Managing

That's all I can say for today: we were managing. Brad left for a business trip last night, after only a couple of days in Arkansas. BUMMER. He was so disappointed. I felt really bad for him, because I think he was having a good weekend and really hated to leave 1) on a holiday weekend and 2) when we hadn't even really settled into the temporary house yet. But it was a mandatory company meeting at a customer site for a huge security contract, and hey - sometimes that's just the way it goes. We manage.

So despite all of my best efforts, I didn't manage to line up child care completetely right. It turns out I had a one day gap in coverage, which was today. In my opinion, that's really pretty amazing, considering I've been trying to secure coverage from 1,600 miles away! We have someone lined up for the month of July, starting tomorrow, and then our permanent nanny is most likely going to start the second week of August, after get back from a MUCH needed vacation. Hooray!!

So the kids went a little stir crazy while I tried to work and take care of them, and the problem was amplified a bit by the fact that we don't have any toys yet in this temporary house. Can't wait for the truck to get to Arkansas and make a bit of a delivery! In the end, I gave up around 3 and took them all to the neighborhood pool, which made them three very happy little girls. I was nervous -- bringing three kids to the pool alone is a challenge for me due to the lack of hands on deck, but after a thorough prepping by me on expectations (along with a threat for good measure that we would not be going back again if they did not stay with me, get out when I asked, etc.) I'm happy to report that the kids were really well behaved. We had a great time, and Maddie was thrilled with herself for making really good progress on her underwater swimming. She was swimming about 15 feet today without coming up for a breath, which is fantastic for her!

We made it home by 5 in time for Mr. Steve the realtor to come by and pick up our earnest money check for the new house. After the kids went to bed, my "real" work day began...and after a solid 3.5 hours or so, I'm finally ready to retire. Sleepy, very sleepy. Happy that Brad arrived home at about 10:45 tonight and that I've got a sitter coming tomorrow morning. Sad, though, that as of tomorrow, I'm officially back to being an office worker. I'm sure that will generate a post or two...