What we doing tomorrow, Mama?

This is what I hear every evening. Unfortunately, "drooling in front of Noggin until your brains emulsify" is not an acceptable response. Kids these days. SPOILED.

So, if you smack your kid up side the head with the Wiimote, does the DCFS take away the kid or the Wii? Can you get a special dispensation for Wiinjuries? Just wondering. Not for any particular reason other than purely innocent, good old-fashioned curiosity.

Boy, I am really glad I nixed the idea for Weight Watchers and funneled that cash into our Wii. Just sayin'. That's all.

In other news, on the Wii Play game, why does the cow racing thingie look like it was created by knitting up swatches in the stockinette stitch? As a knitter, this is inordinately distracting as I am feverishly attempting to mow down those damned scarecrows.

Also, I am thinking the furniture industry is going to experience a serious dearth in coffee table sales. I am considering packing ours away down in the basement because it is in the way of our Wiing.

Finally, what is "anger whilst playing your Wii" called? Wiirritation? Wiithing with rage? Wiisteria?

Can Wii be friends?

Yesterday, I bought a Wii for our 5th anniversary. At Target! No joke - why are folks paying premium on eBay for these things? Anyway.... thus far, we are mightily enjoying it, although we have not gotten to play it too much. We both have some work stuff. Oh, and children, apparently. Also, would like to request that Nintendo include a sports bra in future versions. My girls would be much appreciative.

God, it so hard to write without proofreading obsessively. (sigh*

So, this week has been an odd one for me. Just as I am terrified that I may lose an Old Friend, I seem to have regained a new one. Ironically, because of J herself. Via Classmates.com, my old friend TLC (real initials!) contacted our classmate RM who contacted J. TLC called me on Monday and wow. Wow. We had been friends, really close friends since junior high (I was even in her wedding, as featured in the post Where's the Martini In Maternity? - I wore the kelly green bridesmaid dress for that one.) I think the going term for this sort of friendship is "BFF". Or something close to that. Anyway..... I had thought she did not want to talk to me, it turns out that she had lost contact and had been looking for me for quite some time. But I had gotten married and had moved, to boot.

So, TLC called me on MOnday and I was over the moon to talk to her. I gave her URL to Rancid RAves right off the bat. This is the same girl who already know more than enough to sully my good name in perpetuity. Anything she reads here is just watered down versions. We caught up on the past years and then moved on to the Here and Now. Then, I called her the next day to just chitchat.

As I am grappling with terms like "liver cancer"and "inoperable" and "stage 4", it is comforting to chat with someone who already knows me, where I am from and what I am about. Sure, you can never go home, but as it turns out, home can come to you.

Thanks for calling me, TLC. It was just what I needed.

LYLAS,
KCO

PS. VBFFAEALAWBLS

Are we almost there?

And so it begins, pipes the little voice from the back seat before we had even exited our subdivision as we headed to the wading pool. In Lawrence. A good 45 minutes from here.

Anyway.....this week, I am going to attempt something extraordinary. I am going to write posts, proofread them once and only once, then hit "publish". I am an obsessive proofreader and it is not limited to posts. Oh no. It applies to emails, Tweets, text messages, and comments. Am I the only one? It is an utter timesuck, this need to proofread. Look forward to a week full of typos and bad grammar. Go me.

So, this past weekend was a wash (see? "wash" is not quite the word I am looking for, but you are now stuck with it). No celebrations, but much freaking out. Had some family stuff going on, then Anjali is cutting six teeth (SIX TEETH) that I can visibly SEE in her gum line. Not only is she crabby, but she is on a nursing strike. I have been trying to figure out the pumping schedule thingie. Furthermore, as I have always suspected, pumping does not yield nearly as much as nursing because there is no way that Anjali was living off of 3-5 oz per feeding. Fortunately, with her being so close to a year old, I have been giving her bottles of whole milk and soymilk in addition to breastmilk and her normal bits of solids. Anyway, X and I are planning on going out for our anniversary this week to one of our favorite restaurant, Lill's on 17th in Kansas City.

