The best intentions...

THis weekend was quite busy--nothing exciting or even remotely fun, but busy. I always set out on the weekends with a plan to get as much done in as little time as possible. What I always manage to forget, however, is that there are only so many hours in the day and so much energy to cram it all in. Plus, factor in the two pint-sized "helpers" and you've got yourself a major energy drain. Case in point: this weekend was operation Toy Donation, or as Liam fondly likes to tell people, "Selling our toys to the poor kids." On saturday I had it all figured out--I would get up, get dressed and take the boys with me to go grocery shopping while Ken worked. Then, we 'd come home, pack up the toys and go and grab a smoothie afterwards. We'd have a nice lunch and then I would go and get my hair done and come home relaxed and feeling better about my appearance.

What really happened: I chased the boys around the house all morning, namely one VERY cantankerous two year old, then I drug them to the grocery store where the cantankerous one refused to sit in the cart, and refused to not throw a fit about sitting in said cart. After wrestling boys and groceries into the house I realized we were behind schedule. This set "Operation Toy Donation" into a frenzied overdrive. We went upstairs and began the toy evaluation; anything not played with was donated. Anything that was a baby toy was donated. Anything that makes migraine-inducing obnoxious noise-donated. Beanie's room was first. Every time a toy was put into the bag, he would remove it. Any time a toy with 6 millions pieces was revealed...he would dump it out. Repeat the drill in Liam's room. A toy was unearthed and Sawyer would pounce on it, then dismantle it. Repeat. To make a long story short the entire toy donation project took MUCH longer and was more exhausting then originally anticipated. We ended up with 5 bags of stuff that we schlepped out to the car and it was way past lunch. I was at my wit's end by the time everything was loaded, which is when Liam chirped in "Hey after we sell the toys to the poor kids, can we still go to the coffee shop to get a smoothie??" I looked at him and said "Don't push it." Liam, being ever the crafty one later asked me after we unloaded the toys to the donation center "Hey Mommy! Wouldn't you like a nice coffee right now??!" I think he has a future in advertising...