Tell me you don't love Fridays.
See - you can't do it! Fridays are THE BEST. And with summer upon us, and one. more. week. down., I had to pee my pants when I read this post about the marathon that is the end-of-the-school-year-shuffle.
I'm feeling a little bit more pressure these days than normal, but to be truthful, Jen Hatmaker's description of the end of the year is kind of how I feel all year long. I'm always feeling like the worst mom. My paperwork is always late, I'm always forgetting volunteer shifts (despite checking my calendar upon waking), I've yet to muster up the strength to volunteer for a *board position*, and our pediatrician just called to say she hasn't seen either of our boys in over two years. We haven't all five enjoyed a *similar looking dinner* in over two weeks and I really need to make an OBGYN appointment - cos it's been 3.5 years (as in, since I last gave birth).
But I'm pretty sure I did something right today when Mr. Noodle asked me if we could make a dinosaur garden outside his window and I said "YES!" My enthusiasm to oblige was completely selfish though. See, that sweet kid pretty much has the worst view in the house - all cinder blocks and ivy out his window. Every time I take in that view I silently fear I am crippling his creativity with my lack of motivation to make it more interesting.
But that was Thursday, and today is Friday...
After the big kids left for school, and after Mr. Noodle and I scrambled to get to the kindergarten concert, we went to our favorite nursery and stocked up on all sorts of wonderful succulents fit for a dinosaur habitat.
"Hey look at this one, Mama!" he'd say. "This one looks super dinosaur-y to me!"
And so we selected, purchase, planned and planted our garden. The final touches came in the forms of little plastic dinosaurs that now call these high-gloss orange pots their home. Overall, the finished pots didn't add quite the punch I'd hoped they would there on the wall, but they are pretty cute up close, and Mr. Noodle is in no way critical of our work .
All that said, we didn't have much time to do our usual Friday morning dessert making. But I figure it doesn't have to be homemade every single week. (Right? That's OK to do that, right?) So this afternoon we picked up one of everybody's favorite at Miette Bakery. Each one of these desserts (I'll admit I sampled three) tasted *perfect*. They honestly tasted just as pure and perfect as they looked. Nothing unusual or unexpected, just pure goodness. I'm glad we cheated this week, in the name of the dinosaur garden.