The other day, Rita wrote a post that really hit home for me about her misgivings being a working mother. As I told her later while on the phone, there is no "perfect". I am ever so tired of some of the humdrum that comes with staying home - I think Caro did an excellent job describing the SAHM Hamster Wheel in her recent post. Bethiclaus has said before that she is glad she talks to me Behind the Blog. Since Rancid Raves is my happy place, I do not let it all hang out but Beth has gotten a earful of my gripes over the past year or so. At times, I feel this site is a dishonest portrayal of my life. Sure, I am precisely where I want to be the vast majority of the time. But occasionally, I would rather be sneakily surfing the 'net in my cube avoiding deadlines while trying to come up with plans for lunchdates and happy hours. Do I want to go back to work? Hell no. And I hate to complain since nearly every week, I am doing something fun with the kids - like going to the pool, zoo, the park. We are rarely every sitting at home. But still. ....

Still.

What's on your mind?

Correction: Folks, I had some serious typos in my last post. I went to BlogHer 05 and 06. I was not at 07. Oops. However. It still stands that if I do not update my wardrobe, I will have to wear the same damned clothes that I wore to 06. Am I being too vain about this? Does it matter?

Anyway.....still distracting myself around here folks. I am looking for any good links, books or whatnot you have been reading lately. Lay it on me.

Me? Not up to much.....

1. I am reading Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee and frankly, I am having a hard time with it. There is something about the protagonist that irritates me and I am finding it difficult to be sympathetic towards her, much less actually rooting for her. She could be reduced to food stamps for all I care about her. I am totally slogging through this thing - I have only read 170 pages, but feel as if I have been reading it forever. I am not ready to abandon it, though.
2. Since I am struggling with the book, I have turned to magazines lately since I MUST READ OR DIE (or something like that. But less dramatic, I suppose.) Hands down, my favorite magazine has to be Brain, Child. Sadly, I HATE the title of the magazine because I think it is misleading. This is NOT a magazine about raising a child who will be accepted into a gifted program. Instead, this is a magazine for thinking mothers who don't give a shit about the newest trend in sippy cups. This is the place for mothers to read balanced articles on politics and a variety of parenting concerns such as raising a mixed-race child, raising a disabled child, deciding on vaccinations, etc. I really appreciate that this magazine speaks to mothers from all walks of life - be it working moms, stay at home moms, crunchy granolas, conservatives, liberals, whatever you may be. I love this magazine so much, that I have ordered some of their bundles of old issues.
3. TV-wise, I have been digging Bravo lately - Kathy Griffin's Life on the D-List definitely perks me up and even the trainwreck that is Denise Richards makes me smile. I actually feel a bit sorry for Denise because truthfully? She is a pretty face, but there isn't much else going on. She has very little charisma or screen presence and should stick to modeling. I am so desperate for brain candy these days that I have even added the Real Housewives of the OC and NYC to the DVR. Oh, yes. YES, I DID. *gulp*

For obvious reasons, I have had some awesome Life Perspective lately and the Double A's have risen to the challenge quite nicely. Damn, they are so much fun these days. Anjali is actually beginning to use words (go, more, duck, quack-quack) which is just insanity to us since Arun was such a late talker. And Arun? His latest thing is playing games. So, we "play chess", "play checkers". He can play memory (with 4 sets, not much more) and I did buy a little counting game for him, but I am definitely in the market for other simple games, if anyone has ideas. And despite Anjali's propensity for creating train wrecks throughout the house, Arun is still quite smitten with her. When she is sleeping, he is always concerned about her. I realized yesterday that when she and I go to BlogHer, I should be more worried about Arun missing her, rather than him missing me.

This weekend is X's and my 5th wedding anniversary. FIVE YEARS. The last year has been really hard, we have had a lot of challenges to face in our life. It has only served to remind me that I am so grateful I married a man of such great character. A kind, gentle, compassionate man who is such a patient, devoted father. Not only do I love him, I respect him.

Now, if I can only convince him that a Wii is the traditional gift for the 5th anniversary.

Exactly how many hits of acid did it take the creators to come up with the concept of Lazytown?

Most certainly, those folks are not firing on all cylinders. Seriously. That show gives me the chills. And not in a good way.

