Vacation.

Even mommies need a break sometimes, so this past weekend, I took off for Chicago to spend some time with Becca, and to get some time away from my much beloved, loud and obnoxious family. Gigi and Grizz and Sara handled the kids on Thursday after I got on the plane, and Tim had them the rest of the weekend, with some help from Mimi and Pa. He reports that everything went well, but that on Saturday after two parties, he was really exhausted. Rearing children is exhausting, but not exactly intellectually stimulating. Meanwhile, I slept in, didn't have to make my own breakfast (one morning I ate an apple, one morning Brian went and got bagels, and Sunday morning Brian made pancakes and hash browns and coffee while Becca and I laid in bed with the cats) and we spent most of our time eating, shopping and talking smack. Oh, and on Friday night I got to sit around a chimera and drink four Miller Lites with a bunch of their Buckeye and Sconnie friends.

Sunday night I got off the plane and the kids came running, screaming to me. It was very sweet. They had been fed and bathed at Mimi and Poppy's house, so all we needed to do was snuggle while we waited for my bag, and then came home to bed time. I was pleased that they have taken me back without too much protest - I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Ellie did make me this delightful and terrifying photo of us as bunnies. Apparently the backwards writing is normal for a kid her age - she's not possessed.

Wednesday before I left, Ellie and I had quite the fun time farting through my closet.

She is my Baby Sequins forever. It was so cute how excited she was to prance around in everything - with this dress, for instance, I had to take and secure the back with a bracelet so that the straps wouldn't fall off. She also looked great in some of my shorter dresses, but the thrilling part for her was when I told her I would fix up my old prom dress for her, since I'll never wear it again (I have worn it once since prom. And I still have my winter formal dress from HS, which I will definitely wear again, believe it or not. It's just long and blue velvet, and still is the best.) So I cut the straps on my prom dress so it will be a halter neck for her, then cut the front of the skirt, leaving the back long for her "drag." And had to put a stitch in at the waist so that it doesn't gap all the way to her underpants. She is such a darling little nut. But sadly for her, I told her I might wear that sequined dress again, and refused to cut the bottom for her (even though let's be real - the only time I wore that dress was when I was at my all time lowest weight, and even then, it was so tight that I couldn't sit down in it.) But maybe I'll get a tape worm and lose those pesky thirty to forty pounds. Who knows!