Afternoons

I always have grand plans for weekday afternoons. As I'm driving home from work I always run through the possibilities..... household chores that need to be done..... projects that need to be started, or, ahem, completed..... fun places to take the Coopster.... errands to run..... dinners to plan and cook..... treats to bake..... the list goes on and on.

For example, this afternoon as I was driving home I thought that I would absolutely be able to:

1) Put the last coat of paint on the kids table and chair set I mentioned in this post.
2) Take Coops and the dogs out for a sleigh ride in the snow (it's snowing like crazy here at the moment).
3) Get started on dinner by trying out a brand new recipe that's been on my to-try Pinterest board forever.

But then.

By the time I arrive at Grandma's house to pick up the Coopster, hear about his day, get him dressed, pack him up in the car, get home, get unloaded, and get our lunch boxes cleaned out I realize that I am:

a) losing steam fast, and

b) starving again

So of course instead of eating my planned yogurt with berries I decide to make myself a fried egg sandwich on an English muffin with cheese and butter. This leads to a lot of dishes and my little guy deciding that he needs to make himself "lunch" as well. 

After playing on his own for oh, about two minutes he decides that we must bake cookies together. By the time we roll the dough, cut the cookies, ice them, cook them, taste test every single one, make some coffee to go with them, burn the coffee, make another pot, re-pour the coffee, add the sugar, milk, and pepper(?), get burns on our hands from the hot stove, get bandages and kisses, and finish our "treats" over an hour has gone by. 

Oops. The sleigh ride for Coops / walk for the dogs / exercise for the gaining-way-too-much-weight-Mama is not going to happen today.

:)

I wait a few minutes to see if Coops will start to play on his own for a bit. Please oh please will he play that game of "hide the cars, a rainstorm is coming!" because I really need to finish painting my furniture.

Alas, Coopaloops decides that we must put on our skates to go skating. So we take our socks off and skate around the main floor on wooden blocks. We do about 5 laps around the house. I tell him that I hurt myself on the ice so I need to take a break. Instead of getting to play the lazy mommy card this turns into a game of doctor. 

So much for painting that furniture.

:)

I warm up some milk and take my little friend upstairs to see if today will be a nap day. Did I mention that afternoon naps are now a rare, magical occurrence? Once I've read him his stories and tucked him into bed it's already 3 pm and I pretty much need to sit for five minutes and have a little break. I'm able to watch my little stinker practice his ninja moves in his bed on a video monitor (best investment ever btw). After ten minutes and a lot of thumping, I can tell that today's nap is not going to happen. 

My motivation to try a new recipe for dinner has gone way down by this point. So much for a fancy supper. 

:)

I decide that Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes are a great alternative.

Some afternoons I get frustrated that I never seem to get anything done. But then I stop for a second and realize what a gift it is that I am able to spend these quiet afternoons with my mini best-friend. After all, that's the whole reason I decided to work part-time in the first place, right? Not to do chores, not to do painting projects, but to spend quality time with my little cutie.... baking cookies, getting pretend "ouchies", and skating around the house scratching the heck out of our hardwood floors. 

P.S. One quote from the day that I will not be writing down any time soon:

"Mommy, move your big bum out of the way please."

At least he said please?!?!? 

:)