Our Crazy Weekend

So this weekend was pretty nuts. Fun - but exhausting! Twice a year I participate in this big consignment sale, where I buy the vast majority of the kids clothes, and sell some old ones too. It was Friday night. DH was away this weekend, so I left work at 4pm, picked up all three kids and got home in time to meet the babysitter. Then my friend Holly and I drove out to the sale. We got there right at 6pm when it opened - and almost were able to skip the massive line. We were there for about 3 hours - which I know seems crazy - but there is all kinds of stuff, and you need to pick it out and sort through it then stand in the line from hell to checkout. It was great though - I got TONS of leggings for K (as requested), a few things for B, and LOTS of adorable Elmo stuff for Big Man. I also got dress up clothes for all three for a wedding we are going to in 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, my BF from college drove down from PA with her 2 kids and relieved my babysitter about 8:30pm. I got home and crashed! The next morning we all got up and went to the Fairfax City Festival. It was really pretty great. For $5 each the kids had free run of all the rides. They really enjoyed it. And my favorite 80s cover band was the lunchtime entertainment - even better! We met various friends there over the course of the day (we were there from 11am - 4:30pm!) and finally headed home.

At 6pm, said friends came over and we had dinner for 12 kids and 8 adults. One friend provided spaghetti and meatballs (already cooked!) and dessert for the kids. I made a quick chicken and pasta dish for adults.

On Sunday morning we woke up and dropped Big Man off with Nana. (A few weeks ago Nana pointed out that Big Man was rarely alone - especially with someone other than Mom or Dad. Since she is taking him for 5 days when we go to Disney, we decided we needed some dry-runs). The rest of us headed to Cox Farms for the Pumpkin Festival. It was fun - although VERY crowded. The kids enjoyed the slides, goat petting zoo, and the hay ride. It was pretty hot out - turned out I sunburned my face. Luckily none of the kids seemed impacted.

Last night we ordered Outback in cuz I was too tired to cook.

This morning my friend and her kids left, and I brought K to school. B and Big Man are off for the federal holiday, so Nana is home with them. I am at work. Finally getting some downtime. ;)

Tonight our (2nd run) local movie theater is having a sing along to Mama Mia! Yay!

Our Crazy Fun Weekend

So this weekend was a little nuts. Saturday morning K and I get up and go to her first ballet class. It was really good, despite being only 30 minutes when it was advertised for 45. Then back home, after stopping at Goodwill so I could get a super short spandex miniskirt for my 80s outfit later. K also found a cute shirt and we got a ton of great books - all for like $12. Gotta love it. The girls then played their new Viva Pinata for a while. Its actually pretty cool - you build a garden which attracts all these animals and you have to make it work.

Then a quick lunch for everyone, and naps for the younger two. Then K and I went to her first soccer game. I will have to post some pictures later, but she really rocked. Given she couldn't name even one rule of soccer on the way to the game, I was somewhat concerned. But she did SOOOO good! She was ready to jump in there and try and get that ball. I was so happy for her.

Then back home (after the mandatory stop at the ice cream man), where I finally painted the hallway I had taped 4-5 days ago. Got the first coat up before I had to shower and change into my 80s clothes (oversized paisley blouse, black micro mini, black capri tights with lace on the bottom, white lace socks, saddle shoes, and big poofy hair with bow). I ran out to get money and chicken nuggets (we had a McD coupon), and back to find our friends and their 2 kids waiting. The babysitter was there and the four of us headed out. (BTW - my babysitter is awesome and nuts! For all five kids we usually pay her $25/hr..she sent an email last week saying that was too high and we should only pay her $20!!!) We went to dinner at a restaurant near the theater where the show was going to be. We were a few hours before the show so we got a few looks from diners at our outfits. By the time we left the place was full of 80s fanatics! Bon Jovi wigs, off the shoulder shirts, lace gloves with fingers cut out, pegged pants, etc! We headed to the Legwarmers show, which was totally awesome! We stayed until they finished - about 1:30!! WAAAAYYY past my bedtime.

We got home, and the kids were all sleeping! Hit the hay for a few hours, then dealt with 5 awake, slightly hyper, hungry kids. Got them fed and the 4 oldest to Sunday school. I went grocery shopping while they were there, then picked up my 2 (our friends picked up their kids from there). Home for a little bit, then off to the Nationals game. It was such a beautiful day for baseball. Kids got their cool free backpacks, and we stayed to let the kids run the bases.

By the time we got home we were all crashing. Quick dinner (turkey quesadillas - K had to sit there for 90 minutes to eat hers!), baths, and bed. I ran to Target to get new crocs for B (her current pair actually had a hole in the bottom of the shoe!), and some groceries we had missed. Home around 8:45, watched the Emmys until 10:30...then crashed.

A long weekend, but lots of fun! And now, back to my crazy overscheduled Monday!!

Most Relaxing Day

So I was away with my girlfriends this weekend. On Saturday we had nearly the perfect day. We woke up, had a delicious breakfast - tropical french toast (courtesey of Dinner Done), and decided we would not get out of our jammies all day. It was heaven. We read books, played cards (I taught them Canasta - which I LOVE), watched a movie, ate chocolate and junk foods, drank wine and blender drinks, it was perfect!!! We even went out and visited a local gift store we love (before the drinking, of course) IN OUR JAMMIES! It was so great. I read a bunch of magazines and several books without interruption. How lovely! We came back early on Sunday to make it to a superbowl party. It was a perfectly relaxing weekend. How often do us busy moms get that??? I am so lucky to have such great friends, and a great husband who lets me get away with it. Especially since i have another weekend away in 2 weeks for ScrapBowl!

NO BOYS ALLOWED

(k is doing MUCH better, thanks for all the good wishes. I am cloroxing the heck out of my house, lets keep our fingers crossed!)

So I am a big believer in girl-time. Sometime you need to get away from the DH and kids and get with your girls. I have an amazing circle of close girlfriends that live in town (and a few out of town) and I am so lucky to have them around me. The core group started from college and has grown a bit from there. Most of us have known each other for over 20 years and we are still close. I am so blessed. Now we have kids that are growing up together. We all had kids around the same time - at one point 4 of us were pregnant with our second child at the same time - gave birth in June, July and August of the same year! There are now 11 kids ages 6 and under. It is really great.

And while we do lots of family events together, I love when we get together - just the girls. The husbands think we spend the time together bitching about them. I'm not going to say that has never happened, but really it is just that women can talk to women about more things than husbands or others care to hear about. I think that time is so precious, and love when we get the opportunity to do it.

Every few weeks we have a girls dinner (although we have been slacking lately - need to get back on that), a few times a year we go on a "girls weekend" away, and when several of us turned 30 we decided to do a week-long girls trip every 5 years.

At 30 we flew to Nashville, TN; rented an RV, and drove across the South. It was awesome. None of us were particularly into camping, nor had any of us lived in or driven an RV. But we had a great time (nevermind the smashing the a/c unit off the top of the thing, or Duffy nearly having a heart attack at my driving down rainy, wet mountain roads).

At 35 we stayed in a b&b in Santa Fe and did day trips around the area. So relaxing, and so BEAUTIFUL! We took a cooking class, did lots of shopping, ate GREAT food, saw opera, hiked, and even had mud baths.

Next year, several of us will be 40. We are renting an apartment in Paris for a week. I am so excited. I already have my plane ticket, and we aren't going until August. All of us have been to Paris before, so we are really just going to try and hang out - eat great french food, drink french wine, and enjoy the culture.

How do you all spend time with your girlfriends?