"muffins with mom"

I thought I was going to "muffins for mom" but once I raced down the halls of a three story school building, hanging onto sister girl's coat hat (that is the best way to hang onto her these days), collecting the boys from their classrooms and finally reaching the library - our destination for the muffins well and the books awaiting my credit card - I was in no condition for a relaxing muffin!

I wasn't in any state for one but my two sweet boys were, oh and sister girl too! So there I was walking through a crowded library with three kids all stuffing their faces with muffins and drinking juice - the juice that I couldn't drink because I was holding sister girl back from ripping into the thousands of princess books strategically placed at her eye level throughout the room.

No, I didn't even ask for a muffin. Rather I ordered Ian to sit down on the floor with his paper cup and napkin that had been teetering over $10, $20 and $30 books! Then I balanced sister girl on one hip, eating her muffin, and walked around with the other boy trying to smile politely at all the well dressed mothers casually roaming the book fair with their children.

Well dressed mothers...they all looked like they had just come from the office in their suits and high heels with hair perfectly placed and lip stick dabbed on. Me? Usually I try to dress somewhat presentable when entering the boys' school but today I made a last minute decision to drop in with sister girl and partake in the "muffins with mom" on my way to Zumba class (my aerobic dance class).

Needless to say I was dressed in skin tight black work out pants, an old see through shirt and sports bra...oh, and my hat to hide my dirty hair (why fix it if I would just be taking a shower in less than two hours). So there I was...having to keep on my winter coat in order to hide my saggy bottom that was so inappropriately exposed to all children and mothers in the library. (At least it was muffins with mom and not donuts with dad I was strutting through)

So with my coat AND SCARF TIED AROUND MY NECK there I was sweating like a pig as I squeezed sister girl on my hip, catching her crumbles and dreaming of eating them before I threw them in the garbage.

I tried to be sweet to my boys...I really did. But I think it came out more like, "hurry up and pick out the book you wanted!" And "We are not buying that book for $20.00!" Finally, after keeping sister girl from ripping open a princes music player and paying for two books I grabbed my youngest by the coat again and managed to say goodbye to the women in the room as I wiped my face of sweat and pushed my family of four into the hallway.

The boys quickly walked back to their rooms with a quiet thank you from the oldest and of course no public hugs. I placed sister girl back on my hip and left the school convinced I had worked out enough at "muffins with mom" to deserve a treat on the way home...one I wouldn't be sharing!