It's Saturday again...and it's really no different than any other day of the week. But there's a certain stigma to it being "the weekend" that gives me hope for relaxation and recharging. This is just plain stupid, really, because it's actually more exhausting with all the togetherness. I always wind up being strangely relieved when Monday, and our routines, roll around again.

So after I posted my rant on Thursday, things got really funny. I fed the dogs, and Carlos stood there after having finished his delectable bowl of kibble and proceeded to pee all over the kitchen floor...AGAIN! So I mopped the floors for the second time that day, only this time all the kids were awake and Lizzy was trying to crawl through the pee. That was fun.

It was actually a markedly improved day, as the kids and I made cookies and then Jaclyn and her kids came over at lunchtime and spent the afternoon with us. All the kids played so nicely together and it was such a relief. It made me to grateful to be back here in New Jersey and have my dear friend so close by. I know that years from now we will look back on the times when our children were young together and revel in how lucky we were to not only be there to watch and take part in their childhoods, but to be there together, and be totally spoiled by rainy Thursday afternoons where we could lift each others' burdens and make the time go by a little more quickly. Just not too quickly.

As I had mentioned on Thursday in my epic, mommy-sized temper tantrum, I was supposed to go have a drink with my friend Melissa that night, which I did and it was really nice. And you will be happy to know that I didn't actually have to mainline the wine when I got there. I arrived very relaxed after Pete had come back home safely, we had shared a nice dinner together and put the kids to bed without incident. So my Thursday night was a blast, which it needed to be after my Wednesday night was such a disaster. And then the most...

Oh. My. God.

Carlos just peed on my carpet. He just got up and peed all over the carpet. I am sitting here typing and I just heard it happening. I ran and dragged him outside to finish what he had started and Pete's cleaning the carpet after bolting down the stairs. I guess he heard me swearing. I can't give anymore face time to the dog right now. Back to pick up where the ellipses left off.

...amazing thing happened. We are often joined on Friday nights by Jaclyn, Brian and their kids for a take out meal of Sushi. It's been a tradition since we were all kid-less, and now that we are back in the area and live around the corner from each other, it's nearly a guarantee that Friday nights are nights we share with them, and last night was no different. We had great sushi, the kids were playing again, and then my new friend Melissa sent me a text message. I texted back, took a chance and asked them to come by...and they did! So our group of four adults became a group of six, and they added their two kids to the mix. They also live right in our neighborhood, and our kids will all go to the same school together. As a matter of fact, their son and Erin are in first grade together and in the same gym class, so for Erin to have a friend over her same age was wonderful. They got to know each other a little better, and as they left, Erin said, dreamily, "Mommy, I can't WAIT for gym on Monday. It is my new favorite time at school!" So stinking cute.

I love making new friends and introducing people to each other. And I love it when it works. You know how sometimes people come together and you can just see things fizzle out before they even get started? That bums me out so much because I am usually the person who orchestrates it and if one of my "set-ups" fizzles, it is something that sits with me as a personal failure. But when we all came together last night, it was easy and casual and comfortable. We all laughed and commiserated about the similarities in our kids and the challenges of raising them, and it was just fun to see the kids have an impromptu playdate on a Friday night. I wouldn't be surprised if we got together again and I'm hopeful that it may be, as Bogart once said, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

On to a Saturday of grocery and birthday gift shopping, and seeing my brother who is home for the weekend from Camp Lejeune, NC for a friend's wedding. I haven't seen him since September, and the girls don't even know that he's around. I left it as a surprise. Oh, the squeals I will hear in a couple of hours! They adore their Uncle Kevin...and I adore the fact that he'll play with them and chase them and wear them out for a little while. Oh, and I just remembered that I will be joining my friends Claire and Kim for pedicures at Claire's tonight!

Now I'm excited.