Mr. Geeky and I don’t do well when both of us are stressed at the same time. With his tenure packet due in a week and me teaching 9-5, followed by a grant-funded workshop next week, we are both a little tense. I’m basically trying to keep my regular work up early in the morning and after 5 since I’m trapped in a classroom all day. It’s helpful if one person can be the voice of calm.

It’s also helpful if home life is calm. Unforutnately, my inlaws are coming today and the kids’ birthdays are Sunday and Tuesday. We hadn’t planned a party because we knew this week would be hectic and we thought we’d do it next weekend or the following weekend, but then we realized that either other things were going on or we were out of town for the next 4 weekends. So we quickly called a few friends for an afternoon of roller skating and/or tube crawling at the nearby sports arena. We did something similar a couple of years ago when we were moving into this house. It’s actually a very nice way to celebrate a birthday. Just a couple of people, no need for cake and all that jazz. Fewer presents and less craziness.

Of course, I’m failing at the whole Mommy madness thing by not hand crafting invitations, hiring a magician and putting together perfect goody bags. Thankfully, no one in this neighborhood does that either, so we’re good. I do hate it when I’m disorganized like this. And it always happens when there’s too much going on both at home and at work. I think even the most organized person would probably break down a little. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.