Weekend Circle Time: Mom's Slumber Party Edition

I am posting this a little later than I planned, because I have been away from the computer for the last 24 hrs. I was gone on a "mom's night out".....as in, a night in a hotel.
Away from my children.

To sleep all night without being awakened at 2am by a person standing by my bed
and poking me in the eye.

Or losing their favorite stuffed animal in the middle of the night,
thus creating the need for a search party.

And no snoring husband (but you know I love ya, babe....).

As far as I can remember, I had never been away from my kids--without Josh--for overnight before....well, apart from the time that I was deathly ill and pregnant so my dear husband took our baby and went to stay at his parents' house so I could rest.
It was a weird (and wonderful) feeling. ;-) I am very grateful for a husband who will let me do this sort of thing. He knew that I was due for a dose of sanity....

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So anyway.....here is my collection of "things learned/enjoyed" this week. Hope you have as relaxing a weekend as I had!

1. This is an old post, but I have just discovered this blog and am trying to catch up on all of its bloggy goodness. :-) It just cracked me, as I feel this way many days. In fact, I always wonder what my daycare families think about my clothing get-ups. lol. Read and enjoy!

2. I am glad that I am not the only wife who does this sort of thing...... ;-)

3. This post greatly amused me......why do we put ourselves through this torture?!

4. A very good reminder for me......I need those every once in awhile. ha ha!

5. This mom always makes me feel motivated, for some reason. :-) She actually has inspired me ever since I was a meek little college freshman.....and I adore her artwork. I have 3 of her "works" hanging in my house, and I am scheming how to acquire more.

I had my fun last night, and now I am refreshed and ready to be a mom again. Hope you get your chance to "get away" every once in awhile!

Even moms need a "time-out" once in awhile

I had the pleasure of being involved with a mom's group back in Wisconsin. One of my oldest and dearest friends in town invited me to it after the birth of my first daughter, and I had been "addicted" ever since! :-)
Unfortunately (I say that because my husband views this as a bad thing), I am a very social person, and I need some adult time once in awhile. The mom's group met at a local church once a month, and provided 2 hours for moms to come and fellowship while their children were cared for across the hall. Some wonderful ladies from the church volunteered each month to watch our kids, providing games, snacks, and loving care. It was SUCH a blessing to me, as it was for the other moms. We would have a topic or project each month, but mostly we just visited, exchanged baby stories, and ATE of course! :-) It was a great way to get to know other moms in the community and expose our kids to other kids (and to learning social skills)

As soon as I feel "settled and adjusted" in our new place, I will be on the search for another mom's group. Not only did it provide a monthly social outlet for me, but I was able to encourage other moms as they went through struggles similar to mine.

The Lord knew what kind of friends I would need during this stage of my life, and He provided them through my "Mom's Time Out". I will miss each of these ladies, as they became very dear to my heart over the past 5 years.My dear friend Rebecca, who invited me to my first "Mom's Time Out"

Me with Pam and Kathy, two of my closest friends in the group

"How rare and wonderful is that flash of a moment when we realize we have discovered a friend." --William E. Rothschild

Guess Who???

I think I have a history with everyone on my blogroll (minus the "strangers" links at the bottom). Some I have a longer (and more interesting :-) history with, but there is a story behind each of my friendships.

So I thought I would play a little game here at Toddler World, and see who knows the most about my friends--or at least who is the best guesser!

Here's what you do:

You will probably need a piece of paper to write down your answers.....Match the name of the person from my blogroll with the number of the scenerio that you think describes them. Whoever gets the most right will win a book from my Usborne site (you can pick this, this, or this as your prize choice and write the title in your comment along with your answers.) You will have until Tues. the 11th to guess and I will announce the winner on the 13th. Happy guessing! :-)

Here are the questions:
1) Who planned a hippie party in our dorm (to which I came dressed as a baby)?
2) Who got in a car accident with me?
3) Who crashed a wedding reception with me?
4) Who was my husband's personal Christmas shopper for me last year?
5) Who was my dorm sup my freshman year?
6) Who is in the Marines?
7) Who did I get in a fight with twice while driving through Chicago (besides my husband :-)?
8) Whose son did I teach in Sunday School?
9) Who used to be my neighbor?
10) Who played (dumb) practical jokes with me in the dorm?
11) Who planned his engagement for the top of the Sears Tower but it was fogged in?
12) Who did I see the Beach Boys in concert with?
13) Who had a Packer bathroom (and may still....I don't know)?
14) Who decorated their Christmas tree in American flags?
15) Who had a costume party at Ed Debevic's with me?
16) Who TP'd my apartment while I was on my honeymoon?
17) Who was my favorite garage sale-ing buddy?
18) Who ran for Congress?
19) Who took me home for Thanksgiving my freshman year?
20) Who went on a date (of sorts) with my husband? :-)
21) Who snuck a t.v. into the dorm during summer school so we could watch it?
22) Who was my roomate my sophmore year?

