Before and After

After 3:00 on Wednesdays is when things really get started at our house. This is quite unfortunate since I'm ready to wind down around 5, maybe get in my jammies at 7, and be asleep by 9. (Like that ever happens!)

After 3:00 on Wednesdays I'm managing the after school feeding frenzy while getting ready for cub scouts at 4. By getting ready I mean gathering whatever I may need to take, making sure Elizabeth gets her dance clothes on since a carpool picks her up for class while I'm gone, and reminding Will about 1000 times to get his scout shirt and book. (I'm Will's "den mother," but my friend who is the other den mother hates that matronly term so I think we're just "den leaders." In any case, we're busy herding and training Webelos every Wednesday afternoon.) Rachael also manages to throw a royal fit every time we are walking out the door, or at the very least needs to suddenly use the ladies room. 

Today was especially hectic getting out the door since I was bringing all four kids with me. Kate was helping us by "working" the 50 yard dash station, so everyone had to come along. (Elizabeth took it upon herself to be the DJ, blasting the CD "Scout Camp" from her hot pink boombox while donning a little ballet outfit.) Immediately after scouts we took Elizabeth a bit late to her dance class, then rushed home so I could make some dinner (tilapia, red potatoes, and asparagus) and stuff it in everyone's mouths before sending Will off with his friend to his soccer game and then picking Elizabeth up again. I fed and changed Elizabeth, tried to clean up a bit, dropped Kate off at the church for her youth activity and then headed over to Will's soccer game. Rachael had another predictable royal fit as we were going out the door because we weren't going to "the green park"--I still don't know what she was talking about--but we were the last ones to leave the soccer park after 8pm because she wanted to go down the tornado slide "just one more time." 

Meanwhile, Brandon is still hacking away, sick and tired, but after working all day long he stopped in just briefly around 5:15 to change, eat and head over to his first Bishopric meeting. Afterward, he and the bishop (who used to play football for BYU) ended up playing ultimate frisbee and tag football with the youth--oh man, is he going to hurt tomorrow! After bringing Kate home, he immediately left again to meet some nice poor lady at his office who needed emergent help urinating. (I'm sorry folks, but that's what he does, and if you ever lose the ability to relieve yourself you'll be glad for someone who does this unseemly job!) He got home after 10pm, so while I can't complain, getting everyone in bed by myself after all of that wasn't my favorite. (And if you think getting a small child to bed is hard, try a teenager!) 

So while the after 3:00 stuff came off pretty well, it's what happened before 3:00 that was the real highlight for me.  

At long last, Saren, Catherine and I finally got together for lunch to talk about the Power of Moms book. As an added bonus, April was in town for the taping of a TV spot she and Saren did for Studio 5 that will air on May 9th in conjunction with Mother's Day. The website is really gaining a lot of momentum and we hope the book will help spread the word even more. (April and Saren are the co-founders of The Power of Moms website, and Catherine is a fantastic writer that contributed to the book.) We all brainstormed titles (okay, April brainstormed crazy titles while the three of us stared into space, thinking) and talked about other details related to getting this project over the finish line. More than anything, it was just FUN to get together with these great, inspiring women to talk and laugh, eat, and laugh some more. I could have spent another ten hours with them. Easy. 

We had to document the momentous occasion of us all gathering together in person rather than communicating from behind our computers in the middle of the night:

Speaking of which, I have GOT to go to bed!