Free Day Ahead

The girls are finally napping (whew!) and I'm finally taking a break. OK, technically they're not sleeping yet - I still hear them. But they ARE going to take a nap, darn it, because I need a break today. What a long Saturday - starting from 7:15, they've gone strong til just now.

I am continually in awe of stay-at-home moms (and Dads - cheers Josh and Looky Daddy). Talk about exhausting! And I can't imagine how they get anything done whatsoever. I hope it's a little different for them, with opportunities to monkey-proof a bit.

In our little rental, the kitchen is smaller than even the one in my very first apartment, an efficiency, no ess. This means that we don't have the luxury of keeping the junk drawer out of reach. Or the coffee pot or magic bullet or kitchen garbage can. Or any of the other stuff that I don't want them getting into. Oh, what I wouldn't give for handles on our cupboards or a wide-enough baby gate to keep them out of the kitchen.

Even cooking the smallest things is such a chore because I'm constantly pushing the girls back out of the kitchen. As soon as one is out, her sister comes in and goes to a different drawer or cupboard. If it were just the hassle of cleaning up a strewn-about tupperware cupboard, I'd have no problem. But I don't want them to cut themselves on a can lid from the garbage. Or break the coffee pot. Or taste test the dish soap. The battle is constant, but at least it's only when I'm in there. I suppose I should be flattered that they want to be with me.

Anyway, the real purpose of this post has run away from me. What I really wanted to say was "Yippee - I'm taking a free day on Monday!" I'm not going to work in honor of Veteran's Day. But shhh, I'm not telling daycare. After I drop off the girls, I'm going to go back to bed for an hour or two. Then I'm going to load my trunk with stuff for Goodwill and am going to drop it off. Then I'm going to Don's Car Wash for the works. Inside and out.

And then, I'm going to start the first step in my adventure of finding a bigger vehicle. Since I don't think I've even driven an SUV in the last 5 years, I foresee a lot of test driving ahead. Wish me luck. I already have a line in mind to keep the sales vultures from preying. My mother from down south is moving up here later in the winter and needs a small SUV that will fit three car seats. So, I'm just sampling a few way in advance to help her narrow down the market. Let's see if it works.

If I still have time left over after all that, I'll begin the chore of tarping our furniture in the second stall of the garage to protect it from whatever might come our way this winter.

To the veterans in the audience, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your sacrifices. I appreciate the freedom to have the wonderful life that I have, all thanks to the heroic efforts of our soldiers who ensure that freedom.