"What do you do all day?"

My cousin came by yesterday to chat, and asked me that question. And I answered, "um."

Later I kicked myself. Um? UM? I do a lot more than um.

I admit, the last couple of weeks I have been doing a lot of the stereotypical "housewife" stuff - cooking and cleaning, and whatever. I did reach a breaking point where I was about ready to shout to the heavens, "Cook and clean and clean and cook that's all I do I can't take it any more augh!" But then I spent some good quality time with the ol' spinning wheel and that soothed my soul. I can see why a lot of women rebelled against the housewife bit back in the 60s and 70s, when it was unheard of for men to lift a finger to change a diaper. If you're not careful, that stuff can really suck away at your soul. At least it sucks away at mine. I hate cleaning.

I've had some paradigm shifts lately about what my priorities are. For example, in the last month our family has begun to have - this may shock you - actual meals that require us to sit down at the table. For most of our marriage, on nights when I felt like cooking (maybe twice a week or something) we'd eat together on the couch during a nice episode of Star Trek or something. But The Squeaker was engaging in some specific undesirable behaviors and we decided to experiment to see if having dinner as a family might put a stop to it. It did!

And now I'm totally a Family Dinner advocate. I will write another in-depth blog post about this another day.

Another priority I have decided upon also involves The Squeaker and his insatiable desire for playing outside. I read a bunch of stuff about how outside playtime is better for children's eyes, and running around barefoot outside can ensure proper arch development in toddlers (I tried to find the articles from the NY Times but was unsuccessful). Plus there's the whole gross-motor development thing and the childhood obesity prevention thing. So now we spend at least a good hour and a half outside every day. I usually sit on the grass and supervise while the kid walks his bike around in circles (he is just a little bit small for it).

When I'm not cooking or playing outside, I read a LOT of the news. I bet you could tell because of the last couple blog posts I wrote on the subject. When I'm not pregnant I do a lot more gardening and things, but these days it is kind of uncomfortable to walk too much. When I'm not reading the news, I am on the floor coloring with the Squeaker. He likes it when I draw outlines of cars so he can draw the wheels on. He also likes me to write his name for him over and over and over again. When I'm not doing that, I am either loading or unloading the dishwasher or trying to fight the entropy that is my kitchen.

I mopped the floor today. Huzzah!