Okay, rememeber my “to-do” list from yesterday of all the things I have to do before we leave on Thursday morning?  Let’s see… what did I get done off of that list?

• NOTHING!

Yep.  Not a DAMN thing off that list got done.  In my defense (I don’t really have one, cuz this is ALL my bad), I was expecting to do a bulk of the laundry and whatnot when Kile was home from work so there would be another adult downstairs to watch children while I did laundry upstairs.  But it turned out that last night was “Back to School” night at Harry’s school and then we ended up going to the drive-in with friends to see “Hellboy II” and didn’t get home until well after 11pm where we promplty fell into bed and passed out from exhaustion.

So yeah.  Today?  WILL SUCK.  Right now, I have a load of diaper laundry churning away in the machine.  But guess what?  Just found out this morning that Harry had a blue crayon hidden in his pockets and it got ALL OVER EVERYTHING.  Including the dryer.  So right now I’m trying to get the extra crayon out of the dryer by drying some old towels on high heat.  Then I’ll need to re-wash his clothes and try to get the crayon off of them (did I mention there were some new back to school clothes in there?).  Which make take several tries.  This is in addition to ALL THE OTHER LAUNDRY that I have to do.

So yeah.  I need to do all sorts of other things as well.  You name it, I gotta do it.  WE LEAVE IN THE MORNING, people.  Time, it is a-wastin’ and I really do feel as if my head might just spontaneously pop off my shoulders and roll around on the floor some before it just totally explodes into a billion pieces.

OY.  We haven’t even been through Sunday yet and I’m already feeling like i’ve had a very full weekend so far.  Some of it good.  Some of it… well.  Maybe not so much.

Friday was a lot of fun.  We met Kile’s sister, her husband and boys at the hotel they were staying at here in town to go in the pool.  It’s a great pool.  I was on the fence about actually going in, seeing as how I lack a bathing suit that fits.  What I ended up doing was putting on a one-piece that does NOT fit, layering a tankini top over that (I don’t have the bottoms) and wearing some old shorts on the bottom.  It worked.  We ALL went into the pool, Evie included.

Once she got over the initial shock, she really enjoyed it.  I held her part of the time we were in the water and, I kid you not, she SLEPT.  Being in the pool PUT HER TO SLEEP.  The girl loves water.  It completely soothed her.  Liam, on the other hand, was VERY unsure about the pool at first.  I carried him in and he whined and clung to my neck as I brought him deeper into the water.  Eventually, however, he was charmed by the splashing and by the bubbles a waterfall feature created.  While Kile was holding him (he was actually able to hold him in the water!), he learned that he could pretend to dunk Kile’s head and the faux-sputtering noises Kile would make were HILARIOUS.  To Liam, at least, who laughed harder than I’ve ever heard someone laugh.

We had to get out of the pool, however, when Liam’s lips turned blue.  It was a little on the cool side.  I took him into the bathroom/locker room to change and there was NO changing table.  Grr.  So I changed him on a towel on the counter.  And then I lost my mind and set him down on the floor next to me and told him to stay put so I could dry myself off.  RIGHT.  I love how I expected that to actually happen.

Liam took off like a shot, so I hurried after him.  I was just behind him as he ran out of the bathroom and towards the gym located opposite the doors.  Of course, the gym was walled in glass.  No one told Liam this little tidbit and he ran RIGHT into the glass wall.  Just like you would see on America’s Funniest Home Videos or something.  As it happens, a group of foreign tourists were walking by at that exact moment and expressed concern.  I assured them he was fine (no crying, etc) as I picked him up and carried him back to the pool area.  Goofy kid.  Of course, he was no worse the wear.  Becuase his head is actually made of granite.

As late as that night was, Saturday started pretty early.  I had my hair appointment at 1pm and I wanted to make sure that I got Evie taken care of and Liam down for a nap before I had to go.  Thing is, we also desperately needed groceries as we had NO FOOD in the house.  I figured that we could solve that by getting up and going out to a quick breakfast (perhaps even just McDonald’s for egg mcmuffins) about 8:30 or so and then go to the grocery store.  As long as we were back by 12, it was no problem.  Well, Kile’s sister and brother in law wanted to meet for breakfast.  They suggested 9 am and I made the mistake of thinking, “I wouldn’t want to be meeting any later than that!” while Kile was thinking, “I wonder if they’ll even be awake by 9.”

Turns out?  Kile was right.  So we met at more like 10 am.  And we went to Denny’s, which was fine, but we went to one that was heck and gone from anything else, including where we live.  We had to stop and get gas and got there just ahead of them and got seated.  After breakfast, we went to the nearest Walmart which was still a good ways away from there.  It was a lot of driving.  They took Harry with them for the day, as they were doing a little shopping and then going to a water park.  I was unsure about that, since our schedule was a little precarious, but knew Harry would have a blast and I didn’t want to deny him that.

