So, we got home from the hospital with our fourth baby, Ervin, on Sunday (five days ago?). With my brother’s memorial service on Wednesday, T. didn’t go back to work until Thursday (two days ago). But, not only did he have to go back to work, but he had to go to southern Oklahoma. And he’s still there.

When he told me on Wednesday that he was going to get home late last night (at the earliest…obviously that didn’t happen), I wanted to puke. It would be the first day on my own with the four kids, but it would also be a full night by myself. Followed by a morning, and an afternoon, and another night. Which turned into another night, and morning, and afternoon and night. Did I mention I wanted to puke?

We survived Thursday. Ivy was my big helper, bouncing Ervin in the seat while I made breakfast, and yesterday, with the help of my parents, who kept the kids overnight and almost all day yesterday. And Ervin and I were driven to the doctor by my lovely sister-in-law, where we found out that he is, in fact, gaining weight (thank goodness).

BUT…today has been a small success. No, we didn’t get out of bed until 10:30 or so, and we didn’t eat breakfast until after 11:00. But, I managed to make breakfast and even eat most of it before Ervin started crying. And the kids were out late at their cousin’s birthday party (which was SO much fun for them–more on that later), so they were happy to sleep in. And for the most part, we’ve had a quiet day.

Our little engineer, Essie, has been helping buckle Ervin into his swing. And Ervin’s been happy to nap in there for a little while (hence the successful making of the breakfast) instead of wanting to be in my arms and ONLY in my arms.