Interestingly, after thinking last week that I would not want to write for a long, long time, I find myself wanting to write more than ever now. Putting a post out here gives me some misguided sense of purpose, accomplishment. Even if this is a non-paid hobby and even if I am just writing about the silly things that comprise my boring days.

As if on cue, the Double A's have ratcheted up the Adorable Factor to unbearable levels around here. And just when I needed it. How did they know? In accordance with her predetermined destiny, Anjali is morphing into Pesky Little Sister as she puts the Godzilla moves on Thomas and his equally creepy anthropomorphic minions. In return, Arun is ramping up his Bossy Older Brother act. It is a lovely little dance with a delightful cadence of shrieking, shouting and wailing. Of course, I love it. Is this not why we have more than one child anyway? So that they can torture each other, of course! For the most part, I try not to get involved unless it appears some bruises or broken bones may occur. I do not want Anjali to turn into a whiner/crybaby and in that vein, I do not want Arun to constantly be cast as the Bad Guy. After all, being annoyed by a younger sibling and getting pushed around by an older one are the rites of passages that every child should go through.

In other news, I am trying to figure out a way to get the cleaning service back. Our babysitter goes away to college in August, so some budget will be freed up then. At this point, I think I need a clean house way more than I need kid-free time. The #1 advantage to a cleaning service is that it forces me to do the pre-cleaning because they cannot vacuum if I do not tidy up first. Some gals like might like new clothes, fancy haircuts, spas, massages and pedicures, but me? Vacuum tracks and fresh steaks of Windex get me going.

So, if you happen to see me at BlogHer 07 wearing the same damned wardrobe from BlogHer 05 and sporting ragged nails, hobbling on cracked heels all while my hair displays shocking sprouts of gray, you will know precisely what happened. Please do not judge or mock me. To my face, at least.

I have uploaded some new simian snappage over at Flickr - here is a sampling:

Standing Tall

Yep, It's Cherry Season.

Love Me Tender (or Not)

Adoration

Train Ride

Singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to a Rapt Audience

How do you have sex if your kids don't watch TV?

I mean, I guess that is all noble and shit that parents go TV Free to save their children's eternal souls, but man, oh man. At this point, I should be sending the kindly folks at Pixar a fruit basket.

The truth is that I am a bit of an animation snob/buff/aficionado. Whatever you call it, I LOVE animation (Sidenote: as much as I love PBS and Sprout on terms of principle, I can hardly stand to watch most of the stuff they show because the animation makes my eyeballs deflate. Noddy? How about naughty?)

My kids came into this world already in possession of a full complement of animation, cartoons, collections of animation film festivals, etc. So, YES, my kid has seen the Cars movie about 30 times now. And I have sat and watched it with him nearly all of those 30 times. I still snort at nearly every line of Tow Mater's and I still get teary-eyed at the ending. Sue me.

------------------
Last week, when I got all Linky Lovey Dovey, that post certainly did not include everyone who contacted me. I truly hope I did not hurt anyone's feelings if I forgot their link. And again, I really appreciated all the kind thoughts. Truly.

When the initial horror after Bad News fades, morbid thoughts eventually turn to brighter ones. I believe in some circles it is known as "hope" and "optimism". Now, I cannot imagine that anything bad will happen to my friend. A bit of an ostrich mentality, perhaps.

+++++++++++++
We went to the Day With Thomas event in Baldwin on Friday. It was awesome! The Double A's had so much fun, it was well worth the $37 ($15 per ticket, $7 service fee). They had tons of free activities that made it worth it - a bouncy house and slide, a magician, a petting zoo (with kangaroo, camel, laamas, monkey, etc.) and a tent filled with train tables for the kids to play with. We spent nearly an hour in that tent alone and Arun played with every single set there. The only bad thing is that I despise the Thomas music. The very same music blaring throughout the venue and the train ride. It makes me grateful that as much as Arun loves playing with his Thomas trains, he doesn't really enjoy watching the TV show that much.

Anyway, the day was exhausting - the venue wasn't stroller friendly because of the mud and the day was really, really humid. I was a sweaty mess after carrying the kids everywhere. But, it was totally worth it watching the expressions on their faces and it was good for me to get out and about. We will definitely be heading back down to Baldwin to ride the train again on a non-Thomas day.

