Boys Away...Girls Par-Tay!

You know that phrase, "While the cat's away, the mice will play?" We girls ain't exactly playin' just yet. Tony and Nick flew to Guatemala earlier than normal people crack their eyes open on Friday. Their mission: to serve in a children's home playing with children and completing other projects as needed. Our mission while the boys are on such a self-sacrificing trip: to par-tay and have girl fun which of course includes shopping!

Unfortunately, we haven't fulfilled our mission just yet because we have embarked on a painting project in Alix' bedroom and bathroom. My aching muscles are telling me to stop, but there are more walls screaming for color. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, however. The hot pink walls have been replaced with a nice soft medium blue faux look, and all that remains is slapping yellow on the bathroom walls. I'll let Alix transform her trashed bedroom back into some semblance of order.

Meanwhile, for Maddie, Daddy away means..."sleepover" with mommy. Not a problem with a king-size bed usually. I typically like have the girls take turns spending the night with me, but last night, I was a softie. Alix' bed is covered with various wall decor, stuffed animals and other girly items and thus, completely uninhabitable. And, poor Maddie, who lost her 3rd tooth last night, looked so pitiful and was just begging to have a ginormous sleepover in the big king-size bed. So, I caved, and we all snuggled into the big bed. Maddie rattled on about the tooth fairy and how the tooth fairy knows Jesus just like Santa does and therefore, would be able to find her in my bed instead of her own bed, etc, etc. She placed her tooth underneath the pillow in the middle. I had stashed a dollar on the side table next to me in preparation for the sneaky trade at midnight. (I have forgotten to replace the tooth with a dollar before and have had to do some quick thinking and perhaps even a little truth-stretching. Thus, enter the morning tooth fairy.)

Truth fairy aside, a king-size bed is NOT a comfortable spot for three girls...one who snores (Alix), one who riggles and suffocates her mom (Maddie), and one who is hugging the edge of the bed with no where else to go (me)! From this point forward, only one child at a time will enjoy a sleepover with mom because we all know that mom's need their beauty sleep.

Today also marks the last day of painting which means that tonight the girls can being par-taying! Is it significant that it also just happens to be New Year's Eve as well? Tonight, we will bring in the new year by pigging out on good food, watching IU play in the Insight Bowl, staying up until midnight, making resolutions, and par-taying only to start our diets the next day and break our resolutions in the weeks to come. Resolution number one after painting...go shopping! See you at the mall...

Speaking of resolutions, I don't know if you are a resolution-maker, goal-setter or whatever you want to call it, but I am fickle from year to year. Last year, my goal was to reduce my cholesterol level which I did through eating a grotesque amount of beans and huge amounts of fruit and vegetables. This year, I haven't been that introspective. Must be the paint fumes getting to my brain. In fact, the only plan in place for 2008 is for our family to read the One Year Bible. Perhaps that's enough. If the 4 of us readers can daily be in the word, allowing the alive and active Word to penetrate our hearts and minds, our roots in Christ will be that much deeper and stronger by the end of the year. Yep, that's a most worthy goal indeed.