This weekend was the last of our family time, probably for a long while, and we wasted it on the couch. Or at least, I feel like we wasted it, since I wanted to get out and Do Things. Make Memories. Have Experiences. Enrich The Children’s Lives. Instead we watched Disney movies and played “Runaway Evan” (in which Evan runs away and we chase him) and tossed ALL the toys on the floor and read lots of books and threw some tantrums (mostly the children) and wore comfortable pants.

I felt sort of bad about it but I’ve decided to not feel bad about it. Sometimes wearing comfortable pants is good for the soul. Dragging E out to Do Things with his kids when he will barely even see them for the next few weeks could end in a toddler meltdown that ruins everyone’s day and leaves us all disappointed. I’m not saying my children are terrible monsters or anything, but they are 2 and 3 so…sometimes they’re terrible monsters. And honestly I don’t mind using my solo-parenting days for outings, since staying home means the only adult I talk to is when I shout at the incredibly fit jerk-faces in my workout video. I’m going to forgive the lazy end of our lazy vacation and call it “recharging with my family” instead of “not wearing a bra again”.

Staying home doesn’t mean doing nothing. Family isn’t nothing – it’s everything.

And I can wear my comfortable pants.

I can’t believe a week ago I was in NYC. Not that this week was busy – it was, in fact, the laziest I have ever been since having children – but it feels like a million years since I was hugging my people. At least this week ended with one of my peoples coming to visit!

Sunday:

BEBEH FEVAH

Just hanging out here, 50 feet over the river on a train with the door open. NBD.

Epic puzzle ball is epic

Monday:

I told them we were going to go through the toy box and give away the toys they don’t play with anymore. Their reaction was to sit on it.

So I did it while they were sleeping. One giant bag of trash, one medium bag for Goodwill, two bags of baby toys put away until I have a baby again.

Tuesday:

Somehow, a cool fisheye lens makes my dirty house look less awful

I took this picture right before I fell asleep on the couch too

Yes, that looks safe.

Wednesday:

Love is patient (with the baby), love is kind (to the kitty)

At the aquarium, er…I mean the grocery store. Whatevs, he likes the lobsters.

Caroline takes sleeping very seriously

Thursday:

I don’t even know

What do you mean “poor choices”, Mom?

Fish-eye bathtime

Friday:

This is why I never say “no” to her. THAT FACE.

Sometimes we play NEXT to our friends

And sometimes we share a stool with them

Saturday:

Snack break at Hasbro’s Big Back Yard

Aoudads are like mountain goats – good climbers. Very similar to toddlers.

Caroline and JD check out the penguins while Kim and I die of cuteness

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

I am thankful for my nice warm house. I am thankful to be home in my house and on my own couch. I am thankful my couch is so super comfortable. I am thankful there is a giant TV in front of my couch that is playing a weeks worth of recorded TV. I am thankful for my giant king sized bed, where there is plenty of room for a tiny baby-shaped barnacle to cling to me all night without causing a crick in my neck so painful I considered REMOVING MY HEAD. I am thankful I did all the laundry before we left so I only have 7 loads to do now that we’re home. I am thankful I have a full day tomorrow with E before he goes back to New York so we can get started on all the Christmasing. I am thankful I labeled all the boxes so I know where the Christmas decorations are. I am thankful I have a house to decorate. And BOOM, full circle of thankfulness.

…here’s a list of things I am going to blog about. (aka LAZIEST BLOG POST EVER)

1. A photo tour of the new nursery/playroom. I finished all my projects weeks ago, I just need to hang ONE frame on a wall and put the toys up on the shelves. Oh yeah and find a time to take pictures during daylight hours.

2. An epic post about the double stroller we ended up choosing and all the ways I love it. Bonus fun: We put it together wrong and I sent the company snippy emails until they very politely explained I was an idiot. In the nicest possible way! But this post needs a lot of pictures and I keep forgetting to do it during daylight hours. I meant to take pictures when we used it at the mall the other day but forgot my memory card. I forget things a lot.

3. A photo tour of our new master bedroom now that it’s finished. Except it’s NOT finished because the closet doors we bought are hollow and so trimming them to fit our odd shaped closets doesn’t work and dragging three doors back to Home Depot just to spend several hundred dollars on non-hollow doors hasn’t been at the top of our list of things to do recently. SO!  As soon as we wrap up the project (and I can find time to take pictures during daylight hours) I’ll get right on that “after” pic.

4. My round up of Things I’ve Knit Recently that includes all the Christmas knitting I sent as gifts and didn’t want to post about before people received them. Luckily I DID remember to take pictures. I just keep forgetting to write the post because I’m too busy knitting. IRONIC.

5. A zillion words about how much I appreciate all the help and support I’ve been getting in the past few weeks. I would be out of my skull already if I had to do everything for both kids plus keep us fed, clothed and not crushed to death under piles and piles of trash.

6. Lots of other stuff that keeps floating around in my head at 4 am when I’m trapped under a sleepy, nursing baby and immediately falls out again as soon as I’m able to get to my computer. I swear my babies have eaten my brains. OMG ZOMBIE BABIES.

Thank you for your patience with my all-over-the-place topics and filler-pictures of children and dogs. I promise to get my act together…soon. Maybe. Ok, probably not.

But for now, please enjoy these pictures of children and dogs.

The lab is Hershey, my parent's dog. Little Evan is VERY excited to have TWO dog friends this weekend. The dogs are...less excited.