Notes from the kitchen table

I have been carrying a spiral notebook around with me in my diaper bag just in case some little wrinkle in time allows me the free time and brain cells to write for a little while. So far, it is filled with Emma's drawings of rainbows and princesses and maybe a few grocery lists. I'm just itching to write, but it is truly difficult to find the time to do so these days. Right now I'm writing this on my Dana, basically a palm pilot with a keyboard. You could in theory write a whole novel on a Dana and then plug it into your computer, download it and email it off to publishers. I bought it thinking I would do this, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Emma just walked up to me and said, "Mommy, are you writing stories about mommies?" Charlie is on the real computer listening to songs from Lazy Town on the Noggin website. Writing while Lazy Town songs play in the background is not for amateurs.

Well, now I have to get ready for a playdate. I'd really rather stay in my jammies and keep writing at the kitchen table, but life in Mommy Town does not stop because I'm feeling writerly. It's actually pretty nice out today and we're meeting friends at a park, so it will be worth getting out of jammies for I have no doubt.

I think my plan for this post will be to write little bits here and there when I can...sort of a stream of consciousness thing. (Consciousness is a really tricky word to spell). So I'm headed to a playdate now...I'll see you later.

Okay, I'm back now. The last six hours were really fun, definitely better than sitting around typing in my pjs. It is very un-February-like outside and we were able to play at the park for hours without coats on. I forget how wonderful it is to feel the sun after so many months spent indoors. I felt so invigorated by our time outside that I came home and cleaned out the car and the garage. Well, neither is really clean clean. I sort of rearranged the garage and put a bunch of stuff in the trunk to give to Goodwill. And then I swept out all the leaves and gross stuff. The car is still not really clean by normal people standards, but considering I have been driving three little kids around in a VW Passat for the last three months, it's looking pretty decent. We're planning on getting a Routan (check out that link to "make a baby without making a baby") soon. It seems like the minivan that will give us the most bang for our buck. I have to say, I'm pretty excited about the prospect of driving a minivan. I am ready to embrace my status as a suburban mom of three. I am also looking into signing the kids up for soccer soon. And I'm totally pumped about going to upcoming birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese, Gymini, and two different Pump It Ups. I am fully aware that I am turning into a bit of a stereotype. I am not such a stereotype when you look up close though. I am still the same me that I was when I was 18 in many ways. I remember my mom saying once that no matter how old you get you're still looking out of the same eyes. I definitely feel like I'm looking out of the same eyes; it's just that soon my eyes will be looking out of the windshield of a minivan.

So anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, cleaning out the garage and the car. Teddy was asleep upstairs and the kids were having a blast riding their bikes in the driveway. I kept striking up conversations with neighbors I have only waved to with a gloved hand from inside the car. It has been too cold for chit chatting with neighbors until today. My neighbors and I live on top of each other and our townhouses all face each other, so it's like we're staring at each other constantly, but there's not a lot of chit chatting usually. Today, people I've never really spoken to asked me about the baby. They've probably been watching me from their kitchen....they probably saw me waddling around my own kitchen for nine months and then watched as we brought Teddy home from the hospital. Every night they probably see Teddy swinging back and forth in his cradle swing while I’m cooking or losing my patience with the kids. We've watched the neighbors do stuff too, so it's pretty even. It's interesting that we all know so much about each other, but we don't really know each other. I guess the closer in proximity that you live to other people, the more likely you are to have your guard up, to define your space a little more. Or maybe it's just the cold weather that does it because people were very friendly today.

I'm supposed to be folding laundry while the kids watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Teddy finishes his marathon nap. I'm so over folding laundry. It always makes me feel like Sisyphus. Even if I actually get to the bottom of the laundry hamper today, it will be filled up again by tomorrow. Argh. For some reason though I don't resent the cloth diapers and the laundry they produce. I think it's because they're really easy to put away and they are sort of laundry with a higher calling. Everything else is just our same dumb old clothes, but washing the diapers makes me feel proud, like Al Gore would give me an A+.

I think I'm actually going to go wake Teddy up. It's been 3.5 hours that he's been sleeping. Maybe I'll get in some more writing later...we'll see.

I'm back...We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner (again). We eat that once a week these days. The kids always go on and on about what a good cook I am when I make spaghetti and meatballs. The sad part is that it's one of the only meals I don't make from scratch. I use jarred sauce and pre-made turkey meatballs from the store. The kids ate tons of spaghetti and meatballs tonight because of all the playing and bike riding they did earlier. I love when I feel like they've had a full day of hanging out with friends and fresh air and exercise. I wish I could make life like that for them everyday.

Teddy worked hard too. He is really trying to roll over. He's almost there. He gets over to his side and just likes to hang out there for a while. It's like he could roll over, but he's just not feeling it, so he doesn't. He's still the cutest baby in the whole world. And the sweetest. I think he should get some sort of award. Well...I think I'm going to call it a day and see what my friend Tivo has waiting for me. Hope you enjoyed a day in the life of Mommy town!