When it rains, it pours

My life is so busy right now that I absolutely have not had a moment to spare to write in my paper journal, let alone here. I am on a CMMi Appraisal at work, requiring 6A-4P on the phone and computer with my lunch break occurring at 9:30A. Today there was an interview at 8A, requiring me to send The Boys to school on their own, which made me mildly nervous. This insane work schedule started last week, and I took 2 days vacation to travel with The Oldest and 17 other 4th and 5th graders and 8 other adults. We had a crazy busy schedule fro two days that looked like this:
Thursday:
7:30A - Leave School
10:00A - Pitch tents at campground
11:00A - Tour State Park museum with Ranger
Bag lunch at cemetery
1:00P - School house presentation with docent
2:00P - Drive to Caverns
3:15P - Tour caves
5:00P - Return to camp for dinner
Story
9:00P - Bed

Friday:
7:30A - Breakfast
Break camp
9:00A - Explore Old Town merchants
10:30A - Pan for Gold
Stage Coach ride
1:00P Railway Museum
3:00P - Leave for school
5:00P - Return to school

What REALLY happened:
Thursday:
7:15-7:30A - Run around like crazy trying to figure out if we have all of the people and stuff we need.
7:30A - pile 4 kids and 2 adults and as much stuff as possible into my car and leave the school.
9:30A - First to arrive at campground and check in
10:00A - Pitch tents at campground while trying to get kids to help and set up their own stuff.
11:00A - Tour State Park museum with Ranger - This was REALLY cool.
Bag lunch after recovering from a hike to the school house, then a walk through the cemetery.
1:00P - School house presentation with docent - Also REALLY cool.
2:00P - Drive to Caverns
3:15P - Tour caves (165 ft below ground - gotten to via spiral staircase, also the only way back out...)
4:00P - Realize how very little aerobic activity there is in my life
4:30P - pull over the car and kick The Oldest to the side of the road for throwing an Altoids tin at the front windshield while we were travelling at 55 MPH
4:40P - Let The Oldest back into the car after calming down.
5:00P - Return to camp and snack on dried fruit and saltines. Dinner was shredded pork, baked beans (with pork), corn bread and butter, which the kids made while dinner was being prepared. I didn't eat the non vegetarian options.
Story - I read this to the kids by campfire light.
8:00-10:00P - Trying to get the kids to go to sleep, listening to giggling and talking and yelling

Friday:
6:00A - Kids start waking up
6:30A - one dad yells at awake kids, "Hey Jackasses, if any of you wake my kid, you will answer to me" - this was WAY louder than any of the kids who were awake, and was likely the reason his kid looked sleepy all day.
7:30A - Breakfast
Break camp - really more trying to get the kids and all the stuff crammed back into the cars.
9:00A - Explore Old Town merchants - this included a bowling alley and apothecary, blacksmith too.
10:30A - Pan for Gold - The kids LOVED this part.
11:40A - Stage Coach ride - They also loved this and chattered away about how awesome it was while we walked to the Mercantile to pick up lunches.
12:30P - walked to Limestone area and kids played while adults chilled.
1:00P - Left for Railway Museum, which was closed.
2:30P - Leave for school
4:30P - Return to school
5:30-9:00P - The Oldest was a t a Birthday party for a friend with many of the kids from the camping trip. Reports from the parents who attended made it sound like a therapy session with laughter one moment and crying the next.

This weekend was also Halloween Fun Night. Because I was gone for the 2 days preceding the event, I was not heavily involved in set up. I kind of missed that level of involvement, but the one person who I would do absolutely anything for (as evidenced HERE) was not in fact involved at all. I really missed doing this event together, but I'll survive...

Saturday was an early Football game, then helping rig some things for Halloween Fun Night, then an afternoon Soccer game. That was followed by attending Halloween Fun Night, and photographing the event. The kids all had a ton of fun!

Sunday brought me back to the school for 6 hours to clean up Halloween Fun Night. The clean up crew was 3 adults, and 5 kids under age 12. It took WAY longer than it could have.

Monday started a grueling work schedule that has me waking up at 4:30A and working on phone and computer from 6A-4P, and mostly unable to get The Boys to and from school. Thankfully I have dear friends willing to watch out for them and make sure they make it to and from school.

Oh, and The Dude was out of town Wednesday last week to Tuesday this week.

I'm wiped out, and the work schedule continues through November 18th.