At Last

Today was the kind of day the kids and I have been waiting for since November.

We had a hard time getting to sleep last night. We did not have a hard time waking up early this morning. They were speaking to me through my bathroom door by 6:45.

I have coffee with friends from our old neighborhood nearly every Friday. Providing one of us doesn’t have a sick kid, a crazy relative crisis, or we oversleep, we meet at a church near us that has a great little coffee shop. Meredith goes with me and Alex was anxious to go. It about kills him Meredith does something with me that doesn’t include him. So, today Alex went along and acted slightly less mannerly than a carnival worker.

On our drive home, we hatched a plan to go to the pool. We knew the heaters were cranked so high the water felt like bathwater, and the air was a reasonable temperature. We threw on our suits and mouthed “good bye” through the glass doors of Brandon’s office. We communicate via lip reading on Fridays because Brandon’s usually on a conference call and always glad to hear about an outing.

When we arrived at the pool we were pleasantly surprised to see real-live neighbors swimming! Aside from the lifeguard, we’re usually the only people. If we do see other children, they’re often accompanied by nannies, but there were parents there…whom I knew! AND, lo and behold, both families have children Alex knows from kindergarten. What was supposed to be a 30 minute swim, turned into two hours.

Later in the day, because my butt is bigger than my brain, we made a chocolate cake. I let Alex crack the eggs, and only found one small piece of shell in our finished product…so far. Meredith wanted to crack an egg, so I let her crack one into a bowl and she and Alex squished around in the yolk for a full five minute. Disgusting? Yes. Potential for salmonella infection? Possibly. Did it buy me time to get the cake into the oven without tripping over children and landing in my oven, which BTW is a real fear of mine? You betcha!

Whew, that was fast!

Today was Meredith’s first day of Kindergarten and Alex’s last. Blame it on my adult-onset ADD, but I committed myself to working in Alex’s classroom today despite the fact that Meredith no longer had a place to go. Miss Turner must have been desperate for help because she allowed me to bring the Meredith Show into her classroom.

When Meredith heard the news, she was beside herself with excitement. “YES!!!! I’m in kindergarten!” No. You’re in kindergarten for one day. “How about five?!” As Sara pointed out the other day, everything is a negotiation with Meredith.

Alex helped Meredith pick out a “kindergartenish” dress and when she put it on this morning she said, “Alex is going to be so excited to see me wearing this dress!!!” He was able to contain his enthusiasm.

The class spent the morning in an awards assembly and Meredith and I spent our time packing the classroom away for the summer months. All two of them.

When the class finished their assembly, Meredith joined them for recess and walked in line with them like she belonged from the beginning. Alex clocked his head on a pole and was completely embarrassed. Embarrassment has an ugly effect on Alex. He gets really angry and he isn’t pleasant to be around. The last few minutes of Alex’s kindergarten career were spent brooding. Although, he did jump up to defend his sister when someone yelled at her for cutting in line. His volume and body language were entirely inappropriate. I’m not proud to admit it, but his immediate defense of his little sister made my heart soar.

We went out for pizza and salad after school and Alex and Meredith are spending the rest of the day with their grandparents. Alex knew he had presents to collect, so he was particularly anxious to go to their house. I was particularly anxious to fold laundry in peace and put it away without any interruptions.

Happy Birthday Gator!

I know it’s completely cliché, and everyone probably has the same thought on their child’s birthday, but I simply can’t believe Alex is six years old. Six is a big one for me. Five, I could tolerate. Five means kindergarten, and while still a big step; they’re the little ones of the school. Guarded, protected, nurtured. But six?! I clearly remember being six and it doesn't seem like that long ago. That's what scares me.

Of course I remember the day he arrived and most days in between. He’s our first, so every milestone was met with assumptions of genius, applause, heart swells, and documentation in two forms. It just all seems to be such a blur. I’m so proud of all he’s learned and how much he’s grown, but boy do I wish I could keep him with me forever.

Alex was pretty excited about having school on his birthday. He waited--with great anticipation--all year to hear his name and birthday announced over the loud speaker. His greatest fear was school would end before his birthday, and he wouldn’t hear his name. Naturally, we aren’t encouraged to bring treats. Lord forbid, we cause an allergic reaction or interrupt all the learning that goes on during the last three days of school. However, we are allowed to bring a gift for the classroom. Alex picked out a dinosaur floor puzzle. It was wrapped and ready and as I tucked him in he told me people ignore the warning and bring in treats. I’m a rule follower, but I decided to ask for forgiveness instead of permission and sent him with treats.

