Forget Me Not Vacation

As most of my myriad (ha) of faithful blog readers know we spent Greyson's birthday in Greece.  Now we didn't set out to take him halfway across the world for his birthday but the timing of the vacation in terms of other summer obligations and finding a cruise that traveled the Mediterranean without stopping in Turkish waters left us little choice but to be in Europe on Greyson's big day.

So naturally as Quinn's birthday approached she started asking "Where are we going for my birthday?"  Hmmm, perhaps we started a dangerous trend.  Clearly we couldn't go back to Europe again for a large variety of reasons but luckily BGA's fall break fell the weekend before her birthday giving us an opportunity to do something away from the house to celebrate.  And well, if you can't go to Europe, the next best place is Atlanta, right?

The kids and I left Thursday morning, with Raif to follow Friday night due to some work commitments he couldn't get out of.  We spent Thursday morning leisurely packing up, making sure we had everything.  I even let the kids pack their bags themselves by simply telling them what they needed to pack.  (Which led to Greyson wearing nothing but BGA t-shirts all weekend.)  We pulled out of the driveway in plenty of time to get to Atlanta and through Chattanooga before rush hour.  I was quite pleased with my "I don't need Raif's help. I can do it by myself." single parent morning.  It wasn't til we got about a half an hour out of Nashville when the realization hit me like a bag of bricks.  "I didn't put the kids bags in the back of the car."  S.H.I.T.  So now what?  Do I turn around an add an hour to my drive putting me smack in the middle of Chattanooga and Atlanta rush hour?  Or do I let Raif bring the bags Friday night leaving my kids without any change of clothes without a trip to the local mall?

We turned around. 

Driving 3 1/2 hours with two kids whining about when we are going to get there is bad enough but then adding an hour to that from your own stupidity makes the car ride almost unbearable.  I was in a foul mood, made worse by the stand still traffic in Chattanooga.  Thank goodness for my darling Surabhi who had wine waiting for me when I finally got to Atlanta.

But from miserable beginnings our vacation had nowhere to go but up.  We spent the weekend hitting all the major kid attractions Atlanta has to offer. (I would show you pictures of the Atlanta kids' museum but while I brought my camera I left the memory card at home.  Raif was kind enough to bring that on Friday).


(Greyson showing off his Vandy pride while Raif and I enjoyed FlipBurger.  Mmmmm Flipburger.  Atlanta I do not miss your traffic but I do miss your food.)


(The kids outside the Georgia Aquarium.  The only picture I took of any of the places we went that weekend.)

On Saturday night we took Quinn for her birthday dinner at Dante's Down the Hatch.  Seriously, what could be better for  two kids who love to eat well - fondue on a pirate ship?!  At the end of meal Dante himself let Quinn open a 16th century pirate trunk, by picking the magic key from an old brass key ring, to find birthday treasure.  That was pretty miserable for Greyson but it was made a little better when Dante suggested that he come back for his birthday.  So Atlanta friends, you may see us in July!



(Quinn smelling the wine cork.  I pity the boy that tries to take her out for a fancy meal.  He will have no idea what he has gotten himself into.)


(The highlight of the evening for me. Birthday Daddy/Daughter dance to the jazz trio)


(The Kumars surprised Quinn with birthday balloons AND a cake when we got back from dinner.  Quinn was over the moon.)

And while we enjoyed all the things we did, the best part of the weekend was celebrating Quinn's birthday by making new friends and reconnecting with old ones.  A pretty good birthday weekend, if I do say so myself.

(Quinn, Anika, and Greyson.  Nikhil was napping so he missed the group picture.)


(Those wild and crazy (and adorable) Roberts girls.)

5

Only a Number

Tomorrow Quinn turns 5.

And realistically she will be no different than she is today.  I mean 4 and 364 days is pretty much the equivalent of 5 and no days.

I tried to say that about turning 30 and spent my birthday sitting in the dark of my house eating large quantities of ice cream.

You see 5 is a milestone to me.  When a little person magically turns into a big one.  When they no longer have Mommy and Me classes - they do everything by themselves.  A whole world of independent opportunities opens up when you are 5.

Now let's be clear - this post really is all about me, not Quinn (I will save that one for her actual birthday).  I am about to have no more children under the age of 5.  And I am FREAKING OUT!!

