Finally back

Boy it feels like it's been forever since I've posted here. I guess it has been a while, eh?

The kids and I spent last week in IL with Mom and Dad, which was good, but could hardly be considered "vacation." My kids did great, all things considered - they are such good travelers in the car. And it all worked out well since Natalie is naturally attracted to Maddie (they share the fascination with all things girly) and Emma would rather chase Ethan around and keep him entertained than do girly things. We never did make it to the pool. Either it was raining, or the water was cold post-rain, or we just plain didn't feel like it (Mom and me, that is). We did go to the children's museum in Bloomington, which was really nice - and we did make it to the state fair! Again, all things considered, I didn't do too badly at the fair...I had a corndog and a fire-roasted ear of corn (YUM!!), then I shared an elephant ear with Natalie, Ethan and Emma, had one bite of cotton candy, two bites of Dad's funnel cake and two bites of a very stale not-so-soft pretzel. The damage could have been much worse, I think.

On Wednesday, I went to Champaign. Met Karen for lunch and got to see her office. Then went over to Jean's new salon to get a haircut - it was really good to catch up with her. I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen her! Then Michelle met me for a run to both the scrapbook stores and then dinner. The scrapbook stores were sort of a bust. One just recently changed ownership and they are waiting for a bunch of new stuff to come in. The other one has lots of neat stuff, but they sort of act like they could care less that you're there - or at least they did when we were there. Both stores had 8x8 Bazzill packs, but not in colors I could use for my Just 3 Words mini-album. I ended up going to the office supply/scrapbook store in Decatur one day and buying 25 sheets of neutral 8.5x11 cardstock. I did get a few things at the lss in Champaign, too. I brought a very limited supply of scrappy stuff with me to Mom and Dad's but never got motivated to do anything with it.

Mom and Dad brought us back on Saturday, so we've been recovering ever since! I'm so proud of myself for actually unpacking our suitcase less than 24 hours after arriving home and putting everything away!! (I usually let it sit forever) Yesterday Natalie had tumbling, then we ran errands until mid-afternoon. Linda invited me to meet her at Opry Mills today, but the Explorer has a dead battery and Greg needs has meetings today, so we have no transportation.

I need to clean up the kitchen today and take out the trash. Then maybe I'll attempt something scrappy. I did get up, eat a very small breakfast, exercise (yoga) and take a shower - so here I am dressed and ready for the day by 10:00 AM! Go me! Oh, I picked up Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince from the library on Sunday afternoon and finished it last night. Yikes! Can't wait for the final installment!!