monday morning thoughts.

Today has started off very well. I was awake and ungrouchy about 20 minutes before there were any stirrings from the kids. I cracked open a Diet Vanilla Coke (shut up -- I'm never awake enough to work the coffee maker) and watched a little TV news. Lulu came out, sleepy-eyed and smiling. Since I was planning on going to the grocery store, we were low on acceptable breakfast foods, so I suggested pancakes. This alone prompted Lou to jump into her clothes so she could help.

While we were geting a bowl and a spoon and the pancake mix, ChaCha pranced (I swear, the child prances like a show pony) out -- complete with fantastic bedhead. She wanted to help, too, so they helped measure and mix and I cooked up the first batch. Bebe stumbled out and asked, "What smells so good?" "Pancakes!" She was dressed in a flash. I was congratulated on my mad pancakes making skillz. That made me laugh and reminded me of Calvin Trillin and how his daughters thought he made the best cornflakes EVER. As in, not just pouring them in the bowl and splashing some milk on them, but that he was involved in the manufacturing process in some way.

I emptied Archie's wallet for the girls' lunch money and we drove over to school. Today was one of those days where I watch those two tall, grownup girls walk to their classrooms, greeting friends as they go, and I flash on a memory of them at about six months old. They were standing at our coffee table, across from each other laughing like mad. Screaming, squealing laughter. And, at the time, I remember thinking that this is why parents get all teary as their kids get older -- they still see the chubby, laughing babies, before anything has marked them.

ChaCha and I did a quick grocery run. That was marred only by the fact that I must use the SUV version of a grocery cart. You're familiar, right? It's a smallish cart with this huge area in front designed like a fire engine for the kids to sit. The thing is impossible to steer and heavy and Charlotte loves it. Oh, well, it wasn't even 9am and the store was fairly empty, so I managed. Cha helped bring in the groceries and put them away.

Archie told me I was turning into that kind of wife, stealing money from his wallet. "Yeah, except I wasn't taking it to go spend it on me -- it's so your daughters can eat lunch for the next two weeks!" "Oh, the children! It's all about the children, right?" Heh.

Still on the to-do list is some laundry, unloading the dishwasher, a little cleaning. I can't believe I cleaned the counter of doom this weekend. This probably sounds like the most boring day except it seems like a great one so far.

Excuse me. I have to go change my name to Pollyanna.