House hunting in my head

A few things:

1. Last week as I ran past McDonald's, I was a little Judgy McJudgerson about the amount of people I saw eating there for breakfast. Nasty sausage McMuffins for breakfast! Set your alarm clock 20 minutes earlier and whip up some oatmeal or a green smoothie or something, people! Disgusting. Fast forward about six days . . . I ran 12 miles with Heather this morning, hurried home to shower, feed the kids, make a lunch, and send Gavin off to school. Then I stopped by Heather's to see what I could do to help with the finishing touches of the move, and I ended up taking the kids to my mom's, and--here it comes--I swung through the McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast because I was starving and was headed straight back to Heather's house to clean. A sausage McMuffin! And greasy hash browns! And I gotta tell you, it tasted pretty great.

2. This one is more of a question: Why is it that your back door window is only touched with sticky toddler hands and slobber on the day it is cleaned? It's like the mopping rule: Mop the floor, juice is spilled within hours. Clean the window, applesauce hands gravitate towards it. My window was so dirty today, so I had Paige and Gavin clean it while Dax ate some applesauce. As soon as the kids were done, Dax squirmed to get down, and as I tried to clean him off, he jerked free and ran to the window with his hands straight out in front of him as if the window was pulling him there. Like a coin to a magnet. Then, for good measure, a few hours later he brought some mud from the backyard and added it to the window, an artist's masterpiece. I promise you that window will go untouched until the next time I decide it needs to be cleaned. Could be a week; could be a decade.

3. Hey, while I'm asking questions, since when do we have to feel guilty about fueling up "loyalty" free? Every time I get gas at Maverik, the machine asks me to either a)swipe my Maverik card, or b) continue without loyalty. I feel a twinge of shame when I have to admit to the latter, and go ahead and fuel up at their store even though I'm clearly a traitor. I finally got mad enough about it, so now when it asks, I yell aloud, "I'll show YOU continue without loyalty!" or "You can take that loyalty and shove it up your . . . !" or something equally worthy of the stares I get from nearby patrons. I promise I'm not crazy.

4. Today I found this random website that lead me to the house I absolutely have to buy. I spent the remainder of the day wallowing in house envy. This one is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and its asking price is a mere $1.2 million. Stay with me--it is 3,300 square feet on five acres, was built in 1877, and has a barn, guest house, pond, swimming pool, and three porches. Here's a quick view:

I decided that when I build my dream home, it will be a lovely blend of Victorian and country home. With some modern touches like that gorgeous fridge. (Did you see the fireplace? And the beams on the ceiling? Love.) I can't stop picturing a McMuffin on that kitchen table! I'd totally let Dax smear his toddler grease all over the windows. I'd even sell-out and become a loyal Maverik costumer if that was the stipulation for buying the house. Mmhmm, I can definitely see us living there.