Disposable Zombie Mom

This was me over the weekend.

Not so pretty eh?

I was in bed all weekend.

I had Mastitis, a killer head cold

and a slight touch of the

Boo Hoos.

Not a great combo.

I was pretty much out from

Friday night to Sunday.

How does a family survive

without Mom?

They have a dad like him.

Yeah. He pretty much took over.

Not only did he get them all to their soccer games,

he got them there early. Yes, I said it,

the Dibbles arrived somewhere early.

He could have made cereal but

he made ham sandwiches.

He could have put on a movie

but he played games.
He only woke me up to feed the baby.

They made Quesadillas and Popcorn.
All children were put to bed happy.

Sunday morning he went to his meetings and choir

and came home and got everyone ready.

2 boys bathed...check.

3 girls hair done....check.

(he even straightened their hair)

Off to church.

They come home happy and hungry.

I say, "Oh, just do Macaroni and Cheese or

Ramen Noodles or cereal".

Oh no, not my Super daddy man.

He comes up with this.

You're probably thinking.....

What a great dad, husband, person, superhero guy.

You are right.

But I'm thinking.....

Oh crap!! Now they all know for sure that

they don't need me.

Hopefully he'll keep me around

for this part.

I'm feeling a little better today.

I'm still not quite myself.

Case in point...

I watched 'Star Wars' by myself.

Yeah, Greg wasn't even there.

Okay, 2 things about Star Wars...

1. I never realized how whiney Luke is.

2. Chewbaca and R2D2 are my favorite characters.

What does that say about me that I can't understand a

thing that my 2 favorite characters say?

I'll be better tomorrow.

I hope.

Here's to my Rockstar husband

and to modern medicine.

p.s. I hate fruit flies more than anything.

Junk Drawer Imagination

So the kids spent some time over at

Poppy's house a while back.

They came home thrilled about all the

work they did helping Poppy clean out his junk drawers.

They were so excited to share with me all of the

amazing new treasures that Poppy let them keep.

Very useful things like this never been used lotion cap.

And this key ring decoration that

I think I had on my first keyring at 16 years old.

You can clearly see that it is in pristine condition

and worth keeping.

And of course, the very rare

"rubber bottom of a cane or walker thingy".

All very useful and important things, no?

I rolled my eyes and giggled at my cute dad.

I saw useless, nothingness.

My clever children saw this.

They saw a great little game to play.

The girls were overjoyed at Ethan's reaction to the

mini baseball game.

They spent hours (okay, 25 minutes)

throwing the lotion cap ball,

watching Ethan (amazingly) hit it with the Munchkin bat,

while trying desperately to catch it in the

"rubber, bottom of a cane or walker thingy" glove.

I have stepped on the "ball" many times,

I've found the "bat" in the utensil drawer

and I've watched my baby shove the "glove" in his mouth.

(I can't think about that one too much without throwing up a little)

I have wanted to throw this preemie pastime in the garbage

on several occasions. I just can't quite do it.

They're just too sweet a reminder of the

easiness of childhood.

Plus it's going to make Christmas shopping a breeze.

Now I just have to figure out how to wrap the junk drawer.

Dear Fall,

Took a drive through the mountains.

Please accept my deepest and

most sincere apologies.

You are lovely.

Love,

Mindy.

p.s. Could you please stay around

a little longer this year?

I like you, but I don't like your

ugly step-sister...winter.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.....

I love the first day of Spring.

It means my favorite time of year is beginning.
It means that swimming, playing and riding bikes is just around the corner.

School is nearing an end and all the t.v. shows are playing the clifhangers.

It's time to get the marshmallow roasters out,

time to dust off the sidewalk chalk

and pull out the slip and slide.

I love planting flowers.

I just love the thought of painted toenails peeking

out of a cute, new pair of strappy sandles.

There's something that comforts me when I see those firework stands

set up on the corners.
And the smell of a great steak on the grill just about does me in.

Summer is a pretty busy, crazy time around here.

We run here, we run there, we eat in the car in a rush to get to our

next fun adventure.

My children have perpetual popsicle

stains running down their faces.

And is there anything better than driving with

the windows down and your favorite music up?

I love everything about it.

Memorial Day is like an invitation to an

amazing dinner party. You look forward to it.

You make plans, you worry about what to wear.

You anticipate.

Today is the first day of Fall. (sniff)

It means that all of those things come to an end for another year.

I have never loved Labor Day.

It's like the subtle cough someone gives

when they want you to leave after that amazing dinner party.

You hear it, you know what it means.... you're no longer welcome.

But darnit, you want just one more hug, one more funny story.

You linger on the porch until they finally just turn the lights off and shut the door,

leaving you with your nose pressed up against the window hoping for one more whiff

of apple pie and ice cream.

It's over.

It's not coming around again for a whole year.

Now you have to find ways to pass the time.

You rake leaves and pull up the flowers.

You put the lawn mower away and make sure the snow shovel is within reach.

You search through the closet to make sure both gloves are still there.

You start drinking hot cocoa instead of ice cold lemonade.

You spend money on snow melter instead of sunscreen.

You trade those warm summer nights on the lawn

for cuddling up by the fire by 6:00.

The potato salads are replaced by vegetable stew.

You actually 'see' the air as it exits your body.

You throw a holiday party or two...

maybe go on a little trip.

You watch all the new shows.

You bundle up kids (oh, I just got tired).

You make snowmen.

Anything to help you avoid thinking about the green grass

that is NOT between your unpainted toes.

You feel blah.

And then, one day when you go out to the mailbox

you look around, you see those little

daffodil shoots coming up, you hear that distant songbird

and you realize that you have yet again,

been invited back to the party.

Here's to enjoying the wait a little more.