A Mommy Story

Thanks to gas prices and a three year old who had spent the week suffering behavior regressions and tantrums, we found ourselves without plans for the entire weekend. Realizing this was a rare opportunity, Aaron and I both (mostly) avoided our computers and spent the entire weekend focused on the girls.

It was relaxing. And fun. And sorely needed. I think Cordy’s behavior last week was a combination of eating something that she had a reaction to, and having her schedule thrown off because Aaron is busy directing a play and hasn’t been home for bedtime most evenings. Whatever the reason, she had a short fuse and while I shouldn’t need to clarify that I love my daughter, I didn’t want to be around her much last week. Everyone was tired, frustrated, and in need of a lot of attention.

So Saturday, Aaron decided to make up for the missed bedtimes by having a daddy-Cordy day. After lunch, they went to a playground for awhile, and then he took her out for ice cream. Just the two of them – no attention-seeking little sister to get in the way.

When they came home, Cordy wanted to play in the backyard, so we gladly took the suggestion, and spent the remainder of the day digging in the sand table, kicking a soccer ball around, and having fun as a family.

Sunday was spent indoors, and not only did we have more family time, we also managed to get some cleaning done. You know I hate cleaning, and I’ll tell you that Aaron might just hate it even more than me. Cordy and Mira also think of toys strewn over the floor as an interior decorating choice, rarely helping to put them away. As a result, you can clearly see the clutter in many of our pictures, doing the equivalent of the drunk guy in the background of a news report waving and making faces.

But now? Did you know we have a floor under all of that clutter?

Amazing, isn’t it? A lot of toys were culled from the herd, and the large plastic monstrosities (Jumperoo, etc.) were shipped off to a resale shop, never to be seen in our living room again. We did far more cleaning after that picture, too. We’re not exactly ready for a real-estate showing or anything like that, but it looks good.

After the girls were in bed last night, we found our way back to our internet lives and our multiple jobs. Aaron and I looked at our clean floor, reflecting on the generally positive weekend, and made a vow that we need to do this more often.