Mommy for a week

I am sitting in my room, waiting to go pick up Craig and Laura from the airport after a five day conference in Boca, Florida. In the background all I can hear is the soft, and then sometimes not so soft whimpering of Haddie, the three year old I have had charge of the this past week while she tries to transition into nap time. Out my window, I hear nothing but the oh so tactful screaming, swearing and fighting of two construction workers that have been laboring on the house next door all week. They scream at each other, drop the f-bomb non stop, pee in front of me (I am assuming they don't know I can see them) and stand on a ladder leading to the roof of my neighbor that convieniently rests right next to my bedroom window. Today I hid in the corner of my room dripping wet in a towl until they weren't standing perfectly in front of my closet so I could change after my shower.

Ceili, the five year old I just picked up from school is watching TV quietly in the living room so as to not make Haddie jealous, who I am insisting lays down even though she does not want to. It is Friday, which is nice because otherwise I would be reading with Ceili the many books she is assigned for homework, even though she is only in Kindergarden. She is amazingly intelligent and this week we have been reading through books that make her sound out words such as silhouette, hovered, specimen, and frijoles.

This week has been a wonderful challenge. Ceili has to leave for school at 7:45am and goes to bed at 7:45pm, so I've been putting in atleast 12 hours of tender childcare a day this week, and more when you add the cleaning and cooking on either side of the kids waking up. In a few hours, it will be over and I can go back to being responsibility-less, which I can admit, makes me kind of sad. In the midst of the potty reminders, washing hands, brushing teeth, changing clothes, cooking dinner, enforcing the eating of dinner, doing homework, reading, putting to bed and snuggling to sleep, I found a wonderful joy of providing and caring for kids who love you for it.
Here is a sweet little taste of my week.

Haddie asleep after trying to stay awake reading.



Ceili in the coolest dress up outfit I've ever seen! She came up with it all on her own, and though
the picture might not do it justice, it was complex.

Making Cookies! Chocolate chip, banana, cranberry, coconut, pecan cookies to be exact. They were actually quite delicious.

Our first dinner together, personal pizzas they made themselves.