Switcheroo

If someone were to ask you today, "Who would you like to switch lives with for one day?", what would you say?

I think that many people would come up with a whole slew of famous names. Perhaps women would like to switch with Angelina Jolie or Vanessa Paradis so that they could have just one day with Brad or Johnny. Men might choose Brad Pitt or Brian Austin Green so that they could get it on with Angelina or Megan Fox. Heck, I can come up with a ton of famous chicks I'd like to possess so that I could spend some time with their men.

Other folks might try to be all noble and come up with names like Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa (were she still alive) so that they could find out what it was like to do such good works for humanitarian aid. Or maybe a politician or two so that they could make the changes that they think are necessary to make a particular city or country run more smoothly.

And then you have the "I'm so freakin' funny it hurts" crowd who would say they want to switch with a member of the opposite sex so that they can play with themselves all day. I suppose it'd be fun, but not worth it for the entire day.

I can see the merit in all of them. I really can. But when I saw the prompt for Day 17 of "30 Days of Me" - "someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why" - I knew right away it wasn't going to be someone famous and it sure as hell wasn't going to be becoming a man so I could get my rocks off with myself.

If I could switch lives with anyone for a day, I'd choose one of my children. Ever since the day I watched Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey "I'm a skank ho" Lohan switch places in "Freaky Friday", the idea has intrigued me.

Can you imagine? We're all so tired at the end of the day after running around doing endless errands, chasing kids, working, acting as chauffeur/cook/referee. Imagine how wonderful it would be to be on the other side of that!

* Boundless energy

* Personal chef

* Chauffeur at the ready

* Play time

* Nap time if we need it/want it

* No bills

* Few responsibilities beyond tidying a room or feeding a pet

Did I mention boundless energy? I did! I'll say it again. ENERGY! What I wouldn't give to have half the energy that my spawnlets have. We get up just after 6am every day to drive Hotty Hubby to work and they are on the go from the minute they get up to the minute their heads hit the pillow at night. I have no idea how they do it. I've tried getting more sleep, more exercise, eating better foods, guzzling energy drinks....none of it works, and I've had to face the simple fact that I am, quite simply, getting older.

So, who would I switch with? I'd switch with a child aged 6 to 8. I'd eat the adults out of house and home, I'd bounce on a trampoline, run through the fields, sleep during the day if I wanted to, play to my hearts content, and generally drive the big people crazy.

And then, when I reverted back to my old, fat, adult state.....I'd go have a Nanna Nap because I was so exhausted from my day as a kid.

Summer Lovin'

One of the strangest/most wonderful/interesting things about this country that I now live in, is that the whole country virtually shuts down for two to three weeks over the holiday season. As a result, I sort of found myself shutting down. I was hardly online and when I was, I wasn't doing anything blog related. And it was GREAT! I missed you all terribly but, no offense, didn't feel guilty at all about not visiting your blogs or even writing my own. The break was great and now I realise why people here shut down. It's great for your mental health.

I'm back now, my sanity is still debatable, and I've got things to do and say. I'll still finish that "30 Days of Me" that I was working on, but in the meantime here's the highlights from this summer in New Zealand:

** The spawnlets finished the 2010 school year (our year runs Feb - Dec) with a bang. While they didn't get anything at the end of year Prize Giving, they did get to do their victory walk down the centre aisle to a round of applause and collect their report card.

** Lil Sis and her man were able to come and spend Christmas with us here and it was the first time in years that we had both been at HOME with our mum for the holidays. We spent the few days that they were visiting playing Wii, eating ourselves stupid and enjoying the sun. We even managed a beach visit.

** New Years Eve was great and it was the first one that we've allowed the kids to stay up for. After a short nap mid-afternoon, they stayed up with us and watched movies until midnight. We did our countdown, drank some sparkling grape juice and then got to make some noise with party poppers outside when my mother came to scare the pants off us.

** No resolutions were made in this house and that's just how we like it. I figure you just set yourself up for failure when you make resolutions.

** Hotty Hubby was laid off from his job after one and a half years of working his butt off for them as a labourer. He was not the only one, five other guys were given the ol' heave ho as well, but it was certainly poor timing for us.

** We moved. We packed up the old house that had been sold, brought a bunch of stuff over to the new place, and promptly discovered that it was infested with ants and cockroaches. YUM! After a couple of smoke bombs and some sprays, I think we've conquered them. The roaches are a big problem this year and especially in this part of town. It's like they've decided that in their quest to take over the world, they're going to start with my little town.

** Hotty Hubby found a new job. More pay, more hours, more training and learning opportunities. The only drawback thus far is that I have to drag MY fat ass out of bed so damn early in the morning to drive him to work. He's enjoying it so far so I really can't complain too much.

** School is back in session and the kids are excited for the 2011 year. Boy Spawn has moved on to Year 2 (Grade 1) and Girl Spawn on to Year 4 (Grade 3). They both have fantastic teachers and thankfully it's not awkward having a friend of ours be Girl Spawn's teacher.

Summer is almost over. As of March 1st, we'll be into Fall. I'm not entirely sure how they figure out the seasons here, I just go with it. Here's to a fantastic year, and I'll be sure to visit y'all more often!