Alex has his Kindergarten Connection program this afternoon, and after that Meredith and I are taking Alex to lunch. He’s never been to Benihana, and cheesy as it is (Thank you Michael Scottt), I think he’ll love it.

In honor of Alex’s sixth here are six fun things about him:

He is really into anything relating to math. I’m drilled with math questions eight hours a day. Money is the latest fascination, to the point of annoyance!

He loves to travel, and sees no reason why we can’t see the world.

Everyday, no matter what, he puts his pants on crooked. They’re always slightly askew and how he doesn’t notice is beyond me.

Even if we purchased all the contents of Office Depot and an art supply store it wouldn’t be enough. He has complete devotion to office supplies and art stuff.

He still sleeps with his blankets, Stripes and Green, and willingly gives Brandon and I hugs and kisses.

He would live outside if we let him and can entertain himself by digging for hours on end.

Weekend Update

We had a busy weekend. Alex turns six on Tuesday and because Brandon won’t be here on his actual birthday, we celebrated a few days early...all weekend long. We ate Mexican, played miniature golf, grilled whatever he wanted, and most importantly to Alex, hung out outside as much as possible. Evidently, it’s good to be six.

There wasn’t much question as to what to buy for Alex this year. He asked for two things. A “real camera with 3X zoom and at least five megapixles,” and an art kit he found months ago at Costco. Meredith took care of the art kit, and we bought the camera. He was very excited, but I’m already regretting the purchase. Something’s wrong with the camera. It seems to add 20 pounds, dull complexions, and magnify crows feet. Blech.

We had a little party with just our family and Alex wanted me to make him a gator cake. Icing a cake takes patience. I don’t have any. Someone else will handle Alex’s cake for his party with his friends.

Dirt under my nails

A trip to the nursery was inevitable. We’re finally out of frost advisory season and I have empty planters. So, today was the day. Costco had perfectly lovely planters already filled, for $30, which I assured Brandon was a screamin’ deal. Since I dawdled, there were no two planters alike. That would upset my hyper-suburban entry way. We wound up with two ENORMOUS planters. I’m not kidding. I could plant two tomato plants, several heads of cabbage, and three rows of corn in each one. Unfortunately, they were empty.

We went to our favorite landscaping place to fill our cavernous pots. I opened the back of the van to show the flower lady how much space I had. When she gasped, I knew we were in for a big bill. Two wagon loads of flowers later, and a beech tree bought on impulse we drove home with Meredith’s feet propped on top of the planters. She only complained a little. “This van is too smooshy.”

The boys dropped off Meredith and me and headed for Lowes to buy dirt. That always strikes me funny.

We tend to loose track of time when it starts to get dark later. Before I knew it, it was 8:30 p.m., and no one had been bathed or fed. Brandon wanted to grill burgers at 9:00 at night. Since we’re no longer in college, I didn’t think this was the best plan. I bathed the kids and gave them sandwiches before sending them to bed an hour and a half past their bedtimes. I told them I didn’t want to see them until 7:00 a.m., and sure enough they were both staring at me at 7:01.

Today, we’re on a mission to get the house back in order and I’ve assigned duties all around. Have you ever seen the Duggar family on TLC? They are currently expecting number 18. Their children practically run the household and work pro bono for the family’s business. No one ever complains. They just happily help the mom unload 23 cans of pork and beans and 300 rolls of toilet paper when she pulls in from the grocery. Meredith cried for a hour solid when I asked her to put all the Little People into one bin. 18? I can’t handle two.

Due to the overwhelming response to yesterday’s “Guess Where Leslie Was,” contest, both entries will receive prizes. What do I mean by “both” entries you ask…I can hear you thinking, “Leslie’s lost it. There’s only one comment!” I did loose my mind. Long ago, but this has nothing to do with it. Sara decided to e-mail me instead. Because she and I talk at least once a day, she already knew where I was and was blatantly cheating. She’s very competitive and doesn’t care if the victory is easy. I can’t break her heart.

Brandon and I spent a long weekend in Savannah and on Hilton Head Island. We met up with these loons while we were there.

