Putting the HMIC to the test...

There is always one true test of your skills as the HMIC.... your Mother In Law. I love my MIL I am blessed to have one that does not judge me, she supports me. Thom's mom and step dad came to visit for the Labor Day weekend. I frantically ran through the house, unpacked everything I could and cleaned up all the messes I could before she got here. I moved the kids rooms around to make a place for them to sleep and prayed that I would be able to keep up with everything while we had a house of 8 for 4 days.

I now know why on those '50s shows the kids are in bed so early, it is because the mom's are exhausted and need to go to sleep. My MIL is up before the sun, walks for 30 min, then comes home, makes breakfast for the whole house, and then makes sure everyone is ready for the day. She is nearly always in the kitchen and jumps up anytime someone even looks like they are hungry. By the end of the day she and I both were running on fumes and ready to crawl in a comfy bed to start it all again the next day.

While she was here, we celebrated John's birthday. The kids and I threw together an impromptu surprise party while he was taking a nap. Sarah and I watched a you tube video on how to do a basket weave decoration on cakes and then tried our hands at it. This was so fun to make a birthday cake with Sarah. The surprise went off with out a hitch and the homemade cards and yummy cake were a hit.

I think the hardest part of the visit was the cold reality of Sean's condition. With all the commotion of a house full of people, changes in routine, and just general fun of family visits Sean was beginning to get worn on. He had a meltdown worse that I have experienced to this point. It took over an hour to get him calmed down (luckily I had prelude in G minor on my iphone that calmed him down) and once I could assess the damage he had given himself a bloody nose and some pretty good bruises on his ribs and hips. My in-laws were able to realize that it is not a selfish request from me to have them come to our house instead of us travel to them. I wish we could travel, and hopefully once Sean is a little older we will be able to again. All in all the love and support from both sides of our family have made it possible for Thom and I to give Sean and the girls the love and life they deserve.

Now that all of our summer visitors have come and gone, I think I am safe to say...
I passed the test! My house is still standing, my kids are all healthy, the visitors all had a wonderful time. I think that next year I will have them spaced out just a little more.