Eh.....what?

Today, I began in a rush of productivity. I was putting away the re-washed dishes before anyone else was even awake. Laundry is humming, I've showered (it's rare that I get a chance before lunch), fed the kids lunch and snacks and played dinosaur and did some labeling of DVDs for Josh, started the taiko photo project and even wrote an email to my grandmother. I wanted to lie down, since even though I feel great I'm still under the iron thumb of my head cold, and tonight's taiko is not just a sit-down meeting. Sadly, you can't really lie down when you have kids. I was soon in bed with Grant, Abbie and about 2 dozen plastic dinosaurs who had no greater pleasure than to conduct conversations with each other...on my shoulders. Who needs rest, anyway?

So, now that I have escaped the dinosaur convention, and Grant and Abbie are drawing whales to pretend to eat the crayons, which have been designated as "krill", I am doing a little thinking. And it goes like this:

Time is passing and it's a new year. This summer, Grant will start school, and I will stay home with Abbie. Am I otherwise on schedule? Meaning, what did I always see myself doing at this point, etc.?

Actually, I'm doing what I always said I would. I'm staying home with my kids until they are school aged. I've been saying I would since forever, because it's the most important thing to me. So...not bad, actually. I always said I would like to own my own house and car. Well we're home owners. Check. And that lovely explorer is totally and completely mine. Oh, yay. Still..check! The only part that isn't how I wanted it would be Work. That patch between college and Grant was a big FAIL, career wise. I had always planned that after the kids went to school, I would be returning to an already established career. But when I moved to Yuma, that got very much ruined. In case I've failed to mention it, in Yuma you have to be Spanish bi-lingual, or else you aren't qualified to do anything. My first job was minimum wage, my second was nicer. In fact, it was my favorite. I walked to work in the morning, and I covered lunch shifts and was home by 3. But I wasn't bi-lingual, so I made nothing. Seriously. When Josh was in Kuwait and I came home to work, I made 8.50 an hour, and I felt ridiculously rich. So sad! And that company loved me and wanted to keep me, but when Josh came home, that was that. They knew when they hired me, of course, but you don't understand how important "loved me and wanted to keep me" is in my job satisfaction scale. And then I got pregnant, so that's the end of my "work history after college" chapter. I wonder what would have happened if I had taken the job on Mizzou campus as a recruiter. I turned it down to move to Yuma, you see. But what I always said I wanted was: 1. Own car. 2. Own house. 3. Stay home with kids until school. 4. Have a job where I am valued and loved and they don't know what they'd do without me if I were to leave. Still working on that last one.

I'm trying NOT to plan my life as it would be if Josh got this job. Trying. I always do, though. I have a planner's mind. It's practically reflexive. He's already lost 5 lbs., though, so maybe it's not as far-fetched as I keep saying. And we all knew I would get my hopes up. I'm just making sure they are still tethered to something heavy and stable.

Wanna hear about the list of FAIL that went with the party update? I've been giggling about it. Here are some things I totally forgot: I forgot to cut the kids fingernails. Woops. Good think no one got scratched. I forgot to make the puppets and masks, even though the stuff to do it was in the basement in plain sight, and I was down there several times. I forgot to give the Keiths the copy of Curse of the Warerabbit that we made for them forever ago. I forgot that I would need a place to put coats, so everyone got to see my messy room. In fact, my house has no more secrets. They saw the basement, too, and then Josh took the men through the garage when they made their pizza run. And the last one is a Josh fail, but it's my fault for trusting him. My shirt had a wide collar, so I wore a tank top under it. I asked Josh if it was decent. Then I saw pictures. Boys are poop heads.

This weekend, we have great plans. Saturday night we are having dinner with Rob and his mom and dad, and now we are making Sunday plans, too. We got a voucher to get $25 off at the Science Center for Christmas, so we're going to take the kids to see the dinosaur exhibit, and then the ocean movie at the IMAX. What could be more perfect for my kids (who are now pretending to be whale sharks)? Wanna meet us there?

There is not much other news right now. It's the long end of winter.

Speaking of the fact that it is still winter....Wal-mart stopped selling my cider! I'm so sad! It's like they decided that now that Christmas is over, no one could possibly be in need of a warm drink. I feel colder just thinking about it.

I made a new recipe yesterday and liked it. Tomorrow, I think I will make a soup out of the ham bone. I think it will be fun. I have onion and garlic and spices and baby carrots.....I almost bought celery, but I would cringe at the leftovers. I only like it cooked. Anyway, it will be an adventure.

Hope you are doing well. Off I go to switch laundry and check the mail. Sending hugs to you all!