You know, there are times in my life when I start thinking that this domestic stuff seems boring. Each day seems to be the same, the kids don't seem to care wether it is Monday, Thursday or Sunday, and I just start itching to get out of the house. On those days, if Ashley is in town, she comes to my rescue.
Today I woke up late (thanks, Dusty, for giving me that extra sleep) to find that Alex had broken a snow globe on the tile. And decided that his underwear were, in fact, an acceptable toilet. Twice. After gulping down my coffee quickly and dodging the Nerf baseball bat flying constantly through the air in connection with the Wii, I was telling Ashley that the day is shaping up to be like just about any other day: noisy, clumsy, and full of mess making fun (for the kids).
Ashley and I were talking about how amazing it would be to do some leisurely window shopping. Since I didn't have a sitter, Ash came up with a brilliant idea. Let IKEA babysit the kids! Sure, it means we have to shop...Ok, twist my arm! I'm in!
On the way to IKEA, Sky's illusive loose tooth finally lost the battle for the buck. Sky was quiet for quite a long time, then suddenly "I got it, Mom! My tooth came out!". Sure enough, that little sucker that caused both of us so much grief when he was a cranky, teething baby, was right there in his hand.
So we get to IKEA as Sky is dreaming up 101 ways to spend his cash if the tooth fairy keeps her promise. Shopping was fairy uneventful. Sky showed every kid in the play area his toothless grin, and Alex (who was about 1 inch too short for the play area, even WITH his hair) spent his time in Auntie Ashley heaven. Well, Auntie Ashley and the-bathrooms-have-automatic-paper-towel-dispensers heaven.
So finally we pick out a bed for Alex, who has been sleeping on a foam mat for months (long story, not that exciting). Yay! So much for window shopping...
Now comes the good part. Ashley and Sky go to get the CR-V and pull it in to the loading dock so that we can try to figure out how on earth to fit a twin bed & mattress in a compact SUV. As she is waiting to pull in to a parking spot (you know, people in front of you stop, you really can't go anywhere!), a rented moving van decides to back in to a spot, too. Unfortunately, Ashley being where she was didn't fit in to his plans. So as Alex and I watched from the sidewalk and Ashley felt helpless in the driver's seat, the bumper of my car met a very big moving van. Poor Ashley! I think she deserves the Crazy Weekend award! Oh, and a ton of thanks for moving the car the minute she did in order to avoid any injuries or further damage.
So, a few hours later I'm home with 2 cranky kids. By the way, you CAN fit a twin bed and mattress in a CR-V. It involves removing everything but the driver, who has to drive with her nose touching the steering wheel, but it CAN be done. At this point I'm thinking that for all the hassle, Alex is going to sleep in this bed tonight. As it turns out, assembling a bed, then rearranging the room to fit the bed, then throwing out all the packaging while two cranky kids "help" can not possibly done "just real quick". Just an FYI.
So now, the kids are asleep. Sky has $2 under his pillow, and Alex is happily dreaming on his new jumping platform/big boy bed. And I have a glass of red wine. I will NOT be complaining tomorrow morning that life is monotonous!