The Last Summer Outing....In The Cool Fall of August

Yesterday we took a family excursion to Indiana for the day. Indiana, for certain does not = awesome. Isn't it amazing what we will do for our friends? Cause I'd turn right around and do it again tomorrow, Indiana or no, just try and keep me back. We made a full day of it too, used up every second of fun at our day in Indiana. We spent our day at the house of BFF Good Joo and family. Here is a picture of her darling girls and the best dog in the world, Lu. Go ahead and admit that they are the cutest things you've ever seen and you want to squeeze the shit right out of them. Of course a picture can't really capture the sweetness of Little A and the juicy squeezability of B.

The only thing I would've maybe changed about the day is to leave at 9:00 pm instead of nearly 10:00 pm. I had to drive home, Vader was far too exhausted for that. Go karts are hard work. Here is a picture of us on our way home, I'm high on caffeine and everyone else is out cold. Thanks everyone.

So now I'd like to post an open letter to Good Joo and family. An open letter in part because Good Joo is required by the bonds of friendship to follow this blog and this forces her to do so. The other reason is because since she's no longer a part of the neighborhood, she isn't mentioned often in the blog and isn't included in all the neighborhood dramas. Poor Good Joo.

Dear Good Joo, Hubby, Little A & B,

Thank you, thank you, so much for a fantastic day! Everything was so wonderful and we had so much fun. From antiquing to putt-putt, dinner around the table together to watching B play in the dirty dishwasher, all of it...enjoyable. We can't say enough thanks.

Your A is an adorable little girl and has become so much fun for A and D. They don't just want to watch her play and laugh with her, now they wrestle around with her, find things everyone can agree to play together and just enjoy each other's company. Admittedly I miss the little firecracker that swore with reckless abandon and wasn't shy about showing her disdain for D, but who wouldn't miss that? And who wouldn't love Little A as she is now? Oh, here's a funny story from the ride home. Apparently D realized that wanting to play with Little A was clearly reciprocated by her and this is what he said:

D: Today was so great. We need to do this more often. A was so much fun and didn't even want to hit me. Do you think it's because I'm tall?
A: Hmmm, well you have been growing. Could be.
Me: Huh?

Anyway, I'm so glad to find I'm not alone in all my crazy, I need to tear all my hair out, episodes. Thank you, Good Joo, for having them too. God, we even became sick at the exact same moment from antiquing in what must've been basements full of black mold. That's awesome. Shared sore throats form a cement bond around friendship. But Good Joo, why couldn't we have had a shared pregnancy instead? Why? I need a fat B too. Ooooh, that Vader, wrecking my cement bonds and baby moments.

Well, we all just want to say thanks for a great day. Don't expect that we're not going to want to do it again soon. We'll just see if we can't schedule a day between barfing babies, strip club outings and mountain bike excursions again. I know, I know, we are two very busy families, but it seemed to work out perfectly this time.

We love you guys and miss you already, the neighborhood is too quiet without you.
Love Leaf, Vader, A & D

Welcome Autumn

An early autumn is upon us. I don't know what we did in Michigan to deserve this, but we got pounded this winter, we had a super long spring that extended right into August where we had 2 weeks of summer which quickly turned into early fall. It's freezing for August. Highs in the 60s, grey, and rainy. The leaves have been changing and falling for 3 weeks now. My poor kids barely got to go to the pool at all. If it wasn't for the 4 weeks of fantastic swim lessons, they quite possibly could've forgotten how to float this year. I did take them to the beach....it wasn't warm those times either. But hey, if you're having fun, you become immune to the hypothermia. You power through it, cause that's just how we roll in Michigan.

Here is a picture of one of their fabulous swim lesson days. Look how fun. All the mommies and grandmas...so proud. We were proud because the heater kept breaking on the pool and the little darlings just kept swimming in that freezing cold water, it was actually worse when they got out, windy and 70 doesn't make for a good swimming day.

I'm Never Sick

But today I am. Readers, I'm not going to lie to you, I feel like death warmed over. I don't know if the was the culmination of the huge New York show, working like crazy when I returned to get the house ready to sell, the stress of packing up my beautiful things, and finally my computer dying yesterday leaving all my ebay buyers in the lurch, or if I simply caught a bug, but whatever it is, it has got to stop. Here is a picture of poor me, looking all miserable, the one time this morning I was able to extract myself from my bed. No part of this was fun, believe me. Now I have my computer back and besides from the all over body-aches, I'm feeling much better. I'm sure that will all change when I get my "Huge Amount Of Horrible Viruses And How Has Your Computer Worked For This Long" bill, from my computer guy. I'll probably end up right back where this picture was taken.

Relaxing With Vader

Admittedly I did take a break this week from all the packing. Vader and I took a few minutes to talk about our week while he was grilling one night. It was nice to just enjoy each other's company for a few minutes and relax. I sure do wish he'd hurry up and mow the grass though.

New Series ~ PICTURES FROM MY LIFE

In this new series of posts, I'll be showing you glimpses into my life through real life pictures. Here is a picture of me from this past week. As you can see, I'm not really happy. In fact, I look extremely grumpy. Yes, I am wearing a hat, what am I to do, it's a very bad hair day. The house is clearly a bit of a mess, but you can see I have been busy packing up boxes!

Ohhh Emmm Geeee

I don't remember signing up for this shit. I'm exhausted. Inside, outside, all over. I constantly fall asleep sitting at the computer, watching tv, just basically anytime that I sit down. Why? Because I'm running around all day long. All day. I thought it would be a great idea for the realtor to come over on Monday. I must've forgotten that I had just gotten home from a huge show, hadn't cleaned my house during the week I was gone, and the week before I left, in order to get ready for the show. I also must've forgotten that I needed to paint my basement and my outdoor trim. I know I forgot that my kids' rooms were such a mess you needed a shovel to get through them. Regardless of being totally unprepared for the wreck my life became this week, I got most of it done and the realtor was pleased. Very pleased in fact. I have to finish packing my dolls, (weep, sob, throw self on the ground) and do 3 other minor fixes that we just couldn't complete before he got here and then we're on our way.

For sure it wasn't easy (my throbing headache and stiff neck tells me so) and I don't expect maintaining the condition on a daily basis is going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it if I'm sitting in 80 degree AZ when the first snow falls in Michigan!

New Levels of Suckiness

I know, I suck at this. Why have I bothered. But you gotta bear with me. I'm beside myself with all the chaos right now.

I'm trying to get ready for the humongous week long antique show that I'm not only shopping at, but selling at this week. What was I thinking?? I haven't done any of the tiny one day ones close to me...so hell, why not travel 10 hours away, stay in a casino hotel, and sell for a whole week! Perfect, that's a great way to break into the biz. My mom and I are overwhelmed at this point with all we have to do. I have lists peppering my house, I keep having dreams, no make that nightmares where I forget to go shopping, and then to make it even more stressful, my dad says the trailer is full. Full?! I have way more to put in there though. Have you seen my house??

So Readers, I'm sure I'll be back in better form in another week or so. Or not, don't forget, I still have a house to sell.....

WAAAAAAAAH