this isn't so bad

... the unemployed life, that is.

My day has been like Saturday except ten times better because 1) I'm not quite as busy as I usually am on a Saturday, 2) I get to be at home, which I usually don't on a Saturday, and 3) I get to remember every so often that it's Tuesday and tomorrow will be yet another pseudo-Saturday!

Last night, Bria wet the bed (she's been drinking a lot of water at night because she has a sore throat) so the kids ended up sleeping in bed with me, and as they stretched their way awake, we all cuddled and chatted in short mumbles punctuated with long yawns. I have no idea what time we woke up this morning. I didn't look at the clock. It didn't matter.

When we finally went downstairs, we decided to make breakfast together, and for the first time in a long time, that didn't involve cold cereal or toast.

We made waffles--from a box, but that's my undomestic goddess version of homemade. I made poached eggs--my favourite! We made some strawberry gick for on waffles. (Strawberry gick is blended strawberries with a bit of real maple syrup added for sweetness. I used frozen strawberries, but thawing them is my undomestic-goddess version of growing my own.) And there was cheese, yogurt, apple juice, and hot chocolate, too. It was a great big giant feast of a breakfast that would have made June Cleaver clutch her pearls and fall right off her pumps in envy.



Unfortunately I ruined the first two waffles and the kids filled up eating the scraps of them before the rest was ready. Que sera sera.

After what turned out to be brunch, we had some errands to do, and we all went downtown. The first bit was okay, then we went to the new dollar store to get some supplies for Bria to make Valentine's Day cards for her class.

Bria started to go in a different aisle, and I told her to come back. She yelled at me, loud, and let me just say, that new dollar store has great acoustics. Oh, the echo. But a beautiful thing happened. I realized that I have all day, All week actually. I don't need to get the little heart stickers and pink glitter and red stamp pads right now. And because she didn't listen when I said, "Calm down right now or we're leaving", we left. I don't usually blog about my kids misbehaving (which is largely because they don't much) but it felt like such a little triumph because usually when they do misbehave, I become a pushover mom. When you only spend a couple hours a day and every other weekend with your kids, it is really hard to spend that time disciplining them. And I have been so guilty of that. So I'm really glad now that I have time to teach my kids things like the fact that it really is not okay to scream at people like that. Not just in theory. There must be at least one mom out there who gets me on that!

So we came straight home, Bria apologized, we cuddled, and Bria went down for a nap. Marissa was hungry so I got her some crackers and cheese, and watched her make little sandwiches with them. I didn't just absent-mindedly supervise her meal; I watched her make crackers and cheese. I sat in anticipation of her triumph as she worked on breaking the strips of cheese into little chunks that she could fit onto the crackers like puzzle pieces. And she gave me lots of 'mooches (that's smooches) cause she says she likes my 'mooches the best.

Yeah, this isn't so bad.

It's just after four o'clock, so I better go get the kids up from their naps. They've been asleep a while, and we have a lot to do before we all tuck in and watch American Idol tonight.

Not so bad at all.