I'm here to make YOU feel better!

Don't you just love those friends who make you feel like you have it more together than you really do? Well, today I am the woman to boost you up & inflate your ego!!! The last several days have gone like this:

Saturday- Wake up early, scramble to stuff bags to their fullest potential, empty trash, straighten bedrooms, pack car, eat breakfast and head to airport with plenty of time to spare so we can return rental car, check our full free baggage potential on Southwest (2 free checked bags per person x 7 people = 14 checked bags allowed!), and get through security. My sweet brother and his wife followed us in a second car so that all bags and people could make it! We checked our bags, gave the man a fat tip, and DH headed through security with 3 of our 5 children while I returned the rental car with the other 2. Frantic phone call from husband reveals that our beloved Raleigh snow globe is a terror threat and cannot go on the plane in our carry-on luggage. Who knew? Thankfully brother & his bride were still with me, so brother rescued our snow globe to bring to us at a later time. We jostled through security with coats, shoes, laptops, and 3 Coconuts who kept hopping out of the bag. Finally, we all made it through security.

We checked the time and had time for a bite to eat before boarding our flight. Our newly-turned 3 year old practiced our patience while we all shared 3 appetizers. After more trips to the bathroom than should be allowed, we rushed to our gate for takeoff, only to learn that our plane was now delayed. In all honesty, it was no big deal but since we had left home 3 hours prior to our flight time, we had already killed some time. Finally, we boarded the plane and headed home. The children were much more cantankerous on our return flight than they were on our outbound flight. Perhaps they felt like seasoned travelers. I felt like I did a lot of shushing and "keep it downs" while DH quietly read his magazine in the aisle next to me. Our girls are precious, but they can be little complainers. I have NO Idea where they learned that art! So, it's not unusual to hear that a tummy or ears hurt from more than one child. This did ensue, and I tried to be patient and listen like I cared. I did try.

During our descent, one of the girls complained about our ears. "Swallow. Yawn. I said, 'Swallow'! Okay, chew this gum", I directed with little compassion. DH pleaded with me to help her. We are not supposed to be out of our seats at this point, but I stood anyway only to find our sweetie dissolved in tears. She said her ears felt like were about to POP. Great. I felt terrible for my lack of compassion and scared to death her ear drum was about to burst. I finally acted compassionately as I should have all along, and we landed while she continued to cry.

We were gleefully met by our sweet friends and their two Suburbans, which we filled to their fullest capacity. It was such a treat to see good friends and then our house. We unloaded the car until you couldn't close the front door and began unpacking a little at a time. Our mail was not one but three piles high. We had to read a little. Since it was dinner time, I ordered pizza and started bath time. Meanwhile our daughter says her ear really, really hurts. I sighed and took her to the after hours pediatrician. She did have quite an ear infection and so we went in search of antibiotics and had to wait so long that I took her home and went back out for the meds.

The next 2 days were good ones filled with children fighting over toys and arguing and playing. I was trying to unpack yesterday when I discovered 2 of the 3 children's rooms were COMPLETE WRECKS as in EVERY-TOY-I'VE-EVER-OWNED is on the floor and in the way. I just about fainted. We have luggage strewn about our house, laundry being folded in between interruptions, and meals to make and dishes to clean. It's still Christmas at our house and I made the mistake of removing some of the ornaments only to realize it was a really bad idea until I could bring the ornament boxes in the house and put the ornaments away carefully.

So now we still have at least 3 bags that are only partially unpacked, lots of laundry to do, a newly piled high ironing pile, mail to sort, bills to pay, toys to find a new home for, and ornaments on all of the chairs and sofas in our living room. If you're feeling down or like you're not organized just because you have a few Christmas bows to stuff, take heed. It's NUTS around here! The worst part of all is that once I finish unpacking and putting away Christmas, it'll be time to tackle our garage and move everything in boxes into the new Rubbermaid containers I bought during my hour at Target today. One day I'll have it all perfect. One day. Maybe in 2060!