I LOVE Sunday!

 I LOVE Sunday!  I always have.  It is my favorite day of the week.  Even as a child I loved Sunday.  It was the one day that I could count on my father being home, dinner on the table, great conversation and none of the regular distractions that come during the week.

Paul and I have tried very hard to continue with that same tradition and I believe we have done very well at it.  Our favorite thing to do on Sunday is to invite a family or families over for dinner.  The kids ask every week, "Who's coming to dinner?" or "Are we having anyone over for dinner?"  

 Nothing too fancy, mind you.  (I love this place setting!  Must try it this fall!)  But we do use our china, nice "silverware", cloth napkins, breakable glasses and we even eat over carpet.  It all makes for a nice experience and something my kid's friends actually enjoy coming to.

I think they love it because we don't do the "usual" things kids do all week.  We do things like: build forts out of blankets, or build a huge city out of Lincoln Logs, play "Hide and Go Seek" in the basement with all the kids, pretend, giggle, talk, color, draw, build legos, sing, play the piano/musical instruments, laugh, talk and talk and talk.  It is so much fun!

At first, most kids are shocked by how we do things here.  But by the end of the night, they are crying that they "have to" go home and asked when they can come again.  I am here to tell you moms out there that THIS WORKS!  This is how I grew up playing and this is a great way to "unplug" from the rest of the world and "return to our innocence" (song playing in background . .  NOW!).

We have had many of our closest friends, neighbors and family over for dinner.  But our favorite guests are . . . the new couples who move into the neighborhood!

We love to see their faces as they watch Paul and I TRY to get our kids to hold still, be quiet, use both hands, lean over, eat with their fork, not pick their noses, stop crying, stop touching their siblings and JUST EAT! I always wonder if we have scared them for life from ever wanting to have children of their own. 
 
Fortunately, almost every couple we have had over for dinner has had a child by now.  So no harm has truly been done!  I hope?

The other thing I LOVE about Sundays is a good afternoon NAP!

By the end of the week I am just exhausted.  I feel a lot like this.  But not a nap like this. 

But like this!  A peaceful, restful nap.  One that leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to finish the day and start a new week.  I LOVE those naps.  I don't get them very often.  But when I do, boy they are my mecca.  If I could just get in one good nap a week, I think my life would be sweet.

Today wasn't a napping day.  I am still jet lagged and I have actually been having a difficult time sleeping at night.  I toss and turn all night, my body aches and I just don't feel rested when I wake.  I am going to try to go to sleep "early" tonight - 10:00 p.m.




I have even been faithfully using my CPAP machine, but I still can't seem to sleep.  School starts tomorrow at 7:45 a.m. for E and he needs to be there early to pick up his new schedule.  I need to look halfway descent in case he needs me to go in with him. That makes for a VERY EARLY morning!  So, I hope by going to bed early, I can at least get enough sleep so I am not a crab all day.

Wish me luck!