One of those days.

Today was one of those days. Not the shitty, hit me with a brick until I pass out because at least then I won’t hear the whining kind of day. But the kind of day where you sit down and look things over and think, “Yep, today I am happy with my life.”

If I could just Groundhog Day this day over and over… Well, I don’t know if I would. I just said something similar to Nate yesterday, as I sat outside in my pajamas on a perfectly GLORIOUS sixty degree morning and sipped my coffee while the two little ones played before preschool. If I lived somewhere where that was my normal, would it really be as wonderful as I imagine? Or would sixty degrees and sunny eventually start to feel cold, as opposed to the most amazing thing ever experienced by man or beast?

Maybe I could just bottle it. To be used as needed. Because we all know that some days you could use an infusion of happy because some days really just suck.

But some days don’t. And I don’t think it’s fake and shiny to acknowledge that.

This morning when I woke up I had suddenly had it with the state of our bedroom (just your general laundry everywhere and tissues everywhere and approximately 47 water glasses next to the bed type of thing) and I did a speed clean. By then Violet was up and asking for help from the hallway bathroom. I tried to walk in there but there was so much laundry on the floor I could barely get the door open. (The dryer has been out of commission all week, so my motivation to carry laundry to the basement is nil.) Plus everything smelled like pee because the pull-up filled trash needed to be taken out like 2 days ago. So I speed cleaned that room too.

Then I came downstairs. All three girls were piled on the couch watching something on the iPad. The entire living room was carpeted in duplos and dinosaurs and headbands and at least 3 pairs of fairy wings… So I speed cleaned it. Then I walked into the kitchen. We (and by “we” I mean Nate, because yesterday was rough and by dinnertime I was flat out on the couch whining about how pregnant I am) managed to put away the leftovers last night, but aside from that, it too was a wreck. There’s really no speed cleaning two days worth of dishes, but I quickly cleared the table and center island, plus swept up the sand and sequins (yeah, from Tuesday’s project) that coated the floor. Good enough for now.

In order to avoid re-clearing the table, (and because it was another nice morning), I gave the kids their bowls of cereal al fresco. They finished with only two spills, I think? And then they transitioned seamlessly into playing outside in their pjs, which gave me enough time to inhale a scrambled egg and smell my coffee before it was time to round up leotards and ballet shoes and head out the door to the rec centre. We almost made it on time.

When we arrived home after dance class, Violet headed straight for the couch, where she cuddled up with her blanket. She called me in, and matter-of-factly said, “Mum. I have to tell you three things- I’m tired. I’m hungry. And ummmm… I want a hug.” So I hugged her. And then she looked at me and said, “Okay. Now I’m gonna take a nap. And you can go make the dinner.”

And… she did. And I cleaned the rest of the kitchen. (Well, almost the rest. I still have a dishwasher full of dirty dishes because when I tried to start the dishwasher it just made a loud grrrrrrrrrrrrr noise and smelled like burning rubber because ALL THE APPLIANCES HATE ME.) And Fiona played outside, alone, for over an hour. It was… weird. In a good way, but weird nonetheless.

Once Violet woke up and ate, she and Fiona played together nicely in the living room until Bianca woke up. And then they all went outside together and played nicely some more.

Bianca and Violet played in the sandbox and on the trampoline while Fiona walked around the yard with clipboard and a pencil, looking at things and preparing a sketch that she could then paint. “Mum. I decided I want to paint what I see in nature around me.” (I shit you not, that is a direct quote.)

Once the paints came out, they all happily sat down at the table and painted. I thought I saw a golden opportunity to drink a nice hot cup of coffee and start a blog post about this amazingly amazing day we were in the middle of having. Also, I had this enormous cinnamon roll that Nate brought home from work last night. They were happy outside! I could have a few moments to sit and enjoy!

Buuuuuuut, if you’ve ever tried to eat anything in the general vicinity of children, you probably know where this is going.

Whomp whomp.

Even still.

I maintain that today will go down in the record books as an excellent example of a perfectly ordinary perfect day.