what's up?

Time is slipping away from me as we enter into our "busy season" here at the house.

September...Shorty's 1st B-day party:

frogs, bogs, and all things green and slimy for our little Prince Charming! Hop on by!

October...the Dynamic Duo turn 3! What was that? Did I just drop a hint to the theme? Why yes, I did. Grab your cape & drop in!

October, continued...Halloween. Need I say more? The hubby got to pick the costumes for this year after I made him participate in the Wizard of Oz theme last year. Let's just say I'm doing some situps in preparation!

November...a baby shower for the sister-in-law! Yay! I am sooo excited to be an Aunt and can't wait to throw this party for mommy and baby. However, I am a bit bitter that they aren't finding out gender. Boo.

November, continued...the whole fam comes to our casa for Thanksgiving. So fun.

December...Christmas travels!

After that, we are off the hook for a while. But in the meantime, life is a bit chaotic.

A Brief Ode on the Wiggles

O Sam, Jeff, Anthony and Murray,
Of how you have saved my day
There is so much that I could say
If I weren't in such a hurry.

A baby's nap time screaming fit,
Tears, and wails, and stomping feet
Were there, my eyes and ears to meet
Until your songs put a stop to it.

A dog, an octopus, and a dino friend
Your silly songs and lively dance
Have joined together and by chance
My cranky baby's mood did mend.

yum & yum

I spent the morning at the park this morning with my friend Lauren who only lives about 45 minutes away, but for some reason we only see each other 2-3 times a year (and that's if we're really on the ball).

There were 5 little boys with us, all under 5 years old. And it was fun & not too stressful, really.

I was reminded that I needed to check out her new blog (yes, that's the same link as above...I just really like the blog). It's all about food. That's relatively easy & affordable. But is NOT meatloaf.

I am glad that I haven't gone shopping for the week yet, because I am most definitely adding a thing or two to the menu.

huh?

I've been home for nearly a week.

What have I been doing? (you mean besides dishes & laundry, of course)

nothing.

Sweet. Blessed. Nothing.

Wonder how long that will last?

Staycation?

Is it a "staycation" if you have to stay in the spot you were vacationing in? hmm.

On July 4th our holiday began with a 14ish-hour car ride from Our House to the Hometown. The big boys did very well. Mr. Fussy Pants, as the baby is now known, was a fussy pants. For 14ish hours. With nowhere for me to run to.

It is now July 18th and I am not back home. Nor am I going to be tomorrow. With any luck, we will be there Tuesday. Sixteen days after leaving.

We planned a few days to visit friends and acclimate to Granny & Grandad's house before I headed off to the Big Apple for 5 days for a lovely visit with my hubby. Then there were the days with Daddy back here. After that, we scheduled a few more "visiting" and "resting" kind of days before piling back into the car to head West.

What we did NOT plan was an ear infection, and not one - but two - barfing boys with fevers. Oh, and I forgot to mention the 3 nights of NO SLEEP FOR MOMMY that accompanied these unplanned adventures.

Our return trip was delayed one day when Shorty decided that sleeping was not something he could fathom while his ear hurt, no matter the amount of pain killers he was force-fed. It just didn't seem smart to drive after 2 sleepless nights, so postpone we did. Surely a full-night's sleep would help make the trip more enjoyable for all.

Then, as I was deciding where to pack everything, W suddenly had a fever and we were frantically changing sheets and pajamas and cleaning up the "essential" animals for sleeping. Not much later, N was highly upset because he had "made a mess" on the bed by regurgitating part of his dinner.

It was clear that we weren't leaving any time soon.

After our recovery day, we are feeling better, but not great. Mommy still hasn't had anywhere close to a full night's sleep. One more day...surely everyone will be healthy and rested if we just wait one more day.

This is the trip that never ends. It just goes on and on my friend...