Here’s a recap:

Brandon and I were supposed to meet in Memphis Thursday night and fly to Savannah together. However, the plane I was on ran out of fuel after an extra ten minutes of circling and we landed and re-fueled in Little Rock, Arkansas. So, we all missed our connecting flights and I spent the night in a questionable Holiday Inn.

I was disappointed because I was on a mission to cross something off my life list. Many of you know I am a devout Paula Deen fan. I’ve wanted to go to her restaurant for years. You have to get in line early to get a reservation, and my plan was to stand in the heat, no matter how sweltering, and get us a reservation. I knew better than to ask Brandon to do so. Not everyone has the dedication that I do to food, so I didn’t want to be unreasonable. When my wonderful husband picked me up at the airport, the first thing out of my mouth was “I’m starving!” Brandon asked if I could wait until 2:30 to eat. I said, “Are you kidding me?! I haven’t eaten since yesterday at noon! I don’t care if it’s McDonald’s but I need something NOW!” Histrionics get me no where with Brandon, and he just said, “Are you sure? Because if you can, we can eat at Paula Deen’s.” God Bless him, he stood in line with all the other devotees and got us a table! Not only does Brandon not care about eating at Paula Deen’s, he doesn’t even like fried anything. I know it sounds strange, but it was one of the sweetest things Brandon’s ever done for me. It also solidifies my suspicion that I may be obsessed with food.

The reservation time was perfect, because I had plenty of time to walk around and take all the pictures I was so looking forward to taking. Brandon even walked around and scouted out areas I’d be prone to shooting. Aside from the overwhelming hygiene issues of the vagrants who call the parks home, Savannah is lovely. It was just like I thought it would be.

After lunch, we rolled ourselves into the rental car and headed for Hilton Head. We stayed here…was there any question… and had a nice view of the beach. We were still stuffed from lunch and wound up having fruit, cheese and crackers, and ice cream for dinner. That’s our version of a “light” dinner. We tried to see a movie, but our timing was bad and the patrons seemed worse.

I was woefully under packed. Probably due in part to my traditional-thirty-minutes-before-I-HAVE-to-leave pack job. So, we did a little shopping and had a great lunch. There’s nothing better than sitting on a deck eating fresh seafood. The we headed to Sea Pines to meet up with the Ehnes family.

Jill and Scott flew in with their girls and met up with Jill’s sister, Kristin and her husband Austin. We slept in that morning, because I knew we were probably in for a late night. Unless, you know them, it’s hard to convince you how much fun this family is. We played Apples to Apples (and swam!!!) so late that I honestly thought the clock read 12:60, when in fact, it said 1:26 a.m. I do need lasic, but it’s also been a looooong time since I’ve seen a clock register 1:26 a.m. Well, the last time I did, I was up nursing an infant, and this was certainly more fun than that.

The next couple days involved laying around the pool, eating fun places, and the guys playing golf. We also tried to get some beach pictures of Jill’s family, but it was so sunny, it made it next to impossible to shoot. I probably burned their retinas, but they were willing to sacrifice for a nice family photo.

The rest of Jill’s family was filing in throughout the week and I know they’re going to have a great time. They are such a close, hilarious family that in moments of wistfulness I think we should have a third! Then, I hear Meredith throwing a fit over putting a shirt in the laundry and peek into Alex’s mess that he calls a bedroom, and I come to again.

If there was every any question that I was just built to live in that section of the country, I answered it. I loved everything about it and I can’t wait to go back. My only regret is, we probably just should have pulled Alex out of school and taken the kids along. First thing yesterday morning, I was on line looking at property. I also stumbled across several vacation rental homes, and I’m planning all sorts of trips and planning a move in my head.

Hey Y'all!

To those of you who do read this with regularity, but do not talk to me on a regular basis…or lack the desire and/or will to keep up with our crazy schedule, I apologize for making you think I headed for the hills.

Brandon and I took a long weekend trip. Any guesses on where we went? Leave your guess in the comments, and the winner will get an exotic prize that I dig out of my junk drawer.

Chicken Nuggets and Green Beans

It never occurred to me how exciting chicken nuggets and green beans could be. We’ve discussed chicken nuggets and green beans since last Friday.

This may come as a surprise to those of you who live in modern societies, but here in Indiana most of our kids still attend half day kindergarten. Not all, but most. In fact, kindergarten isn’t even required. I was completely shocked by that revelation, but secretly comforted when I started to freak out about sending Alex off to school. Not that I would ever consider not sending him to kindergarten.

