Another Happy Friday

Does this happen to everyone? You wake up to the sun shining (or the sun coming up if you didn't stay up late the night before making valentines for your eight friends), you get super happy and motivated to get things done and have fun while doing it, and then by the time you get around to getting a move on (post waking-up-the-toddler, breakfast, cleanup, and the optional shower) the day has ebbed back into a dull and cheerless, drabby grey color. Ugh, the only thing you can do is make a pan of brownies from a mix and settle back into the doldrums.

OR... you can beat them! With these simple tips:

1. Sesame Street is your friend.
This one was on today and I laughed so hard Owen was watching me instead of the show:
Emily, this one is for you.
Barney is absolutely NOT your friend, even though he says he is. No clip is provided for obvious reasons.

2. Find things that are useful AND entertaining. Check out this http://www.slate.com/id/2242199/"> article . It is helpful and made me LOL. I had no idea.

3. Clean up the kitchen and make the beds. Do it without thinking so you'll forget how much you hate doing it. And when you do that, you'll be motivated to pick up all the toys that have slowly escaped the bedroom and are now strewn about your house, so that there are now approximately 2.45 toys per square foot of your home. Bring a large laundry hamper with you to collect them all, and then go back over it with a vacuum to get all the legos, goldfish and grapes that have gone astray. Believe me, you will feel better. Not great, but better.

4. Eat a snack. And give your toddler one too. I was thinking apples and peanut butter but more than likely it'll be leftover chocolate cake. Because if you have chocolate cake in your house it should be eaten.
5. Really play with your kid. Like, really. Don't read a magazine while he or she plays with all the ridiculous toys people buy him. Make forts, chase him around the house, line all the little people up on the back of the couch and then let him knock them off as hard as he can one by one while yelling wow wow WOW! I wish I could insert video here but I can't. Just use your imagination. The thing about playing with your kid is that it tires him out and he will sleep. Plus he's spent time with his favorite person in the world and is happier for it. And you will be happier too, and will have earned your blog time or Clean House marathon afternoon, even if you skipped no. 3.

And that's it! Hopefully by the time you do all this you will be cheered up enough to make it til dinner. And then you can order a pizza because it's too cold to cook! Or get grandpa to order Chinese, which is what's gonna happen tonight! Oh! (said in the voice of Ms. Niecy Nash)