Our Saturday began around 5am when the kids decided to get up. The Community Center was hosting a “kids only” garage sale today, and Mason decided he wanted to have one. Unfortunately he didn’t decide to help much in the preparation of said sale — that was left to mommy. Around 7am, Susan and Mason left the house, headed for the garage sale. Morgan came and sat down in our bed. I gave her the television remote, which she enjoyed pressing random buttons on for a few minutes.

Part of the reason Morgan and I stayed home was because I had a couple of guys coming from Tulsa to pick up an arcade game I sold. The garage sale was from 8am – Noon; the guys were set to arrive between 11 and 11:30. Around 8am I got Morgan dressed and the two of us went up to the garage sale. I noticed something stuck to Morgan’s toe when I was putting on her socks, so I pulled it off. It was skin from a toe injury. Despite her limited linguistic skills, she conveyed her displeasure with me very clearly.

The garage sale appeared to be little more than people trading junk. Each time I saw Mason sell something he immediately took the money to another table and bought something with it. The fifty cents he earned from a book went right back into a Power Rangers costume. (The costume was at least two sizes too small; by the time we left, Mason had split the butt and the arms out.) Morgan had a good time running around the gym unrestrained. Susan ran the table; I yearned for coffee. Right before we left, Morgan tripped and ran flat on her face. She cried and I picked her up and carried her to the car. By the time we got outside Susan noticed Morgan’s bloody nose. So far today she was 0 for 2.

On the way back to the house I got a phone call from the Tulsa guys; they weren’t coming. With that time slot freed up, we decided to go eat lunch. It’s always a crap shoot when going out for lunch before nap time. Sometimes you win, sometimes the kids have loud public meltdowns. Today, the kids won. By the time our lunches arrived at Alfredos, Mason was crying because his Diet Coke wasn’t a lemonaide and because we weren’t at Taco Bueno. Morgan smeared beans on the table and used a single chip to empty four ounces of cheese out of a bowl and on to a plate. I shoveled food into my mouth like mad as Susan tried to control the chaos. You know it’s one of those days when you ask for a to go box even before your food arrives.

After lunch it was nap time for everybody. We got home around 12:30 and needed to squeeze naps in before our 2pm birthday party. After getting the kids down, Susan and I laid down as well. Susan woke me up at 2:10pm — we’re late! The next fifteen minutes were a mad blur of waking up kids, getting them dressed, and driving to the birthday party. We arrived around 2:45pm. As I announced at the party, we skipped “fashionably late” and opted for simply “late.” The party (Matt Willrath’s daughter’s 2nd birthday) was fun for everyone.

After an hour or so at the party we headed back home. Susan cleaned the living room a bit while I kept the kids preoccupied upstairs, watching cartoons. The distraction was temporary; soon they were downstairs, undoing all Susan had done. Never ending cycle, cleaning is. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Before long it was dinner time, and not long after that Morgan was ready for bed. I went over to Stephen’s to watch boxing, while Sue and Mason stayed home.

I hope tomorrow is calmer.