Alex attends school a whopping two hours and 35 minutes a day. Settling everyone down takes 30 minutes alone and when you factor in stations and recess, there certainly isn’t time for lunch. Nor would a lunch hour be necessary for an 11:15 dismissal. BUT, today-- in preparation for first grade--the kindergarteners are eating lunch at school. From his level of excitement you would think Alex had a lunch reservation at Spago.

The note home said they could choose two sides in addition to their chicken nugget entrée and state-mandated green beans. Alex and I talked about making healthy choices. He assured me he knew what was healthful and what wasn’t. I believe him. He often questions my food choices and asks me why I haven’t been to Weight Watchers in weeks. I told him so long as he ate the green beans and chose one healthy side, he could choose one “fun” side. Dessert or whatever they offer in the cafeteria line these days! Alex was completely appalled. I won’t be surprised if he was the only kid without pudding, and an extra helping of green beans.

When we picked up Alex from school, he was down right chatty, which makes me think he must have blood sugar issues because normally it’s like riding home with a grizzly bear. In fact, he was in such a good mood; we drove right past our house and headed to the library. Meredith plucked a chapter book off the shelf, and Alex made the decision that Meredith is ready to start more in-depth reading material. He was in the stack telling her all about how she’s almost four and when he was four we read “Charlotte’s Web.” So, I let her get it. It’s called “Tutu Much Ballet” and the cover is pink. I’m sure that has nothing to do with her selection. War and Peace was checked out.

Chamber of Commerce Day

Today was one of those days where the temperature was so perfect, I had nothing to complain about. I tend to be a person of the extreme when it comes to temperature. Evidently, there’s little else I’d rather do than tell anyone willing to listen about how hot or cold I happen to think it is, because I always catch myself doing so. But, not today. Today was weather perfection.

To take advantage of the day, I took the kids to one of our favorite parks.. This park has a water feature that thankfully isn’t turned on until Memorial Day. The kids love it, and I’m all for them playing in it; provided we’re prepared. Inevitably, we stop there on a lark, and within 30 seconds of arrival, they’re both dripping head to toe. I’m always afraid I’ll be stopped on the way home and questioned about the children in the backseat wearing only their underwear. Then Chris Hansen will show up and we'll wind up on Dateline.

I had enough forethought to take along the camera and was able to get a few quick shots of the kids. Alex was in full-tilt pose mode, which makes for terribly stiff and nowhere near real pictures of him. Meredith didn’t even realize I took this, but boy oh boy does this scream, “Meredith at three.” I’m trying to capture how they are on any given day, which is seldom sitting in a chair, smiling at the camera.

We fed the ducks the last of Meredith’s peanut butter crackers and left the park for the promise of a cone from McDonald’s. Only Meredith didn’t want a cone, because, “Oh no, no, no, no. It might stain my shirt.” She had hers in a dish, while I drove with ice cream dripping down my arm and onto my pants.

We had to hustle when we got home because Alex had a soccer scrimmage. Since they don’t really keep score normally, every game is technically a scrimmage. Megan and Catey came to watch Alex’s game, so he felt like he had a cheering section. Didn’t help his game any, but still he has fans. We had to eat, and I wasn’t going to start dinner at 7:00 p.m., so we all went out for burgers. The kids were both exceptionally well behaved. It may have something to do with exhaustion.

Tea for Ten

Last week Meredith’s class had their Mothers’ Tea. It’s sort of their graduation from the Mom’s Day Out program into full-on preschool. They serve age-appropriate desserts, sing a few songs, and present a little slideshow of their year. I could remember sitting through Alex’s vividly, so it was a jolt of reality to realize Meredith--my baby—is headed for preschool.

The singing was the best part. They were semi-well-rehearsed, and eager to perform. Meredith’s class is overwhelmingly girly. I think there are three boys out of the ten kids in the class. One boy cried, one boy was missing, and one boy was not thrilled to participate.

