Girls Week...Hooray?!?!?

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.  ~Phyllis Diller

Jonathan left for a conference early Tuesday morning and isn't due to return until Friday afternoon.  That means this week is GIRLS week.  Excitedly, I headed over to Trader Joe's to pick up some of our favorite goodies, and planned some fun things for Clare, Munich and I to do together - just us girls.  Day one was fine, we accomplished everything on the agenda.  Night one...not so great.  Clare woke up and decided to scream bloody murder for what felt like FOREVER.  Once we got past that and were sleeping soundly, Clare's trusty ole' overnight diapers failed us and I found myself changing a very alert toddler, sheets, mattress pads, etc. at an hour that I would prefer not to think about.  The girls (Munich and Clare) were up and at 'em at their normal time - 6:30, so I was too.  Jonathan is kind enough to take Munich out for a morning play session every day while I stay home with Clare.  We can't let Munich suffer while Jonathan is gone, so in the morning you can find me bundling up the little one and heading out to play with Munich.  This morning we ran, laughed, got muddy - and then headed home for some breakfast and a POT of coffee.  After realizing that no amount of caffeine would help clear the cobwebs from this sleep deprived head, the sheer exhaustion of chasing around a 14 month old with NO breaks hit.  As much as I love being with Clare 24/7 (and believe me, I LOVE it)...THIS IS HARD!!!

How could someone so cute and innocent looking be such a handful?

I really don't want to whine, but I think I have to.  It's just that usually Jonathan will help out with the inevitable pre-dinner meltdown.  He'll distract and play with Clare while I vacuum, cook dinner, fold laundry, breathe... Don't get me wrong, I can do this; I've done it before.  Jonathan has to travel pretty regularly, but as Clare gets older, more curious, faster and opinionated I find I really miss getting my daily sanity "break".  I try to vacuum in the evening after a day of coming and going.  Without Jonathan here to keep an extra eye on our little Houdini, I vacuum only to turn around to find Clare decorating the floor with a dirt clod she snuck in.  I start to dust, and find Clare putting "treats" on the various cleaned surfaces for Munich, who is always happy to oblige her and licks them up before I can get to them.  I fold laundry and stack it in neat piles to be put away - guess who unstacks, unfolds and plays peek-a-boo with said clean laundry?  That's right, Clare.  I put something away in another room and come back (after 5 or so seconds away) to find I have a monkey climbing the baby gates in an effort to get to the forbidden staircase.

Mmm...dinner in the garden

"Why Munich, you appear to want my dinner, let me give it to you."

Clare is sleeping now and my fingers are crossed for a restful night.  Tomorrow we are heading out to spend the day with Grammy, Lori and Robin in Temecula and we both need our beauty sleep as we continue our "Girls Week".

Can't you just see the mischief in those eyes...

Goodnight to all...