I survived. Whew!

Today was the shindig at B's school for which I had to bake brownies. More about that later.

DH was been sick all week with something like the flu. He has some serious antibiotics that he's been taking but they don't seem to be working. He's feverish, and suffers from chills and hot flashes, hacking up a ton of phlegm, etc. It's really wonderful. Thus, I've been sleeping on the couch for at least a week. At 2am Friday morning I finally finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha. It was fantastic and I had trouble putting the book down every night while reading it (so I was up until 2-3 every night this week). Yesterday morning B came down around 6:50 and turned on the TV after getting my permission to do so. Then DH got up, got her breakfast and went upstairs to work a little in his office. I went back to sleep. Thank goodness DH looked at the clock at nearly 7:30 and realized it was too quiet and woke me up to get B ready for school. She normally heads out to the bus stop with one of us at 7:35, so I had to hurry to get her clothes and make myself somewhat presentable. She made it to the stop in time. Whew; that was a close one.

Today B got up at her usual time and came down to watch TV. I rolled over and let her watch it while the rest of us slept. Finally I had to get up, get laundry in the dryer, get a shower, get the other kids, change them, feed them, and get to the school to help setup and decorate for the shindig tonight. I got to the school at noon and worked for over an hour setting up the cafeteria and decorating the tables. Since the other parents had apparently been there all morning, they were all working well and knew each others names. I was the outsider just doing what was asked, without benefit of introductions. Oh well.

Got home, took care of some paperwork, and watched as the kids continued their destruction of the first floor, which was their goal while I was out. DH's job while I was gone was apparently only to make sure they stayed downstairs. Thanks for that.

I got the little ones bathed and dressed while B took a shower by herself in our bathroom. Once we were all ready we left Daddy at home and went to the big fundraising party at the school. There were games with candy for prizes, raffles of fantastic themed prizes (girl stuf, boy stuff, family game night, etc), raffles for class outings (mini-golf with the principal, bowling with the Kindy teachers, etc), a silent auction with tons of great stuff (each class had made something from a local "paint your own pottery" store, photographer credit, wine rack, etc), and a live auction, featuring a dog, and an autographed Roger "The Rocket" Clemens baseball. I actually bid quite competitively for the baseball, but bowed out just before the man standing behind me won the ball. However, the lady auctioneer thought I had won it while the spotters thought it was the man right behind me. The fellow and I worked it out since there was no controversy, but the spotters apparently had been concerned. My highlight for the evening was seeing a man in the cafeteria who was wearing a hat from my college alma mater. Right before we left, I asked him if he indeed go there and he did. He and his wife were originally from the Philly area, and lived right near from where DH and I just moved. It was so refreshing to talk to another displaced Yankee. His family has been down here 6 years and they love it. We even have the same summer survival plan, which includes escaping the oppressive heat and humidity by going someplace in the northeast with less oppressive heat and just as much humidity. LOL!

We saw B's teacher in the hall who told me that she's been doing better in school, finishing more of her classwork, which was wonderful to hear. We also had the pleasure of seeing Clay and his family. It was the first time we've seen them since we watched their kids the day they moved. Clay's mom told me she's been very busy with unpacking, and of course, I commisserated. She's preaching to the choir, and that is just what I told her.

I feel like I need a drink after going to this thing. I think the entire school's student population, plus their parents and siblings, and a few stray grandparents, were in attendance. It was CROWDED. Like shopping at the mall right before Christmas. And rather than deal with two or three loose kids, I kept S and A in the double stroller for the better part of the night. So maneuvering that thing around the tight crowded hallways became a recipe for disaster. Add in that this thing went from 5-9pm, when the kids normally go to bed between 7 and 7:30, and it became a disaster. Part of the Clemens auction confusion probably stemmed from my trying to rock A to sleep while waving frantically to have my bids recognized. They probably decided that any move on my part was a bid.

I've already eaten the brownies that remained from my baking fun yesterday. A beer is sounding really good... Hmmm... I think I better end this post.