We Made the Jump to Lightspeed

Last week was pure insanity at work -- and this week is just a continuation of it. I've been thoroughly enjoying my days off, including today. Last Friday HG and I took the day off and we took Toad to the Science Museum to see the Star Wars exhibit. Very cool. I haven't downloaded the pictures yet but I'll include a few from the website. Toad's favorite parts were riding in the Millenium Falcon (I had hoped for battles and asteroid fields, but it was a tour of space narrated by C-3PO. I thought it was sort of lame but Toad thought it was "awesome!") and buying a costume at the store. No surprise that he has changed his mind about his Halloween costume this year. He will of course be Darth Vader -- and we picked up a Yoda costume for Birdy. So far she's only let me put the funny ears on her.



Saturday my nephew, who is Toad's godfather, got married. He and his lovely bride are living in California now and we miss them. The afternoon was a blur of chasing after children. I did not take one single picture but will get some from my sisters to post later. We didn't even get to stay for cake since Toad was misbehaving and it was way past bedtime!

Today Toad skipped school in the morning and after a quick trip to work, Toad and Birdy and I stopped into the KOA where the Connecticut cousins are staying in their RV for three weeks. This year they have Jake and Bob with them, the dog and cat. We had lunch at Grandma's and now Toad is at school for the Art Lady and Birdy is sleeping. Thank goodness for the quiet!

Hopefully I will post some real pictures soon!

Welcome to the family

Yesterday we became the owners of a pre-owned 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. Hammer Guy drove to Wausau, WI to get it and then drove back through a thunderstorm. Toad says it is "so awesome!" It is quite awesome.... stay tuned, though, for the rest of the story.

After a crazy close on Friday night (full moon -- lots of guest issues), I had Saturday and Sunday off. Saturday while HG drove to Wisconsin, the kids and I had lunch at McD's, spent some time at Barnes and Noble, and then stopped into the Hallmark store to start this year's ornament collection. The full moon has been affecting the kids, too. I was so ready for them to go to bed last night. And today was worse. We took Waldo (the new Pathfinder) on a spin to Dairy Queen for ice cream treats but that was all we could manage. I'm enjoying a few minutes of peace and quiet now that the dishes are done and the laundry is still in the washer.

Birdy had her 15 month appointment last week (tomorrow is her 16 month birthday!). She's a healthy girl -- 26 pounds, 1 oz, 30 3/4 inches, and her head size is off the charts. We love our little charlie-brown-headed girl!

The week ahead promises to be one of complete insanity. I am on call for jury duty (I do not have to report tomorrow, but will call in each night for the next two weeks), two managers are on vacation which makes for a tricky schedule, and Jason & Micah's wedding is Saturday. We're having a family get-together at Julie's on Thursday. Pictures to follow!

I'm going to go switch the laundry now and sit on the couch with a pile of magazines.

July Update

Where has the month gone? Now that I'm back to work, the days fly by. Here's a quick update:

We had a great time visiting family in Wisconsin for the 4th of July weekend. Toad and Birdy enjoyed the driveway fireworks display -- and Grandma & Grandpa's neighbors put on quite a show as well. You gotta love it. We did a little shopping, a lot of eating, visiting family, etc. Hammer Guy installed wood flooring in Aunt Lisa's bathroom, an all-day event. It was a busy weekend and it was tough to get back into the swing of things last Monday.

Toad had a field trip last Friday with school. They went to a local farm to learn about riding and caring for horses.

This weekend promises to be fun -- hopefully Toad will be able to hit the pool at Aunt Julie's while Hammer Guy (and I?) shop for a new vehicle. Please vote: Honda Odyssey or Nissan Pathfinder?

Off to clean the house before work! Toad's school closes early today so he will be spending the afternoon with Grandma B. and Aunt Amy and he is thrilled!

I've Never Met a Flip-Flop I Didn't Like

Yesterday Lena and I treated ourselves to "Luxury Pedicures" -- my very first professional pedicure -- at a place called Hot Nails. It was a very nice change of pace, sipping our Caribous while the ladies made our toes look pretty. Well, as pretty as two pairs of well-worn retail feet could be.

Today Birdy and I had a "stay-home" day which included a lovely trip to Target in the morning and a three-hour nap for her in the afternoon! During that time, my sister came over and gave me a lesson on card making and the proper use of my new diecutting/embossing maching, the Cuttlebug. I asked a lot of dumb questions.

Tomorrow it's off to Wisconsin for the Fourth of July and a big picnic at Lisa's house. I'm looking forward to not cleaning in the last few days of my vacation... unfortunately, I did not get my list done!

Here's a photograph of my bee-yoo-tee-ful blue toes, and my cute lobster flip-flops from LL Bean, undoubtedly the most comfortable pair of flip-flops I've ever owned. And I've owned a lot of flip-flops.