Living...for the moment

Last night I was reading some Erma Bombeck... she is the author I relate to most in my life right now, (and I am trying to make a conscious effort to laugh more) when I read something that didn't hit me as funny. She said "Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine." I got to thinking about my day yesterday. I basically cleaned the house and did laundry the ENTIRE day... and that would not be something horrible, except it seems like that is all I do EVERY day. My kids ask me to do something with them and I almost always say, "OK, in a minute", or "I am sorry sweetheart, but Mommy is really busy right now". How many times at the end of the day did I never do that thing because I forgot or maybe just chose not to?!I know all you moms of young children know what I am talking about... you are working on one room while the other is getting hit by 3 little tornadoes, and it seems like if you stop for even a minute it will just get worse. I had two big spills - one including a giant bag of pinto beans that Staci (or at least that is who always gets the blame because she can't really talk yet) grabbed from our food storage and opened. Jackson then informed me that Natalie took the bag that Staci had opened and swung it over her head as she turned around. Of course Jackson was innocent; all he did was watch it (and I am sure he was laughing). I was soooo mad, and had to spend the next two hours on the kids case to "finish picking up those beans". They were in 4 different rooms in the basement. Nice! I think it wouldn't have hit me so hard except for the fact that I had just finished picking up a thousand beads that were spilled from some sort of bean bag that I didn't even know we had, that one of the kids opened. Do you get where I am going with this? As I read at the end of the day, I was troubled. Why does it feel like I am not even living? If I wanted to, I could clean all day, every day... and probably still not have a perfect house, but is that what is really important? If I had to choose the job of "maid" or "mother", wouldn't I choose "Mother"? Of course, I would! So why does it feel like I'm hardly being a mom?!
So, this morning I decided to have a "Play all day day". Have you heard of this? I made it up, so I would be surprised if you had! The rules are this: 1. No work... with the exception of changing diapers and wiping up spills (which, of course, are inevitable). 2. No planning... just go on a whim. 3. No fighting or complaining. 4. Play hard. So, the kids and I got in the car this morning and we went. They kept asking me where we were going, and I never would tell them.... that is because even I had no idea! We ended up going first to Antelope Island (or as my kids kept calling it "Cantaloupe Island"). We only live 15 minutes from it, and really I was SOOO curious as to what it would be, so we did it. It was AWESOME, too! First I went on a little hike with the kids... remember I hadn't planned this, so we were all in flip flops, so it was pretty little. Then we drove around and went exploring and saw jack rabbits, huge lizards and even several antelope... who knew? We then decided to go out to the lake and play in it for a while. It ended up to be so much fun that the kids didn't want to go. The water was clear and warm, so we stayed there for about 3 hours. And I swear we were the only people there from Utah. We met people from far off lands like Germany, Canada, Japan and even New Jersey! Funny, huh?

Jackson and Natalie on the "hike"

Yeah, eventually we lost the shorts... hey, seize the moment, right? Staci and Natalie were COMPLETELY soaked by the end... but it was so much fun! Honestly, who knew!? The sand was so soft. It kind of looks like mud, but it was sand.

This white "foam" was all over. I am sure it is from the salt... does anyone know that for sure? I should get the facts before I go making statements like that.

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After the lake we stopped by McDonalds and got some happy meals for the kids. I was going to take them in and let them play, but then realized I basically had naked kids in the car, so we went home and ate and put Staci down for a nap. Geoff just had a half day of school today, so I left Staci at the house with him, (he had some studying to do anyway) and took Jackson and Natalie to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. We have been there before, but this time we didn't have Staci, so I had the energy to actually take pictures and enjoy it. I shouldn't say that, but Staci puts new meaning on the phrase "terrible twos". In the center of the museum in a huge tree house.... hence, the name, I suppose.

Hey, isn't that the cutest fireman you ever did see?

They just have everything a kids could want to play with at this place. They have tons of different dress up things. The below picture cracks me up...

Hey, with the options this year, I would vote for them...

There is an exibit with houses from all over the world.

By the time we left the museum it was almost 7:00 pm. The kids were completely exhausted, as was I, and we had had such a great day. I am going to try to start living a little more, and mopping a little less.