Fall in New England

We had a wonderful weekend with my dad and stepmom in town. They actually arrived Friday morning and left early today, so they got a full three days with the kiddos (and me, I guess, but mostly the kids… you know how it goes). Thankfully, neither of my kids has yet developed much by [...]

Double-meme

So, my real-life buddy Nancy over at the Zimmer Zoo tagged me twice recently!  Better get cracking…
Meme #1

Rules: Answer each question with one-word answers, then pass along to seven others whose blog you love.
1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Blonde
4. Your mother? Illinois
5. Your father? [...]

Change of plans

My mom hasn’t seen the kids since our big trip to Chicago in late July. The bummer about living 1,000 miles away from my family, and the fact that my mom tends to have a very busy social calendar, is that time just seems to fly by and the next thing you know, she hasn’t [...]

I just don’t want it that badly

Oy, what an afternoon.
So, obviously the kiddos had a birthday recently.  My mom wanted to get them a good present, and decided on this outdoor playhouse.  Looks like fun, durable, good for a number of years.  Great gift.
Except, she lives 1,000 miles away from us.  So, she figured she’d order it online and have it [...]

They’re definitely his kids

Sometimes it takes outside eyes to notice things about your kids.  When you’re so close all the time, it can be hard to see the proverbial forest for the trees.  That, and I think I just don’t see them the way other people do.  I can’t, I’m their mother.
Prime example, the way every single person [...]

Trip Recap, Part 4 – The Family Reunion

I swear, this is the last trip recap you’ll hear!  I know, it’s fascinating…. but I wanted to record it for posterity before I completely forget and there’s a million other things to write about.
Anyways, the final weekend of the big trip to the Midwest involved a two-hour drive to sorta-Central Illinois for my dad’s [...]

Trip Recap, Part 3 – back to Grandpa’s house

See the first parts of the story here and here.
The first week of the trip under our belts, we were back at my dad’s house for a few days.  We pretty much crammed in visitors at every opportunity.  I have a lot of family and old friends in the area, and I thought a 12-day [...]

Trip Recap, Part 1 – Grandpa’s house

[Sucky day update: the city is attempting to repair the broken sewage pipe, or at least making a good show of tearing up the street in front of my driveway. M just informed me that the city just cracked the water line instead of the sewer line, and haven't even dug in the right place [...]

Wrenches in the plan

I want to tell you all about our trip, I really do.  All about our 11 nights in three different beds in two different states.  But in addition to the usual post-vacation craziness (dirty laundry, no food in the house, picking up the dog, fixing the lighting on the 900+ pictures I took), we’ve hit [...]

Entering phase 3

…of our Great Midwestern Adventure. (or is it phase 4? I don’t know phases…)  Tomorrow we leave the greater Chicagoland area for the middle of nowhere, Illinois (near Starved Rock, for those in the know), for my dad’s family reunion.  It’s an annual gathering, probably 50 or so people, and it’s total insanity.  My family [...]