Quirks and all

Since the saying goes "You can't change the person, you can only change your reaction to them," I think the standard wedding vows should read, "...in sickness and health and with all his/her flaws and quirks" and so going forward I plan every two weeks to clean out my husband's mail pile (which is on my radar and not his) and which is totally fine with me and my neatnik daughter.

In perspective...

This morning my daughter was looking at her new book, 101 Baby Animals and said to her father and I, "Do you know that male seahorses if they think their wife is ugly eat the young so they won't turn out ugly" and this put every martial spat we've had in perspective for me—I am lucky to be in a species that doesn't eat its young for any reason.

The week's accomplishments

This week I made it to the gym four times, so I thought about my other accomplishments—strengthening the mother-daughter bond by playing hooky from work and school with my daughter, shoring up my marriage with an awesome date night and taking some me time sitting on my butt getting a manicure and what I haven't accomplished...Friday night dinner, so I better head to the kitchen.

How about a mom's week?

My daughter's school has a teacher appreciation week that culminates today in a pot luck appreciation lunch (food supplied by parents) and it got me thinking, that I get one day, but her teacher's get a week and so I want a week too— no cooking, no laundry, no bedtime routine, no clean-up, no calendar conversations, no parenting discussions, etc (in reality, this couldn't work).

More Words from Leo Tolstoy

A family of three distinct personalities and one plan for the back deck....

Last night my family had Chinese take-out for dinner with each family member getting their own dish to highlight that we all have distinct personalities and at dinner I introduced a plan for the back deck that worked with all personalities and my family was a go (to quote an old favorite TV show, the A-team, "I love it when a plan comes together.")

To elaborate—one planner, one who does well under pressure and one with an organizing gene and the plan: to order a new picnic table and benches in 48 hours from internet research and the organizer gets to set it all up and have a budget to buy cushions (she is only 8 years old).

A "murse"?

Today at the gym, Live with Kelly and Michael asked Snoop Lion (a.k.a. Snoop Dogg) about his "murse" (man purse) which is worn by his body guard and I realized that my hsuband is soooo old fashioned in putting his wallet in his pocket and asking me to carry his eyedrops in my purse and that my marriage lacks "trend" and I realized that this is all all right.

A thought for today

Friday: Calm after the storm

I spent yesterday running to and from home because I forgot things (at one point my wallet), so today it feels good to get out of town for the weekend for some overdue couples time, which a childless friend said was the key to a good marriage after the arrival of kid and it only took me several years to believe her (Thanks, Sabina) and to my hubby, I can't wait.