Not a Chore.

Yesterday was GSD day. But, as a change of pace, yesterday’s S that I wanted to GD was not household chore related. Huzzah! One thing I’ve been wanting to change is how rarely we actually get together for playdates with friends in real life. So, last week I made some plans and yesterday on GSD day, I spent the afternoon (Like, the entire afternoon. We were there 3 hours.) in a McDonald’s playplace chatting with a friend while our combined six rugrats tore around the place like crazy ass banshees. It was excellent and much needed.

We also ran some errands. Less exciting, but productive. (Needed to make our nearly weekly trip to Michael’s because there are somehow craft supplies we don’t yet own plus hit up Old Navy because I dragged my box of maternity clothes up from the basement the other day to find some jeans and the only pants in there were some decidedly not maternity size 4 skinny jeans. Which was just MEAN. I cannot fit an ankle into those these days.)

Also needed to buy some chalk markers so I could nicely fill out my new schedule board. The sidewalk chalk I had been using just wasn’t cutting it. And I’m kind of in love with this whole setup now. Suggestions on what do with the bottom portion? It’s supposed to be for mail but I pretty much never get my mail because I’m lazy and also it’s like 98% junk mail. Plus online bill paying. Duh.

One of the benefits of finally having all my children sleep (nearly) all the way through the night (usually), is that I have begun having full use of my energy and motivation again. I realize that this is temporary, as I’ll soon be staring at the baby blur again, but I plan to make the most of it. (I think I’m just better at having preschoolers than I am infants!)

But now that I’ve temporarily put the idea of a photography business on the back burner, I’ve got this extra oomph that has to go somewhere. So a couple of weeks ago I decided to put it toward putting an old idea into action finally. And this idea nicely dovetails with my need for “actual human interaction” and “reasons to put on real pants”. (Dude, I even did makeup today. But forget Carmindy’s 5-minute-face. My beauty routine is the “however long it takes a one-year-old to eat a mini-muffin and steal another full-size muffin off the counter” face. Which turns out is about 2 and a half minutes.)

Bam, baby. Outfitted. Thanks Old Navy and Blanqi. And I think Target clearance? Also, enjoy my backdrop of clean (mostly folded-ish) laundry.

But I digress.

My newest idea that I’m excited about is Baby Book Club. I had seen it on teh pinterest a while back, and it just sounded like so much fun. I mean, it’s not like real book club. We don’t force 2-yr-olds to discuss the central theme or character development or anything. But it’s an excuse to find new fun books and read them and then come up with quasi-related crafts and snacks to do and eat. Plus, a chance to see people outside of the internet. I floated the idea before one of the mom groups I belong to, and it sounded like there was some interest, so it was on. For our first week I took the ideas straight from a website I found, but I plan on cobbling together some ideas of my own in the future. Today was our inaugural meeting, and we had two whole kids show up. I’ve already got 3 yesses for next week, so fingers crossed this will become an actual thing.

Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis, pretzel sticks and breadsticks used as paintbrushes with a paper plate palette of jams and nut butters, and popsicle stick airplanes. (I promise I’ll get better glue next time, that dollar store stuff is like trying to glue things together with spit.)

Pics with “real” camera (above) maaaaay have been set up before/after the actual meeting. We was too busy having teh funs during the playdate itself, so a handful of iPhone snaps will have to suffice.

All in all, a good start to the week. I love being around people. This extended period of hibernation that these Alberta winters force me into is sheer torture. Hi, my name is Amanda, and I’m an extrovert.

The trick is to remember that, and that when I’m feeling low and devoid of energy, that that’s the time I need to go out and do things the most. It’s a catch-22 though, because the less I get out, the less I want to put effort into going out, and so I feel even crappier. I just have to keep from falling into my hermit hole, no matter how much I love pajama pants.

So here’s to figuring out what you need to do to keep yourself happy and sane. And Nutella for all! (But not Bianca. Cause it turns out she’s some kind of allergic to it and gets hives all over her face from eating it and/or slathering it on her face. Poor kid. What kind of life will she lead? At least the only face hives I ever got were from a homemade avocado and oatmeal face mask, and that’s easy enough to live without.)

You’re welcome, everyone who was at whoever’s birthday party sleepover that was.