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

That always struck me as a bit odd.

Anyway - I usually refer to this site as my Happy Place. It is not normally a place to drown my sorrows, but rather a place for me to shine up the bright spots when they covered in muck. As such, I really hate to leave such sad posts up for the week and would like to end the week with an upbeat note. For sure, I am grateful for a lot of things in my life. Like, the fact that my financial circumstances allow me to pack up the kids and head to Vegas tomorrow, if need be.

While I would love to grouse about how infuriating it is that Fox News referred to Michelle Obama as a "baby mama", I am going to scoot straight on over to much lighter, fluffier fare.......Today, we are heading down to Baldwin for the Thomas the Train extravaganza. Arun is v. v. excited about riding the train and meeting Thomas. He also insisted that Ruby was going to be there, I guess Max can just suck it.

Earlier this week, BlogHer had a fun piece about the Last Handbag (basically, if money were no object, what would be your Last Handbag purchase? Ever.) It came at just the right time for me, distracting me from Larger Questions. I really enjoyed reading it and following all the links. Reading that piece, led me to other places about handbags:

Designer Handbags 101 - a one-stop shop for learning about handbags.
Megan's Minute, Handbag of the Month - a fun feature where Megan highlights various handbags she spots while out and about.
The Handbag Museum in the Netherlands - Great! Better get the kids their passports.

What would be your last handbag purchase? Honestly, I am so happy with my recent handbag purchase, I do not see myself buying a new one anytime soon. It has filled my every need perfectly. It is a purse, so I feel like a feminine woman and not a pack mule. But. It is big enough to carry the things I need. We went to the zoo last week and still, all I needed was the handbag, the lunchbox and the Fleurville micropod. I am set for awhile now, folks.

What's distracting you this week?


11 Months

This was the best picture I could get. She kept trying to crawl off of the chair. And so it begins. *sigh*

Early Mornin'

Anjali wakes up perky as hell. Arun? Not so much, as you can gather from this snap.

My Last Handbag?

Who am I kidding? Probably not.

Anjali's First Handbag

How could I resist this adorable fishbowl purse? Anyway, it's a landmark moment, Innernets. - my baby girl's first ever purse. Lord help me if my she likes handbags as much as I do.

Can we be friends?

I couldn't stay away. Writing is more cathartic than I realized (so is knitting and not surprisingly, snuggling my kids.)

There is still much to be learned about J's situation. I will say this: if anyone can provide the makings for an inspirational Lifetime movie, it will be J. She is a gal who Gets Things Done. She will look this in the eye and fight. No backing down. I have always, always respected her inability to be intimidated by a challenge.

Thank you for the outpouring of comforting words. Thank you. I have received phone calls, emails, texts, chats and even Twitter messages. In the past, I have used the term "real life" friend and "blog" friend. I am going to be cutting such adjectives from my vernacular. A friend is a friend is a friend.

It doesn't matter if we met through a blog or even through the comments of someone else's blog.

It doesn't matter if we met through your kind comments on my blog, but otherwise have no contact.

It doesn't matter if we met because you began e-stalking me after seeing my comment on another blog.

It doesn't matter if we met briefly at BlogHer 06, then built the friendship further through email.

It doesn't matter if we met while I was interning at what would become my first Real Job.

It doesn't matter if we met at a Bunko party at another friend's house.

It doesn't matter if we met while working ridonkulous hours during tax season at HR Block.

It doesn't matter if we met at a breastfeeding support group.

It doesn't matter if we met because my husband's company was doing a project at your company.

And it doesn't matter if we met in high school while cruising the main drag of Tonganoxie as I was driving my battered 1978 Mazda GLC with Def Leppard blaring from the tape cassette player.

It doesn't really matter.

Forgive me the schmaltz, but that is how I am rolling these days.

Broken.

I was watching a documentary on Vegas tonight. And I thought, "I should call C and J tonight." C is my step-grandma and J is my college mate and from my hometown here in Kansas. I have been a bit down that I have not gotten to fly out to Vegas for nearly 2 years now - I normally go every year. C nor J has seen Anjali yet AND J just had a baby girl herself in December. I was thinking, I really want to see that baby girl of J's

I am so frustrated that I have not been out there for awhile.

