weekend preview

Upcoming weekend promises to be completely non-relaxing, but thank God anyway it's Friday.

Tonight's a double-whammy: babysitting for Cub's 3-yo niece (drumroll please ... it's a sleepover) and greeting at St. Stephen's. We've been volunteering with Hawaii CEE since our own Engaged Encounter weekend (I think we did our first two volunteer weekends before we were even married) and no matter what's going on in our lives at the time, those few hours of simply checking in apprehensive new Weekend couples and fellowship-ing with the veteran married volunteer couples does a couple of married souls a lot of good.

Saturday we're doing "something fun" with Little E (it hasn't been set yet, but I'm pushing for the zoo), and then in the p.m. heading to Caryn's housewarming party. I was planning on creating some sort of main dish but now I think I'll let Stouffer's create it and just be in charge of heating it up.

Sunday will surely be full of housekeeping sorts of activities - as I sit here typing I am pimping my poor cat, Callie, over on Twitter - we love her to death but two cats and a dog are quickly becoming too much for us. When the five of us are crammed into the one bedroom in our apartment - trying to scrunch up in bed or walk around without kicking someone - well, as they say, it's the best of times, and the worst of times. Old Girl, who sometimes forgets where her litterbox is, generates a lot of dirty towels and requires that the bathroom be completely scrubbed down every other day. Big Girl seems to have outgrown her penchant for knocking things over for fun, but she has her own litterbox that needs scooping out often, and of course is not happy with the recent addition of a senile sibling who paradoxically seems to rule the roost. And Kona is his usual sweet, usually dumb self, shedding like mad and leaving cookie crumbs everywhere.

It is not a beautiful, clean, or peaceful living situation. I only hope Little E doesn't get eaten by one of the cats or ride off into the sunset on Kona's back this weekend.