Today is exactly the kind of day I expect to look back on in the near future , and wonder why I ever looked for something else. Sure, there are reasons- important ones, even- but on days like this, I'm jealous of my own life.
Woke up this morning feeling uber rushed, yet more than satisfied with my four rounds of snoozing (sorry neighbors!). Found enough time to locate my yellow heels and enough hairspray to show last night's do who's (still) boss.
Started my work day dashing in and out of a flurry of cinnamon toast waffles, semi-healthily pack lunch-boxes, The Backyardigans and flying Cheerios. At ten till 8 it was time to buckle in Boden and Brinny- we were called upon to drop Burke off at pre-school this morning, which turned out to be quite a treat. The ride was longer and curvier than usual- Kansas City's 'construction' is spreading like wildfire. Burke used the time to share with us common folk the different powers his various weapons had when placed in his hands. Sitting beside him were 3 toy guns, a bow (with no arrows), and a glove from his Ironman costume- all of which came with accompanying sound effects (compliments of Burke).
After drop-off, it was just me and the babies- both sporting wild hair, 'pajamas', and bare feet. So, naturally, we took a trip to the grocery store.
By the time we got home, Boden had fallen asleep in his car seat, and Brin was itching for a snack and movie which I was happy to do with her seeing as Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorites, and she was in an uncharacteristically cuddly mood. Half way the movie though Boden woke up and I was thinking of ways to continue the day's good feeling. One look outside, and I had the perfect idea.
The weather was perfect. I mean kick off your shoes, run in the grass, spin in a circle, draw with chlak, hug a stranger, smile at nothing kind of weather. The kind of weather that goes great with a pinic. So that's what we did. I quickly shed my dress, slipped into a sports top/yoga pants combo and packed the perfect picnic.
We drove to the plaza, walked around for a bit, played, in the grass, took some pics, ate our lunch, and tossed nearly two dollars in pennies into the big fountain, after which, Brinny pulled me in and gave me a kiss. With feet in the water, sun on my face, and happy babies on either side, I sat there thinking life doesn't get much sweeter than this.
The euphoria of it all, however, was suddenly interrupted when I started packing up the stroller to find that I had misplaced the keys to the car. When I asked Brin if she'd seen them, she said she threw them into the fountain. Great.
So I started look in the water, thinking (hoping, really) that she was confusing the words 'keys' and 'pennies.' I double and tripple-checked my purse and tore apart our cooler and stroller. No keys. No bueno.
So we started retracing our steps (which we had taken a lot of). Finally, after I had given up thinking they'd actually appear and started putting my brain power into how I was gunna tell thier mom I lost her keys and had no way of gettin gher kids home, I found them! There, on the grass, was a silver message from God saying "Here ya go, idiot. Enjoy the rest of your day." I snatched the keys and scooped Brinny up to spin and 'dance' to the tune of an original number entitled "Ahhhh, We Got Our Keeeeeeeeys Back, We Got Our Keeeeeeeeeeys Back."
After that, we hit up the library and then walked over to a nearby ice cream shop (and my favorite place to eat in Kansas City), Yogurtini. Mmm, mmm good :)
Not surprisingly, they fell asleep in the car. Brin made the easy transition from garage to crib with no problem. Boden? Not so much. I went back down to the kitchen to make him a bottle and returned to his room to sing him a string of my favorite Disney songs. So, there I am, pleasantly tired from a day of sun, penny wishes, and frozen yogurt, rocking Boden to sleep and wondering how much longer he'll need me to do this before he gets too old. When do babies stop being feed bottles? When exactly does he stop needing to be rocked everyday? And suddenly I stop worry about how long it's taking, or what other chores I should rush off to. The kitchen can wait, in fact it's been doing it all day.
