Great Expectations

There's an old saying that became a painful reality for me over the weekend - Our possessions in time will possess us.  I'm not sure if I have the quote right or just who to credit it to...Ghandi...Confucius...Fonzi...all I know is that I have spent the last two days exorcising stuff.  Actually, it wasn't just any old stuff, it was some of the kids toys.  By toys I mainly mean Playmobil stuff.

I'm about one of the biggest fans of Playmobil toys on the planet.  So are the kids, they love the fairy tale castle, the knights castle, all of the farm sets, and the various houses.  The problem with Playmobil is the insane amount of accessories that accompany each play set.  We're talking tiny knives and forks, pots and pans, slippers, hats, medieval weaponry, and various other items.  I spent at least 5 hours on Saturday night sorting it all into empty salsa containers from Puerto Vallarta (they make crappy mole and enchiladas, but their salsa kicks ass)...swords and spears into one container...clothing into another....food items in yet one more.  By the time I was done I came to the following conclusions:  Their are enough Playmobil canned goods and firearms in this house to film a toy version of 'Doomsday Preppers'...and I think this cleanup and organization of said Playmobil canned goods and firearms, et al, has cured me of my Playmobil enthusiasm.  It was brutal...but you are more than welcome to check their stuff out for yourself.  I recommend starting with something small like the vacation house...then when you have some free time delve into the catalog that comes packaged with the toys...next thing you know you'll be sucked into the Playmobil vortex.  Good times!

Speaking of good times, this was supposed to be the 'weekend of me'.  The Better Half has been out on her annual glamping trip to Lake Mojave, house boating it up with some friends of her's from California.   In the old days, pre-kids, this kind of sudden 'freedom' meant calling up some friends and recreating the infamous John Lennon/Keith Moon/Harry Nilsson 'Lost Weekend' (without the Smothers Brothers heckling).  Now, however, I have these things called 'responsibilities' that kneecap any notions I may have of tom foolery and/or drunken monkey business.  Instead, I coach K-1 girls soccer, sort hundreds of Playmobil pieces, and rearrange the laundry room (crazy town here, I tell ya).  Yep, I've come a long way...no skull crushing hangovers for this guy, just a sore tailbone from sitting on the floor trying to determine if Playmobil laundry detergent is a kitchen item or does it fall into general household good...yep, crazy.

So yeah, The Better Half has been out of town since Wednesday...that means I've had to take care of the girls by myself.  I'm actually pretty good at handling the kids, although Katelyn can be a little demanding.  You know what else is demanding?  Braiding hair.  Maddy sleeps with her hair in a braid to keep it from getting too tangled.  I've never braided hair before in my life and can barely manage to create a decent pony tail.  I watched several YouTube videos on how to braid hair, but when it came to applying what I learned from the videos to Maddy's whip of hair...well, it just didn't work out.  No matter how many times I watched the videos, I just couldn't manipulate Maddy's hair into a proper braid.  In the end, I had to walk her over to a neighbor's house and ask her to braid Maddy's hair...which she happily did so Maddy didn't wake up the next morning with a tangled mess.

Oh, Jossy caught a nasty cold on Wednesday and slept fitfully that night...which meant I slept fitfully that night as I kept having to wake up to help blow her nose and apply Vick's to help with the congestion.  This routine was repeated on Thursday night...and Friday night.  The nanny was a mess with the same cold Friday afternoon and her baby started sniffling as well.  Maddy started feeling ill Saturday and then Katelyn Saturday night.  I've been holding up well, but the lack of sleep has been tough...but not so much so that I couldn't clean and organize the laundry room today.

What else happened...I watched a couple of movies (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...which was just awful...I couldn't stand the little kid in that movie, he almost made it unwatchable).  I also picked up watching 'Breaking Bad' which is just awesome.  Love that show...great characters...although I wouldn't mind it if the brother in law DEA agent got whacked at one point.

That's about all I've got for now...thanks for checking in and stopping by!