In less then 24 hours I will be on my way to a 3-day Awana training in North Louisiana. If you're unfamiliar with Awana, check out the website. It's an awesome discipleship program for children. Our church will be starting this ministry in the Fall, and I am blessed to be able to be a part of the training process. But that's not what this blog post is about...
You see, I'm leaving my husband and two boys for 3 W H O L E Days. This will be the first time I'm apart from my boys for that long. Yes, their father will be here to care for them, but their control-freak mother will be unable to monitor the everyday happenings of the Celestin abode. And it's kind of making me crazy. I've been asking Kevin silly questions like, "Do you know that I cut Liam's apple juice with water?" My mind just won't stop thinking of all the little details that go in to keeping this ship afloat. Don't get me wrong, I have COMPLETE confidence in Kevin's ability to take care of the boys. My concern is that he won't do it the way... I would do it. That doesn't sound controlling, does it?
So I set out to write a "Daddy Handbook" this morning to help keep things running "Mama-style" while I'm gone. Unfortunately, my hands were numbs from typing by the time I got to 10:30am. That's not even 1/2 a day, folks. Yeah, I know. I need some serious help.
But just for kicks, I thought you might enjoy reading Part 1 of the 10-Part handbook I'm putting together.
(Disclaimer: Kevin has completed the following tasks a thousand times before. He helps me ALL the time. But he's never been in charge for 3 days straight with no reinforcements.)
When you hear Liam’s 6 am wake up call, get up and make yourself a cup of coffee. You’ll need it.
Upon rising, Liam will be famished. He’ll cry until the food is on the table so in order to keep him from waking Silas, give him a granola bar to hold him over. Don’t give him the ones that crumble or you’ll be cleaning up your first mess before the coffee hits your lips. Give him the soft ones. He’ll still make a mess, but it’ll be more contained.
Breakfast will probably be toast and eggs for the next three mornings. If you’re feeling brave you may try pancakes, but that requires measuring cups. If you’re in a survival situation, dry cereal mixed with raisins will do the trick.
Silas will rise about an hour or so after Liam, so if you can get breakfast done quickly you may have a few minutes to read some Bible verses or maybe catch the weather news before the real circus begins.
Unlike his brother, Silas will not be hungry upon rising. His attitude is extremely unpredictable upon waking, but as soon as he dawns the door of the living room you will be able to tell what kind of morning you will have. Like his mother, he takes a little extra time to wake up. A good morning snuggle will buy you some time. Don’t talk to him, just snuggle. I repeat, don’t talk to him, just snuggle. Expect Liam to join in on the fun and annoy the life out of Silas, but push through and make the most of these morning snuggles because people tell me they’re short lived. You may be able to sneak away after a few minutes if there’s a good cartoon on TV. When Silas is ready he'll let you know he's hungry. Be be warned, when Liam sees Silas eating breakfast, he'll want his second breakfast. Feel no shame in offering him goldfish.
This is the time when I usually try to unload the dishwasher and get some laundry started. If you loaded the dishwasher last night, unload it. If not, look at the dirty dishes in the sink and remember those nights you told me to just leave the dishes in the sink and go to bed. See how frustrating it is to have to start your day washing dishes? Have your first "light bulb" moment, and start washing. Liam will scream at your knees while you wash the dishes. Music helps during these trying times. Sing loud and try to ignore the screams. Don't worry about the laundry while I'm gone.
It’s only 9:30am and you’re ready for a nap. I totally know how you feel. You have about an hour before Liam naps so you may want to wear him out outside. Sometimes you can read a little while the boys play outside, but I make no promises. This would also be a good time to send Mama some pictures of the boys via the iphone. Make sure they are smiling so I don’t freak out and make an early return home.
Congratulations, it’s 10:30am, and you’re still alive. Don’t worry you only have 10 more hours until bedtime!
I love you, babe...
