Barefoot and Pregnant
#7
This was our first week of “normal” life after Christmas. Sienna went back to school, the Ogre went back to teaching classes and continued writing his dissertation in earnest (since he never really took a break from that, except on Christmas Day), and I…
I took a vacation.
Yup, that’s right. That’s why I’ve been off the internets this week. (And if you have emailed me this week I’m sorry I left your email languishing in my inbox, but I’ll get to it soon.) On Monday I was dragging by 11 am, so when Liam and Lincoln miraculously took simultaneous naps at noon, I put a movie on for Charlotte and laid (lied? lie? lay? someone teach me grammar!) down on the couch.
And promptly fell asleep for two hours.
#6
That evening, after dragging myself through dinner prep, dinner, clean-up, baths, pajamas, teeth, stories and bedtime, I sat down to rock Lincoln and fell asleep in the rocking chair, while rocking him, at 8:30.
I woke up with a jolt a half-hour later and realized that although my family was going back to normal life refreshed, rested and energized, I was depleted. The holidays are wonderful and I enjoy them immensely. I love cooking, so extra work in the kitchen is really a joy for me. But it was also exhausting, having everyone home all the time, wanting to eat at least three times a day, leaving their new toys everywhere, refusing to use the spaces I specifically carved out pre-Christmas for new toys, breaking the ornaments, wrapping themselves in the leftover wrapping paper, etc., etc.
So I decided that this “back to business” week for everyone else would by my vacation week.
#5
We gave the house a thorough scrubbing last Saturday and I managed to get the tree down and all the Christmas stuff packed away on Monday, so I didn’t feel too guilty about taking a week off. I kept the house running, doing dishes, cooking, and doing laundry, but I totally ignored any major cleaning. I stayed off the internet. I re-watched Season 1 of Veronica Mars (which is the televised equivalent of a fuzzy blanket and a hot toddy…comforting, familiar, and wonderful). I took the kids to the park, read lots of stories, and took naps in the afternoon.
#4
It sounds idyllic, but actually it was kind of boring. And although I tried not to, I got increasingly frustrated as the week went on and I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything. I did feel quite refreshed by yesterday, but that waned just a little when I brilliantly went to bed after midnight and Lincoln woke me up by peeing all over himself at 4 am.
He also decided that since he had a clean diaper and a new onesie, it was time to party. While I question his judgement, his happy early-morning squeals were pretty hard to be irritated about.
I did manage to drum up some irritation when he fell back asleep just as the other three woke up and wanted breakfast, though.
#3
So, guess what made the highlights reel for my week? This
is the awesome graphic that accompanies an awesome post on…
(drumroll)
(is the suspense sufficiently built up yet?)
(no?)
(are you getting annoyed?)
(don’t worry, you’ll be freaking after the big reveal)
(another drumroll please…)
(dum dum dum…)
#2
That’s right, the erstwhile Secret Vatican Spy is back, and she brought the awesome, as always. You must go read her blog. She is brilliant, and she writes haikus for me, and if I batted for the other team you can be sure Kassie and I would be getting hitched in some courtroom in Massachusetts by now. (Or Colorado? Where is this legal now? I lost track.)
#1
And now that I’ve lost followers with my off-color humor, I’m going to leave you. Alas, my vacation-ish week is over, and I must go grocery shopping. ALONE! Because as one of my wise commenters pointed out, I have to start living like I have four kids, not two…and four kids just don’t fit into the grocery cart.
Go see Jen for more quick takes, and to read her lovely birthday reflection. Make sure you leave her some comment love, too, since she’s going to be having a rough time for a while.
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