Mondays

If you read yesterday’s post, you know that Sunday was a bit of a roller coaster for us. So, for Monday, I had big plans. They involved….NOTHING. I didn’t plan to get dressed, or to get the kids dressed. I didn’t plan to turn the TV on (that was the most ambitions Non-Plan I had, actually). I didn’t plan to leave the house. At all.

Of course, that was before I woke up and remembered that I was babysitting my two nieces this morning. Oh, and the fish died, so I had to go to the pet store and have the water tested. And I had a piano lesson to teach in the afternoon. Oh yeah, and the missionaries wanted me to come down to the church and participate in a discussion with a woman who wanted a tour of our church, and to have some questions answered.

So, the whole Not Doing Anything didn’t quite…happen that way.  So, we Did Some Stuff. And the day worked out pretty well!

Having my nieces over is always quite a treat because the four kids will disappear into the playroom for an hour at a time, leaving me free to choose from a multitude of activities. I might choose to hear myself think, for example. Or clean the kitchen. Or maybe eat breakfast. All very worthy choices! (MiMi and Ernie? Auntie LoLo loves you!)

While the kids played, I decided to take care of a project – switching door handles around upstairs so that the craft room would be lockable. Siu Jeun noticed I had the tools out, and decided to help. His version of “helping” included snatching one of the screws and setting it down when I wasn’t looking.

I still haven’t found it.

I searched for half an hour. *sigh*

We still had a great time with the cousins, though. The afternoon went smoothly. I broke the No TV rule, though, during lessons. The last time I took away TV during piano lessons, things were broken and there was some blood involved. No, electronic babysitters are the way to go!!

At the end of the day, though, Siu Jeun had one more surprise for us. There’s a drawer in the kitchen where I keep all the kids bowls, cups and plates. It’s right where they can reach, which is great when I want them to help set the table or empty the dishwasher. However, it gets slammed at least a dozen times a day. Tonight, it finally decided it had had enough. When Lo Gung pulled the drawer open to get bowls for the kids, the entire front of the drawer came loose from the sides and landed on his toe! Ouch.

I think little boys might be the ORIGINAL Gift That Keeps On Giving!

Edited to add - I found the screw Wednesday afternoon. Keeping it real: I totally knelt down and prayed to find that screw on Monday. And I didn't find it. And that night, when I prayed, I was honest. I had asked for help, and hadn't found the screw, and I was a little disappointed that I hadn't found it. On Wednesday, I found it. Ming Wai and I were in the craft room while Siu Jeun slept. You'd better believe I stopped right there and said a prayer of thanks. "Mommy, why are you praying?" "Honey, when Siu Jeun lost the screw on Monday, Mommy prayed to find it. Now that she's found it, she has to say thank you." "Oh. OK." And that...was that.