Four Days of Fun

Thursday
I awoke to a familiar noxious odor and came downstairs to find that apparently the stomach of one of my dogs had exploded in the night all over the wood floor.
Cleaned it up.

Cooked breakfast for all my chillens.

Got through a relatively easy morning with them until about 5 minutes before the bus came, and then all hell broke loose. Broke up two fights and calmed several people in tears, including myself.

Got showered and dressed. Ah, my good friend had arrived to visit for a few days, what nice timing.

Drove Daniel to school, but on the way he felt that his stomach, too, might explode. Pulled over to do an assessment and decided he seemed fit for school, so got him to school with the promise that I would call after my dr's appt to check on him.

Submitted to my retinal exam which included having several drops squeezed onto each eyeball, then having a stick poked in each eye, then bright lights shone to check my retinas. Stumbled out of there barely able to see.

Called Daniel's school, hoping against hope that he would be OK so I could treat myself to a quiet pampering morning at Borders to spend a gift card I had received for Christmas. That was not to be the case. Daniel was sick, so I drove back to his school to pick him up and take him home.

When checking e-mail, learned from one of James' teachers that he had lied about homework and was in danger of getting an after-school detention.

Took James to an appt with his therapist shortly after the kids got home from school. On the drive there he decided he would be mad at me for not taking him to a candy store, so he stopped talking to me. I had to wonder, fourteen or four?

Friday
Fred left for a conference for several days, so I knew I would be all on my own.
Took Rosie to a middle school dance at Boomer's.

Few hours later, picked up Rosie plus three friends. Drove them home with the car rocking back and forth to their singing and dancing along with the radio.

Nearly hit a deer, having to hit the brakes and swerve hard to the right to avoid it.
Instead of singing and dancing, the girls were now screaming and crying.
For the next hour or so, tried to keep the girls somewhat quiet and contained till I finally succumbed to exhaustion and dropped into bed.

Saturday
Cooked breakfast for 10 kids.

Reminisced with James and Julie. This was the one year anniversary of their arrival home.

Said goodbye late morning to the last of Rosie's friends.

Baked two cakes: one an anniversary cake, one a birthday cake for Patrick and his friends. He was having a party a month early so he could take them out to see Sherlock Holmes.

Patrick's five friends arrived and headed out to the pond for a bit before it was time to leave for the movies. They got in a cattail fight and came in covered in the feathery dust from the disintegrated plants. One of the boys had his shoes (which I later found out were relatively new) nearly sucked off his feet by a patch of deep mud.

Found some pants and shoes for him to borrow.

Headed out to the movies with 7 big boys in my car, Rosie staying home with her friend Lauren to babysit Julie, Bella and Daniel.

Stopped by Wendy's on the way home to pick them up some burgers. One man looked incredulously at our group of nearly 6 feet tall 14 and 15 year olds and asked if we were from a bus. I just smiled.

Tolerated (best I could) the noise and rambunctiousness of the beasts running through my house playing hide-n-seek, video games, and whatever else they could think of.

Brought out the cakes and sang Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday.

Cleaned up and ran the dishwasher for the 2nd (3rd?) time of the day.

Hid out in my room. Tried to make it through the news but fell asleep.


Sunday
Cooked breakfast for 11 kids.
Said goodbye to Patrick's friends late morning and then orchestrated a clean up before the house could be condemned.

Finally stole away to the computer to treat myself to some reading and writing time.

Enjoyed the idyllic scene out my window of about a dozen neighboring Amish kids playing ice hockey and having races across our frozen pond. Oooh, I just noticed a couple of them are still in their Sunday best. Are they gonna get in troubllllle!



I'll try again next week for Borders. Wish me luck!