Who Invented the Week Before Christmas Anyway?

Leah checks out the penguins with Maddie.

Sam, hard at work making snowballs for his snow fort.

George and Maddie work on their own snow fort.

Max eats snow.

I am not sure who invented the week before Christmas, but one thing I know for sure, it wasn't a mother. No mother in her right mind relishes overexcited children who don't have to go to school. This morning started out fine. I saw the four inches of snow on the driveway and decided shoveling would be a good workout. I put on my new snowboots and opened the garage door. After half the driveway, I was getting tired, but not too tired to enjoy myself. I finished the driveway and the walks. I got the garbage out, and when the garbage man came, I even quickly filled it up with boxes and put it on the other side of the street, so it could be emptied again. In short, I was feeling good about my morning.

Then I went inside. It was crazy, to say the least. Steve was getting ready to catch a flight. Leah was awake and needing to be fed. Cara was getting ready for voice lessons and then a performance at a retirement home. The other kids were just rolling out of bed. Steve got Leah a bottle and I told the kids to watch her while I worked out. I went in the basement and could hear them all around me. It was like surround sound. "Mom, Sam is taking Leah from everyone." "Mom, is that hard?" "Mom, Leah wants me to hold her." And it kept going. So I said, "I'll take you guys out to eat tonight if you play in the snow for 1 and 1/2 hours." They went outside, but 1 and 1/2 hours came way to quickly. What am I supposed to do with them for the rest of the week? And then another whole week after that?