My Real Life

Yesterday and today were snow days.

Northern New Jersey has been hit with a storm that has made the, normally, level-headed Jerseyans lose their minds.

I thought “Snowmaggedon” was a funny name for the last storm.

However, this storm has pushed people’s creativity too far.

Snowzilla.  Snowicane. Snowvelations.

Real Man made up “Judgement Snow.”

We crack ourselves up.

Anyway, these snow days have been awesome because I’ve had two days, non-stop of monkey time.

Yesterday morning, around 5:30 am, I was sound asleep, when I felt eyes upon me.

I opened my eyes and there stood Baby Monkey.

As our eyes met, he said, (in his best 4-year old evil villain voice), “Ah…so we meet again!”

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

This morning, I was dozing in bed, listening to the sounds of Real Man fight with the snowblower when the bed started to shake.

I started to get a little nervous because of the small earthquake that hit our area last week (I kid you not…look it up!) but then I realized that it was more of a rythmic bumping.

I popped my head out from under the covers and was greeted with this:

Mr. Garbage Can Head.

Again, I say…

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

Yesterday was full of games.

Monkey in the Middle and I played countless games of air hockey on the mini-air hockey table he got from a friend for his birthday last week.

Love that toy!

We played “pedicure” and everyone had their toenails done.

The big monkeys had a Wii Fit Plus tournament.

Baby Monkey and I built Lego cities.

We napped.

The monkeys snuggled in Baby Monkey’s bed and watched movies.

Another side effect of snow days (actually of most days of my recovery) is that I’ve watched a lot of the Food Network.

Not a big deal, on its own.

However, when discussing me, it is important to always remember that I am an only child of two only children.

Although I had my “sisters-by-choice” Kim, Erin, and Michaela, when growing up, I was also on my own quite a bit.

I’m used to entertaining myself.

And so, as I prepared dinner last night, I turned to see Monkey Girl standing in the doorway, laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked her.  Dinner looked good.  I wasn’t sure what was so funny.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked.

Yes, after all these hours with the Food Network, I’ve fallen back into old habits from childhood and from before Real Man and I were married and I had my own place.

When I cook, I like to play “cooking show.”

What that means is that I explain every step along the way, make corny jokes, talk about the importance of one spice over the other, etc.

I imagine it actually might be quite entertaining to watch.

Hmmm…perhaps if I knew how to cook interesting foods, I might have another career.

However, I’m not sure how many people would want to watch last nights show on baked chicken and brussel sprouts.

We’re relaxing.

We’re enjoying each other.

I’m not sure what we’ll do today to enjoy our time together.

There will be cupcake baking and preparations for Monkey Girl’s birthday party, which we are holding tomorrow.

There will be games.

There will be naps.

Hope you are all enjoying your days, whether it’s in the snow or not.

Most of all, I hope you are spending it with those you love and cherishing every second!