Because I Have No Life

It's very true.  I really don't have a life.  At least not an incredibly busy one.  For eleven months out of the year I wake up, go to work, spend eight hours helping less fortunate people find ways to make ends meet and if I'm lucky, offer them some tips and resources that will make living in this grinding world a little easier.  Then I come home to my beautiful Prince Charming and the Ogre Child to enjoy a peaceful evening in the comfort of our pseudo-country lifestyle.  Nine days out of ten, Prince Charming heads to work within an hour of my getting home and will not return until we have settled into bed.  Sometimes, this takes a toll on our relationship, but it is a sacrifice we make to assure there is always a parent home in our daughter's life.  Like many people after they have children, we don't have very active social lives.  Sure, we could pawn our daughter off on the many willing and able family members in the area so we could enjoy the simple luxuries of dining out or seeing a rated-R movie (or for that matter, a PG movie without having to leave in the middle to talk a little girl potty) but on the rare occasion that we have a day to spend doing the things we love, we prefer to spend it as a family.



On the 9th of May of every year, the stars align for just that occasion.  May, is the one month that is the exception to my 'no life' lifestyle because I do not have to go to work.  More importantly, it is the month in which the O.C. celebrates her birthday.  And while we do not generally make a big to-do about Christmas (we often DIY or thrift store shop for this holiday) being an only child means we do birthdays BIG!!

So this year, we kicked off the birthday week on Sunday with a bowling party.  All of her aunts, uncles, and cousins from P.C's side as well as two of her classmates and their families plus two hours of bowling plus gourmet cupcakes equals one happy little girl.  On Monday, I spent 6 hours cleaning and redesigning her bedroom arrangement so she can actually enjoy the toys she loves.  There will be a major donation to the local church once I sort through everything I removed from her room.




On Tuesday, I added her wall and door stencils to her room (butterflies and ballerinas!  How did I get such a girlie girl?)
On Wednesday, she was allowed to play as much Mario as she wanted after school (without me monitoring her 'screen time' and forcing her to find other entertainment).
And yesterday, the P.C took off work.  After school she invited some friends over to 'ooh' and 'awww' over her very awesome bedroom and new toys.  And about 6:00 we drive to town for the real fun!

Stop #1:  We hit the mall to get her ears pierced.  We ended up finding the best price at Claire's but there was a difficult decision to be made.  The clerk was working alone so if we wanted it done then, they'd have to be done one at a time.  We left the decision up to the O.C. She could be brave and tough and get it done today.  Or if she thought it would hurt too much to hold still for the second one, we could come back another day. (She had a good idea of what it was going to be like after seeing her cousin get hers pierced last August).  She was pretty sure she could handle it and we were pretty confident in her decision so we allowed it.  Give me a moment to brag here... SHE DID AWESOME!  She got a little nervous, but the clerk was amazing and had her giggling.  She scrunched her shoulders up in anticipation after the first one, but she held perfectly still and waited until they were both done before she hung her head and let a few tears loose.  She's one tough cookie!! They happened to be having a sale so she also picked out 31 pairs of earrings (normally $55, sale price $5) and a Hello Kitty rack to hold them all.  Mommy got her a kitty cat wristlet that has a pocket for her phone (in exchange for her putting back the $8 pair of ugly sunglasses).  And we were off...

Stop #2:  No trip to the mall is complete without stopping at all the fountains and tossing in a few wishes.  And you can't leave the mall without hitting at least one of the games.  She picked the claw machine and while she didn't succeed, she had fun trying.  

Stop #3:  We thought we'd hit the new Mexican restaurant in town.  It was pretty much a bust because our waitress forgot about us.  By 'forgot' I mean we'd read the entire menu a couple of times before our drinks arrived.  The chips and salsa were almost entirely gone by the time the appetizer arrived.  The entree was prompt but it was the last time we ever saw our waitress.  We finished, drank our margaritas, and I even took a smoke break before P.C. finally went to hunt for her.  Needless to say, the girl lost out on a pretty nice tip because the P.C. ALWAYS leaves a nice token of his appreciation.   

Stop #4:  The O.C. wanted to go grocery shopping so it was on the end of the night's list.  We grabbed a few essentials while we were there, but mostly we let the six-year-old pick out the things she wanted (within reason, we had to draw the line somewhere or we'd have had an entire cart of junk food).  

Finally we loaded up the car and called it a night.  It was about 11:30 when we hit the city limits and she was already out cold.  Other than walking herself from the car to the couch, she didn't wake up until it was time for school this morning.  It might be a rough day at school, and some might chastise me for keeping our Kindergartner out so late, but it's a once a year event so let them hate.  

And while her birthday is technically over and done, there is still one last gift to be complete.  P.C. is going to run internet into her bedroom so she can get Netflix on her new blu-ray player and I plan to gather up a collection of her favorite shows to put on USB to play in her room.  The internet involves P.C. running a cable from the basement, up the old chimney into the attic and then dropping it down into her room, so it may take a few more days.  But I'll be hooking the blu-ray up today.

Thus draws to a close "Birthday Week" in this house.  Just in time for me to sit back and relax for a quiet Mother's Day  (you heard the laughter right?)  Then finish out the school year, and start packing for our week long Memorial Day vacation and screech back home in time to get read for Girl Scouts.  Come June, we'll be back to juggling the boring life when I head back to work.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a little girl to get off a school bus.  I hope you are all blessed to have "no life" as much as I am!