I called J and first out of the gate, I learn she has an inoperable liver cancer. There are still tests to be done, nothing is for sure.

Nothing is ever "for sure". Is it?

I may be gone for awhile. I cannot imagine posting about anything at this point.

Anything. At all.

Does your partner get it?

X does not understand my little blogging hobby. Sometimes, nay - often, it is frustrating and is one reason why I considered doing ads. Even bringing in $10 a month at my traffic level would somehow add some sort of minimal monetary consideration to it . How do I explain to him what blogging does for me? That it provides a connection of sorts, not merely some weird release of my Inner Voyeaur? That it is a creative outlet for me? And that for someone with small children, it is an excellent hobby because it can be put down so easily? I blog because I can hit "save now" in a pinch and attend to business when a kid begins squawking or leaking bodily fluid. I rarely, if ever, write an entire post in one sitting. I pound these babies out in short, sporadic bursts.

Fortunately, as hobbies go, Putting down a book is equally easy, but even knitting is difficult to put down on more complicated project. I do miss making jewelry and doing raku, but blogging has helped keep me creative. Am I the only with a partner who does not understand the allure of blogging?

Speaking of hobbies.........In other news, I have officially gone to the dark side. I joined a message board called Arachnoboards - I think the title sorta says it all. This weekend I totally got sucked into this board for "invertebrate enthusiasts" (sounds far more sophisticated than "spider lover", no?) (Note: if you missed all the fun this weekend as to how we came into possession of this big ass spider, check out this post to get the Story of Sofia, our pink-toed tarantula.)

I still have not decided how much I want to handle Sofia. She is an a. avicularia and they are a docile species and are not likely to bite or kick hairs. However, they tend to be skittish and will sometimes jump. Believe it or not, the danger is more in her court, than in mine. If she falls from a height that is greater than 1.5 times her body length, there is a very likely chance that she could rupture her abdomen, which means that she would most likely die. One of the great controversies amongst the 8 Legged Zealots is that tarantulas should not be handled due to the danger to them.

The one downside to this board is that now I really, really want an Antilles Pinktoe (a. versicolor). *gulp*


Children Are So 2007.

Why do they call the small candy bars the "fun sizes"? Wouldn't it be more fun to eat a big one?

The other day, a kid came around to our house to sell us candy - one of those Big Bars - for $8. The theory he was peddling was that if we bought the candy from him, he would not join a gang. We were not really convinced on the logistics, but bought the story candy anyway. Later, X saw the kid in our neighborhood talking on his cell phone and the kid did not even acknowledge X when he said hello to him. *sigh*
__________________________

So. Before I begin my following story let me say that X and I are not Those Parents. Sure, X is That Dad, but I am not That Mom. Lest you think that we are stupid enough to indulge a 2 year in his arachnoidal fantasies simply because we have not learned how to resist those huge gemstones eyes, let me assure you that between the two of us, X and I can say "no" in about 5 different languages. So......

Um. We bought a tarantula the other night.

A beautiful, soft, pink-toed tarantula to be specific. She is 6 years old, not quite fully grown. Truly, she is just beautiful and the way pink-toed Ts walk is just wicked cool. X casually mentioned getting a tarantula, I did the research and 2 hours later we came home with Sofia.

Innernets, Meet Sofia.
Sofia, Innernets.

Yes, we are the Crazy People. Yes, I am worried about getting bitten. Yes, I have handled her and taken her out of her cage.

But.

I have been peering at the tarantulas at the pet store for months now. Two weeks ago, I saw Sofia walk for the first time and was mesmerized because it was so cool. I know the guy at the pet store quite well and when we went to look at her, I sat talking with him and another customer about tarantulas. I realized with a shock at some point that I knew what I was talking about and that I could totally hang. I knew then, that we could get the tarantula and be okay. And then, I handled Sofia and it was so amazing to see her walk. Seriously, the way pink-toed Ts walk is awesome.

