Memorial Weekend----Or maybe I should call it a memorable weekend? After all the excitement of the past two days, today is an anticlimax.

On Saturday, I was suppose to have two nieces here at 8:30. Their mom had to work and their dad had an open house. Okay--psyched myself up to do this even though I'd rather have gone to my niece, Mariah's Confirmation. At 4 AM, the day hit the skids into "Brace yourself, Houston, we have a problem." My niece, Sarah, had gone to the hospital to have baby #3. Okay. . . so I woke up not to two nieces but two nephews and a niece. At 7 AM. (Is it Monday yet?)

So---due to the unexpected, we had no suitable breakfast in the house. Sent Mom to the store while I took Drew, 2, Kris, 4 and Taylor, 4, next door to jump on the giant trampoline. We were so involved when Miah got up and joined us. The raisin bran arrived and we trooped next door. Wondered, in the space infintisimal seconds when I could think, where the first two nieces were. They arrived about noon so we joined, Stephi, 4 and Sammi, 3 to the mix. (Are we having FUN yet?) Another couple of hours and Mariah, 7, arrived after her big morning. If you are keeping score, that's five kids UNDER five and two over. Before long, Jarrod, finished watching cartoons and came out. We got out the slip and slide--the kids got wet, they got cranky, they ran in eight different directions.

Eventually, I escaped to the store for lunch--chicken nuggets and popsicles. The kids had a nice picnic outside and Drew fell asleep. Josh came by for Stephi and Sammi and the kid count dwindled. Later that evening, we had a mini-party for Mariah's Confirmation--cake, balloons and ice cream cups. Since I got out of shopping for the BIG EVENT on Sunday, I didn't mind.

Except by the time I got to bed I realized the only time I sat down all day was to drive to the store for the chicken nuggets. My feet felt like they'd grown rocks.

Sunday

For weeks we'd been trying to plan a family May crowning (Catholic event to honor God's Mother) and since you have to feed people when they drive all this way---a cookout. After Saturday, all I wanted to do was sit, but it didn't turn out too badly.

I lost count of the people who came but we had a crowd. We'd decided to do most of the socializing next door at Sister #2's house--so all the food, the grills, the MESS, were centered over there. Some of the teenaged cousins did slip over her to play Monopoly at the kitchen table away from the baby element. And I did have one scary moment when someone opened my bedroom door and let my most skiddish cat out! (She's mostly a bedroom, one person cat. Doesn't like people, noise or leaving her comfort zone. Why she left the room is beyond my mental capabilities.)

Later in the day, some of us gravitated over here. The little girl cousins formed a club called "The Pinks." All small boy cousins who wanted to play were given girl names. (I am so not going there! They were quiet!) They wanted to create M and M people on the computer so I let that go on for a bit.

Then we trooped back to the "neighbor's" for a bonfire and s'mores. Miah and Anthony in the picture by the last hurrah of the night. The boys were thrilled to have two cousins over for the night. Mariah got a girl cousin to go home with her.

Monday, After doing two loads of wash and editing a bit, I am sitting in a QUIET, empty house wondering what to do with my holiday. Everyone else went swimming at Sister #3's. I am soooooooooo glad there wasn't room in the car for me! Happy Memorial Day!