Forced Day Off

If you are a mom, you know the days off are few and far between. Well that's how its been lately. Jeremy keeps trying to tell me that "no" is a magical word. I just can't seem to learn how and when to use it. Since Christmas it has been one event after another.
It started with a wonderful weekend in Estes Park to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary. That was a true weekend off. The cell phones didn't even work at the Bed and Breakfast we stayed in. The only ti e we had cell service was when we went down into town to get dinner! Once we returned, life exploded. Kids and Jeremy kept coming home sick, and somehow I evaded the "bugs."
The kids attend St. John's Catholic School here in Loveland. With that said, each family is required to volunteer a minimum of 50 hours over the course of the year, starting July 1st. It is only the beginning of February, and I am at 268 hours thus far. (There lies the word "no" I was telling you about). I am not complaining mind you, I am merely telling you this so you understand what my life has been like lately.
First event after our weekend getaway was the Cub Scout Pine Wood Derby. Since I am slowly absorbing duties of the Pack Committee Chair, I was required to come to the derby and learn as much about the "behind the scenes" stuff as I could. All of this while providing breakfast to the pack and the crowd of parents waiting to watch their son's car blaze down the track. I made 60 breakfast burritos for this event, along with other items to eat. As much work as this one was, it was just a warm up for the events to come....
Each February, all Catholic Schools across the nation participate in Catholic Schools Week, where we celebrate our Catholic School Community and give back to the communities around us. Each school does this a little different. Our school plans activities throughout the week that involves all of the community, church and school alike. We begin with the Annual Sock Hop Dance on Saturday Night. Then Sunday is Catholic Schools Week Mass at church. There are different things throughout each day that the kids do during the school day. Thursday is Family Day, where the families of each child are invited to attend lunch with their child. This was our biggest event so far, over 500 people came out to eat at the school. Now, working in the school kitchen, I was more involved this year than in years past. And what a big job this was. We offered spaghetti with or without meat sauce or lasagna, salad, bread, oranges, and dessert. We made 13 pans of lasagna (27X13), 20 pounds of meat for the sauce and 26 pounds of pasta!
Now, you would think that this was the end for me for the week, but I also was hired to cater the Staff Appreciation Breakfast the next morning. I sent out invitations like a wedding giving each staff member a choice of entrees for their breakfast. They could choose from Eggs Benedict with Ranch potatoes, Blueberry Blintzes with a side of bacon or a Chorizo Burrito. Each one came with a cinnamon roll. Now, I was really in my groove. 32 people RSVP'd "yes." I was really in my element. This went extremely well, by the way.
Ok, so it's now Saturday, and you would think I have a chance to relax and have a day off, but nope....it's Monster Truck Rally day for the Cub Scout Pack Outing. The 40 boys and their parents had a good time!
So now, it's Sunday and I really need to get some stuff done around the house, but BAM!! A forced day off....I have the flu! I was just telling someone at work how lucky I have been not to come down with anything yet. (guess I cursed myself huh?) So, in between napping and forcing fluids down my gullet, I am sitting here recalling the chain of events that have transpired over the past couple of weeks to you. I suppose I am going to be forced to take Monday off as well. We tell all the parents of the school to keep their little ones home if they have been vomiting or run a fever for at least 24 hours after the last incident. So, since I prepare food for the kids to eat, I better follow our guidelines and stay home too!