These are the cutest kids I have...

The other night, with Chloe in NYC learning how to order soup using the f-word, I had the kids while flying solo. Not that I ever want Mama gone, but playing 100% Mr Mom is a fun challenge when Mama is away for work. Then again, I may feel I was getting challenged enough if I were training. But here is here.

So, we started with a night of Buddy having a rough time going to bed. He was f-u-s-s-y! It isn't like him to go on and on like that, and the best I could do was rub his tummy (we all like that, right?), make sure his diaper met military specs, and make sure he had a sippy cup full of beverage for when he did settle down.

Since it took awhile for him to settle down, and since we have a 20 minute window when we try to get all kids to bed around here, things were off track early. We complicate this challenge by having all of the kids share the same room, but it normally works just fine.

Not that night, though. With Reanie not going down at all due to Buddy's howling, and Noah gamely in bed but not likely to fall asleep with the Buddy making like the tornado siren, we had an italian fire drill.

Noah went to our room and had the big bed to himself. Getting Noah out of the kid's room seemed to do the trick, so I can only deduce that Noah was poking Buddy with a stick or something. Buddy is in the kids' room, Noah is in me and Mama's room, and I went with Reanie downstairs.

And that's where we all stayed for the night.

The very first thing Reanie said just as she woke up, "Let's get the party started." Right on.

I got her up and slapped some fresh drawers on her bt. Then I went to get the snoozing Buddy (nobody gets to sleep in when Daddy is flying solo and Noah has to be at school at 7:30). The first thing out of Buddy's mouth..."Pasta."

Noah got himself up with the alarm clock, got ready for school, made his own breakfast, and made both of the beds he mussed up. I had him do some other chore as well, but I can't think of what it was at the moment.

Stuffed breakfast in everyone's mouth, and then we piled everyone in Moby (Chloe's car), dropped everyone off at their respective place of formal education, and then I went to the walmart for groceries.

It isn't kid related, but dang it, NOBODY was at a normal register, so I had to do the self-checkout thing. I can bag my own groceries, but it is everything I can do to keep from throwing a jar of pasta sauce across the store when the bar code reader thing won't beep. If the next item won't beep, so help me, we are going to go off-grid, homeschool the kids, and live off the land.

Home, groceries put away, made some breakfast, and was working or "working" by 10:00.