And We're Home

We made it. 36 hours of driving, 4 different hotels, 1 awesome cottage, too many Starbucks stops to count.

We had a great time, we ate way too much food, laughed, cried, screamed, fought, made-up, swam, and slept very little.

 As fun as it was, it felt so good to climb into our own beds, in our own rooms last night and go to sleep.  

The Little Car that Could

So glad to be home, but not necessarily back to real life. Re-entry is always tough!

The End of the Road

In case you were wondering why there have been no new blog posts, it has been for a very good reason: Epic Road Trip. As with all vacations there have been some highs and lows. But if you ask the boys they will tell you this was: The. Best. Trip. Ever. Although we still have to drive the two days home. Their opinion may change. But for now they are happy and so am I.

Not To Be Left Out

I don't always do things "fair and equal" amongst my boys. Crazy, because my mom counted out each number of jelly beans for our Easter baskets, and my sister has a freaking spreadsheet to keep track of her kids' Christmas presents. I just grab a handful of candy throw them in the basket. The dollar amount is sometimes equal at Christmas but not always, and never the number of gifts.  Upsetting I know.  But in someways I make sure that no one is left out.

Immediately following my date with Micah. Jack started asking, "what about my date?"  I thought we might put it off a week or two, but no, Jack scheduled it as soon as possible.  Monday the first thing he says to me after getting off the bus, "Mom, are you excited for our date?"  How could I not be, when my little boy is so eagerly waiting for our time together. Or maybe just the ice-cream.

As we walked to the car together Jack told me he had been looking forward to our date all day.  Made my heart melt.

Our first stop was Barnes and Noble. Jack had received a gift card for his birthday and this seemed to be a good time to spend it.  He quickly walked through the kids area and grabbed any book that caught his eye. We were left with quite the pile.  After sitting and reading several of the books, and having a brief chat about how much things cost, we narrowed it down to two books. Both Star Wars, of course.

And then it was time for what I know had to be the best part of the evening. Baskin Robbins ice cream. Jack wanted a double scoop, we compromised on a single scoop in a waffle cone.  I had rocky road, of course, and Jack had rainbow sherbet. To each his own.

Finn was not to be left out and soon began asking for his 'date'.  At first we were going to Molly Moon, I was giddy! And all by himself, Finn was very clear. But then he thought about it some more and decided that Jack could come, then he guessed Micah could come too, and of course dad could come.  Um, that's everyone then.  On Thursday night I got dressed up to go to a baby shower and when I came downstairs Finn said, "It's our date!". Oh dear.

Today I found myself with a few extra minutes of alone time with Finn. What the heck, I thought, it's not a well planned date, but it's a date non the less. And so we made an impromptu stop at, you guessed it, Baskin Robbins. Finn had chocolate, I had none. I figured three ice-cream cones in one week was a bit much. Sigh.

I don't know how long the boys will think that going on a date with mom is 'cool', so for now I am going to enjoy it. I have moments of missing not having a girl (mostly just the cute clothes) but I had no idea how amazing the relationship between a mother and a son was. I feel truly blessed to say: these are my sons.

Date Night

I spent all day Saturday trying to think of someone to invite to go with me to a community production of The Sound of Music.  Who would like to drive 30 minutes, stand in line for an hour to attempt to get good seats, to watch people you don't know in a so-so musical?  No one I could think of. Don't get me wrong, the actors did an amazing job, I just do not L-O-V-E The Sound of Music, like everyone else seems to. It's okay, but a lot of the songs are kind of boring and no really good dance numbers.  All time favorite dance scene in a play: the barn dance in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Awesome.

But, I needed to go, I wanted to see my cousin as the lead, and I really didn't want to go alone.  I asked Jack, thinking he likes singing and dancing, but he said NO. So I asked Micah. And I bribed him. First, I told him his big cousin Luke was in the play. That intrigued him enough to say yes. But then he changed his mind, he would rather stay home. So then, I  pulled out the big guns: Ice-Cream.  Of your choosing.

And that is how I ended up having an awesome date night with my middle son. He really did like the play, although we left at intermission, he spent the whole time sitting on the edge of his seat trying to see all the action on the stage.  On the way home, I asked him what ice-cream he would like. Molly Moon or Baskin Robbins.

Baskin Robbins is the best ice-cream he told me. So that is where we went. Rainbow sherbet for him, rocky road for me. Plus, some much needed one on one time with my middle son.  Made me smile all night long.

I love this kid.

What's For Lunch?

Today was a busy day. One of those days where it seems to be lunchtime before I have even cleaned the breakfast dishes, or I would have if I was even home. We were at the bus stop at 9:00 to send Jack off to school. We were at Little Gym at 9:15 for Micah to demonstrate his awesome tumbling skills. And we were at our preschool to set up MOPS at 10:30. By the time all was said and done it was 11:45 and I was tired.  It is also one of those drizzly gray days we have been having all too frequently now.  All this to say, I was feeling less then excited about going home and starting lunch. It felt like a good lunch out day, but since most days feel like that, I'm not the best one to make this decision.

Just as I was getting ready to pack the boys up, I got a text from my husband:

Good day for a lunch with the boys, if u are up for it, rather they r


Oh, yeah, we are up for it.  But not for Red Robin. Jack had already had a rough morning and I figured coming home to find out his brothers went to Red Robin without him would be the final straw. Then I remembered this little hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant near our house. We had been there one Sunday night and I remember it being tasty and cheap.  When I suggested this to the boys, I received an immediate: OH YEAH!

Which is how we ended up eating phad thai, rama noodles, and spring rolls for lunch. Micah was happy to have a plate all to himself, and I was happy to not have lunch dishes to clean up. A true win-win!