As I was getting Meredith ready for her day at school, she looked at me with a giant red bow perched on her curls and said, “I hope everyone wears bows today.” I asked her why and she said, “MOM! It’s Mothers’ Tea! I want everyone’s hair to look good!” Jennifer and I laugh about how I wound up with a fashion forward daughter and she wound up with one who has a love of words. Jennifer told me a story about Caroline’s use of the word, “improvise,” in a completely correct context and that lead to another one of our conversations. I swear Meredith and Jenn could shop for a week while Caroline and I sat on a bench and waited for them in our black pants, long sleeved t-shirts, and Crocs. Maybe God gave each of us a little of the other to make living far apart a little easier. I like to think so at least.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to anyone who might be checking in on this really dreary day. I have to tell you the inclement weather saved me from an afternoon spent at the nursery picking out plants.---Which usually turns into chasing the kids through the nursery and asking, begging, pleading, and finally screaming for them to please stay near me. I love summer flowers and because, for some reason I no longer remember, we chose to brick our house in the color of cotton, we desperately need the color. I do not love to plant flowers. I did before I had kids. Now, I have other things to nurture and I have three people to clean after planting flowers.

I woke up this morning to Meredith poking me in the eye and telling me “Happy Smother’s Day.” She knows it’s pronounced “Mother’s Day,” she just prefers to call it “Smother’s Day,” which should probably concern me. Just like any other day, Meredith immediately wanted “brefast,” which she cannot pronounce correctly. Brandon reminded her we were going to brunch and tried to convince her to wait to eat until then. Sure.

Alex followed two minutes later and his enunciation was flawless.

The kids were very excited to give me their cards and the birdhouse/jewelry box Alex made for me. It’s funny to watch them hide stuff from me and really think they’re getting away with something.

We went to brunch at a place near our home with 2,800 other families from Hamilton County. (Sahm's for those of you whom live here.) I threw a minor fit when they wanted us to sit in the bar. Call me crazy, but I didn’t want to eat my Mother’s Day Brunch under a Budweiser sign. Even thought the host assured me it was non-smoking. No kidding. I was a little embarrassed at how insistent I was, but in the end they gave us a better table. The food was great and it was a good thing the HSN dress arrived with an empire waist and forgiving darts. They always have great shrimp. Alex and Meredith can both eat their weight in shrimp. Meredith did her part, but Alex told us twice he just couldn’t stomach eating “any sort of fish for breakfast, even if it is also lunch.”

The rest of the day was kind of a lazy blur. Brandon and Meredith napped while Alex and I went to Target. We left after a meltdown over a camouflaged art box with a lock. We have a minimum of four art boxes that all go unused and I wasn’t about to buy another. When we got home, Brandon and the kids went to my in-laws for a while and I cleaned our bonus room in peace. Oddly enough, there’s little else I’d rather do.

If you can read this, thank your mother.

It rained today. All day. Which means we were inside. All day.

Meredith and I did go to my Mom’s In Touch group this morning, which pretty much became a gab fest and a playdate. Before we walked out the door, Meredith asked to wear one of my rings. I told her no. She cried and yelled that she “wouldn’t look good without a ring.” I told her she’d live. Allow me to quote Meredith: “Well, Jesus would want you to share your rings with me.” I should have spent my time praying instead of gabbing.

We did get the playroom picked up, but only because I bribed them with candy. I really need to move the kids towards more personal responsibility. It’s hard. I would rather pick up the toys myself and put them into their proper bins. If the kids do it, it takes two hours. Things that should be thrown out---i.e. broken crayons, scraps of paper, bent swords-- wind up stuffed in a toy drawer. Trucks land in the dress up box. Maracas in the tool bench. I can’t stand it. It’s time. They need to learn to be more responsible for their belongings and I need to learn to live with Barbie’s shoes in the block bin.

We struggled with Alex’s reading homework tonight. He has Kindergarten Connection homework every night. It’s mainly reading worksheets, which contain sight words and a small book to read. I have a sneaking suspicion we’re one of the few still reading the two-sentences-per-page-books, and I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with, is Alex fiddling around and doing just enough to get by.

I wish I was the type of mom who didn’t want to run screaming from the room after their child repeatedly confuses words like “Gus” and “sub.” Alex goes to great lengths to avoid actually reading the words on the page. He’d rather guess. He sees a picture of a boat on the page and from then on, any word with a “b” becomes “boat.” Maybe this is why so many mothers I know are on some sort of anti-anxiety medication. I thought it was the economy or gas prices, but it turns out it’s phonics.

It’s never easy telling a friend good-bye, but we had an incredibly fun visit with Kelly and her boys. Within minutes of getting here yesterday, Aunt Kelly had all the boys out for a walk while I was on the phone and Meredith was still sleeping. I thought it would be a quick jaunt, but they wound up walking our entire path and stopping at the playground to play hide and seek. See why my kids LOVE her?! Kelly’s so much more fun than me.

