"Who are all these kids and how did I get here?"

Who is that guy, and why is he making that crazy looking face? That's Hubby's cousin who showed up at our house Friday night for a "BBQ get together" however, when Hubby invited him, he failed to warn him that there was going to be about 15-20 kids at said BBQ. He's used to the usual suspects (aka, my kids) but who can blame this single, good looking guy, (ladies, email me for the digits) for not wanting to spend a Friday evening with a bunch of kids? I think he made this face when he heard one of us talking about giving birth, birth control, or poopy diapers. Could have been anything.

So why the big BBQ? Well, the Fergies flew to Florida for a visit to the Jonesies! We kicked off the weekend with a reunion BBQ with some friends we went to college with. It was such a blast. Everyone came with their kids, and those who didn't have kids of their own showed up with some. (Really, it was quite funny). At last count we had about 17 kids and maybe 12 adults? They totally out numbered us but we had plenty of drinks to make us not notice. I don't know who had more fun, the kids or the adults.

Now on to Fergie's picture here. I'm not quit sure what was going on or what was being said, but both Fergie and Little Buddy were not amused. Maybe more talk about birth? Again, who knows. Just thought I'd share that picture with you all.

Now for this picture of me below. That's me preaching to the choir (read - complaining about life as a working mom, our hubbies, or something like that). Can't quite remember what exactly it was that I was saying. At one point, the moms were planning a getaway and we were going to leave all the men to fend for themselves and the kids so that may have been me making the plans. We loved our kids too much to do that to them so we decided to stay. (Kidding)

And for the last picture. Those are some of our kids who snuck off to our new neighbor's house and decided to sit on their back patio and eat their food. Shoot me now, the neighbors just moved in a few weeks ago and they probably were in their home trying to see if they could get out of this deal somehow. We hardly throw parties so hopefully we haven't given them the wrong impression.

Okay, will fill you all in with some other details later. Need to catch up on some much needed rest!

You Know You Had a Good Time When Your Cell Phone Ends Up In Another Country

It's safe to say that I had a blast last week. We had tons of family and friends come to town and stay with us for Inauguration and boy did we get our celebration on. The weekend began with the girls' weekly ballet class and SIL and her family driving up from Atlanta to spend some time with us. What a treat! Chatterbox and Giggles were beside themselves with excitment at having their big cousins to play with. We all braved the cold weather (it was freezing!) and took the Metro downtown to the National Mall and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where the kids reveled in display upon display of dinosaurs. We topped the night off with Blazy's Pepperoni Lasagna and hit the hay. Sunday began with a kids' birthday party and then Hubby, his friend and I headed to a reception hosted by the Young Elected Officials Network and the Chestnut Law Firm, that we were invited to by Justice Jonesie. It was fun! We met lots of movers and shakers, caught up with old friends and enjoyed hors d'oeuvres, an open bar and good music. It was great hanging out with Justice Jonesie and her friend K again - good times. SIL was a doll and took the kids to Port Discovery during the day so that we could attend the reception. That night we tucked the kids into bed and left them in the loving care of my dad and stepmom who arrived that morning to help my sister move to the area (talk about a hectic few days). All the grown folks headed to an Inauguration Jam where we met up with my ladies' crew from lawschool. At that point, hubby and I had officially gone out more than we had in the past several months combined...

The next day was our "Party Like A BarackStar" Obama Brunch. We had tons of yummy food and tons of wonderful guests. My best friend Danielle and her friend drove down from Toronto and arrived in the wee hours of the morning. I do have to shout out the stars of the brunch: my friend Danielle's ham & cheese quiche (heavenly!); my Dijon-Tarragon-Chive Salmon; and...our Inauguration cheescake courtesy of Eli's Cheesecake in Chicago!!

In case you haven't heard of this marvelous cakery, Eli's Cheescake is a famous Chicagoan institution, well-known for its delicious cheescakes and succulent steaks. Eli's had the honor of making dessert at the Commander-In-Chief's Ball at the National Building Museum in D.C. for President Obama's inauguration - a 500 pound apple cheesecake! Eli's was generous enough to send me a complimentary (slightly smaller!) version of the cheesecake for my Obama Brunch. How rockin' is that? Feeling left out? Not to worry, you can order your very own Inaugural Cheesecake from Eli's here (really, is it ever a not a good time to eat cheesecake?)

But I digress. After the brunch (and an impromptu emergency trip to the pediatrician) we went to the Young & Powerful for Obama Black Tie & Awards Gala. It was fun getting all dressed up in our tuxes and gowns for the evening. We had a good time at the ball and afterwards, inexplicably ended up in our car stuck in the White House roadblock, unable to get out. By the time we made it home it was after 3:00am and no sooner did I rest my head on my pillow did I need to get up, layer up, and trek down to the Mall for to watch the swearing-in ceremony with 2 million of my closest friends. Ironically enough, we drove all the way into town in Danielle's car at 5am with no problem and even managed to park in a parking garage. We walked through the closed highway tunnel and by dawn we were on the National Mall, making our way as close as possible to a big screen. We ended up at the jumbo-tron that was 2nd from the U.S. Capitol Building! Great location. The ceremony was awesome and being in that crowd, waving our flags with millions of emotional folks was an experience I will never forget. We trekked back to our car (it took THREE HOURS) in the freezing cold. By the time I got home I was ready to collapse; which I did, and didn't wake up until the next day.

