Heading West!

Ignore the filthy car.

Flat outside Electra Tx!

Best mom evuuuurrr.

Lucy always naps in my bed. I just climbed in, but before I did so I moved her little stack of naptime books. You know, the stack of books you throw at them in desperation as you hiss, "I don't care if you sleep! Just be quiet and read!"

As I quietly removed the books to the dresser until tomorrow's nap, I had to laugh because the poor kid has been reading workbooks. Yeah, like pre-school letter workbooks. "Sorry kid, no writing tools here! Just imagine you're tracing those lines!" No wonder she seems so bummed out after her naps lately. Another naptime full of wasted potential...

Tomorrow is going to kill me. Gym, house cleaning, shopping, meeting, shopping, crashing dinner at Charlotte's, another meeting. Blerg.

Our neighborhood is so incredibly quiet. Did I mention they've spotted bobcats in the neighborhood lately? Freak! So much for Claire's deliciously lazy side-porch naps. All I need is to see a bobcat walk off with my cub...of course, Claire's a chunk. She'd definitely slow down any wild cat.
Oh, anyway, quiet place around here. Thank the good Lord squirrels sleep at night. I can't imagine hearing Chewbacca up there all night long. I am almost certain that when they say everything's bigger in Texas, they're really just talking about the squirrels.

Andrew is still working on a presentation for tomorrow. Apparently he's banking on the girls taking a perfect nap so he can crash an important meeting via telecom. I should note here that Molly naps perfectly when her daddy is at work. If she knows he's around when she goes down, all bets are off. Anyway, it's really not my problem, as Claire and I will be in a meeting with Father Hart while Andrew is busy with his meeting. We're working to get a new lay ministry started at our parish, and somebody has to do the legwork, so we've decided to use Claire's meaty thighs and toothless grin to get the job done! We'll meet with Father Hart tomorrow and with any luck we'll be getting the green light for our new ministry! Woop! (why auto correct changes that to "wool" is beyond me. As if anyone types "woop!" and really meant "wool!"

I have to go now. My stomach is growling, my pantry is empty, my jammies are less than ample and my picture windows are still missing 2/3 of the curtains I need to find a snack without putting on more clothes. dagnabbit. Now THAT is a word you mean to type.

I wonder if I could email Andrew and ask him to bring me a snack on his way through...

Bear Flacco. Tucked in tight.

I just finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It ended with my head cocked to one side all blown away and going, "Whoa..." This is the woman who wrote The Time Traveler's Wife. That book wrapped my brain into a knot. This book was much easier to follow, but just as freaky and cool. Now I'm just sitting on my bed, alone, which is a guilty pleasure of mine.

There is nothing I love more than curling up against Andrew and spending an evening watching a movie. We really do enjoy being together ALL the time. In the 8 or so years we've been together, we've never really wanted much time apart. We find each other completely adorable, amusing and amiable. We're like yin and yang, moving about the world one person in two bodies. We never really annoy each other or feel the need to get away. Our evenings are gauged on a "what do we feel like doing tonight" scale, and the "we" almost always trumps the "me."

But second to that, I love knowing that he's completely occupied with something that doesn't concern me, leaving me free to move about the evening without responding to anyone or reacting to anyone. I'm a very social creature, but we all need a little solitude once in awhile. I know that on any given night, I could say, "Babe, I'm out. I'll be in a different room doing something on my own. Have a lovely night." And he'd be completely content to do whatever he got into by himself. I usually feel absolutely guilt-stricken doing anything for myself, be it sleeping in, taking a shower, asking for a nap or reading a book. I think motherhood just keeps us moving for others so much that taking a moment for ourselves feels a little too foreign. But tonight Andrew took the girls to the lake and I took a bath, and then I finished my book this evening while my man puttered around. He's watching a movie now and I must say, this quiet alone time before the start of a VERY busy week is exactly what I need to finish off a nice weekend. I'm going to sign off now, just in time to get my eyes closing before Himself makes his way in to bed. I like falling asleep alone once in a blue moon, but I need to know that he's on his way and I won't be alone very long. And as long as Claire's in her own bed for the next couple of hours, I need a little sleep!