mother of preschoolers

Yesterday did not go as planned. I should have known that it wouldn't. I'd been looking forward to Friday for months. It was our first MOPS meeting at church. As the table leader coordinator, I'd been working throughout the summer to get table leaders in place, centerpieces organized, and ladies placed at tables. I had made cute little candy jars for the ladies at my table, and placed lots of phone calls. On a selfish level, I was really looking forward to two and a half hours with some of my closest friends. The girls would be playing with friends in another room of the church, and even though I would be at a meeting for mothers of preschoolers, I could excuse myself from mom-duty for a little bit. At least that's how I thought it would go. Instead, my day was a little less predictable. Catherine woke up Friday morning with a cold. She was miserable, so I dropped her off at my mother-in-law's house. Grace and I headed off to church. She went to her room, and I went to mine. Things were great...for about 45 minutes. Not even half-way through MOPS, I got a tap on the shoulder. "Grace is throwing up." I grabbed my things, and took off down the hall. We changed her clothes, got in the car, and prayed that we'd make it home before round two. We didn't. My mother-in-law said she'd keep Catherine through lunch to give us time to get cleaned up and settled in. By the time she got home, Grace was feeling a little better. Just before naptime, Catherine said she had to go to the bathroom. She ran to make it in time, but didn't. After a morning of vomit duty, I now had to clean pee off the bathroom floor. We all three went to take a nap, hoping to wake up feeling better. Once again, it didn't happen. Grace got sick again, and Catherine wasn't any better. The rest of our day was spent in front of the tv, with tissues, towels, and throw-up buckets nearby. Not the day I had planned. I wanted a relaxing morning at a Mothers of Preschoolers meeting. Instead, I got an eventful day of being a mother of preschoolers. But I guess that's what motherhood is all about. Being flexible, dealing with the unexpected, and putting your kids first. And, of course, a little vomit!