After Meredith and I tracked them down, the boys voted to stay here and play outside rather than watch Meredith’s ballet class. Surprise. After we got home, we decided to head back to Monical’s Pizza for dinner. I doubt they have those in KC, Kelly! Our volume level was a little loud, and one diner even asked not to sit near us, but the kids were really good.

After we got home, we let the kids play until they nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Mason and Alex shared a room, and if you can believe it, they were both out like lights. Kelly and I feared it might take them awhile to settle down. We owe it all to fresh air.

We stayed up late watching multiple episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8. We really lived it up!

Miracle of miracles, all the kids slept until nearly 7:00 a.m. We had a pancake breakfast before the bus scooped up Alex. Kelly and I took the remaining kids to the park right next to our house. I took my camera thinking I’d grab some fun shots of the kids playing and low and behold I found a gorgeous place to shoot. The lighting couldn’t have been better, so we bribed the kids to stand still instead of playing, which seems really mean, but there's always room for a lesson in delayed gratification. As always, Kelly’s boys were troupers and let me take all kids of fun pictures.


Meredith wanted little to do with the camera, but did let Aunt Kelly take this one. This is what Kelly captured after a 15 second photography lesson from me. Any bets on how long it takes her to buy a big girl camera?!

After Meredith and I picked up Alex from Kindergarten Connection, we met some of our neighbors at a different park in hopes of an early bedtime. We didn’t stay too long because it was hot, and I didn’t sunscreen any of us. It takes seven minute of exposure for all three of us to burn. The tops of my feet are itchy, so either they’re burned or I picked up a parasite wading in the creek while taking pictures. With any luck, it’s a tape worm and I’ll finally loose those last 25 pounds.

Three weeks ago, this would have been an improbable shot. Meredith has a good memory. Alex drove over her foot while tearing through our yard when Merdi was 18 months old. She forgave, but she didn't forget. Alex apologized 100 times, and tried to coax her into a Gator ride to no avail. Finally, she decided to trust him with her life, so long as he "drove super-duper slow!" Alex kept his promise, and in no time they were tooling down our walking path in high gear.

Now it's all Meredith wants to do. She has no interest in driving, and I can only hope this lasts until she's 30.

This is a look of trust!

Toto, they're not in Indiana anymore.

I thought maybe I should check in as several of you have e-mailed me to make sure I’m still breathing. It’s good to know if I should ever fall and break my neck that people would know to check in on me if I haven’t posted a new entry in awhile.

We just had one of those weeks where my focus was elsewhere. I’ll just say I’m glad tomorrow brings a new week. Tomorrow is a big day. We’re having company. Well, truly Kelly isn’t company, she’s family. We may not be officially related, but try convincing either one of us we aren’t.

The kids and I are really looking forward to Kelly’s overnight visit. She’s bringing her boys, Mason and Mitchell and we’re having a sleepover for the first time in 15 or so years. We’re hoping they become a regular occurrence.

For the past five years, Kelly and Matt lived in Terre Haute. Better yet, they lived on the side of Terre Haute closest to Indy. They literally lived just off of I 70, at the half way point between our house and our hometown. Had they not lived there, we would never have been able to make the trip with the newly potty-trained.

We were spoiled. Kelly and I made little jaunts between our house and theirs. Our kids were always first on the other’s guests list for birthday parties, we ran lasagnas back and forth when our kids were born, and again, I can’t tell you how many times we stopped at Kelly’s loaded down with Happy Meals between Olney and our house.

A couple of years ago, Kelly went back to saving lives in the radiology department and Alex insisted on starting school, so our spur of the moment trips became fewer and far between. Lately, we’re lucky if we see each other every three months. That doesn’t mean we’re out of touch. If you were to scroll through either of our caller ID logs, every other number belongs to one of us.

Our impromptu trips and pit stops are about to come to an end. The Burgin’s are headed West to Kansas City for Matt’s new job. So now our trips will be more planned and require a boarding pass. I haven’t really given it much thought until the last few days. Kelly keeps reminding me we’re a short, relatively cheap flight away. I keep reminding her what it’s like to clear security and board a plane without a juice box.

I’m starting to get that panicky feeling in my chest that plagued Tony Soprano all those years. I may wind up in therapy over this move, but before I do we’re going to spend a couple of days catching up in person and letting our kids run wild while I try to keep my emotions in check.