Getting $hit done

We had one of those wondrously productive days today and it was oh so lovely, and it is just occurring to me that it's day light savings tonight, there's a whole extra hour for us to get MORE DONE!

Nah.  Not going to happen, as soon as I'm done here, it's to the box of Chardonnay in the fridge I go, followed closely by some DVR cleanup.  Yippee!

So the baptism thing, that whole thing about having 50 people to my house next Sunday.  This has TOTALLY been stressing me out.  Honestly, it's not so much the planning, the cleaning, the cooking, and all that, it is 100% the space issue.  This old house, it just wasn't meant for 50 people to ever be comfortable in it.

As good of a problem as it is to have two huge, super close families on both of our sides, it has its challenges.  Thus, we were just going to do it, and I was going to try really hard not to apologize ten thousand times to each person about how cramped it was or how bad I feel that they have to stand while eating.

We have a new plan though.  Thank goodness.  After a mini panic attack at work last week I started calling community centers all over the city looking for available space, a week and a half in advance.

If you know me, you can probably guess how those conversations went:

"Hi, I'm calling about my son's baptism, it's on November 11th which I realize is suuuper short notice, and I'm soooo sorry for even asking, but is there any possible way your multi-purpose room is open in the late morning, early afternoon time frame?  I'm sure you don't have anything available,  I shouldn't have even called, I'm so sorry!

Oh it's booked?  Okay, I'm truly sorry for inconveniencing you with this request and even calling so late, thank you sooo much for looking."

Seriously.  I am so annoyingly MINNESOTAN.  I annoy myself, all that unnecessary apologizing.  I don't know why I do it, but I can't seem to stop myself.  Word vomit, it just comes out.  What do I think these people care?  This is their job, they are being PAID to have this conversation with me.

Yeah anyway, many many phone calls later I found a place with open space at a park literally six blocks from the church.  Woot.

There's still so much to be done, I can't even think about that right now, but this makes me so happy, my whole body feels lighter and my shoulders looser after officially making this decision and changing plans.  Almost everyone I talked to over the last few weeks during my obsessing about all this would say, "It's okay, it's fine!  People don't mind, they just want to celebrate with you, it's not a problem!"

But I know.  I would be wandering the house in a frenzy the entire party, noticing Dan's grandma without a chair or one of his brothers looking bored.  This is just better.  At least everyone will be able to freaking sit.

So I'm rambling, but this is one of the things I did today.  After breakfast I got the boys all dressed and bundled and we drove to the location, saw the space, discussed things with the attendant, signed the paperwork, and wrote the check.  Done.  Accomplished.  All before 11:00 AM on a Saturday.

Afterwards we played in the playground outside, and later my little mini-dictator demanded that I play basketball for like twenty minutes, which means Louie sat on the court mesmerized by the bouncing ball while  I attempted to make baskets with Gus yelling "Whoa, SO CLOSE!" or "YES, you did it!" every single time.

Mostly he was yelling the former over and over and over.  I suck at sports.

While we were out, Dan and his dad did some sort of plumbing something that had to get done in the porch, and then later I acted the part of dictator as I ordered Dan to hang pictures and hooks and bulletin boards and other random project crap all over the house.  The ideas I come up with and things I keep buying at Ikea to make our lives more orderly and Scandinavian (and thus better, obviously) have started to pile up.

One of my big ideas was that Gus and Louie need their own hooks for their coats and hats, so we hung one at their height in the living room near the front door.  It'll be nice to get Gus involved in putting his own crap away when we come into the house, and I suppose putting it on when we're leaving too.  He's already pretty good about putting his shoes away in the basket by the door.  This will be good for all that learning self-sufficiency stuff that we should be doing with him about now, and if nothing else, will help de-clutter.  Those boys' coats and sweaters are always just sitting on the dining room table being annoying.

(Yes, we got a lot accomplished today, cleaning up all this crap will have to wait until tomorrow.)

Inspired by Julia, I decided to hang one of those Ikea curtain wires in the basement family room to hang all of the toddler artwork that we have started to accumulate.  I've been taping it to the wall in the kitchen, and then it stays there forever because I don't know what to do with it.  I think this is just adorable, and a perfect use of space on big blank wall surrounded by a bunch of toys.  The first thing we've hung in our basement since we finished it two years ago.  :)  That's pretty bad.

We hung a bunch of things in Gus's room as well, but he's sleeping in said room right now, so no pictures.

It was a good day, not terribly exciting, but you need these days every once in a while.