What Today Consisted Of

--Being woken up sometime after midnight by a fuzzy-headed little boy tapping my shoulder and telling me that he needed more sunlight on himself (it was pitch black outside).

--A good ol' fashioned crick in my neck.

--Snuggling with Annie in her new hand-me-down nightgown with Cinderella on it (long sleeves and short skirt, I've never understood why they make them like that).

--The last of the Macy's coffee imported from Flagstaff (sad trombone).  Now we don't know what we will drink.

Don't YOU want to drink coffee that a naked European man has been sitting in?

--Cold cereal, always the same: Oatmeal Squares for Annie (though she calls them Oatberry Squares), Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Grandma approved) or Kix (mother approved) for Evan, a mixture of as many cereals as he can get away with (but usually just Frosted Mini Wheats and Life) for Sam.  Certain bowls, certain spoons, setting up the pins for knocking them down.  (Oh, I ate yogurt with cornflakes on top...must be just the right amount of crunch per spoonful...and I would never eat cornflakes with yogurt replacing the milk, that would be just plain disgusting).

--Sore throat, not allowed!  It's summer!  I'll ignore it.  I'm the mom.

--Playdate at the park with school friends...getting back into the swing of things.  

--Ripped shorts, quick trip to Old Navy.  Left with neon yellow stretchy shorts...but not before I noted the "30% off of the Entire Store" signs which should have really said "Danger!  Run Away!"  That would have been more helpful.

--100 degrees and some humidity.  It was uncomfortable.  Then I decided that doing errands would be more desirable than sitting at home.  That was dumb.  We melted and I bribed the kids to be pleasant in the car with melted Smarties.

--Taking a special package to the Post Office. The package contained Annie's "Special Baby" who needed to go to the Doll Hospital.  Hoping they honor their promise to a concerned little girl to handle her Special Baby with care.

Special Baby's arms and legs were tearing off.  For being expensive (Corolle), the company wasn't very helpful.  That's all I'm going to say.  Nothing about them being French.

 --More shopping at Old Navy where Annie got to hang out with her "family".

--Splashing the heat away...then Thrifty's Ice Cream at Rite Aid afterward.  Chocolate Malted Crunch like always.

Can you spot the new neon yellow stretchy shorts?

--Grandma getting a haircut, us being a disaster at Target (including but not limited to me locking the kids in the car so I could run back and find the iPod we left in the cart and me also telling Annie to just pee in her pants).

--All sorts of chances to practice parenting.  And patience.

--New Lunch Box with lights and sounds (really? is this necessary? but it was like that scene in Despicable Me 1 when Agnes wants the unicorn because it is so fuzzy she might die).  Grandma spoiling.  Happy Samuel.

--Backyard "swimming", mommy yelling from her chair a safe distance away, not always in the nicest voice.  It's not fun to get squirted when you are trying to read a book.  But I still shouldn't yell.

 --Bubble wrap popping...still more fun than most toys.

--Dinner making, eating, cleaning, PBS kids for babysitting.  More setting up the pins for knocking them down.

--Just when the guilt for too much tv watching started to creep in, and just when the resentment for having to do all the cleaning (which I don't) kicked in, the cutest tiniest lizard poked his head out and said hello.  Catching him, naming him, finding a place to keep Dart Lizardy safe and alive till morning (fingers crossed) took over and the evening was redeemed.

--Bat watching...since when did my kids learn to shout "Epic!!!"?

--Telling the kids we'd read and then getting lost on Facebook, only to find them in the hallway like this.  (Yes, the closet did indeed projectile vomit behind them).

--Putting the kids to bed by declaring "Bedtime!  Mom's done."  It was true.  But they didn't go to bed before Annie insisted on wearing her 2nd pair of brand new hand-me-down WINTER pajamas and stating "This was our biggest day ever!"

Sweaty sleeping girl, even though Special Baby is in a box headed to the hospital.

Fuzzy headed boy, almost no room for him in bed with all his favorite stuffed animals

And Samuel, sleeping on a ripped mattress pad and no sheets because I still haven't done laundry...with his brand new lunch box.

Goodnight.

Oh wait, the kids left the light on in the minivan.  And Jeremy is still off writing his thesis.  And we're supposed to go to the beach tomorrow.  Well, goodnight in a little while.