By the time we got to Walmart, it was almost 11:30.  NOT MUCH TIME.  We decided we’d just have to go again tomorrow and to just get what we needed for the day.  And quickly!  I was impressed… we made it out of there just before 12.  But the drive home was stressful.  Stuck behind slow drivers on two lane roads and then a big accident on the interstate slowed us down.  We didn’t roll into our driveway until nearly 12:30, which is about the time I needed to leave for my appointment.  I had just enough time to lay Liam down for his nap (he’d already dozed in the van, so I was nervous that he would take a nap at all) and get going. I didn’t have time to feed Evie or anything.  I felt bad leaving Kile like that.

I hurried downtown and made it to my appointment just in time.  It was a cute little salon run by a bunch of adorable looking gals.  It felt very trendy and I felt very nervous about my haircut.  I went in there with hair that basically looked like this:

I walked out with hair that looked like this:

OH. MY. STARS.  Where’d all my hair go?? I’m having a real hard time getting used to it.  Sure, it’s a cute, hip, modern ‘do and that’s something I haven’t had in a real long time.  On the other hand, it’s a cute, hip, modern ‘do on ME and I’m just not used to that.  Every time I catch a glimpse of my hair, I double-take and then want to go hide somewhere because WHERE’D ALL MY HAIR GO??

I’m going to be dying it a little lighter.  I wouldn’t mind some accenting highlights but I’m SO cheap that not only will I not get it dyed in a salon (hello Herbal Essences hair color!), I’m also too cheap to buy a box of highlighting goop.  But you heard me mention before that my overnight stay at the Westin is in jeopardy here so I’m cutting corners where I can!

So what do YOU guys think?  It freaks me out, even looking at pictures of it.  It’s sure lighter though, I’ll give it that.  I find myself hoping I’ll grow in some length soon.

I got home and Liam was crying in his crib and Evie had resisted all manner of bottle and contents before reluctantly taking SOMETHING to tide her over until I got home.  Liam settled, who knows why he woke up in the first place.  But Kile was obviously beat and fell asleep promptly in his chair.

We had plans to go to the drive-in and see “Wall-E” last night, but my sister in law still had Harry and we didn’t know when we would be getting him back.  And no one answered their cell phone when we called.  It got later.  And later.  My dreams of having pizza for dinner (a real craving of mine lately) faded.  Before long, we wondered if we would even make the drive-in at all.  Finally, they called and we went to meet them.  If we were going to the movie, we were going to be cutting it close.  We’d have to pick up fast food for dinner on the way and eat it there.  OR we could go to the movie on Sunday night and go do pizza up right.  We made the mistake of presenting the options to Harry.

Harry wanted to see the movie last night and burst into tears at there mere notion of having to wait a WHOLE DAY to go see it (and didn’t understand when we assumed he was tired because of the irrational tears).  So, we made a break for it.  And wouldn’t you know, the drive-in was PACKED.  Apparently, word has gotten out that drive-ins are cool again because everyone and their DOG was there.  We got a fairly horrible spot back by the snack bar but at least it had a straight-shot view of the screen.  It was a good hour or so until the movie was set to begin so we had plenty of time to eat our dinners and get situated.

I wasn’t real crazy about it; I’d forgotten Evie’s bouncer seat AND Boppy pillow, both of which are handy at being places to have her be without having my arms tied up.  Plus, we were packed in like sardines and I’m sorry, but that’s not real condusive to private breastfeeding.  Also, the light and noise from the snack bar were pretty distracting.  But… we made it work.  And the movie was adorable.  I wouldn’t mind seeing it again under less stressful circumstances.

We were surprised at how much Liam seemed to enjoy it.  Close to the end, he started to get whiny and such but he was exhausted by that point.  Until then, he watched the screen with rapt attention and laughed and shrieked and had a grand ol’ time.  It was really cute to watch.

Still, we ended out the day on a very frustrated note.  Kile was tired and admitted he hadn’t had a very good day at all.  Neither had I, partially because I felt it was my fault (the whole hair appointment and everything) that he had such a bad day and was so grouchy.  I hoped Sunday would be better.

And really?  It has been.  We haven’t done much besides go shopping (we missed church because we were rather lazy this morning).  We checked out the new Whole Foods here in town (LOVE) and ate at In ‘n Out Burger and shopped at Walmart and Sam’s Club.  We have food again!  YAY!  I won’t have to be so gosh darned hungry this week!

I am exhausted now though.  I have aches on top of aches.  Lugging Liam around, even for short distances, is starting to take it’s toll.  While I am hoping for toned arms, I am definitely getting stiff and sore shoulders.  The top of my back hurts every time I move it.  My legs are screaming at me for the miles I’ve traversed in the name of retail today.  And I’m STILL not used to my hair.

We went to the drive-in last night and saw “Get Smart”.  A good time was had by all and the kids were pretty cooperative.  Evie even fell asleep in her bouncer seat, after craning her neck so she could see the movie screen.  Goofy girl.  Still, it was late, late, late by the time we got home.  Liam pretty much just crashed right out.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Evie followed right behind and surprised the heck out of me by not cracking an eyelid until after 5am.  She didn’t even shift from her position.  Girl was TIRED.

