Back to "Normal"... Or Getting There

We've fluctuated in the kid count all week long, up from our three to four (24/7), mostly six during the day, and as many as eight yesterday morning. As yesterday progressed the other kids slowly returned to their homes and the count returned to our normal three. Whew!

It also seems as though that we can count our lucky stars that we only had the attitude we did from our niece! I guess when my brother picked her up it went into high gear. I wasn't here to witness it, but Carie was astonished. It will be interesting to see how the next several months and year plays out. Thank goodness we can work up to the pre-teen days with our kids.

We've also completed a round of maintenance on both vehicles and were able to pick up the van last night! Hooray for excellent working vehicles. The girls and I also managed to clean both vehicles too, a nice bonus. They were so excited to surprise Mommy! Now to register the van next week, just a bit late! We should have planned it out better and taken care of it before school break, but we didn't. And, well, shelling out that extra $$ is crazy right before Christmas! Carie will happily take care of that next week when she is back to one child in the morning. She and Spencer can go on a special adventure and all will be good.

We had a relaxing (sadly, it truly was!) dinner at Old McDonald's play land last night, retrieved vehicles, returned home and had kids in bed by 8:45 - a record for the week. The girls' didn't go to sleep until much much later but that quiet adult time was bliss.

Carie has come up with a brilliant babysitter option. She is a genius! Hopefully we’ll be able to make contact this weekend and hopefully she and her parents will also agree that it is a great idea! Our other sitter went off to college, gosh a couple of years ago. She’s sat for us a time or two since, but we clearly need to move on and find ourselves a semi-regular sitter, especially now that Carie’s folks aren’t accessible. They didn’t stay with the kids often, but on the occasions they did, it was much appreciated. My parents (and our siblings) are semi available, but they are 45 minutes away and we need to go to them which then always turns into a full day trip. Also with my mom doing all she is for my siblings, when she doesn’t have their kids on the weekend (every other or more frequent) she is ready for a break. I don’t really blame her, but still it sucks.

Today is another day of relaxing and putzing around. Hopefully an abundance of football is in our near future! We also hope to keep the washer going with all that miscellaneous stuff. Coats are done; next up floor mats, car seat covers, kid bedding, etc... I'd throw in the kids if I could! They all are in dire need of grooming and will be allowed/encouraged to soak in the tub for long periods of time today. :)

For now the boy and I are hanging out while Carie and the girls' are snoozing. Ohh, I hear Ellie (and her cough) coming down and the boy “wants to tell me something”.