from the lobby of our hotel as I wait for our dinner…..

Well, we’re off to Mexico for a week!  I don’t think I’ve even mentioned it yet, but we booked the trip back in November, and tomorrow morning at 6!  15!   A!  M!  we fly out.  So far we’ve done pretty well, aside from some juice box barf in Manning Park — gross, gross, gross — the kids have done really well with a long day of travel.

So, have a great spring break, and I’ll have tons of pictures to share when I get back!

These?  Are my girls.

16 years. (almost 1/2 my life!!)

 8 kids.

 And lots and lots of memories equals a friendship like no other.

We got together last weekend for our annual-ish girls weekend. 

We laughed (and cried),

 we walked and shopped and ate and we had a tiny bit of wine (really, a tiny bit, Jonny…..),

 we saw a really cute movie (Penelope) and then we put our feet up and talked some more (until 2 A!M! on daylight savings night!!!! ! ! )

and just had a really great time reconnecting. 

Yes, my girls.

This past month or so, Benny has been a sea turtle.  It’s the swimming class at the Community Centre for kids who are not quite 3 yet, so they get to go with a parent.  Ben and Daddy have had some really great quality time two nights a week, and Ben has had the chance to become a little more comfortable with the water.  He was really great last summer until he, um, almost drowned, but that’s another story, and since then, funny enough, he’s been a little more timid around the water.

But now, with a bit of encouragement, he’ll blow bubbles, put his face in the water, and even go under.

Sigh.  My heart melts.

(this story has been re-enacted for your benefit)

Today, at the park, Sarah raised her arms above her head, and said, “Mom, I’m a mudder.” 

 “?!?” I thought, “Mudder?  Has she aquired a new accent (aside from the valley girl that we normally hear)?  Is she from Boston?  Does she have her words confused?”

 ”Mom, I’m a mudder! I’m Daddy’s mudder!”

“Joan?  She’s Joan?  How is she Joan? I don’t get it.”

“Mom!  I’m a MUDDER!  I’m DADDY’S MUDDER!!!!!!”

(Do you see it yet?)

When I looked at her shadow, I finally figured it out.

This is for you, Amanda

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

“I’m proud of Chip for being so polite,” Belle told the Beast.  But the Beast didn’t seem to be listening.  He was too busy wolfing down his food.”

from Happily Ever After Stories, Tales of Love and Friendship — Disney style.

So if the tag was for a book I’m reading, the book would have been, “Raising Kids for True Greatness” by Dr. Tim Kimmel, but those 3 sentences didn’t make much sense without context.  So I went with, um, the nearest book — which more accurately describes my reading habits these days.

I tag  — um who am I kidding, hardly anyone reads me — just go read a book!   

Yes, those are baseboards being painted in the middle of my kitchen.

On really old and crappy saw horses.

And yes, you are seeing a plywood floor.  Nothing but the best for us! 

Seriously, you should see our master bedroom right now — when I’m lying in bed, my feet can touch the old vanity that’s been hauled out of the ensuite.  But, on the upside, I painted it this evening, the tile tub surround is going in tomorrow, and the floor on Monday!!!! 

(this is last Saturday by the way, today was another story!)