We didn’t roll out of bed until after 9:30 this morning as a result.  In fact, Harry was the FIRST one up (when does that ever happen?) and Liam was the last one up.  I wonder if we haven’t entered into some sort of weird portal or something, some sort of Bizaaro World.

So today has been rather lazy so far.  We missed church, of course.  We’ve just now managed to have some lunch.  Perhaps, maybe, we’ll make it out into the Outside World.  Where, of course, we will not b spending any money.  Because one needs to have money to spend in order to spend money (at least, that’s our philosophy, but then we don’t use credit cards).

Anyhow, to appease you good readers (all two of you), I’m going to post the following video.  I took it the other afternoon of Evie.  I was hoping to get her to “talk” to me.  She is a big-time coo-er.  I’ve never had such a talkative baby.  She gave a coo or two, but I mostly was able to get smiles out of her.  Which, you know, isn’t so bad.  I mean, I’m still totally going to eat her.

I don’t want to hear nonsense about it being Memorial Day weekend or anything.  That’s no excuse.  No, I want to know where everyone has gotten off to.  The blogosphere has been mighty quiet the last couple of days and it makes me so sad!  Come play with me!!

***

I posted on the cloth diaper blog today about my Saturday of Good Fortune.  It was The Awesome.  Nothing makes me quite as happy as a good deal does.  Unless it’s packaged in with a good opportunity.  I don’t know if it was just the awesome deals right and left that made Saturday so good, but I just felt so content all day long.  Which, you know, is pretty impressive considering it has been rainy and miserable here all weekend long and for Memorial Day, that’s pretty much just 20 shades of wrong.

***

Despite the rain, we made it out last night to go see “Indiana Jones” at the drive-in last night.  And you know, rain doesn’t necessarily preclude having a good time at the drive-in.  Sure, we had to stay in our cars because it was cold and miserable outside but big deal.  We got to see an awesome movie.  When is that not fun?  We had to run the windshield wipers a lot and the rain did streak the screen a touch, but it wasn’t that bad, actually.  I’m glad we went and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

And yes, I liked the movie.  No, it wasn’t anything that’s going to win Academy Awards, but were Indiana Jones movies EVER the sort that win awards?  No, they’re just plain fun and that’s what this one is too.  I rather enjoyed the ending and the story was pretty interesting and, COME ON, it’s Indiana Jones!  What’s not to love?

I’m sure the hot buttered popcorn helped, too.

***

Nasty weather aside, I feel like we should grill something to eat for dinner tonight.  Of course, it would be indoors as our grill it out of propane and, you know, the whole RAIN thing.  What should we have?  I’m feeling rather partial to a semi-rare steak at the moment, though I’m sure my husband will prefer hamburgers, or perhaps kabobs or something.  Whatever it is, I fear there may have to be potato or pasta salad to go with it.  Because all of the sudden that sounds DAMN GOOD.

Tell me what you all have been doing with yourselves this long, lovely weekend.   And I hope you’ve all had better weather than we have!

I have The Blahs this weekend.  I don’t know if I’m just tired (which I totally am) or coming down with something (please god no) or WHAT.  But I’ve felt very draggy, achy, cross and just… blah (hence, The Blahs).  At every turn I want to say either “Meh” or “Blah”.  Possibly “Ugh”.

And it hasn’t been a bad weekend.  Far from it.  Kile brought home a taco pizza from Papa Murphy’s on Friday which was very, very yummy.  Then, on Saturday morning, he got up with her early on so I could stretch out and get another hour or so by myself.  That was fabulous.  Evie wasn’t really awake herself, so she and he just conked out in Kile’s recliner until I woke up.  Then, last night, we went to a barbecue at a friend’s house before we all went to the drive in together to see the new “Narnia” movie.  I mean that all sounds like fun, right?  And it was.  But I still felt icky.

We even slept in this morning, missing church (shame on us) since the movie didn’t end until after 11:00 last night.  Of course, now I feel worse because I’m so much more tired.  The fact that it’s freaking HOT outside isn’t helping because I swear to you, I’m allergic to hot weather.  I cannot stand to be hot.  Nothing can make me feel ill quicker (well, other than watching Kile play Halo, that is).  Is it possible that I miss winter already?

We left the house, a noble act I’m sure, in search of some parts at the hardware store.  I think I officially hate Home Depot now.  I was feeling so sour after our trip there that we skipped going to Walmart.  If there’s anything I’ve learned about going to Walmart, it’s that if you’re already annoyed with humanity going in, you should probably just skip it.  It’s rare that a sour mood is IMPROVED by going to Walmart.  Especially on a Sunday.

So now, while Kile is trying to fashion me a diaper sprayer and Liam is checking out what Noggin has to offer (I get great joy from heckling Dora.  She drives me nuts) I’m trying to wrap my head around this post.  So far, I’m failing miserably.  Oh well.  You’re stuck with it now!

*cackle*

Hope you’re all feeling better than I am.  Believe me, it’s not much of a stretch.