Today was a great day. Seriously. The only problem with that is I have no idea WHY it was a great day. I wish I could bottle the good mood I am in and use it on a day where there is more stress and less patience (like every other day of my week). Here is how my day went.......you'll understand my confusion if you continue reading:
We got up late....the kids need to be out the door by 8:00 am and we rose (to gray skies and pouring rain on a Monday morning no less) at 7:21. I should say *I* rose at 7:21....the children dragged themselves from their cozy warm beds at 7:30. Rush through breakfast, brushing (both kinds), dressing and lunch packing(x2). My oldest complained of a sore throat the entire time she was getting ready and the youngest coughed until she nearly vomited.
Three phone calls before 8 am: Ex-husband informing me of a relocation of the items I asked him to leave on his porch for me, Henry's teacher to inform me of a schedule change which doesn't allow me to volunteer in his classroom this morning as planned (WHEW! I guess I accidentally double booked myself!) and Charlotte's teacher informing me that the torrential downpour outside my window will force us to reschedule the field trip to the pumpkin patch.........bummer.
Drop off the two biggest peeps right on time and decide to take the younger out to breakfast. All went mostly ok there except our waitress ran so far behind that I only ate 1 slice of toast, 1 piece of bacon and 3 bites of egg before heading out to drop the littlest peep off at preschool......I did manage 2 cups of coffee though :)
The highlight of my day came after dropping the littlest off. I went home.....and hired a cleaning lady! She was quirky (took her wooden clogs off outside the door because she prefers to work in her bare feet. I don't care WHAT she works in if she is cleaning my house!). She has clown-like curly hair (which was not helped by the rain) that she tried unsuccessfully to stuff under a baseball cap. She paired a bleach stained sweater with a long denim skirt. She was................perfect. She said everything I one day hoped to hear my cleaning lady say....using beautifully tidy and sanitary words.....ahhhh, I can hardly wait until next Wednesday.
I decided to grocery shop while still on the "hiring high". I went in with a list which is a plus for me because I do have ADD and often the items pulled from my shopping bag after a "list-free" excursion show just how severe this disorder can be. I was shopping for ingredients to make chicken corn soup and pumpkin rolls, a few household odds and ends, and the list of cleaning supplies my new friend requested I buy. The trip was uneventful...........until I walked outside. It was the kind of rain that you can FEEL before you are even out the door. And the bag holding my cans split.........in the parking lot......on the bottom.............on a hill. I chased creamed corn down the parking lot in a downpour....4 cans to be exact. And yet my good mood remained.
It remained straight through picking up the littlest peep (and getting a good report from the teacher...woot!), picking up the sickest peep at school (slightly more frustrating as Charlotte "re-organized the staff nametags in the school office while we waited) and right through the unloading of the groceries (even when ANOTHER bag tore leaving 4 cans on the ground again.......I can only be thankful that it wasn't on a hill....because it was still raining). Doctors appointments made, it was time to DO something. My house was a mess so, obviously, the only thing to do was........Bake and cook!
I made 4 pumpkin rolls (all of which fell apart in the rolling process leaving them deliciously ugly) and 2 huge pots of chicken corn soup.........and the non-perishable groceries are still on the kitchen floor as I type this. Tomorrow's another day. I rushed out to pick up the boy.....I had to be first in the carpool line in order to be able to make it to the girls' doctor appointments. Both girls did beautifully performing all tasks requested by the doctor. Prescriptions in hand (each had a sinus infection) and out the door we go. Run home, finish pumpkin rolls and dart out to deliver food to friends. This might be the part that sealed the deal on my good mood. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake and cook for people. I know I am going to be the grandma that forces food on her grandchildren when they come to visit. I will be the one that thinks she needs to "fatten them up". I just love it....hopefully the friends do too.
I came home, greeted my best friend (who lives with us) as she arrived home from work, got dinner on the table and.............breathed. I love dinnertime with my family. We each go around the table and report on our "best and worst" moments of the day. I cherish these discussions. After all 3 kids lost interest in dinner conversation I ran to the grocery store to get the girls scripts..........and stopped off at K-Mart for a red teapot I have been eying up....a treat to myself.
Now it is time to crawl into bed and snuggle with my 9 year old as we watch the celebrities stumble through their routines on Dancing with the Stars.......a wonderful tradition I look forward to each week.
Well, reading back over this, I guess it is obvious why I am in such a great mood....I am really, truly bless with a great life. I hope tomorrow it is as obvious as it was today <3