This may have something to do with the fact that the majority of my close friends are either attempting to become pregnant, pregnant or have babies under the age of 1 (or close as it makes any difference).  And here I am with my biological clock ticking away and my eggs curdling as we speak.  I don't really want any more children but I enjoy thinking that I have the ability to have more, which that fantasy is shrinking by the day.

So no babies on the horizon AND two "school-age" children equals hitting yet another milestone on my rapid approach to Happy Acres Retirement Center.

Tomorrow is the birthday party for Quinn but today is the pity party for me.  So raise your glass of wine and salute my approach to middle age! .

Pumpkin Patch 2011

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Defense

Generally I consider myself the photo chronicler of the family.  I take the pictures of the life events so when we retire into the old folks home we can sit in our rocking chairs and remember all the things that the kids did.  I don't take the best pictures, I just take a lot of them.  Raif is the portrait taker and the photographer of the family.  Which is why I am patting myself on the back for this picture that I took.  Not a bad action shot of my defense man saving a goal, if I do say so myself.

BattleGround All Hail

A couple of weeks ago Greyson was selected to be a Kindergarten representative in the Homecoming Choir that was going to sing the Alma Mater at the Homecoming Halftime.  I suspect he was chosen for his vocal exuberance rather than his actual vocal talent, since he has inherited both his parents inability to carry a tune in a basket.  But whatever the reason, I was so very proud of him.  And of course, he did a FANTASTIC job.  He wasn't a bit nervous to walk out on the field and sing to close to 1,000 people and as you can tell from the video he knew all the words and definitely sang with that exuberance I was talking about.

FYI: He is the adorable little guy, first row all the way on the right wearing the green sweater vest.

Tired

We women who are crazy enough to have "Irish Twins" (or close enough to make any difference) consider ourselves part of our own little tribe.  We seek each other out at playgrounds, soccer fields and even airports.  With a knowing nod and smile we ask "So, how far apart are yours?"  Then we swap stories about the audacity of other parents who think are kids are actually twins or compare continual months of potty training and then of course we have to launch into "You know they say that having them this close together is actually harder than having real twins."  Though I suspect a Mom of real twins might have something to say about that if she overheard us.  By this point in my conversation my kids are probably arguing over who gets to slide down the slide first or yelling that the other one touched them and so if I am talking to a parent of older kids I asked my standard question "It gets easier right?"  Most of the time, they say yes.  I have had more than one parent tell me that now that their kids are teenagers that they are best friends, which is comforting and adds a ray of hope to my day when my kids fight over EVERYTHING.  But about a year ago, when I asked that question, the Mom just smiled at me and chuckled "Well I don't know about easier, but it does get busier."

Was she ever right.

In the last 3 months I have become the busiest Mom in America.  OK, that may be a tad of an overstatement, but it feels like it some days.  With two kids in school and two kids doing competitive sports (and in Greyson's case 2 sports at once) I feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off pretty much 24/7.

Hockey practice Monday, soccer practice Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday night football games most weekends.  Three different games in two different locations on Saturday morning.

Two children in two different schools with different schedules and special days.  Can I tell you how much I cringe at the announcement of a "special day?"  Hat day, jersey day, spirit day, wear fall colors day - all additional details I have to cram into my rapidly diminishing memory bank.  Did each child finish their homework? Does Greyson have an A/R reading quiz? Is it tomorrow that Quinn needs to bring in a zoo based stuffed animal to play zookeeper in dramatic play? Special assignments like making a rocket based on their favorite book or putting together a Me-Mobile.

Then pile on working at Raif's office two days a week, volunteering at the school's library and helping with teacher prep day.  Sprinkle on top the grocery store, Costco, various other menial life errands and my insistence that my children get a home cooked meal (not fast food) every night even when we have 30 minutes between school and practice and you can see why my hair is turning grey.

If you spend more than 20 minutes with me at one sitting (which is pretty rare these days) you would come away thinking I am the most popular person in the world the way my phone constantly goes off.  Little would you know that those constant beeps are reminders going off of all the things I have to do these days because I have given up on actually remembering them.  Thank God for technology, my second brain, because I probably would have forgotten one of my kid's names at this point if my phone didn't remind me.  Oh and I would caution you to stay upwind of me because since I don't pencil in a shower these days there is a good chance I haven't had one.

All my complaining aside, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am thankful that we have the means to allow our kids to do all their extra curricular activities and go to amazing schools with so much going on and I am especially thankful to Raif for working so hard so that I can be able to volunteer at school as much as I do.

I probably should thank him sometime....I guess I will need to schedule that in two weeks from Thursday!