On My Own . . .

(pretending he's beside me)

DH is gone to Virginia this weekend on a business trip, leaving me alone with seven kids. For some reason, I keep thinking of that line from the Incredibles that says, "You left Jack-Jack ALONE?!?" though I know the comparison is flawed. He started a new job a year ago that will require him to travel every few months to conferences, but this is his first one. He left Wednesday morning and comes home Saturday night. This will take some getting used to. I've been on my own before, but usually, it's because my crazy DH has taken a trip with three or four of the kids. In those cases, it's been a break. This time, I've missed him, and yes, all the work he does around here.

Not that I don't spoil myself when DH is gone. I've never liked cooking much, so it's the first thing to go when life gets stressful. Usually, if I don't get around to cooking something for dinner, DH will step in and make something wonderful. He likes to cook and I'm more than happy to let him. This time, we've had Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner twice and Chinese take-out once.

Bedtime is a bit trying, but at least it's only the younger four that need bedtime help. I love that I can just tell the 9, 7 and 6 year old to just "go to bed," and they do it. And I love that Joey and Lillian both like to help the twins to bed. They'll set up secret book hunts and have the twins search for the books they will then read to them. Lillian is much better at calming them down, mostly because Joey's a bit over-enthusiastic in his reading and ends up having the twins shrieking and jumping around instead of quietly lying down when he leaves the room.

Eliza is an awesome sleeper. Put her in her crib, hand her a pacifier and a stuffed animal, and she's out. It's a beautiful thing, especially since I remember the twins at this age climbing out of their cribs and bouncing off the walls instead of sleeping.

Harmony has not made up her mind whether to sleep at night or during the day yet, so I don't know what to expect. Last night was fairly good; I was up twice to feed her and she went back to sleep, but other nights she's been up for hours at a time and won't go back to sleep without a lot of trouble.

It's funny how much of a young mother's life revolves around sleep, isn't it?

Comments

3in3mom said…
good luck with that--can't be easy. DH goes to Colorado soon on a trip. . . I have not nearly your load, but the same feelings of aloneness none the less.

Thinking of you.
Wendy said…
I don't know what I'd do if my husband had to take a business trip and leave me at home with all of my 5 kids!! Oh wait, actually I do know -- the same thing I do every day -- because I mostly do "everything" .... that's a whole different story.

But at least you have some good help with the oldest kids. Hey, I've reached a time this week where I'm sick of making food and want to take a break from it but no one seems to get the hint. Darn I guess I need to try harder.
April J. said…
I can so relate! For some reason when hubby is out of town I can't seem to get the kids to be on time...then I do the dishes and pick up the toys. I am especially grateful when he returns!
Carol said…
You should have come with him and visited me in Virginia! :) Maybe when Harmony gets a little older!

Christina, I just this month found out about www.angelfoodministries.com; it came highly recommended to me as a great resource for inexpensive groceries, especially meats. They have some prepared meals, too, that might be a good option if you have a freezer. All you have to do is heat and serve. I put in an order for Sept....I'll let you know how it works out. Of course, I had to buy three of the regular box to feed our large family for a week. lol They are all over the country, though, so you might have one near you, too.