The last 3 hours here

So tonight is another night that Pete is working until very late, and as usual, it's been a little crazy around here. Here are some of the snippets from the last few hours:

• While talking on the phone with my brother, I look out the window and see Colsen and Rayna are throwing sand/dirt all over each other. Realize I will be giving people showers tonight.
• Call everyone in for dinner, and ask which leftovers they want to eat. Hear Colsen say, "I want soup because your soup is so good!" But then 10 minutes later, hear him say, "I don't want this soup -- it's gross." In fact, no one is eating their dinner... until I bribe everyone with cinnamon toast.
• I eat standing up because I'm busy trying to feed Miles, make the cinnamon toast, and entertain everyone with a song -- in which Strider is supposed to be identifying the prepositions, but keeps missing them.
• Notice that one of the children has caused the toilet to be clogged. I close the bathroom door and tell everyone to not use it.
• Get annoyed that my feet keep sticking to the kitchen floor. Realize I will be mopping tonight.
• Start the dishes. Miles keeps trying to "help" -- and when I'm not holding him, he starts screaming.
• Colsen tells me he wet his pants. Time to start the showers now. Dishes will have to wait.
• Realize the kids have collectively gone through 8 changes of clothes today. The laundry is mounting.
• Tell Rayna to stop putting shampoo all over her skin.
• Tell Colsen to stop screaming incessantly.
• Get their pj's on, and go down to the dishes.
• See that someone has used the bathroom I told them not to use. Realize I must plunge in -- literally. Lock the kids upstairs and get the plunger from the garage. As I'm working away at that lovely task, and then taking out the garbage, I wonder how military wives ever survive when their husbands are deployed.
• Realize we will not be doing the haircuts I wanted to do tonight.
• Hear from upstairs, "Colsen, why are you getting all wet?" I yell up, "Colsen, ARE you all wet???" Pause. Then he says, "I'm drying off now."
• Then hear, "Miles is eating the bag from the trash can in the bathroom!"
• Go up rescue Miles and change Colsen's pj's. Now the change of clothes is 9.
• Look in Cole's drawer and see 6 sets of pj bottoms and NO pj shirt. What is going on around here?
• Go look in my room for a shirt. (Side note: I am very blessed to have a husband who is willing to fold laundry when I am out at work. But, bless his heart -- and I mean that in the most Southern of ways -- he never quite likes to fold ALL the items in a load. So right now in my room there are a couple of half-done piles of laundry.)
• Realize we will not be doing the art project or the science experiment I had hoped to fit in tonight. Announce it is TIME FOR BED.
• Read books to the kids. Get interrupted by: Strider telling me all about what he just learned concerning Johnny Unitas; Colsen informing me that he is no longer a boy, but is a polar bear named Pola; and having to go stop Miles from eating a still-plugged-in but detached from the CD player cord, before he electrocutes himself.
• Get everyone in bed -- or so I think. As I'm trying to take a shower later (after mopping the floors), Rayna comes into the bathroom to ask, "Mom? Is that you? Are you taking a shower now?" And after I get out of the shower, Colsen greets me with, "I need to come downstairs with you for a few minutes because I have a cold. [he doesn't] I mean... I have problems. My... arms are burning. I just need to sit with you."

Half the kids are still upstairs thumping around, but the other half are asleep, so that's good enough for now. Thankfully, our hero, Pete just walked in the door, so off I go to him!