How do I know this?

Aside from the fact that I have a two-year-old on my lap as I type this and Winx Club going in the background?

Two (other) reasons.

I know this because I’m starting a new job in about a week.

In regulatory policy.

And I’m stoked.

When I describe it to people, I’m not even offended when their eyes start to glaze over. I wouldn’t have known anything about it a few years ago either and can’t wait to learn more. It also sort of gleefully reminds me of the first time someone described Star Trek scriptwriting and “inserting technobabble.” Concept is completely transferable to government work.

I also know this because I had three days off work this week: Canada Day, which was spent downtown with kids (in the rain!) and then entertaining chez nous because hubs wanted a party (read: fun, but exhausting), and then two days just … off.

Exciting, right?

Visions of non-stop this?

Well, here’s how I spent them.

Day 1

Woke up at 7:30am and got the girls to daycare.

Then I cleaned the house until about noon.

As a note, cleaning house involved hand-washing dishes because our less than a year-old dishwasher is broken.

But still under warranty.

Which calls for some more dancing!

How about this? The Winx can sure kick it!

And now I’ve got both daughters joining me for blogging. My eldest wants to know why there are no sounds. Yay educational family time!

But back to joyous dance and Footloose-like celebration. Because under warranty means free maintenance … if we just wait three weeks until Whirlpool Canada has any service technicians in our neighbourhood.

Based on the lovely deep southern accents of everyone at their 1-877 number (which is experiencing higher than average call volumes and wants to assure me despite an average wait time of 20 minutes that my call is important to them), I understand why that might take a while.

I rewarded myself for cleaning with a nap, woke up for late lunch and then slept again. Read a bit, slept a bit more. Started watching a movie, then the kids and husband came home.

Aside? Gone Girl is messed up. But I like it!

We then ate dinner, I pressured the kids into watching Free Willy with me in an attempt to share the joy of my childhood with them (only took two weeks for my eldest to finally cave, she liked it, and so my heart smiles), and we called it a night.

So to summarize? Day 1 was all about SLEEP. Which was pretty glorious.

Day 2

Woke up at 7:30am and got the girls to daycare.

Hand-washed another batch of dishes. Ran laundry.

Spent about an hour and a half purging my email inbox. This involved catching up on a bit of volunteer stuff, following up with our contractor about the fact that our two-year-old bathtub currently leaks into our basement, and realizing I hadn’t blogged in over a week and feeling completely okay with that.

Then headed off for an it’s almost my birthday ALL ABOUT ME day where I:

• got a clean air test done on our 2002 Mazda so I could renew the stickers which expire on my birthday (1 hour);
• while waiting for that, I planned my almost 3-year-old’s birthday party from the waiting room;
• then it was off to Service Ontario to please take a number (I was #85) in order to renew the stickers, my health card and my driver’s licence. This also involved every girls’ dream activity: PHOTOSHOOT!

Remembering the day wasn’t ONLY about me, I also picked up ink for our printer, a wedding gift, a birthday gift for my mother, cards, a charger, swim diapers, pull ups and wrapping paper.

By then it was about 2:30.

I got myself a late lunch and rewarded myself with another nap for about an hour, until my husband called to ask me to pick up the kids because he was stuck in traffic.

Which brings us to the last hour spent watching Winx Club, and a bit of blogging with kids and now? They are heading outside with dad for a bit while he mows the lawn and I pay some bills and make dinner.

But first? An involved dispute over gum and dolls and who owns what.

In the win column? It’s happening in French.

Boo yeah my 30s!

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Anyway, there basically ends my two days off.

In a couple of years, once my eldest can read and starts complaining about how she can’t wait to grow up because of all the freedom and stuff, I’m gonna pull this puppy out to remind her Peter Pan was on to something.

Here endeth my pity party. It actually was a pretty good two days off. But that was cathartic. Thanks for reading.

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Photo credits: Buffy and Faith from here. Vampire Diaries from here. Winx Club from here and here. Peter Pan from here.