A day in the life of Catherine Couch...

Well...

Do you guys ever have those days that you are so glad are over, and you wanted it to be over before you even woke up? I have had a few in my time. Today may have to be considered one of those days. I don't know why, but I have been noticing myself fall behind the past few days. My energy level is not as high as usual, so my tolerance level is also lacking. I think what threw me into this was yesterday when my car started smoking while I was driving to work (and was late). While waiting for HELP from my "knight in shining armor," we (the kids and I) were approached by THREE homeless people. Normally I am somewhat nice to them, but I was cranky due to the car situation, and had no cash or quarters for them. I might have scrounged something up if they would have known anything about a 1998 Ford Explorer Sport, BUT since they probably didn't, I was not in a giving mood... While STILL waiting for "that guy in the shining suit" Evan also cut his hand and was screaming. So here we are stranded with a car that is, according to my dramatic views, going to BLOW UP, a kid that is screaming over the 500 gallons of blood he is losing due to some cut, bees are flying all over the place, and to make matters even more comfortable, the window to my car breaks...

After the whole window thing, I decided to call in a substitute, and I would make an appearance to work, but NOT STAY!!!

FINALLY, the guy that was in a somewhat shiny suit showed up. He gave me a Lexus and a kiss, which was honestly very accomodating. (I like driving "frilly" cars, and his kisses are, well...!!) He shewed me off and he took care of the car that was about to explode all over Texas, while I elegantly left and checked on my 40 children at my work. Luckily only two were throwing temper tantrums when I got there, so I left them in the hands of the substitute, and Evan, Emily, and I went to Eric's office to get a key to our house. The rest of the day is a blur -- I think that I was overloaded. All I remember is that bedtime was a war zone, and I felt like Wyatt Earp trying to keep those kiddos in their "cell!" Evan finally went to sleep at 11:45pm. He was too excited that his birthday was coming...

Well, his birthday came! All too early it came, and it wasn't Evan's fault! Christi, my sweet, loving, wonderful sister, who has a key to our house, came at 7 AM! SHE WOKE HIM UP AND SANG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIM!!!! AT 7AM, WHEN I HAD JUST ENTERED A REM-CYCLE!!!!! (Bitter, party of ONE, your table is now available!) It's great that SHE was so excited about his birthday, but I was in a bit of a sleep deprivation mode which not even coffee could cure. He woke up 2 times from 11:45pm to about 5am, so I literally was CRABBY!

I didn't do the greatest job at making him wake up to a "Happy Birthday" land full of balloons, donuts, etc. I usually like to do that, but not this year. I hadn't even bought his present yet! So, we went to Target and got cupcakes for him to take to Grace Camp for all the kids, and we let him pick out his presents at Target. I think that he liked that! I let Emily get a little something too, so that then she didn't feel left out.

We went home and took naps and then dashed to Grace Camp. (Note to self, NEVER GIVE KIDS CUPCAKES AFTER SCHOOL -- especially when YOU are watching them for several hours.) Can you imagine 40 kids from the ages of 3 to 10 running around in a room surrounded with brick walls and wood floors?!!! I wasn't the most REALXED of individuals ever. You know it's bad when the parents that come to pick up their children say, "Hurry, this room is going to force me to drink! -- You poor thing! How do you handle this! Bye!"

In the middle of all that chaos, I was approached by some of the church staff (our school is located at a church), apparently I offended them by trashing the room yesterday (which if you remember, I wasn't there yesterday)... I was bothered, and now hope that I never have to miss a day. Not only was the room trashed yesterday, but also, alot of the toys had been destroyed, and the games were now missing the game pieces... UUUGGGG! I depend on little things like game pieces and toys to keep children QUIET and calmer than they would be otherwise!

The day at worked ended happily, though. I was able to walk out to my adopted "frilly" car, and drive to CHUCK E CHEESE! oh joy! My "knight in shining armor" was going to meet us, along with one of Evan's friends named Caleb. Emily and Evan had a blast! It was so much fun to watch them, and then lose them, and then find them, and then chase them, and then give up all together! Eric walked through the door of Chuck E Cheese, and no one missed his grand entrance. He was carrying 100 balloons! It was cool! I think that he could have floated off the ground! Our table was very easy to spot to say the least! Evan passed out balloons to kids throughout the restaurant! That was fun! Emily, Evan, and Caleb had so much fun! It was nice -- I even like the salad bar! I didn't talk much because Eric said that my mouth was full negativity, so I just observed and kept quiet. I was tired, so I didn't mind not saying anything. (I get tired of being patient and happy sometimes -- don't you?) We finally left, and headed home and eventually got the kids in bed, but not before breaking some glass and having to clean that up. But now, all's well that ends well! Everyone is asleep (minnus the dog) and I am venting on my blog! Ain't life grand! Well, it's off to bed for me! Goodnight all!