What Mother's Day?

You ever have one of those days where everything just goes right?  A day where the kids, while challenging, are really just awesome and the rain that was supposed to ruin a Saturday never comes? A day where you have laryngitis so bad that you can't make a single sound, yet the kids don't take advantage of that weakness by running out of squeaking range?  I had that day yesterday.  We went to a street fair in Montgomery and the kids danced to music and got their bouncy-house fix.  Then later we rode the local paddlewheel boat up the Arkansas River with my friend Michelle, and then stayed at the riverfront for Second Saturday and watched the kids run all around to live music until the fireworks (when it actually did start raining, but we saw the fireworks from a dry car).  Only once did I consider that I should have brought life jackets for the boat ride (it was a triple decker dinner cruise, so not life jackets not required).  Only once did I worry that 10pm would be too late to wait for fireworks.  And only once did I lose Kai in the crowd--the train went by, I found him next to the fence watching it.  Yesterday was a day that makes you thankful you have kids to share the world with.

And then there was today.  Mother's Day of all ironies.  If I have to clean another stinking body fluid off the floor, so help me, I'm going straight to whiskey!  No one escaped at the grocery store (which was nice), but once we were home Orion found the street and figured that was a better place to play then the yard.  I, in my daze of head cold and laryngitis, left the car radio on while Ayla was sleeping and killed the battery (no it wasn't to hot to leave her in there).  Thankfully, fam camps guys are helpers (well, you would be too if a cute girl walked up and said "I have a guy problem only you can fix" :), and we jumped the car back to life.  And while we were jumping the car, naked and wet children started running out of the trailer having somehow opened the shower door.  Naps were non-existent, so by evening everyone was in rare form and I think the only reason the neighbors didn't suspect my kids screaming was a problem was because they were drunk. I poured myself a class of wine at 6pm.  It's still sitting on the counter.

This is Week One without "Lonnie".  For those of you just tuning in, here's the story.  Upon arriving in Alabama, we figured that we probably would not be returning to Colorado Springs.  We were expecting to go back to Colorado somewhere, just not there.  "Lonnie" was fed up with his job and had been scoping out things.  He interviewed for a few active guard positions (still National Guard but full time like active duty).  I requested to live in a green place with water, and "Lonnie" insisted on having mountains.  Neither us of got our wish, which means that we'll be perfectly happy...in Wichita Kansas.  The "arts center" of Kansas.  The home of Westboro Baptist Church.  It does have a river, or at least that's what the map suggests.  The college mascot is the flying broomsticks (which I find epically funny and very Harry Potter-ish) and Wichita State is a leading autism research center. 

One stipulation to the job was that "Lonnie" start immediately, or in calendar days 7 May.  After our whirlwind Talladega weekend, "Lonnie" did the entire 13 hour drive in one day to make it to work on time his first day.  This job is permanent, meaning that "Lonnie" will be a full time National Guard engineer with all the benefits of being active military (like health care and sex scandals).  We won't be leaving Kansas until he retires or unless we can't take the vast, mind-numbing flatness.  He is charged with doing his job, finding something redeeming about living in Kansas, and finding us a place to live before June.  I'm alone with the kids until I'm released from Maxwell in June.  I'm charged with not blowing up the trailer and getting everyone to Kansas alive and without ER visits.  At this point, we are both winning (and not in a Charlie Sheen kinda way).  "Lonnie" has been skyping me on tours of rental houses in an old city area called College Hill-I figure, no way am I living in the country with no scenery, might as well live in the city so I can try and forget that I'm in Kansas.  Other than the car dying and some minor scraps, things appear to be in order here (knock wood, throw salt over my left shoulder, cross myself, cross fingers, cross toes...).

Now, where's my wine?