Home, again, for awhile

I have been home since, basically last Friday. Not just last Friday, but a week ago Friday. I had a public speaking class in DC Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I can barely remember what my office looks like. My mom was called back to Seattle for a family emergency, my grandfather passed. More on that later. We have been madly scrambling to look after the kids in her absence. We had considered finding a day care, but now we just decided to suck up these 2+ weeks by rotating our schedule. I haven't even been working from home, I took the three days as vacation because I could not watch the kids and work from home. It's impossible. We have decided to get an Au Pair. Since my grandmother is on her own, my mom may well fell like staying with her for a bit, and I don't want her to feel like she is abandoning us. Other than the very sad news (which is saying a lot), it has been nice with just us in the house. My mother moods were so unpredictable, sometimes it was downright awful being in the house with her. Add to it all of the very depressing news from my family lately and her less-than-stellar child rearing, things have been getting tense around here. I have to say that the house has not fallen apart in her absence. Dishes may sit around for a few hours and the dishwasher has definitely been getting more use, but all off us have been a lot happier and less tense. I can appreciate how she hasn't been able to take the kids out back, but the weather has been horrible and I didn't want Martin to fall into a pool of mud in the back. They really could use a bit of outside time.