Speed Parenting

After a very blase Tuesday, we definitely needed something to perk us up today. Grandma C came over after a morning appointment and spent the day with us, which provided all of us with the relief we needed. The sun was shining so bright, and the day was so pretty...we decided to enjoy it all just hanging around town.

We started things off with lunch at Who's On First?~a local restaurant bar which is rumored to have the best burgers in town. I can't comment on that statement, but I can tell you they had the best sweet potato/corn jalapeno chowder I have ever tasted. Very spicy, filling, and fantastic. The kids ordered mac and cheese, which was just Easy Mac heated in the microwave for a $4.50 service charge. All in all, it was a good meal, and we all were full at the end of it.

We then walked 3 doors down to the bowling alley, stopping along the way to get my ring cleaned at the jewelry store. Shining sparkling diamonds can really pick up a girl's spirits! Bowling is something we just never do because it is always so hard with such little kids. We had the place to ourselves, so we chose to bumper one lane for Crispy & Laura, while Michael, Grandma, & I took the other lane. We had a surprisingly good time. Laura had fun for about 5 turns, and then she was done, spending the rest of the time alternating between pouting and taking pictures with my camera. Crispy was doing quite well...it was apparent that all of his practice on the Wii was paying off. In our lane, Grandma beat the pants off of us. She easily beat us by more than 20-40 points. She claims that she hasn't been bowling in about 30 years ...hmmmmm....I think she may have a secret life we don't know about!

Before heading back home, Laura "bought" a Webkinz for Grandma so that she could play online games with her during the day. Laura is so obsessed with this game. She can now log herself in with username and password and is constantly jumping at any open computer chair. She was beside herself this morning when Webkinz was down for maintenance. She argued with me for 10 minutes how I was wrong, and how SHE would be able to get into the game. Boy, does she get moody when she is wrong. We had a VERY LONG morning.

Tonight went by quickly with everyone home, and no activities to run off to. After spending nearly our whole day at play, I had an extremely productive evening as my role of stay-at-home-mom. I felt like I was on hyper drive being super-mommy for many kids, and the great part was that it was all working out. School papers were sorted, homework done, lines for a play rehearsed, an assignment to find and take a picture of a robin completed, pictures and mementos for special Kid of the Week collected, bike tires pumped, helmets found and adjusted, Kinzcash earned for Lala, and a load of laundry switched. We had dinner from scratch (as I had forgotten to make my split pea soup in the crock pot this morning)....bruschetta pizza, and artichoke dip with crackers and pears. The baby was asleep in Bob's arms, giving me the rare opportunity to actually completely clean up after dinner. A clean kitchen before bed? What will I do with myself tomorrow morning!

Melissa spent the evening outside practicing her bike riding (training wheels still on). She and the neighbor girl were begging to go for a bike ride, and while nice outside, the sun was setting and there was a chilly wind that would have made for a less than fun ride. Instead, we compromised, and I walked, with them riding, through our neighborhood, to the highway and back. Since they are not allowed to leave the cul-de-sac by themselves, this seemed to satisfy their desire to go on a bike ride. My neighbor jumped in with me, and we made plans for restarting our walking program and trying to get back into some semblance of a shape that would no longer make us look like marshmallow moms. Last year, we did well for over a month.....then we kind of fell out of habit when I took off for Colorado. Funny how difficult it is to start something like exercise, yet so easy to quit.

The day ended as every day should, with bedtime stories and prayers, snuggled in my huge bed with my kids. It is days like these that make me thankful for everything that I have, and help me to make it through strong to the next. But it is not just about making it through each day...it is about living through each day, and at least for today, life is good.