset hound, she always looks sad...That doesn't mean you have to take her to school with you." I called again on Thursday to make sure that Colin had made it to tumbling. All I can hear is chaos and a toilet flushing on the other end of the line. Mike was flustered to say the least. I asked "well, how did it go? Did Colin have fun? Were you able to keep Molly entertained while he was in class?" More chaos, child noises and such, another flush, and a "No Molly, don't touch that." All before he said "I think Colin had fun, but wow, this is tough. It is hard to get all of this stuff done and keep Molly entertained and out of trouble." Huh...I think every mommy should have to leave town suddenly, and just let them see what a day spent in our shoes is really like. I know Mike appreciates me for all that I do, and that he keeps them on the weekends while I work, but handling it all for a week straight is very different. It is hard work to get them ready, get them to school, and even planning and attending play dates is work. My job is never easy. In fact, I consider my nursing job a break...most of the time :)
My dad's cardiac cath went well. The surgeon felt like everything looked exactly the same, and that no further action was needed. No stints and no balloons :) Daddy came home after a few hours of recovery. My 92 y/o grandfather has been moved to a rehab facility with his neck brace. He was considered stable enough to leave the hospital, but he still has long road to recovery. He is not a good surgical candidate due to his age and health, but the surgeon said he will likely be in a neck brace for the rest of his life :( He is incredibly frustrated and uncomfortable to say the least. It is so difficult to watch him age so quickly over the last two years, but not nearly as difficult as it has been for him I am sure.
I may have poked fun at Mike earlier in this post, but my husband rocks. He took this like a champ. He called me multiple times a day, let the kids talk to me, and kept them posted on when I would be back. He is sleep deprived and stressed about the work he still needs to complete, but he was very supportive of my trip. He knew that I needed to be with my father and grandfather. Mike knew I was having a stressful time as well, so I never heard a complaint. I had flowers and wine waiting for my return, and my fabulous friend Sandra made our family a yummy mexican dinner. I didn't even have to make dinner for the family when I pulled in from my long drive. Thanks Sandra, you rock! Now, back to a snuggle puddle with my babies, and maybe fold a load or two of laundry. Or maybe just snuggle...:)
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