Mr. Mom To The Rescue
Each day this week, the anchors of The Early Show have been coming to the aid of a lucky viewer as part of our special series called "Anchor To The Rescue." Saturday Early Show co-anchor Russ Mitchell got in on the action as well.
He helped a mom very much in need of a day off from housework and kids --lots of them. The following is his report.
Once upon a time, there was a very busy mom who wrote a letter, asking to be rescued.
"Dear Anchor to the Rescue, I am a 32-year-old mother of three and stepmother of two," Jennifer Furton says, reading her own letter. "As you can imagine, there are just not enough hours in the day for me to get everything done that needs to be done around here."
Between husband Paul, teens Barrett and Lauren, kindergartener Erin and twins Annabel and Olivia, Jennifer Furton has her hands full. There's also a dog. And let's not even mention the teen-agers' bedrooms. It's enough to make anyone, well -- a little cranky.
Jennifer Furton says, "It's challenging because it's a whole range of ages. I've got teen-age issues, 5-year-old kindergartener issues and newborn babies."
Explaining how her day goes, she says, "The babies usually wake up between 6:30 and 7 a.m. Then we get all the kids off to school and I start taking care of the babies: feeding them, cleaning the house - I clean the house constantly every day. Do laundry - I have seven people to do laundry for. There are days where I am moving non-stop. I don't get to sit down for two minutes.
Which is why I'm here, filling a cart for my first assignment: Grocery shopping for a family of seven.
So I ordered prepared food for them because, trust me, they don't want me cooking. And I picked some flowers.
It was time to send Jennifer off for a much-needed break.
But before I fully took over, I called in some backup: an experienced baby sitter, my daughter Ashley.
We arranged for Jennifer to have an afternoon of services at the Robert Andrew Salon And Spa. And I morphed into "Mr. Mom."
Oatmeal, cereal for baby and peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Erin.
"Is it the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich you've ever had in your life?" I asked her.
"No," Erin replied matter-of-factly.
At least the twins seemed satisfied.
While Jennifer got pampered at the spa, I pampered the babies, and started the housework.
With diplomacy, I asked Lauren to clean her room, and I got to play dolls with Erin.
By the time mom walked in the door, the rooms were clean, dinner was in the oven, and at least, one little girl was ready to eat.
"I want my dinner!" Erin exclaimed.
Jennifer's question? "Did you give her lots of sugar?"
"Well, we did have a few cookies," I admitted.
My job for the day was done. Anchor To The Rescue, mission accomplished.
Many thanks to the Robert Andrew Salon and Spa for their spa getaway contribution, and to my daughter Ashley, an excellent baby sitter. I could not have done it without you, Ashley.