Sofia is actually low-maintenance and no, she is not poisonous (to humans, that is. I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the crickets currently dwelling in her cage.) Her cage needs to be cleaned every 6 months, she needs about 4 crickets (8 cents a piece) about every 2 weeks and a bit of special water every 2-3 days. She will never pee on my bed, my clothes or my carpet. And yes, she could bite me someday (although, realistically, she has not bitten anyone in the 3 months the petstore has had her). I have been bitten and scratched by cats and dogs (and specifically, I have been attacked by a Chow AND a St. Bernard. A tarantula? Not nearly as terrifying as a Chow, in my book.)

And her name? I went to the Social Security website and looked at the top 10 baby girl names for kicks.

So. There you have it. I guess that will nix my hosting many playdates in the future.

And to make up for the Ick Factor, here are some snaps of my baby girl's Morning Hair. Until a wide-toothed comb makes its way through the briar patch, it is pretty scary on its own!

Isn't the writing on the wall really just graffiti?

Bang, Bang. More bullets.....

1. Commenter Haley has won the copy of Margarita Mama - Mocktails for the Mom-to-Be by Alyssa Gusenoff that I was giving away. Haley, please email your address to me at cagey333ATgmailDOTCOM.
2. I have been tagged for several memes lately (D. Jain and Gori Girl). In addition, Stephanie tagged me months ago. However, I just could not find it in myself to do them. I mean, I tried. But all I could come up with were random factoids like the fact that I can only snap my fingers with my left hand and that I can read upside down AND backwards (does that make me superlexic?) and that I have to clean the kitchen before I begin cooking (I cannot cook in a dirty kitchen!) So. Um, sorry D. Jain, Gori Girl, and Stephanie.
3. Finally, I saw Sex and the City last night.................
   

WARNING! WARNING!

SPOILERS FOR THE SEX AND THE CITY MOVIE ARE COMING FORTH.

Um. I liked it, but I did not love it. It was enjoyable. As I commented earlier today on Throwing Things (which is having a good discussion about the movie, BTW):

Just saw the movie last night and I really enjoyed it. That said, I do not see myself purchasing the soundtrack, I did not shed a single tear, and I did not laugh that much. There was definitely something missing from this movie that would have made it Magically Delicious.
I would agree that the plotlines seemed forced and in some cases, contrived. However, certain parts really, really punched me in the heart: the scene outside the limo when Carrie hits Big with the flowers, the scenes in Mexico, the New Year's Eve scenes and the very last scenes with the wedding and brunch. Other than that, much of the movie felt weak. That it was trying too hard.

I did enjoy the movie, though. It was a veritable feast for the eyes looking at all those gorgeous handbags on a Big!Screen! I think I may have drooled in my popcorn. Shoes? Meh. I am not a Shoe Girl.

How many rounds of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star can you take before your head explodes?

I am here to report that the answer is "more than you would think". I am feeling far too lazy and WAY too tired to compose pretty, pretty paragraphs. Excuse the mess, folks.

1. Like lots of folks from the Kansas City area, I grew up going to Branson, MO for many, many a roadtrip (my 5th birthday, family vacations, junior high school retreats, college spring breaks). I have loads of sweet, mushy memories there. As much as I enjoy poking fun at Southern Missouri, let it be known that to know Southern Missouri is to love Southern Missouri. File this trip under the Rediscovering Your Childhood category.
2. Overall, it was a great trip. On Friday morning, I headed down to Southern Missouri. Anju slept most of the way and Arun did not sleep a single wink. He was far too excited. It was fine, though because he and I had a nice time talking and pointing out all the things we came across. Our first stop was the Fantastic Caverns and the Double A's LOVED it. The only thing that was sorta bad is that Anjali loved it a little too much and kept excitedly jabbering. Loudly. Then she discovered her echo, much to everyone's chagrin. After the cave, we went to The Butterfly Palace. Um. This place was really, really awesome. But. It was a bit pricey, which is unfortunate because it was so neat to hang out in a beautiful garden and have butterflies zooming and fluttering all over you. And their insect display was pretty cool. And the mirror maze was fun. But again, the price (adults, $16.95 and kids 4-12, $6.95). I could see the cost being prohibitive for a family of 4. It was totally worth it for us, because I only had to pay one admission and my kid is obsessed with butterflies, caterpillars, insects and in general, nature. Anyway, after all that we met up with my sister, BIL, their kids and went to dinner. Later that night, my brother, my dad and my step-mom finally arrived (my younger sister is in Italy and actually was so disappointed to miss the trip with us. That is how we Olivers roll, folks. We LOVE Branson.)
   
