Playing catch-up

 I just got in yelled at by my sister for not posting an update for so long! So I figured I better sit down and feed the masses tell the 6 of you how our summer has gone! ;) Our trip to Minnesota and Iowa was fun! But I will never, ever do it again without my wonderful, helpful husband! Mom was with me, with the (pre-travel) agreement that we would take care of the kids together and it would be great! Umm.... well. After about 5 days I could sense my poor mother's nerves falling to pieces. My kids, sweet as they are, are a lot to handle. It's a demanding and draining job. I was so so so relieved to pick Rob up from the airport after being without him for 15 days. I learned just how much I depend on him on a daily basis to keep me sane. I admit, I did cry a little bit when he came down the airport escalator. I'm not sure if it was just the profound relief, or watching Connor and Max run into his arms, screaming "DADDY!!" while Maggie kicked furiously in her stroller. I wish I had videotaped that moment.
  But it was nice to see our families. I used up all my camera memory on my new niece in Minnesota within the first few days of our trip. What a sweet little thing! She loved me right away, and the feeling was mutual.
  We were so anxious to get home, we drove through the night and made it back at 4:30 in the morning! I was so happy to see my bed! I've never been so exhausted in all my life.
 
   There's been a whole lot of nothing going on since then and that's OK WITH ME!

  Now I'm feeling a little excited, because after talking to Rob about it, I'm going to get a part time job! I'm looking forward to getting out of the house a bit. I got an offer from The Children's Place in a nearby mall, but turned them down after getting an interview at Starbucks. I worked in a coffee shop for three years in MN and I miss it every day! So I interviewed today and was told I would get the job! I'm very happy! It will be nice to spend my day talking to grown ups again, not to mention a paycheck, tips, and free coffee! I'll not only get free coffee as I work, but a pound of coffee to take home each week! I'd work for free for all of that!
 
   Connor starts another year of preschool on Wednesday. He had orientation this morning, and he's excited to start. We put him in a different school this year. The school he was in before was alright, but they lost Connor one day in the beginning of the year. They searched the school, but couldn't find him, until another parent walked in and informed them there was a little boy walking all the way down at the end of the strip mall. Along a busy street. All alone. That was kind of a big deal. Then at the end of the year we found out his teacher thought he was Autistic from her facebook page. It wasn't mentioned to us until I asked about it. Of course we had his doctor examine him. She said there's absolutely no reason to think he's Autistic, and suggested a different preschool. So far we are very happy with the system and the *ahem* professionalism.

   Maggie is finally walking! She started walking a little bit in Minnesota, with 3 steps at a time. That's about as much as she would do for a long time, until one day she just started walking all over! That was probably a month ago now. She would have been 13 months old.
 
            Connor, drying in the sun.

                      
               My little kangaroo.

                   Those eyes get me every time!

 
               My favorite cake so far. So cute!!