Beyond Mayhem!

This week, David had to go away to a conference in Richmond, Virginia, leaving me even more mayhem than usual!!  Exciting things always happen when Daddy goes away.  This trip was especially eventful.  To begin with, Jonathan decided he wanted to sit up for the first time!  Look how happy the little guy is, delighted with his new skill.  This happened just after we got back from dropping David off at the airport, so he missed it:(

Everything was going so well...until I put the boys down for their nap and sent the girls out back to play.  I went into the laundry room to retrieve the clothes from the washing machine to hang them outside on the line to dry.  Then, I heard shrieks from Maggie.  Somehow, she fell going down the steps and landed on the pavement.  Her lip was cut pretty badly and there was blood all around her gums.  When I couldn't get the bleeding to stop, I also realized that her tooth was loose!  The dentist agreed to see her right away, so I wrangled the troops into the van.  Fortunately, she fell in just the right way and did not damage her permanent tooth.  She cut her frenulum also.  The dentist said to just let it go and feed her soft foods.  Devastating news for Mary who was really looking forward to cheeseburgers for dinner!  And that was Day 1!

And here's Mary on Day 2 demonstrating how great I am at supervising our four kids!  While I was doing something else and while she was SUPPOSED to be doing schoolwork, she decided to put on her long golden curls and put some makeup on her face.  Yes, markers can be used for makeup.  Now, there's a real money saving tip for you.  Cover Girl, move on over.  Crayola, step on up!
I did manage to take the girls to the library to get more Hank the Cowdog books.  From there we walked to a local grocery store that sells kiddie ice cream cones for 25 cents each and bought a box of macaroni and cheese and more bananas, which I still need to mash up for poor Maggie. 

And here's Jonathan on Day 3--another stellar example of my great supervision.  The girls had a coronation ceremony for Jonathan!  Long live King Jonathan!  I didn't have the heart to take a picture of poor Matthew being a lowly subject.  I really don't know where the girls ever come up with these things, but they sure do have a blast! I also was able to take all four kids through the drive thru to get the girls cheeseburgers (a special request plus I had a coupon).  This was a special treat for them, since we never get fast food!

And on Day 4, Mary had a soccer game and team pictures on the COLDEST day of the year.  BRRRRRRR!  I was really worried about taking all four kids to Mary's soccer game, but it worked out perfectly.  The boys cheered for a while and then fell asleep in their stroller.  Maggie always has a blast at soccer games, so I wasn't worried about her.  This was the first soccer game that I had been to this season and she scored three goals!  GO SPARKS!

Even though we did lots of special things when Daddy was away, these girls sure did miss him.  I let them stay up past their bedtime to greet him upon arrival, which was around 9 pm.  They watched and waited and watched and waited.  As soon as they saw his taxi pull up, they hid.  When he went in to give them a kiss goodnight, they burst out from the woodwork!  They each got a baby ride to bed and fell asleep moments later.  David and I stayed up and ate the chocolate he brought home.  YUM!  I am hoping for a little less drama in the coming week.