The Hangover: My Edition

Here we are in kid-free bliss.

Chicago rocked.

The rehearsal dinner rocked.  The after bar rocked.  The wedding rocked.  The trolley rocked.  Brian's best man toast rocked.  The band literally rocked.  It all totally rocked.

You know how you plan an event?  You plan for months and months.  You have brand new outfits to wear.  Fun snacks to eat.  Pretty painted toe and fingers.  A fresh haircut.

Then it comes and it goes and it's never as fun as the planning.

That didn't happen.

It was more fun than I could have ever expected and then some.

I have one complaint:  Why, oh, why must the Chicago bars be open until 5 a.m.?

The kids are back and I'm so glad.  The reuniting today was priceless.  But my legs hurt from dancing.  My feet hurt from heels.  My throat hurts from laughing.  My eyes hurt from not sleeping.  My liver hurts from drinking.

But I don't think anything hurts more than our credit card.  Oooh baby.  Looks like we'll be staying in for the next five years.  Thank you City of Chicago for your 10% sales tax.  At that rate you should just call it a tip.  But you're still one of my favorite cities so I'll let it slide.

A quick story about seeing the kids for the first time today and then off to bed to catch up on 48 hours of lost sleep.

I met my mom at a mall to trade back kids and cars today.  When William saw me he ran clear across the parking lot screaming: "MOMMY! MOMMY!"

We hugged.  We kissed.

But when I went in to take Lucy from my mom's arms she turned away from me and gave me a scowl.  She was mad that I left her!  I took her anyway and then she wrapped her little arms around me.  Every so often she would lean back to peek at my face.  "Is it really you?" she seemed to be asking.  Then she would giggle as if to say, "Just kidding, I'm not really that mad at you."

After the mall we swung by Brian's office so he could see the kids as well.  Once again William ran to him screaming: "DADDY! DADDY!"

But Lucy, oh how she loves that daddy of hers.  She pushed herself out of my arms and immediately held them up to Brian.  She was hyperventilating and laughing all at the same time.  She pushed her big brother out of the way so she could get better dibs.

We had ourselves a little moment right there in the lobby of his office.  A few welled up eyes and all.

Our family's back together.  Even if some of us are hurting like the dickens.

On Being Away

"I can't wait to just sit next to you on the plane."

That's what Brian and I told one another in preparation for our Chicago trip this weekend.  It was probably said in the heat of the moment.  At the dinner table when everyone was screaming for something.  Dessert.  More milk.  A bath.  Bed.  I want to tell you something.  I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING NOW.  Are you listening, mommy?  Mommy?  MOMMY?!

It's Wednesday afternoon and the kids are already gone.  They're living the dream life at Camp Grandma's for a long, long weekend.

I was slightly relieved when Lucy pooped just as I was getting her into her carseat for my brother to drive them away.

I brought her back in the house for a change and quiet one-on-one time.

"Mommy's going to miss you SO much," I said.

She looked at me with those quizzical eyes and babbled something back in Chinese or Japanese or Mandarin.  And my heart ached.  A lot.

It's the first time I've ever been away from her overnight since she was born.  Fourteen months of her and I waking up and going to bed just a stone's throw apart.

I'm not the kind of mother who looks for opportunities to get away.  I'm not the kind of person who needs a ton of alone time.  I like my family and I like when we are all together in one complete unit.

But when situations present themselves, such as a family wedding in downtown Chicago in which it would be near impossible to bring any of the kids, well, I see it as a little nudge.

Work on my marriage.  Have fun.  Sleep in.  Stay out late.  Maybe have a  glass of wine, or two, or four.

It's good to revive the part of me that used to be carefree and not thinking about the next meal or if it's getting close to naptime or if I have enough diapers to make it through the week.

Mornings will be hard.  Thinking of them with their sleep-kissed faces when they are most snuggable.  What did they dream about? What are they having for breakfast?  Are there smiles?  Are there tears?

And then there's the nights.  When I'll be alone with my thoughts, cuddled up against my love in the dark and thinking of my babies snuggled in their beds and sleeping soundly so far away.

Those will be the hard times.  But besides that I'll have plenty of distractions to keep me focused on my number one goal: To have fun.

And when I return, well, we all know that's the best part of any vacation.  Sleeping in your own bed.  Eating your own food.  Getting ready in your own bathroom.  And being refreshed.  So refreshed that I'll actually be excited to be a 24/7 mom again.

Signing out of Bloggyland for a bit.  See you when I return!

My Life With Lucy: In Two Photos

"I don't WANNA do 'so big'!"

"Stop it!"

"Right now!"

"I'm serious!"

"I said STOP IT!"

"Oh wait.  Is it time to eat?"

One Of Those Kind Of Days

**Note: This picture was actually taken last week.  But the weather is just as toasty and we did the same thing today so it still counts.

My Best Season

We are all dressed and ready for the day by 9 a.m.

We go to the park, one, two, sometimes three times a day.

I leave my camera at home.  Live in the moment.  Not stress about the perfect capture.

On most days his bike clocks more than two miles.

I say yes when he asks to go to the far park.

I blow up his swimming pool on the sunny days.

And set up the sprinkler too.

"Is this an obstacle course?" He asks, excitedly.

"Yes," I say.

I let him eat cherries right out of the bowl and hardly get upset when the juice dribbles down his chin and stains his t-shirt.

We go to the library when it rains to search for Nate the Great books.

Naps are hit or miss.

Bedtimes might go into the 9 o'clock hour.

I make easy dinners.  Pasta.  Pizza.  Anything on the grill.

I make brownie sundaes for dessert almost every night.

Or instead we walk to the ice cream store after baths.

I don't worry as much about the floor's dirt or the fingerprints on the windows.

The laundry gets done once a week instead of twice or thrice.

I use my television only to play the Party Hits music channel.

And we dance.

I pay no attention to my DVR.  Or my computer. [Sorry!]

It's summer after all.

I think I'm a better mom in the summer.  I think my kids would agree.

Daddy's Day

If I Had A Million Dollars...

I'd buy this.

Oh to dream.  Especially on a beautiful June day such as this.