There are days when just getting through normal tasks – like, say, cleaning 2 1/2 baths – makes me feel as if I deserve a medal. You have not earned your parenting spurs until you have scrubbed a toilet (which, by the way, is covered in pee stains from a pre-schooler who has absolutely not perfected his aim) while a wailing 22-month-old clings to you as if her life depended on your attention at that exact millisecond. (I mean, she has a cruel mother who won’t let her play with the bottle of bleach or the toilet brush. Who wouldn’t be screaming about that?)

Also, darn you, BBC Earth, for including in your Snow Babies documentary footage of a baby and mother penguin who are separated, abruptly ending a little peace and quiet on the pre-schooler front with tears and trauma.

And that’s it for the self-pity this rainy Friday. We’re looking forward to a “knock stuff out” kind of weekend around here. I say bring it on. Clearly, I can handle it. I just weathered toilet scrubbing, after all.

—

*Note: The above is why I readily admit to normally hiring a cleaning lady every two weeks. She is so worth it. But alas, not in the budget until we can offload that other house.

I spent the earlier part of my day scrubbing the last of the blinds and wiping down ceiling fans. As a reward, I am blogging from the back yard while the kids play in the grass. It. is. awesome.

We were supposed to close on the sale of the previous house yesterday. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Closing has been rescheduled for July 30. A lot of projects for the new house are on hold until that happens, including furniture and shelving we need in order to unpack most of the remaining boxes. We’re in unpacking limbo. You would think having entire rooms still empty except for boxes would make it hard to settle in. Instead, it has been somewhat shocking how quickly we have felt at home. Maybe it’s partly because we’ve had to quickly jump back into a busy routine, with Jon’s hefty work schedule and me ferrying Lina to therapy appointments and keeping up with the daily business of family life. It has meant rapidly learning how to navigate the area and feeling grateful for the times we can be at home.

The weather has also been incredible. The last couple days have barely hit 80, which is so rare for Tennessee in mid-July. We have spent hours enjoying the outdoors.

I say all this not to brag, but to say how truly grateful we are for this little spot where we can be at home, even amidst the continued moving mess. Life will be exhausting and rather chaotic for a while, but we have been able to carve out some bit of normalcy, for which I am truly thankful.

And now the awesomeness has ended and both kids are fussing to go inside. Break over – time to head in.

Today, Corin greeted Lina’s physical therapist in the following way:

“Hi. I’m Jesus.”

This is the theme of his latest flights of fancy. I allow this to continue, because I figure there is no one better to emulate. I tried to explain that he might not want to go around telling other people he’s Jesus, but you see how much traction I’ve gotten. On the up side, he can also spell and sign the name of Jesus.

If my son should approach you and introduce himself as Jesus, please don’t judge us as blasphemers. I’m 90% sure it won’t be a permanent delusion.

P.S. Today’s therapy visit also included an incident in which Corin observed a family with three boys and then loudly asked, “Who would want three kids?” Clearly, I need to find new ways to keep my son busy in the waiting area.