Mostly-Mommy

Three good friends of ours were here visiting from Phoenix, Arizona this past week. There was daily disc golf, trips to Sonic for happy hour, BBQ, and ABUNDANT Mario Kart and Mario Party on the Wii. We know how to show our guests a good time!

I didn’t take many pictures because, let’s face it, like any good mommyblogger I like to take pictures of my kids. LOTS of pictures of my kids. So there are these two featuring Zoey being adorable (at 6:20am even!) and loving on her away daddy, Uncle Pat. My children ADORE him and would ditch me in a second to go live with him. As hard as we tried he just wouldn’t let them stow away in his suitcase.

Nick said, “I’m going to sneak in Pat’s suitcase! I’m going to get daddy’s flashlight and stay in the suitcase and go home with Pat on the airplane.” That kid had it all worked out.

With cuteness like this how could he leave them here? Dude must have a heart made of stone.

Well, it’s my last night as a twenty-something.

I’m actually excited to be turning the big 3-0 tomorrow but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying my last weekend in my twenties with a little debauchery and bar hopping. Heh!

Last night my ultra hip partner in crime and I went down to Westport for a show at the Beaumont. We saw Vedera which is a pretty popular local band and now I know why. That girl is little but she can SERIOUSLY belt it out, great songs too. The warm-up bands however… Queen’s Club was pretty rockin’ so I bought their $3 CD. The Roman Numerals on the other hand can only be described as Sucktastic McCrappalicious, sorry dudes. I tried to get into it but they lost even my obligatory applause after the first couple of songs. My hands were busy covering my ears. On the way out we walked down to the corner where there was a man reading palms and Tarot Cards. I wanted to have my palm read for my 30th birthday but that would’ve required letting that guy touch me, so we kept on walking.

Today Nick and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon at Target, then later we all headed over to my mom’s house for a party that I had no idea was happening. NO IDEA. TOTAL SURPRISE. In no way did my husband crack under the pressure and spill all the juicy details ahead of time. He would never! It was a TOTAL SURPRISE. It was also pretty fun and delicious. Thanks!

I was going to put some pictures in here but when I plugged in the camera it said Mike took 135 pictures at the party! Must’ve been some party! So alas no time for all that tonight. You’ll just have to settle for some highlights tomorrow. Right now I’m going to bed to rest up for my 30’s. I’m going to need all the energy I can get because I plan on my next decade being pretty great.

Friday night I had some serious fun. My mom, our friend Kristin and I all drove over to Lawrence, KS to see Poi Dog Pondering play.

So is that the tiniest band you’ve ever seen or the biggest stop sign?

The show was really fun because they’re one of those bands that is great live. They played songs from every era of their music including stuff from their new album, 7.

Dancing Sarah

I have so much nostalgia for this band, I don’t even know how many times I saw them play over the years. Mabel’s, Periscope, some club in Chicago… They are the soundtrack for so many times in my life. Especially because their albums are so varied from folk to dance to rock, they got it all.

Kristin & Katie (the Blue Moon was kind to me)

I stood in the street smelling someone’s clove cigarettes, nursing my beer and dancing. It was a beautiful and bug-free night. This is how live music is supposed to be.

I’m a tad behind on the updating… it’s been pretty eventful around these parts recently (well if you consider the last three years to be “recently”).

Last week we had the pleasure of seeing Elvis Costello and the Police live, in concert at the Sprint Center. Fab! I hadn’t been to a concert since I saw Depeche Mode in the 10th grade. It was super fun, the Sprint Center is really cool, the music was great, and the company was even better. Also, that Sting is one sexy beast. Rawr!

On Saturday we had a joint birthday party for the kiddos since they’re too young to protest that yet. I made Elmo cupcakes. They looked, um, not as good as they did in the recipe. Mine looked really tired, and possibly retarded.

I bought some tiny plastic cameras that had pictures in the viewfinder, and Nick has been “taking pictures” with them all weekend. I had no idea they would be such a hit!

Zoey had a fun time opening her presents.

He also really enjoyed the 117 piece (no I am not kidding) plastic food set that Zoey got for the play kitchen that we haven’t given her yet. We took about 5/6 of that set away and put it in a bag. We aren’t THAT crazy.

We gave Zoey her first cupcake. She thought it was great! Even though it was lacking in the frosting department. We’ll let her have some ice cream on her actual birthday so she can make the big mess then.

I also got them a nice cake that said “Happy Birthday Nick & Zoey.” Guess I took the picture a bit late. It was delicious!

We had a good party with lots of running around and playing. Quite a few of the kids’ friends showed up with their grown-ups and I think things went very well. Excellent.

So we were pretty busy with the party, then yesterday we saw Iron Man (it was good!) before Mike had to jet back to California for another conference. At least he’s only gone four days this time. Still, meh. Plus we have doctors appointments for BOTH kids today that I’ll be handling alone. Good luck to me! Maybe I should bring earplugs?

Here’s a great way to clean your dining room:

1. Secure your baby in the walker, assume everything is under control for five minutes.

2. Go take a shower.

3. Forget there are two bottles of Ecover Dish Washing Liquid for your mom on the dining room table. Don’t worry, your almost 3-year-old won’t.

4. Complete quick shower. Realize the house is too quiet. Wrap yourself in a towel, walk out of bathroom, try not to laugh, then try not to be TOO ANGRY. RAAAAHHHHH!

5. Scoop up what you can using a pyrex measuring cup and plastic spatula.

6. Wipe up what you can with a dry rag. Don’t bother rinsing because it will take 30,000 gallons of water and two years of your life to get the soap out of it. Just save yourself the hassle and throw it away.

7. Mop up what you can with a wet rag.

8. Repeat Step #7 about 150 more times.

9. Cry a little.

10. Give up.

11. Wish your dining room looked a little cleaner after all that.

There you go! Eleven foolproof steps to get you… um, frustrated? With prune hands? You’re welcome.

Also, if possible, Steps 5 through 11 should be done with a weepy, drooly, crying, teething baby clinging to your back or leg at all times. The proverbial “monkey on your back,” if you will.