Birthday Wishes

I want to tye-dye shirts for a family outing. I want to go on this family outing, but I also want to stay home, sleep in, and laugh at the kids playing with their walkie-talkies all weekend. I want to plant a window box on my back patio. I want to catch up on work and maybe a few 'extra' hours for a few 'extras' in my wardrobe. I want to jump on the trampoline with Porkchop. I want to finish weaving a pot holder with Scrunch. I want to bake banana bread with the six pounds of quickly ripening bananas sitting on my hutch. I want to sort quilt blocks for the swap and start laying out my quilt. I want to go 'test drive' a new sewing machine. I want to score big time on some patio benches, even if it means sanding and taking on another project. I want to finish painting the bathroom mirror and hanging the wallpaper. Nowhere on this list do I want to fit in vacuuming, wiping down counters, cupboards, or bathrooms, or moping the floors. Mostly, I want to be okay with that.

I hate how much I had to force myself to go outside and play all afternoon rather than clean. It's been a banner of a week and I am behind just about everywhere. I did it, though. We went to the zoo.Although Porkchop missed most of it while hanging out with Papa at the snack shack. We had our traditional Mongolian barbecue for lunch and came home. I let Scrunch and Porkchop out of the car and they went inside while I untangled Juju from her five point harness. Before I was able to get in the door, they had unwrapped all of his presents. Kind of heartbreaking and hysterical at the same time. We spent the rest of the day not doing anything on Mommy's list and then had macaroni and cheese (from a box) for dinner. The kids were happy. I tried to pretend I was not going to freak out and start twitching over the state of my house. I did only okay with that. Before he turns eighteen, I want to be totally okay with that.

Happy Birthday El Nino! Named for the havoc wreaking hurricane of destruction left in his wake. At least it's a cute wake.

And a Very Merry Un-Birthday to my Dad! Whose taught me that a house is just a house without the people in it and nothing is more important than spending time. Empty houses suck. I think Dad would say something like that. No. Dad would say, "Empty houses blow chunks."

I don't regret a second I spent doing Super Man while balancing the kids on my feet on the trampoline. I am going to get this. More playing, less twitching. It's going to the top of my list.