Ready for Action

While the girls are with their mother for three days, Hubs and I are partying like rock stars!! Or at least we did Saturday night. We left Baby with our second favorite Reliable Babysitter (the first one having ditched us for LA- the nerve!) and hit all our town’s hotspots– well, four of them anyway. It was a much needed Wild Night Out and it left me to wonder if this new full-time custody arrangement won’t be better after all. The girls are scheduled to visit their mom again for long weekends in September and October, plus a week at Christmas. Since Hubs and I now have less time alone, we do it up big when they’re away- which is just how I like it. Yes, I’m a party girl at heart.

Sunday was spent first at church (where I apologized to God for the previous night’s four drinks and the fairly daring top I wore WITHOUT A BRA [it was backless- what could I do?!]-God told me to satisfy my craving for a Philly Cheesesteak sub and natural cut fries from my favorite local joint and all would be forgiven- of course I had to obey), then we engaged in some serious lolling around at home. Our plans to work out like demons were abandoned. Instead, I took a nap and Hubs played video games. Ahhhhhh….

The girls return on Tuesday and I will resume my mad dash to Get Ready for the School Year. We are pretty depressed that school starts next week- Not only will I be shuttling kids in and out of two different schools in two different parts of town, but our new wake-up time will be FIVE FRIGGIN’ THIRTY A-M. You read me right. In order to get 14 to school on time, we will have to get up at FIVE FRIGGIN’ THIRTY A-M. And with 12 coming along behind her, Hubs realized this morning that we’ll be getting up at FIVE FRIGGIN’ THIRTY A-M for the NEXT SIX YEARS. Now I understand why moms of teenagers look so much older and more tired than moms of prepubescents. Trust me, there is no bright side here. So I’m gathering my rosebuds this week while I may.

Baby is cracking me up. She just discovered two holes in the center of her face that are the perfect size for her fingers. For the last two days, she’s been running up to me with a finger in her nostril, shouting “Nose!” and running away, laughing. Gonna have to put a stop to that…

And let me just take this opportunity to congratulate myself on another successful consignment sale raid. Our local elementary school had one this past weekend to raise money for the PTA. I made it there early and found the cutest little dresses and jumpers for Baby (sidebar note: after accidentally happening on one a few years ago, I am a diehard fan of children’s consignment sales- Much of the clothing is new or nearly new and the toys are dirt cheap- It’s the ultimate bargain high and I don’t feel guilty about spending too much money on toys Baby might not even like- because I’m hardly spending money at all). But the best buy of the day was a $2 brand new Teletubbies video. It is titled “Big Hug,” which happens to be Baby’s favorite part of the show. Every time I’ve played it, she has parked herself in front of the TV, transfixed for one whole hour. It’s pretty much on continuous play right now…

Today, on my last day of “vacation”, I’m cleaning the house from top to bottom. Momster just wrote about cleaning and it sparked some interesting comments from women who admitted that housekeeping is a very real form of therapy for most of us. Some clean when they’re sad or worried, but my cleaning is more of a control issue. When my house is a wreck (and it only takes about a day to become that way), I start to feel out of sorts and powerless. When my house is clean (minus the girls’ rooms and the playroom, which I’ve pretty much abandoned), I feel like I have control over my life. I am who I want to be. I can walk around like a Stepford goddess and I’m all ready for unexpected guests and/or TV crews… But wouldn’t you know it, the guests and TV crews only seem to show on wreck days. Anyway, it must be a girl thing, because Baby is already getting in on the cleaning action. If she can get her hands on a dishrag, she gets busy polishing the floors with it. She loves putting away her toys and any time she finds a napkin, she carefully wipes her mouth with it!

So that’s the news from here… After a few days alone with my husband, I feel rested, rejuvenated, and deeply content.