Thank You!

Thank you! Those two little words cannot begin to express the gratitude we have for our AWESOME nanny. For the past several weeks, castle de Rodriguez has been attempting to function at an extremely high level of stress. And, yes, I did say attempting. Although we squeaked through week after week without any debilitating injuries, there were many emotional breakdowns throughout the entire fam. As every weekend approached, Chris and I desperately tried to acquire a babysitter for the three midgets. To no avail. It's not that we don't love our kids or love being with them, but sometimes you just need a break. The stress of Chris' job has been keeping him away from home much more than usual. I handled the extra work load of raising three children sans hubby (also referred to as the sane parent) with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. The first week. Week two, the smile was still there but the song was long gone. By week three, I could no longer fake the smile and traded it in for an "if you even look at me the wrong way I will rip your head off" scowl. By the end of week four, which was this weekend, I was on the verge of hurting small animals. Not a good place to be when you have three children under the age of six entrusted to you by a higher power. Chris also had a hellacious week at work. He, too, was about to explode. This is where our Rock-Star nanny played a BIG role. On Friday, she offered to watch the kids for us since she was planning to stay the night anyway inorder to be there in the early morning for us both to go to work. Yes, on a Saturday. It was my one Saturday of the year. How AWESOME is she! Not only did she take care of our kids all week, but was willing to do it longer. Obviously, she realizes the true genius and angelic-like behavior of our children.

That evening, I met Chris at his work. From there we went to Dave & Buster's to unwind and ease some of the anxiety to which we had succumbed. We also just needed to reconnect as a couple. We had both been running a mile a minute over the course of the last month. We needed to spend some time alone, together, to discuss our thoughts and feelings. I think every couple needs to do this. To recharge, reflect and rejuvenate. Plus, we just needed to DRINK! After a cocktail, we decided to make good on my threat of harming small animals. We found a deer hunting game that actually let me shoot a "pretend" rifle at "pretend" deer, watch the blood splattered and then die. It was AWESOME. Okay, maybe I'm a little off my rocker, but hey, it helped with the tension. Note: No animals were actually harmed. Even if it would not have been a video game, still no animals would have been harmed, by me at least. I SUCKED at this game. Chris, however, got himself some kill! I knew there was some redneck in there somewhere. From there we had a couple more drinks while Chris proceeded to beat me at every game we played. Until Skee Ball. Now, that's a game in which I can hold my own. As we departed Dave & Buster's, I so wished I had brought my camera. Walking across the parking lot, we spotted a late teen/early twenty year old girl, and who I would assume was her mom approaching the front doors. The girl was wearing a purple tank top, grey, stretch-capri pants and a PINK TUTU! I know I am a little out of touch with all the latest fashion trends, but I am far from wearing "momjeans." I still flip through Cosmo, Glamour and In Style when I can (usually the grocery store check-out line, but hey it's better then nothing). I just did this recently. No where in any of these magazines did it show that a tutu was to be worn outside a dance class for seven year olds. The funny thing is, she flaunted like she was Kate Moss on a catwalk. Kind of how I flaunt my Big Fat Gucci Bag. But with more flare.

From there we headed out to RT Weilers in St. Charles for dinner. They serve the best pulled pork sandwich I ever had. Plus our waiter, Rocky, was amazingly good at his job. He concocted the most to die for drink. I just wanted to savor every single sip. Which was good because it made me drink less. Unlike the guy at the end of the bar. He definitely should have drank less. Chris and I watched in amazement as this guy's head bobbed up and down. Every once in awhile, he'd put his head down on the table. After a few minutes he jerk back awake only to start the head bobbing again. In the end, we could not stop looking at him. We anxiously anticipated him smacking his head on the table. It was like watching a car wreck. We could not stop watching. Again, I longed for my camera.

The next morning, Chris and I awoke early to get ready for work. I dropped him off at his job and headed to work myself. Fortunately, I was not needed so I went home after a couple of hours. Angel and the kids were playing downstairs, so I retreated to my bed because I just did not get enough sleep the night before. When I got up, the house was clean. Not only did our totally stupendous nanny watch the kids overnight and the next day, but she CLEANED OUR HOUSE! I love, LOVE her! Now I know it's not something I would expect of her on a daily basis, but seriously, how AWESOME is she!