Another PA DAy?

It amazes me how children who have such a difficult time dragging themselves out of bed on a regular school day can just leap out of bed with such energy so early in the morning on a PA Day. It seems to work the same way with my hubby. On a work day he is not so quick to crawl out from under the blankets when that dreaded alarm clock starts making noise - but boy oh boy plan a hunting trip and he's up every hour on the hour all through the night just to make sure the alarm clock is working!
My day started off a little rough because G3 (girl 3) woke up off and on for feeding and diaper changes between 4:30 am and 7:00 am. She usually sleeps very well through the night so this disturbance in my sleep was unexpected and certainly unwelcomed! I had figured that since it was a PA day the children would sleep in and so would I. I figured wrong. Once I finally got G3 back to sleep and my hubby quietly left for the office, I crawled back into my bed - oh the crisp sheets were so inviting - I snuggled into the pillows and closed my eyes...... and then I heard it. A still small voice. No, it wasn't God, it was B2 (boy 2) whispering to me and letting me know that he was headed to the bathroom because he had to go pee. I waved him off and rolled over again. Peeing is contagious in our house and when one has to go it seems the whole herd has to suddenly go. B1 & B3 appear in my bedroom doorway to let me know that they too have to go pee. I wave them on and remind them to be quiet because baby G3 has just fallen back to sleep. After a few minutes I hear the toilet flush and the water running in the bathroom sink. I also hear giggling and splashing and then a brief moment later, bickering. As the noise begins to escalate I drag myself out from under my comfy blankets to hunt them down. I find all three of them fighting for positions at the sink. After giving orders to "clean up the mess!" I send them off to their room to play quietly until everyone else is up. I should have known better. What that really means to them is "do whatever you want - I'm too tired to do anything about it." I lay back down in my bed and close my eyes but they don't stay closed for long. From the boy's room I hear thumping and giggling. It sounds like all three of them are wrestling on the bed right next to me - with only the wall separating us. I worry that they are wrestling on the top bunk of the bed so I force myself out of bed again to go investigate. I find that B1 & B2 are indeed wrestling in the bed, but on the bottom bunk in their newly constructed tent of blankets. I ask them to please stop thumping against the wall as it sounds like they will come through it and end up in bed with me. They giggle and ask "What's for breakfast?" So much for sleeping in!
A short time later we're all at the table enjoying breakfast. A driver comes to the door to pick up a child for an access visit. The child he is here to pick up hasn't even arrived yet. We had a baby B4 coming today for an overnight stay but he wasn't due to arrive until 11:30 am. The driver left in a hurry to find the child in question. About fifteen minutes later I received a call saying that the access visit has been cancelled and baby B4 would be arriving earlier than anticipated. It's not even 9 am and things are getting hectic already.
The children did their chores after breakfast while I fed B4 and G3. My niece slept over last night. She and G1 & G2 set up all their make up on the back porch and gave each other beauty makeovers. B3 happened to wander by and got made over as well. He pranced into the kitchen to show me how pretty he looked. Pink just isn't his colour.
Our day was chaotic and a little stressful with two scheduled access visits and two in home lawyer appointments. My wonderful hubby volunteered to pick up a few groceries on the way home so I emailed him my list :) By 5 pm all children were home from visits and both lawyers had come and gone. The groceries were put away and supper was started. I thank God for my sister and her husband who make themselves available to help us out when we need some time away. (Thank you Cherie and Al for being a blessing to us.) My hubby and I schedule regular "date nights" where we go out for dinner together or with another couple. And tonight was one of those nights! As we drove out of town and onto the 401 I felt the stress lifting. The further away from Chatham we drove the lighter I felt. We went out to the Mongolian Grill in Tecumseh this evening with Mr. & Mrs. V . This is one of our favourite places to dine. Good food and a relaxing atmosphere. It's nice to get out with friends you can let your hair down with and be real. Before heading home we bought whoopie cushions at the dollar store (for the children of course).
Cherie and Al went home and left their three children at our place for the night - what's a few more when you already have 7 kids. B4 & G3 were already sleeping when we got in. B1, B2, & B3 went to bed right away. G1 & G2, niece 1 & niece 2 and my nephew layed down to watch a movie before falling asleep themselves. I know that probably sounds like a lot but it's actually quite structured. Sort of like organized Chaos :) and we love it.