Which is precisely when I realized that my cell phone was in Danielle's car. And the car was already back in Toronto.

All in all, the week was great. Michelle looked hot to death in her lemongrass ensemble and President Obama is the leader of the free world. Last week will be a hard one to top.

Friday Rundown

• I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm beat! Not that the weekend will be spent lying around the house - it never is - but at least I won't have to go to work.

• Tonight I'm going to a DC Metro Moms Blog event sponsored by the Chevy Traverse -- I'm sooo excited. Should be a blast.
  


• Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we're taking the kids apple picking. I haven't been since I was a kid so I'm looking forward to it. Chatterbox has already decided that she wants to make an apple pie. I want to try my hand at apple crisp and apple fritters. Oh, and I can't forget caramel apples.
  


• The guy who hands out the morning paper at the Metro each day always gives me a chuckle. Everyday, without fail, he says: "You're looking gorgeous today, Miss!" I mentioned it to hubby who of course said "Yeah, but how many teeth does he have?" Well, if you must know, he has 4. But really, that is besides the point.
  


• Some fall/winter shopping is definitely in order. I desperately need new everything. Comfy winter boots, tall boots, a leather jacket, a winter coat, a tote bag for commuting, rainboots, shoes for work...I need it all.
  


• I need to come up with a fundraising idea for the girls' school. The goal of the Parents Committee is to build them a small playground in the spring. Any suggestions?
  


• I also need to decide whether I'm going to subject myself to taking the girls to Disney on Ice next month. Of course I haven't even mentioned it to them because if I did, I would never hear the end of it. I'm still on the fence.

What's on tap for your weekend?

Painting the Town Red

I have no idea how it happened, but last week this mama went out on the town, sans kids, THREE times!! On Tuesday night, some friends and I went to Shecky's Girls Night Out for an evening of shopping, free cocktails, and a fly goodie bag. Can't beat that. It was really fun. It was nice to get dressed up and hang out with other women my age in a hip and relaxed atmosphere. Even though I could only manage one cocktail (because I'm a lightweight and because I'm nursing), it was a great outing. I even got myself a fabulous watch. When it was time to go, the rest of the gals went to a late night happy hour, but I headed home -- exhausted, but content.

On Friday hubby and I went out on a "date" to a trendy restaurant and then bar hopping! The meal was delish and we were both rejuvenated by hanging out downtown on a Friday evening, which is something we never do. It made us vow to resume our monthly date nights again. It was nice to dress up for each other - I had my hair done, wore stilettos, and everything. The only drag was rushing back home to make it in time for to relieve the babysitter. This is where overnights for the kids at Grandma's would come in handy.

Saturday night I went out with friends to see my all-time favorite artist, Mary J. Blige. By then I was feeling downright neglectful as a mom, but really and truly the kids were all pretty asleep each time I went out, but you know how the mommy guilt goes. The concert was great as usual (I've seen Mary at least 5 times before) and she looks better than ever. Robin Thicke was the opening act, and he was alright. I sung my heart out and enjoyed every minute of the show. I didn't get home until *gasp* after midnight, but hey, it's not like I sleep at night anyway. The baby makes sure of that.

I have to say that all of those outings made me feel like me again. I am officially out of the baby phase and it's time to steal some time for myself again. This Friday is Moms Night Out with my moms group. I almost want to skip it since I was out so much last week.

Almost.

The Party

Last weekend was Chatterbox's birthday party and we did it at Build-a-Bear Workshop this year. I was bitten with the "Don't Do It Yourself" bug last year when we had her party at Pump It Up. It was so fabulous - minimal prep, someone else to entertain the kids and no cleanup! After researching the limited party options for her age, I decided to try a BAB party even though we had never even ventured inside the store before. I was a tad nervous after reading various mom blogs about parties that were held there. Apparently it can end going terribly wrong if the staff isn't especially great. Luckily, we had a great store (large and virtually empty) and a great party leader (who pre-selected outfits for us to avoid any overspending). It took a little while for the kids to warm up, but once they did, everyone had a good time.

(could I look anymore tired?)

After the BAB party, we all headed to the food court in the mall (which yes, had the potential to make the party cheesy) for the princess-themed Chik-Fil-A party and birthday cake. I was pleasantly surprised!! The restaurant had reserved a section for us and setup the tables with balloons, placemats, party favors and kids' meals for all the mini-guests. We were fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask) seated right in front of the play area with kiddie rides, so the kids had a blast climbing and riding. After that, we had princess cake and ice cream and then the kids pulled candy from the princess castle pinata that Chatterbox picked out herself.

Chatterbox and the kids had a wonderful time and the other moms kept telling me what a good idea it was. Another birthday success! 4 down and...12 to go?