What was I THINKING!?!??

As you probably know, we're currently in the process of moving. I wish I could say that I'm wife and mother extraordinaire, but these days that’s purely wishful thinking. My mind is constantly racing with my “to do” lists of things to pack and things to donate and things to throw away and things to clean and things to paint and people to contact and schedules to work over and utilities and do we get a moving truck or not and posting to craigslist and selling our living and dining room furniture and do I have enough paint for the office walls or do I need to go to Home Depot and where am I going to sit the girls for lunch once the dining set is picked up and didn’t I contact the post office to have our mail forwarded and – oh – don’t forget to register to vote once the move is complete and what did I do with the packing tape and Ari’s doctor’s appointment was this morning?!?!??? Oh crap. Where’s my phone?

In the midst of a somewhat busier day than normal I decide (whilst on a phone call) that I need to get the girls doing something fun and creative and distracting so that I can finish packing the drapery and the sheet sets and finish this call. Somehow I misplace the pillow cases. The girls are antsy. They’ve just woken from their afternoon nap and are ready to do something. Ari has managed to pry open the lid to a box that contains finger paints. What an excellent idea! Finger paints will do the trick. (was I thinking?) I pull out the large craft box full of paper and begin to spread sheets all over the living room carpet. How fun this will be. There’s no furniture in the living room right now except a rocking chair so I spread out the sheets of paper and continue my telephone chatter. Meanwhile the girls have unscrewed the lids to the “washable” finger paints and have begun to be distracted. Perfect! I run back into the front room to continue folding the drapery and bundle the sheets. Still can’t find those missing pillow cases guess I won’t seal this box yet. I’ll label it as soon as I get off the phone. Better check on the girls. I pause a moment to finish my conversation. This has to be dealt with. Conversation ends well. I rush back into the living room. As soon as it registers: there are blue foots prints all over the carpet my brain shifts back on. Of course there are. Of course there are.

Seriously, what was I thinking? I remember thinking this might get a little messy but I’m learning to deal with messes. I also remember thinking this was truly a good idea. I mean, like, TRULY a good idea. Once my brain shifted back on, well… My first thought was, Thank GOD we’re having the carpets cleaned next week! So I let myself off the hook. I let the girls finish making a mess. I encouraged them to clean it up and then I pulled out the camera. I made a mental note to self: don't forget to find those pillow cases and, Marina, NEVER AGAIN on the carpet. I mean honestly, what was I thinking?!?