Weekend Highs and Lows

1. High: While it’s fresh in my mind, we had a really good Sunday. Low key in the sense that we didn’t have any grand outing, no big hike because Paul and I went on a nice long run. Paul moved his office this weekend. Have I mentioned this? Like no less than seven times? So he had to go in today to wade through the rubble which was not bad at all, his office staff is really amazing.

I loaded up the kids, bribed with ice cream if by bribed I mean bribed myself and had to buy some for all the other van-goer’s too. We grabbed Dairy Queen and I am loving this Buy a Blizzard, get one for 99 cents, though you had me at Buy a Blizzard. Then we ate them, got all geeked out on sugar and drove downtown to visit Daddy. It was fun.

2. THEN, and I’m still counting this as a High, we came home and had a work party. Me and my chillruns. And they did good. Here’s where I’m getting smart, where you might call me lazy but you never would because you love me: I’ve learned whom to assign what task. As one boy noted tonight “why does (so and so) always get assigned to watch the littles?” The answer, my friend, is because he can handle it. He excels at keeping them occupied, even if that means watching random Muppet clips on YouTube on the ipad, whatevs I’m desperate! He has the wherewithal to keep them happy and occupied while the rest of us mere mortals do the easy work of loading and unloading the dishwasher, emptying garbage cans and mopping the front room. Divide and conquer! I did, and I win!!

3. Low: Last night, we went to a really fun gathering for a dear friend who recently returned from Afghanistan. What an honor to know a real life Army officer who is off serving our country — and who returned safely to his loving family — beautiful wife, five boys and a girl — and is now safe and sound. So obviously, a high. The low, however, was that on the way to the party I happened to notice that my shirt smelled HORRIFIC. It was freshly laundered but sadly it was like someone had taken it out of the washer and hid it from sight for a few days to die a slow, damp, stinky death. I was just so convinced everyone around me would pass out from the stench. The boys were like “cool mom! Maybe they’ll have a ‘smell my shirt contest’ and you’ll be the winner!”

So I spent the evening experiencing equal parts fun and paranoia because I was sure everyone around me was secretly smelling their pits when no one was looking because dear God in heaven where was that unspeakable stench coming from?

4. High: Well-behaved little ones at Mass! Hooray!

5. Low: My mother next door almost taking out the phone repair guy who regularly works on a box at our sidewalk. Right when we came home from Mass this morning, GrAnnie Oakley (as I lovingly call her) alerted me to the fact that she had made that nice repairman real upset when she shot at a stray dog. We had a scary incident two weeks ago where some wild dogs (two black ones) killed two neighborhood cats and badly maimed the cat across the street from us. So when my mom saw a black dog near our driveway today, I’m sure she was overcome with protective juices for her grandchildren, grabbed her trusted Daisy BBGun, aimed and fired. And where things went from there, well according to Chris the Repairman they went real, real close to his head (but who knows? Who can really say?!) Actually, he yelled that at my mom, God bless her and she apologized because she really is the sweetest lady. And then about an hour later that guy was back and I marched right out there about to give him a piece of my mind — how DARE YOU yell at my momma, I don’t care if you felt threatened she meant you  no such harm — and that guy ended up being pretty nice. Said he was looking out for Paul’s truck and we had to explain that’s my mom, Paul’s mother-in-law and it’s all good. So, disaster averted. Another high!

6. All in all a good weekend. Not too many lows. Unless you count the…hmm, well whatever it was I’m not counting it! Go me!