the first hour

Where have we been?  I don't really know exactly that we've been working and hanging out in our neighborhood and working some more.  But, as of yesterday, I have 2 glorious weeks of being a stay at home mom with full time daycare before I start my new job.  "Well, that sounds like the most cushy job ever", you say.  Well, here is how the start of my time as a stay at home mom started....

4:15- I turn in the last of my paperwork and everything to my old company.
5:10- pull into town and stop to buy a bottle of celebratory wine
5:29- pull up to pick up the kids that have to be in my presence by 5:30 or they turn into pumpkins
5:45- we are home sweet home to start our 2 week adventure.  We start to get settled.  I let the dog out and go to change my clothes since I no longer have to wear scrubs every waking minute of the day :)
5:50- I hear the "beep beep bee"p that is the alarm that one of the outside doors is opening.  I yell down to A. who says it was just that they let the dog inside.  I return to my task which has now included putting some laundry away so that I can find something nonscrubs to wear
5:52- I hear the "beep beep beep" again.  Again I yell down.  no answer.  WHAT?  I run down the stairs to find out my 2 year old has gone out the front door so that he can dig.  Not only is he gone, but the dog is now gone as well.  The dog is not just next door digging.  He is GONE...
5:58- I take K. inside and make him sit on the step so that I know where he is.  He is immediately crying because he wants to get up and because Cooley is gone.  I'm looking for some cheese because it usually makes the dog come running.  Problem is that B. and I have started the paleo diet so we don't really have cheese in the house anymore.  Dog treats will have to do but their scent is not nearly as strong.
6:05- A. rides her bike and K. is in the wagon.  We spend the next 20ish minutes walking to his most familiar spots yelling and carrying dog treats.  K. starts crying because he not only is missing his dog but he managed to poke his eye with the apparently sharp dog treat.
6:15- on our walk/ search, A. finds a turtle.  A tiny little turtle that in true A.style, she immediately falls in love with it.  She has named it Cooley 2 because well, obviously, we lost Cooley 1 so the name is up for grabs. I don't have the guts to tell her that she can't take it home and we can't find her dog so we put the dumb turtle in the wagon and take it home to the bug aquarium.
6:35- we return sans dog with turtle because everyone is hot, tired, and hungry only to find out that I did not defrost the chicken as I planned this morning.  So, its a free for all for dinner. I"m in the middle of assembling A. her choice of deli meat, frozen peas (not cooked), and chips- aka dinner of champions- when K. spills his milk all over the floor.  Pause to clean that up.  I give in.  It's juice for kids and wine for me.

Then, just when I am about to lose it because what kind of person manages to lose their son, their dog, their dinner, and their milk in a matter of 1 hour when my hero walks in the door.

This man pulled into the driveway after a 14 hour work day to save the day.  Both kids ran out to meet him.  Apparently, he whistled and then my husband, children, and a hot and tired Cooley came walking in the door.

 B. proceeded to marinate the meat for tomorrows dinner, clean the kitchen, set up a home for our overnight guest, and make popcorn for our Friday night ritual. I'd say his first hour was way more respectable than mine.  His answer, "you never want to start off with a birdie.  Then you wouldn't have room for improvement."