(More than) Fourinarow.net

Remember this R.E.M. song?

Well, this post goes out to the one I love…
This one goes out to the one I left behind…

And, left him behind I did – with ALL FOUR children!

Yesterday I had an all-day Uppercase Living combo party followed by an Uppercase Living Open House in the evening.

I was slightly nervous about leaving ALL FOUR children with Dan all day – and night. (Especially when everyone was screaming at one another as I got ready to leave.)

However, when I called to check in around noon, all was quite. (Eerily so… ) And, when my chauffeur and his minions arrived to pick me up from the first venture, no one was crying, there were no visible marks on anyone, and Dan reported that things actually went… well.

Craziness ensued while I made a quick dinner, tidied up and changed for my next appointment, but no one seemed too distressed when I left again. (Of course, it’s possible they were all still in a state of shock from my all-day absence — you never know.)

When I returned home late last night, my angels all were sleeping peacefully and my dear husband (and I swear I have NOT divorced and remarried since you saw me last) WAS CLEANING.

But wait! It continues!

This morning, it was my turn to work in the church nursery. That meant that Dan and Jack attended mass while I worked and then later in the morning, I had to leave Dan again with ALL FOUR children so I could attend mass.

Be still my heart, I returned home again to find him cleaning!

Soon after, he left for Lowe’s to buy the supplies necessary to replace the molding around our front door that had rotted. Then he came home AND FIXED IT! It was a project, too, let me tell you. Especially when you consider that I’m not nearly as generous a wife as my sister. No. When her husband is on a project, she’s takes the kids 24/7 so that he isn’t distracted, frustrated, or driven insane by tool-stealing munchkins.

Me? Not so indulgent. I think he had a few minutes to get started before Jack and Maria realized there was a project going on that he needed help with. And not long after they began offering (albeit forcefully) their expertise, I let The Little Boys loose on him.

Jack did his best to assist with the sawing, Maria shadowed everyone with one of many chocolate-chip pumpkin muffins in hand, Luke played on the driveway and sat in time-out for walloping his brother (also with muffin in hand) and Sam alternated between climbing the 8-foot ladder and stealing tools.

Okay, so maybe a two-hour project turned into a four-and-a-half hour project. But it got done! And, everyone is still alive! No one is bleeding! No one was seriously injured! Dan and I are still married!

Wow. What a weekend.

I bet Dan can’t wait to go to work tomorrow.