Plans

Today I had lots of plans. They mostly centered around the removal of tomato sauce from a couple certain little boys' shirts. The OxyClean/Spray n Wash mix is the only thing that gets out tomato stains for us, and we are out of a key ingredient in that combo. So before the stains got any more stubborn, Adam and Libby and I were going to head to Target for OxyClean and a whole host of other items I somehow neglected to pick up yesterday. (Heaven forbid I spend more than a day away from that place.) And I found a cool new Valentine's treat I would like to try to make, which necessitates a trip to Michael's. And then there's that overdue library book...yes, we had lots of errands to run today.

But we woke up to blech. Cold, cold, rain. Dark gray skies. Rapidly expanding muddy puddles everywhere. Did I mention it was cold? I certainly didn't want to take the littles out in that. And Libby, bless her heart, was constantly asking, "Ou dog-dog?" (French/baby-ese for "Where's my friend Zoe?") Then she started in with "Ou Lella?" ("where's Ella?")

So I kissed my plans goodbye -- not that they were very big plans -- and called friend/neighbor Tonya to ask something along these lines: "Hi, it's me. Um, could your 16-month-old daughter come over to play with my 20-month-old daughter?" Sweet, sweet Tonya. She didn't even laugh at me. We decided Caleb should probably come play with Adam, too.

Wouldn't you know, we had a great morning. Libby and her beloved "Lella" carried around dolls, pushed strollers, and just generally engaged in a whole lot of what can only be described as purposeful baby randomness with great earnestness. Caleb and Adam played delightfully and remained interested in each other all morning.

Meanwhile, I got all the bedrooms dusted. It was probably the presence of Nuzums in the house that compelled me to do it. I will never, ever forget a few years ago when Josh, aged four at the most, came over to our house and asked Andrew, aged three, if he dusted his room every Friday. I still get tickled remembering the twin looks of consternation on the boys' faces: Josh undoubtedly thinking, "Who doesn't dust his room every Friday?" and Andrew wondering, "What is dusting?" I didn't have the heart to tell Josh that Andrew's mommy had never even once dusted his room. But ever since, whenever there are Nuzum kids here, I feel like I should probably go wipe down some dressers.

So, back to today: I still have no OxyClean, and I just know those stains are getting more set in by the minute. My poor boys will be wearing the ghosts of tomato stains for months to come, I'm sure. That library book is going to cost me another ten cents. And the Valentine's treats will have to wait for another day.

But, still, today was just right. I love it when a plan fails.