Are we having fun, yet?

Alone-Day 1

After a rocky start, a stressed out husband during his car-loading process (who let's just say had to do some major apologizing to his sweet wife) and lots of hugs and kisses, my family finally left this morning on their half-week camping trip on the coast.

I just spoke to them all only moments ago and everyone is doing just fine. (But they are a bit chilly over there, having come from our heat wave at home, so they are throwing on the sweatshirts!)

I'll be honest...for some reason, I am not quite feeling dizzy with excitement over having all this freedom like I was last year. But I have a feeling, I just need to get into the swing of it all.

I am trying to organize the upstairs, which has looked like something exploded up there. Too many toys and clutter everywhere! And what is it about those teeny-tiny little toy accessories that multiply as soon as your child qualifies for the toys "recommended for 3 and up?" I truly need a magnifier to recognize some of them, much less find a place to put them.
I'm not blaming my children completely for the clutter, since they simply have too many things and not a system to keep it organized. And truth told, I am not the queen of organization myself. (Which is why the master bedroom is on tomorrow's list...)
Hopefully, it will all look like a new place when they return!

But never fear, it's not all work. I am taking breaks.
After ten minutes or so, lost in a crowd of stuffed animals and unsorted Polly Pockets, I like to lie down on one of the kids' beds and crack open my latest book to see what's happening in Mitford. Then after...oh, say...a half an hour- or hour...(really, who's counting?) I finally wander back to my pile of assorted Barbie shoes and Little People and try to separate them. (Because really, those Little People just don't have the style, nor the feet, to pull off the look of a nice mauve pump.)

Once, I accidentally leaned down on a pile of toys and my eldest's Winnie the Pooh began singing "When I'm up, down, touch the ground..." She got that for her first birthday and it has simply never lost it's charm. I was surprised how nice it was to hear him again- so cute, so cheery...
Of course, I would never get so lonely as to purposely push that little guy's tummy, just to hear a friendly voice. No sirree...

And let's see...what else? Oh- I even added two whole sentences to the novel I'm writing!
Yes, I knew you'd all be proud. And it's not even 3 pm.

So, just wanted to check in with you. Seriously, please keep my family (and me!) in your prayers this week, if you would.

Meanwhile, I must go back to the big mess upstairs that I've made even bigger...and if I "accidentally" step on Pooh's tummy in the process, well, it's just not my fault.