So Far Behind I May Never Catch Up

Hello there, blog. It's been 9 days, and I have missed you so. I would love to say I have missed you because I have been lying on a beach with my pedicured toes buried in the sand and my manicured hand holding something frozen with an umbrella in it, but, alas that is not the case. I have, however, spent many a long day holding hands, vomit bags, Foley catheters, IV catheters, medication, urine cups, EKG leads, CT contrast, AMBU bags, bedpans, warm blankets, wrist restraints and pretty much just working my tail off in the ER 7 of the last 9 days. I realize that this is some people's normal work schedule, but it is not mine. So between work and kids and church stuff, I. Am. Beat.

Here's what has been going on in my neck of the woods:

I co-hosted a baby shower for a friend of mine on Sunday and the entire church showed up. It was fun, because every room felt like it's own party. You could talk to people in the kitchen for a while, then move to the dining room and talk to 10 more people you hadn't seen yet. Then wander into the living room and look at cute baby stuff being passed around and talk to another 20 people. It may have only been 40 people or so, but we brought enough gifts that it just felt like the entire church was there. Harper's friend Ellie will be the best dressed little baby and have a Bumbo in every room of the house to sit in.

Dane won an award in PE yesterday. While I was helping an elderly gentleman with his catheter and hearing about how I look "just like his grand-daughter" (ew), Brandon made it through the cavity search at Dane's school security check in just in time to see him receive an end-of-year award for PE, of which only two were awarded in his class. Go Dane! And then he skipped the next 2 and a half days of school to road trip with his grandparents. We are nothing if not inconsistent.

Dane and Aidan left this morning on the first leg of their trip to Kentucky this weekend. In fact, Aidan was up at 5:30 this morning, fully dressed and ready to "ride a tractor in Kentucky". Know what's worse than Aidan being up at 5:30 in the morning? Me knowing that he is up at 5:30 in the morning. On my day off.

So Harper is alone for the next few days with her Mommy and Daddy, and I have been gently reminded that Harper is a bit high-maintenance when she doesn't have her doting brothers around. As in, she wants me to do the doting. All the time. Even when I'm folding laundry or eating dinner or in the bathroom, she has a very hard time understanding why I'm not holding her and letting her lick my chin and talk on my cell phone. I'll forgive her, only because she napped from 10:30 till 2:45 today and let me fall asleep on the couch during Law and Order, which I haven't done since Dane was a baby.

I have some more catching up to do, and several cute pictures to post, but they will have to come later on this week. But not tomorrow, because I have 12 more hours of convincing patients that no, their sunburn does not constitute a medical emergency.