Drinking from a firehose

I bet you were wishing for a cute picture of one of my kiddos trying this feat.

Actually it's mie, here, desperately trying to not drowned.  Here's what I'm going through in the next week:

*collect 250 more responses (500 total) for my dissertation research - I've been trying for 4 weeks and got 250 - I need 250 more by monday.
*teambuilding/team kick-off for my new team at work - now that we're all together one day this week is dedicated to setting things off "right"
*which, by the way, is complicated by the fact that on Friday my department was merged with another - another previously led by someone else and which I didn't know much about until I got that department's people and responsibilities.  Both teams are very busy.
*Said change happened as I headed, with my family of 6, to spend a 4 day weekend in San Antonio at Sea World.  Super fun.  Spending the weekend (4 days at that) meant I didn't have my normal weekend to do house work including laundry, meant I was gone on the day the changes happened at work, meant I was unable to do much toward gathering more responses for my dissertation, and meant I've already missed 1 day of work this week - a week already shortened by 4th of July.
*I've been sick - nothing like having no voice at Sea World.  I lost one of my kiddos twice for a few seconds (he ran off to be with his dad) and it was terrifying not being able to scream his name or his dad's to get help.  And I've felt horrible.  I'm sure you can guess I didn't get much rest with my kiddos at Sea World.
*July 4th.  And, for that matter, events on July 3rd.
*Transition for my kiddos officially starts tomorrow with a supervised visit in the home.  Let more chaos ensue

And in the next few weeks:
*Really finish collecting my dissertation data (this includes about 10 more hours of work?)
*Get all the stuff ready to send my kiddos home (like all their toys, sort through clothes, etc.)
*My mom is coming for a visit (YAY) but also means a different schedule than usual
*Sending the kids home activities including a goodbye party, getting their prints done (haven't done that yet!), and finding time for our family picture.
*Maybe getting new kiddos?

Oh - I may be sparse here for a little bit as I struggle to tread water for a few weeks.  I'm still around.  I'll still post, but maybe not as frequently as usual.  I'm thinking of all of you out there!

(And I do think it's funny that so many of us tend to be on this same cycle where we send kids home and get kids around the same time...let the cycle continue...)