It started off well enough. We celebrated Megan's birthday at Sabbath School which was great. We took some treats for the friends there. (Ok, this was technically still February, but we were gearing up for the new month!)
Then on Sunday, Nathan and I had a date to celebrate his birthday. We went to The Melting Pot in Ann Arbor. We had such a nice time! It was so relaxing to have time to talk and eat in peace.
So, all was well, right? A few weeks ago we found out Nathan had to be in Orlando for work a few days this spring. Turns out he'd be leaving early Monday, March 2 and coming back Friday, March 6. I was way bummed about this because it meant I was essentially a single parent for a week. Not to mention, Megan's birthday was March 5 (so he'd miss that) and we had already sent out announcements for her family birthday celebration on March 7th. So, all party prep would be on me. Since there was really nothing we could do about it, we tried to make the best of it. I planned a few fun things for the girls to do that week and figured we'd keep busy with Megan's birthday prep. Early in the morning on Monday I said good-bye to Nathan and my single parenting week began.
Tuesday morning I woke up about 7am to get ready for the day. I checked my phone and saw that there was a message from Chloe's school principal saying there was no school that day because a fire had been detected at the school. He was going to check it out and keep us updated. I was hoping it was just a small fire, contained, and that they'd get it put out with minimal damage. Figuring this was my best chance at a shower, I went ahead and got ready. When I came out of the bathroom I saw a missed call from my mother-in-law and called her back. She asked if Chloe's school was on fire and I replied that it was, we'd gotten an email from her principal. (I must have been half asleep because I didn't really wonder how she knew this fact...) She said, "Chloe's school is on the news." I thought, "Oh no, if it's on the news it cannot be good." Sure enough, I turned on the tv to see the breaking news that the school was engulfed in flames! I stood there as a I saw the whole school on fire as the local news helicopter flew above it taking video footage. I was so stunned. You know when you've just seen someone and then a few hours later you find out the person died? It was like that - we'd just been at the school and here it was in flames. My heart sank and I literally felt sick to my stomach when it occurred to me that I needed to tell Chloe. Suffice it to say, it was a rough day at our house. Lots of questions, tears, hugs. We were getting good updates from the school and had hope that she'd be back in school the next week.
Wednesday Chloe started her Little Ninjas karate class. She really loved it. When we were leaving she told me that she wanted to go to karate every day! I was so glad that she had this fun activity to keep her mind off her school.
Thursday was Megan's birthday - this was the day that I wanted to really get the girls out and about to have some fun. There's a kids play lounge near our house that they love but we hadn't been to for a few years. I showed the girls pictures and they were so excited to go. That morning after breakfast we headed to the play lounge and spent the morning there. Thankfully they have a parent area with couches and a tv so you can observe peacefully :) My mother-in-law joined us towards lunchtime and went with us to Red Robin for lunch.
After lunch we did some shopping and got the girls' hair trimmed. For dinner I made a very nutritious meal of strawberry pancakes (with fruit on top!) and Megan fielded a few calls from her family and opened a birthday card from grandpa and grandma in Florida.
By this point in the week, I was so relieved that it was finally Thursday night. It had been a busy week with few breaks for me so I felt like I was in the home stretch. Friday morning my mother-in-law took the girls for me so I could get ready for Megan's party. The day went well and the girls got home around dinner time...and thankfully, Nathan got home just after them. Yay! I survived my week! I felt such relief...we all went to bed and were excited for Megan's party.
That should be the end of my week but...can you believe we all came down with the stomach flu that weekend? The girls had pretty minor cases that only lasted briefly - Nathan and I were hit HARD and were not feeling great much of the next week.
So, March, I see how you are and I'm keeping my eyes on you. Bring on the "out like a lamb" portion of the month!
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