I wonder who will play me in the TV movie???

I have reached my last weekend of freedom. I feel like I am walking the "Green Mile" as I prepare to go back to work on Monday. I still haven't figured out how I am going to take Drew, Dawsyn, and Dax to the sitters where Dax will spend the day and Drew and Dawsyn get on the bus, then Delaney to preschool, and finally Drake to his sitter's house and make it to my school by 7:15 (my sixth graders walk in at 7:30)! Add nursing and pumping to all of this and it is going to be tons of fun!!!
I was hoping this last week at home would be calm and relaxing, I know--I must live in a false state of reality most of my life to think that was even possible--but I was raised to think positive. The week started with Shawn having to call in because he got jury duty. Last week there were no trials, so he didn't have to report. This week, there was a trial and he had to report first thing Tuesday morning. So, we spent Monday evening discussing how he could answer questions so that they would dismiss him. I suggested he fill his pockets with every pocket knife he owned so he would keep setting off the metal detectors. Then, I thought he should take a Bible to read (I would have suggested the Quran, but we don't own one), finally, I told him to borrow some hunting clothes from his brother and I was pretty sure he would be set. We did not want him to get put on a trial since I am going back next week. He left Tuesday morning, whistling and twirling his hair (like he does when he gets very nervous) and I knew we were doomed! Two hours later, he called me and said, "I got put on a trial" (I think secretly he was hoping to be sequestered so he could hang out in hotel room for a week, but he'll never admit that!). My first thought was, "They saw him coming!"--Let's have the nervous, twitching, juror in the sweater vest (he refused my suggestion of camouflage). I'm sure the lawyers thought "any grown man in a sweater vest can be talked into anything!" He told me the lawyers said they thought the trial would go into the middle of next week--not good for our schedule! So, I asked him what questions they asked that he couldn't figure out how to answer in a biased way. I should have been prepared for his response--"Jill, I'm under oath, I don't want to purger myself--I can't tell you anything!" Yep--they saw him coming!!! I did consider calling the judge and telling him that one of his jurors once ordered "Cherry OR Diet Coke" at a McDonald's drive-thru because he couldn't decide and apparently wanted the teen-age, minimum-wage, possibly just out of jail, worker to decide for him because he trusted their judgment more than his own???? Luckily, the trial settled after two days and he is done.
I was happy and thought, let's just relax the rest of this week. Then yesterday, it started to snow as I was out for they day. I wanted to spend the last day with Dax and Drake and enjoy our time together. By the time I picked the kids up from school, three people had called to tell me the roads were getting bad and I needed to get home. We made it home in a record 45 minutes, with the kids crying that they wanted to come back in to school in an hour for the "winterfest" their school was having. Drew was especially upset with this because he really wanted to go and kept asking the whole way home if we could go and he didn't understand why I was saying that I didn't think we could because of the weather. We finally made it home. As I turned in the drive-way, I breathed a sigh of relief that we were safe. At this point, it was near blizzard-like conditions. I noticed that the drive-way seemed a little blown-over with snow, but apparently my estimates were off, either that or I wasn't paying attention because less than half-way up our 250 feet drive-way, the van suddenly stopped. I got out and saw the problem--the snow was up to the hood of our van. I tried to back out, but that wasn't happening either. This is when the kids started crying, saying they were gonna die, and we were never going to get home. Yes, quite a bit of drama considering we were in our own drive-way and could clearly see the house. So, I decided I had no choice but to get the kids in the house, regardless of any personal danger or exhaustion I might experience. I thought that this might be how people who have to spend days in their car, stuck in snow, living off of stale crackers and an old bottle of water, taking turns keeping the baby warm, must feel! (OK-so I know where my kids get their drama!). Anyway, I started to walk towards the house and realized the drift was up to my mid-thighs. I made it to the house and unlocked the door, turned off the alarm and decided that I would have to take the kids one at a time. I went back to the van, opened the door and saw 5 faces staring back at me with big eyes. I thought for a minute and decided to start with Delaney. Number one, she is the one who likes to be "dead weight" when you have to carry her, number two, I figured if she had to be in the house alone for any amount of time, she could be trusted and wouldn't absolutely freak out! I carried her in, one huge footstep at a time. Once we got to the garage, I let her go the rest of the way on her own and went back for Dax. I did Dax next because he was crying and scared, and quite frankly, he is the easiest to carry and after Delaney, my thighs were burning! I got Dax in and went back. Drew and Dawsyn were both fighting and crying that I take them next because it was cold and they were scared (come to think of it, I don't remember any brother/sister stories in the Titanic movie--I'm pretty sure that these two would have been pushing each other out of the way to get on the first lifeboat!--not so heartwarming, really). I decided to take Dawsyn and Snowball next (yes, we had taken Snowball to the groomers that morning so it was one more being to worry about). I told Drew to stay with Drake, who was sleeping in his carrier, blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding around him. I carried Dawsyn who carried Snowball, crying the whole way that we "HAD TO SAVE SNOWBALL!" I then went back for Drew and Drake. I figured that I could take Drake in the carrier if I covered him really well, and Drew could lean against me and I could just try to "help him walk with one arm". Half-way up the drive-way, I realized who taught Delaney the whole "dead weight" thing as he was crying, "there is NO WAY we are going to Winterfest--I refuse to come back out in this!" Glad it took waist-high snow drifts and ice pelting his face to make him realize that maybe Mom knew what she was talking about! I got the last of the crew in the house and the kids said, "our bookbags--Mom, we have homework!" So, one last trek out the door to get the bags and we were all in and safe! About a half-hour later, Shawn's brother and father showed up, shoveled the drive-way for over an hour, got the van unstuck and were just pulling out when Shawn came chugging up the driveway with ease, whipped right into the garage, walked from the door of his car to the back door (only about 5 feet) in the warmth of the garage, came in and exclaimed, "wow--it's nasty out there!" Really? I hadn't noticed!