Okay, both boys are currently napping (woohoo!) and since I (hopefully) have a few minutes to myself here, and it has been awhile since I went to confession (okay, never) I have a deep dark confession to make here. Fraser and Hammie have both had pretty yucky colds this week, so I have chosen to skip all our regularly scheduled activities and just say home or make quick trips to the playground. I know, that doesn't sound confession worthy, but here is the thing... I LOVE THIS WEEK. I love the fact that I don't have to be anywhere or do anything. I love the fact that I'm not trying to shove Fraser's sneakers on while keeping one hand on Hammie so he will stay out of the dog bowl and then shove both kids into their car seats so we can race to school or playgroup or a mom's club outing or the store or wherever else we are supposed to be, only to realize half way out of the driveway that I have forgotten to make Hammie's bottle so I need to run back into the house and then get back to the car to find both kids screaming as we race off to whatever we are now late for.


Instead, all the laundry is not only done already for the week, but I hung almost all of it to dry outside while Fraser rode his tractor and Hammie played with leaves. We read lots more stories than we normally would have, sang more songs, and the boys took long baths during which they were in pretty good moods since I wasn't trying to bathe them 5 minutes before bedtime. I also cooked dinner every night this week, and we had nice relaxing family dinners. At no point this week did I realize that I was over an hour late giving Hammie a bottle, or that I couldn't remember that last time Fraser had his diaper changed. In short, it is Friday and instead of wishing fervently that Andy would get home so I could just get something done around here, I'm looking forward to having him home because it's the weekend, and it might be nice to just relax a little.


This realization does, of course, put me in a bit of a pickle. After my last post expressing concern over Fraser's slowly developing social skills, it seems pretty hypocritical to express unreserved joy at not having to see or speak to anyone. That said, I'm not the only one who is in a much better mood this week than I have been in recently. Despite their colds Fraser and Hammie both are far less crabby than they have been.


Now I know everyone will say "it is all about balance" and that is all well and good, but finding the right balance, like running a marathon, walking a tightrope, or reading an entire magazine when you have young children, seems perfectly easy until you try it. It doesn't help that (again, confession time) if it were up to me we simply would not go anywhere at all. I know, you're thinking "At ALL? No! You are exaggerating!" I am not. If you doubt me just ask my husband who discovered to his dismay sometime during the third or so year of our marriage that I will, in fact, someday be a crazy cat woman who has 6 cats and only leaves home to go to the grocery store to buy more cat food. I don't think the cat thing dismayed him really (we already have 4, so 6 isn't really a stretch) but the fact that I would be perfectly happy to live that way.


It now seems that by Monday Fraser and Hammie will likely be feeling well enough to rejoin the human race, and I will be out of excuses for hiding out at home. So far next week we have Hammie's playgroup Monday, Fraser's school Tuesday, Fire Station tour Wednesday, Fraser's speech therapist and playgroup Thursday and the Pumpkin Fest on Saturday. I feel like a turtle shrinking back into my shell just thinking about it.


(The photos, in case you are curious, are from my parents, who came to visit for the long weekend. Hammie is preparing to empty out every blessed thing in that drawer onto the kitchen floor while I am cooking dinner, and Fraser is enjoying his new "100 trucks" book, which we have read every day since that picture was taken.)