Made it through Tuesday!

Have I ever mentioned that Tuesday is one of my hardest days? The weekend is already a thing of the past, the next weekend is still a thing of the distant future, and Polly doesn't have preschool, which means that it's just one long day stuck inside trying to stay warm and sane. But we made it through today. We had a couple of speech therapy-related visits for little Cici (which are always gratifying, because no matter how delayed Cici's speech may be, she just charms the pants off of anyone who spends any time with her). I hung a couple of loads of laundry (I'm perfecting my use of the straight pin, which means I can hang an entire load-and-a-half on a laundry line that crosses my laundry room ceiling and the basement hall just once. Ma Ingalls would be so proud!). Then around 3:30 pm, when Joshey was up from his nap, the house was in its usual state of afternoon shambles, and all of the kids were just beginning to get extremely whiny, I called my sister Rachel and had her talk me through the duldrums. "You can make it, Naomi," she said. "Just give yourself permission to do nothing else for the rest of the day except play with your kids. Don't worry about cleaning the bathroom [how well she knows me], don't worry about returning e-mails, just play with your kids and then put them to bed an hour early. And do some deep breathing." How wise my little sister is. I tucked the kids under my arm, took them downstairs where the pellet stove was keeping the basement nice and cozy, and I just started--well, I just started singing at the top of my lungs and picking up blocks. "Oh an Austrian went yodeling on a mountain so high, when along came a cookoo-bird interrupting his cry!" It's amazing how cathartic it is to belt. And the kids were thrilled. Polly joined in with the cleaning, Cici became interested in actually playing with the blocks (which is fine with me!), and Joshey toddled around from one end of the playroom to the other, delighted. Somehow Polly and I ended up in a game of chase around the basement, me still singing at the top of my lungs and still trying to clean up--and let me tell you, singing and running and stooping to pick up toys is great exercise! So we got through Tuesday afternoon, and the basement was even decently picked up by the end of it. Of course, 30 minutes later I was forcing Cici into the bathtub and she was wailing at the top of her lungs, but that happens. In the meantime, here's my wise sister and my charming daughter. On to Wednesday!