Here is the list of friends and family (to make it easier for you):
-My Man (Josh)
-Jill
-Kevin
-Tim
-Casey
-KJ
-Beth's Hubby
-Beth Terp
-Jana
-Erica
-Sara Fos
-Melissa
-Danielle
-Gretchen
-Kristi
-Gknee
-Tansy
-Karen
-Amy
-Tiffany
-Donette
-Morning Rose

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

Back in college, I was a big restaurant connoisseur. (I had to look that up, by the way....I can never remember how to spell it!) I even had my own restaurant journal, where I could log the prices, favorite entrees, addresses, and overall impressions of the restaurants I visited. Nowdays, I still love going out to eat and finding new, fun places--BUT, 3 children under the age of 5 (and the lack of money that comes with that situation) keeps me from frequenting noteable dining establishments. My restaurant requirements now include (and not in any particular order):
1) Cheap kids meals
2) Easily accessible bathrooms
3) Patrons that do not mind screaming and food throwing
4) Quick service for quick getaways
One of our favorite places to take the kids is just a few blocks from our house. Some of you have referenced it before---the great Mullen's Dairy Bar. Unfortunately they do not have a website--they ought, it is a fun place that people would like to discover. I believe this person (or maybe her sister) even worked at Mullen's.

With grandparents, for Middle E's birthday and just for fun

On Thursday, I was able to meet my friend Morning Rose for a playdate at the awesome new park in her town. Afterwards, we went for lunch at the Market St. Diner and Bakery. What a fun place! Every time I have driven past it, I have wanted to stop but never had a chance. So it was nice to finally try it out and do so with friends. When I googled it, I was surprised to find it is a part of a network of restaurants. They all look really fun (and delicious!) Perhaps if I can ever work through my two aforementioned reasons for not going out, I will try them. :-) Otherwise, I will just walk back down to Mullen's and enjoy my medium-thick strawberry shake and mini corndogs.....

Coffee, cheesecake, and some good friends....

....what more could you ask for?? :-)

A few weeks ago, I was able to spend time with not one, but two, of my oldest and dearest college friends on a Saturday. It was so nice to just sit and chat, and eat and shop with both of them--Kristi in the morning and Jenny in the afternoon.

I am so thankful for the friends that God has given me. We have so many memories from our times spent together, and I am thankful that we can still "connect" after not seeing each other for so long.

Thanks Jenny and Kristi, for being my "friend fix" for the month! :-)

A bit of inspiration!

My college friend Sara sent me this original painting as a prize for winning her contest. :-) I was so excited, and I love how it looks in my dining room. It is the first thing you see when you walk into our house. Thank you, Sara---I love it! (Look on her blog for a better picture of it.)



And it also inspired me to be creative on my own. As I just blogged about, our friends Tiffany and Phil just moved away. They worked in the youth group with us, and we wanted to give them something to remember all of us by. I thought one of those photo boards that you hang on the wall would be cool, but I could NOT find one in colors that would match her spare bedroom. So the thought came to me--why not make it myself?! If any of you know me, this is probably rather amusing to you right now. I do not have a shred of artistic talent and to make matters worse cannot sew more than a button (and even that is questionable!). So this task did not seem do-able but I decided to try. Some nice old lady in the Walmart craft department helped me gather my supplies and armed with me with suggestions. Although I would not be able to sell it at a craft fair or anything, I was rather proud of the outcome. Just imagine how much better it would have looked if I hadn't slapped it together in a matter of 2 hours!!!

Back to life, back to reality.....

We have been on vacation for the last few days, so I am extremely behind on the blogging world. You know how it takes 2 or 3 days to catch up on everything after a vacation. Josh and I decided that next vacation, we are staying home--it is so much less work! :-)
I promise to post soon, with many pictures that I have not shared yet, as well as vacation pics. And I have to catch up on all of your lives!!!! I'm sure I have missed out on much.....

In touch with nature

I mentioned before that we had taken the kids to a friend's farm....it was alot of fun, and good for the kids to be exposed to farm life. (They are slightly afraid of animals for some reason.) Even the baby got up close and personal! :-)
Thanks Kari and Des!

Congratulations, Heather!

Our favorite babysitter graduated this past weekend. We are so proud of her, and so happy that she will still be around for college! :-) The girls adore her--and her little brother. And it seems her little brother liked our newest E....
We also got to see one of my oldest and dearest friends, G-knee and her rekindled flame. :-) (She just happens to be the aunt of our fav babysitter!) Unfortunately, there was not time to hang out with them much. I hope we can all go out for dinner and coffee sometime soon!!! I think it is our time to visit them though. :-)