Need a Vacation from My Vacation

From what I understand, last week was supposed to be Spring Break.  This seems very ironic to me.  It was more of a Spring Launch into Full-On-Crazy-Busy.

Sunday:  We awoke to what we have heard was the largest amount of accumulation ever in Northwest Arkansas.  The snow certainly had a quality to it.  Our plan was to leave for Dallas on a family-get-away after church, but we ended up canceling church and hitting the road early. We found ourselves wondering what sense it made to go out in that weather, but the forecast for Dallas the next day was sunny and 65 degrees.  Monday was the only day Robb could take off work and the kids were so excited to go.  So we went.  I don't think I can adequately explain to you how terrifying that drive was for the first three hours. The scenic Boston Mountains of Arkansas are also death-defying under 12 inches of snow.  You become very conscious of guard rails...or the lack there-of.   The kids didn't say a word.  Later, I found notes they wrote back and forth to one another.  For my part, I found myself thinking, "Robb is a wonderful driver, but the odds of us NOT wrecking....it's not a matter of IF it is a matter of WHEN."   We saw wrecks all the way to Dallas, but somehow, we made it there all in one piece.  You have never seen five people more thrilled to get into a hotel hot-tub!

Monday:  We awoke to a beautiful day in Frisco with this stunning view of our Mecca: Ikea!  After a wonderful hotel  breakfast, we were ready for a full day acquiring long-needed bookshelves, visiting the Lego Store and finally, The American Girl Store.  

The drive home was blessedly un-eventful until that little stop in Oklahoma where the speed limit changed from 70 to 55 rather unexepectedly (oops).

Tuesday: There was still plenty of snow on the ground but it began to warm up as we unloaded our goodies from IKEA .  The kids busied themselves putting together a play with three super-heroes:  Country Music Man, The Very Pink Princess and quite-frankly, the scariest villain I have ever seen...The Toilet Paper Medusa.   With the nicest weather we had all week, I informed them after lunch that they would not be spending their day outside and could come back in at dinner. Did your Momma ever throw you outside?  Mine did.  On days like that, it's just where kids belong.  I tried not to say much when they threw my rugs in the mud while playing baseball and smooshed my iris plants in the process.  Much.


Wednesday:  That was the bad day.  The day I got sucked into the vortex.  The day I found myself locked in the girls closet, crying and cussing to my mother over the phone.  You see...I had this garage sale to get ready for, and I knew that the girl's room had to be combed out to get ready for it...but I also knew the stuff in there was going to make me nuts.  And it did.  I tried not to lose it.  But I did.  And in the tornado that followed, somehow, one girls room became two girls rooms.  Because I just couldn't take it any more.  Bye-Bye peaceful guest room used once in a blue moon.  Hello shocking calm when all three kids have their own space.  The ten year old couldn't stop smiling.  She became wildly helpful.  The girls were even seen playing nicely together.  After dinner one night, instead of screaching and fussing, they all just quietly disappeared.  It was nothing short of a miracle.

Thursday:  I embraced the suck.  So what my house was in total chaos.  So what it looked like we just moved in with book boxes, half-full shelves, a 12 foot ladder in my living room, the flotsom and jetsom of garage sale stuff every-where.  So what I was exhausted.  So what my husband offered to get pizza for dinner and I burst into grateful tears.  At least it was our mess to conquer.  At least we have stuff.  At least I could spend time with each of my kids making their spaces their own and seeing my girls so happy to have their rooms looking pretty and organized. ......But dang, the dogs were muddy.

Friday:  It was a blur.  The phone rang.  Kids came and went.  Garage sale stuff filled the van to the ceiling.  Paperwork to list the house in Michigan.  Emails.  Etsy orders.  Boxes in and Boxes out.  Finally made it up to church and began to set it all out....my first ever church-sale!  Somehow we failed to take a before picture, but at 10 p.m. that night, that room was stuffed full of junky-goodness.  The ad was placed on Craigslist and the signs were ready to post.  Nine participants makes for a good big sale.  I knew the crowd would be lined up at the door in the morning.

Saturday:  And they were.  Two of the rudest people I have ever seen at a sale.  Shame on them.  If any of you ever act like that, I will find you and kick your hiney.   But then people got nicer.  And they shopped.  Oh how they shopped.  By the end of the day we had a quarter of the stuff we started with and nice fat envelopes for every body to take home and fill their Dave Ramsey Emergency Funds.  It was a raging success.  I went home so tired, my toenails hurt.  Vin fell asleep before I could finish tucking in Charleigh.  I think I remember seeing the numbers 9:30 before I fell into a coma.

The twelve foot ladder is still in my living room.  There is dust an inch thick on the piano.  Laundry is humming.  The sun is shining.  And there is still much to do.