Get Things Done Around the House Day

Today is Get Things Done Around the House Day, which doesn't happen too often, what with Saturdays usually being reserved for shopping expeditions (for diapers, not fun things) or recuperating from whatever illness our family has contracted at that particular time. But today we are healthy, and, amazingly enough, we have enough diapers for a good long while.

(In case you're wondering about potty training, it still happens from time to time. The boys don't seem too interested, so we don't push it to the point of insanity on anyone's part. It'll happen when it happens. I am a little anxious for it to happen sooner rather than later, because once they are out of diapers, I'm switching Charlotte to cloth. It's a long story as to why I can't do that until they are trained, and I'll tell you if you're actually interested in those mundane details. Suffice to say, we're ready to stop buying diapers and creating waste, but initial cost is an issue.)

Anyway, Stephen has been working like a busy bee taking down our old draperies and valances (Anyone interested? Seriously, I have several new/used in good condition household items to sell, and I'm posting them to Craigslist and our local classifieds soon. Let me know if you're curious as to what we have.) and he just came inside from gathering all the limbs and branches that fell during the ice storm a couple weeks ago. I'm getting things ready to hang in our bedroom, which until now has kind of been ignored in area of decorating. It's painted and all, but I'm just now getting around to accessorizing and layering my bed with 17 different kinds of pillows.

Which my husband hates, just for the record.

We're so hard core about Get Things Done... Day that we even put a house guest to work taking down draperies and window hardware. Our friend Luke (he is in Army) came for a quick overnight visit this weekend, and in between entertaining our children, fixing dinner, and listening to the LP of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown for the 675th time, he helped my husband with the old curtain panels. Luke is a Captain in the US Army, has served in Afghanistan, has successfully completed Army Ranger training, and is about to be deployed again, this time to Iraq--and he happily helped us with our family work day. Plus he tried to fix a broken dog leash.

Luke, we salute you. Except we'd probably get it all wrong and you'd laugh at our feeble attempts to connect on your high level. So just know that we love you. And we'll miss you.

So just be warned that, no matter who you are, no matter your rank or position in this world, if you wander into the Case household this weekend, you will be put to work. And if you do a good job while maintaining a cheerful attitude (even if Baylor steals your cell phone and uses it to surf the web, or Jack clings to your legs and slobbers all over your pants), then you might just get a Special Snack of whole wheat crackers and cheese with a big glass of cranberry juice.

It's the least we can do for our free labor.