3. On Saturday, we did Silver Dollar City (Sidenote: Silver Dollar City is such a kickass place for families. And affordable. AFFORDABLE. (adults, $48 and kids 4-12, $38). Once you enter the park, pretty much all the activities are free (the shows, the train, the rides, etc.) Sure, the food is the same over-priced fare you always see in parks, but I brought snacks and we only drink water anyway. Also, it was the weekend of the Bluegrass and Barbecue festival, which was quite fun. We did not do much else other than just walk around, see the sights and eat our weight in fried goods. Sunday, we went back to SDC again except that it rained. No, actually it poured. At one point, I was stranded with just the Double A's. An empty soda cup and a downspout kept Arun entertained for well over half an hour, thankthelordabove.
   
4. Sadly, all that walking around means that I am now back to where I began with my foot problems.
   
5. I have finally washed the last and final schmear of roadkill off my car oh my god it will be too soon if I ever, ever see another armadillo carcass I swear to god I am so over dead animals gross gross gross.
   
6. I did tweet on Twitter quite a bit while I was gone. Check out my archives if you are so inclined.
   
7. I bought a new handbag down there and I feel like a new woman. No more schlepping a huge diaper bag. Sure, the purse is still too big for my taste, but that is the style anyway. By the time I am done carting snacks and toys, hopefully small handbags will be back in style.
   
8. Confession: I love bluegrass music. Whereas country music is too twangy, bluegrass has just the right amount of "pluck". When we go next year, I am going to vote for doing the Bluegrass and BBQ festival weekend again.
9. This bullet is for Bethiclaus. She mentioned that she is glad she talks to me in real life because my posts are always so happy and chirpy. Yes, this site is my Happy Place and I do tend to leave out the bad bits. So, here we go. Traveling with children sucks big ole donkey balls. Hairy, smelly donkey balls. And all the things I stressed about? And prepared for? Ended up being fine. The Double A's did not get bored in the car, so the umpteen million toys were for naught. The kids slept fine, just fine in the hotel room, so I worried for nothing. The kids did not get overly hungry, so the 40 million snacks I packed melted in the sun. The kids were not scared to be in new places and eagerly took in all the new sights. Sadly, what I did not mentally steel myself for was the fact that Arun would turn into a veritable insane person at the sight of his cousins!in!a!new!place. Cousins! In a room just down the hall! From him! Cousins! Oh. My. God. Cousins! The first night we together they were all playing in our room. When they went to their room to go to sleep, Arun was distraught and melted into a weepy ball of goo on the floor. The rest of the weekend, he acted like he had snorted an 8 ball while drinking shots of tequila with a beer chaser. Because, you know. COUSINS.
10. My favorite part of the entire vacation was while driving, I spied Arun and Anjali in the back holding hands and smiling at each other. I would have taken a picture, but I was far too busy risking our lives live Tweeting. Priorities, people.
    

Anyway, that was the roadtrip recap. It was such a success, that I do have several more planned this summer - St. Louis, Omaha, and Wichita.

Oh, and I am going to finally see the Sex and the City movie on Wednesday with my mommy. I was so bummed to miss the first day it was out, but come on, peoples! Silver Dollar City vs. New York City? No contest.

Snappage - there is more on Flickr, just click on through. It is all public.

Sleeping

Less IS MORE.

A suitcase, toy bag, snack bag, diaper bag (stroller was in the car). And I STILL overpacked.

Fantastic Caverns

Not a great picture, but I love seeing them together. Anjali would NOT sit during the entire ride, she had to be standing. When we were stopped, I let her stand next to Arun. Otherwise, she stood on the floor next to my legs.

Silver Dollar City

The Butterfly Palace

It was a rainforest garden and was very hot and VERY humid. It made Anjali's hair go INSANE with ringlets.