Far be it from me to bemoan when others say they’re tired, as it can be hard to start the week firing on all cylinders.  Let me see how many of you parents can relate to our Sunday.  While this might have been a busier-than-normal afternoon, most of you will say “Man, I’m glad it’s not just me who has days like this.”  Most of this stuff were fun tasks but by day’s end you realize “Wow, I need a weekend to let me rest from this weekend.”  The funny thing is we're not one of those "every minute together with the kids has to be structured and planned" kind of parents.  Normally the weekend just happens organically depending on the weather and the kids' moods.  Yesterday was a doozy though and we didn't even get to some of the things we wanted to do.

Here was our Sunday, October 19, 2008.

Task 1

4 AM – Ally wakes me up and says she doesn’t feel good.  10 minutes later she’s puking into the toilet bowl.  This happens once again around 8.  This is only the second time she’s really puked in her life so she’s a wreck.

Task 2

Rest of the morning – She wound up feeling better after that and we try to contain our two monkeys who have somehow lost their “indoor voices”.  Seriously, if Katie were in a soundproof room, people a block down would still complain about her voice level.  If I had to rank her decibel level, it would be somewhere between “action movie at a theatre” and “idling Harley at a stoplight”.

Task 3

Go to Ace Hardware to get supplies for the afternoon household chores.  Try to go as fast as possible to minimize people’s eardrums to Big Talker Katie.

Task 4

On to the grocery store to get through the week.  Even though Ally is already 5, it’s still a sore spot that she’s not contributing financially to help us out with expenses.  I’m not sure if my hints at her getting a job have either been ignored or she’s just not paying attention.  Katie will get a pass from my bugging her about this until she can wipe herself.

Task 5

Take the doorknob and wall mount from the door to the hallway leading to the basement.  Try to figure why door isn’t staying closed when it’s locked (we need to keep the cat who is growing to the size of a panther in the basement at night in order to not wake us up).  Attempt several methods to make this doorknob serviceable until you come to the realization that whoever installed the door when the house was built PUT IN A STRIKE PLATE THAT ISN’T BIG ENOUGH TO ACCOMODATE THE SPINDLE. Put doorknob back on while internally cursing whoever installed the door.

Task 6

Change the two air filters, one of them being in the attic.  Introduce Ally to the scary attic.  Convince her it’s not a good idea to jump into the fluffy pink insulation for a multitude of reasons.

Task 7

Apply the finishing touches to birdhouse and hang it outdoors.  Final installation is delayed when yours truly realizes he’s short one s-hook and attempts to try a number of combinations with excess nuts and bolts he has in order to make sure the birdhouse doesn’t collapse the first time a stupid squirrel decides to jump on it.

Task 8

Help Ally with her first Lego set.  Hardcore Father-Daughter bonding time and I think we have a new Legos addict in the family.  Sweet.

Task 9

Megan and Ally then proceeded to make Halloween-themed cupcakes.  Most of the icing somehow winds up on Ally’s fingers and then into her mouth.  Looks like she has the same childhood disease Megan and I both had.  Darn.

Task 10

Carve the big pumpkin.  This one is Ally-inspired, with squares for eyes, triangle nose, and a wicked scary smile.  I’m pretty sure this one should repel most evil spirits and unscrupulous wares hawkers.

Task 11

Then it was on to getting the pumpkin seeds prepped for roasting tonight.  It’s always amusing to see kids’ reactions to the gloopy, gloppy, gross insides of most pumpkins.  When you think about it, it really is where shag carpeting goes to condensate and then die.

Task 12

Bathtime for both girls.  We are now on a streak of 2 for Katie-poop-free baths.  Hey, you take your victories where you can get them.

Task 13

While Megan is doing this, I’m changing the water for the goldfish that are getting scarily large.  Seriously, these guys are gonna be carp in a short timeframe.  Thank you, Grandma, for the gift that keeps on giving.  And by “giving” I mean “Dad is the one to clean out the crap water every few days”.

Task 14

Megan and Ally then paint her fingernails.

After a full day like this, it’s expected that Ally will declare “I’m bored. We didn’t do anything today.”  Meanwhile, mom and dad pass out from exhaustion.  If I only had a cot for napping in my cube.

And that was our afternoon.  But I’m not complaining.  Just keep the coffee coming.