Working for the Week-End

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Sepember 2009 has proven to be a busy month. We're all getting used to our schedules, and being back at school. I love September in New England. It might just be my favorite time of year.

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I am enjoying my tenure as a soccer mom. What I like the best about this new role is that I get to sit down for 90 minutes at a time, and not go anywhere or do anything. Sometimes, I don't even talk. It's almost like being in a coma, except that I am fully conscious and sitting up straight in folding stadium chair, usually sipping an iced coffee from Starbucks.

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Sometimes, Liam likes to play goalie. Sometimes he doesn't. It all depends on how many points the other team scores on him.

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Another nice thing about living in New England is the apple-picking this time of year. Fulfilling my mother-of-the-year duties, I chaperoned a field trip to a local farm. There was a tractor ride, apple picking, apple eating, pumpkin picking, hay play, lunch, and feeding the animals. Needless to say, I took Eamon straight home and sterilized him in a boiling hot bath for about an hour. Something about walking around on dusty dirt paths, sitting on hay and touching farm animals (including chickens) just makes me feel all kinds of dirty. My little bottle of hand-sanitizer was not up to the task of eating lunch in a virtual dustbowl surrounded by goats (or were they sheep)?

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Sometimes, you stop at a red light and turn around to smile at your son, and you realize, he's a total giant and he doesn't really fit in his car seat anymore, and it makes you miss your baby (but not enough to have another one).

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Here at Mallard Drive we believe that everyone should do their part to contribute to the household. So, we recently put the boys to work pulling out carpet staples in the stairwell, after Duke ripped up the carpet. The boys were none to happy to help, and you should see our new hardwood floors.

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I think my kids like my husband better than me. That's ok. He is way more fun than I am. The other night, I asked Eamon to put on a pair of sweat pants. He wouldn't do it. About an hour later, I see him putting on some sweat pants, so I said, "Oh, Duke must have asked you to change your clothes." And Eamon said, "Yeah, he told me to put on sweat pants." And I said, "Well I'm glad you listen to him because you sure don't listen to me." To which Eamon relpied, "Don't worry mommy, I'll listen to you someday."

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I can't wait.