Home Again. Home Again. Jiggety Jig.

We're back in Kansas! The trip home was less eventful than the ride to Nebraska. The only problem was that S cried for almost three hours. She missed her daddy. We pulled into the McDonald's for our potty break and she was screaming "I miss my dada" on the way in. I was afraid they'd think I kidnapped her. Instead, the nice lady who was washing the windows on our way in met me at the door of the restroom (on the way out) to see if she could give the girls a free mini ice cream cone. A very nice offer. And, it even shut her up for about 10 minutes.

So, I'm thinking my girls love vacationing. "A" has already asked what we have on tap this week. She wants to go to the botanical garden. (check out the link--they have a treehouse exhibit!) She's also requested a trip to pick blueberries, which we also do every year. Last year, the neighbor took them the day K was born. Most of the berries were rotten by the time I got out of the hospital. But, I'm thinking blueberry picking should be part of K's birthday celebration every year. It's a lot of fun, plus blueberries might just help my failing memory.

I didn't have too many airheaded moments after that trip to Nebraska. It was just so relaxing. I got to hang out with my dad and step-mom. My step-brother met us for lunch at Burger King one day. My sister-in-law and niece and nephews and dad went to the Omaha Children's Museum with us (Totally awesome. I could see myself having a career as a person who solicits donations from businesses and organizations to fund cool, new exhibits.)

It was raining, so we missed the zoo, which now has a new orangutan exhibit. (I try to get there a couple times a year to catch up on all the new things that have been added since we moved 11 years ago.) My step-mom, SIL and niece and nephews went to a Jim Cosgrove concert ( a Kansas City children's entertainer who happened to be playing in Omaha that week...see his site for clips, but don't rat us out as groupies!) at the library.

We bought some balls, chalk and bubbles for the park, but then it rained again, so the kids played in the garage and (when there was no thunder or lightening) they put on swimming suits and played in the rain. As is always the highlight for the girls, they went to my step-mom's beauty shop. K got her first hair cut from grandma. "A" got her ears pierced. S, A and cousin H played with make up and got their nails done. A girl-y girl's dream!

Oh, and I finally got to eat at one of those noodle places! Now, why don't they sell all those awesome sauces in the frozen section of the grocery store? Or even in a jar by the spaghetti sauce? It was yummy, but we don't eat out often. It's just too hard to control kids in a restaurant. And, why are all these places popping up at the same time pasta companies are using the low carb craze as an excuse for declining profits? Hmm...I think excuse is the key word here.

So, no more bad luck until I took K to the store today. She squashed my bread. Then, she spilled a dozen eggs in the cart. As I was putting them back into the carton, I muttered to the cashier that I could only find 11. The lady behind me looks at K and says, "OH, look! The baby has the other one." Sure enough, K was chewing on an egg. It could have been worse. The were cracked, but not runny. The whole runny egg bit would have been really funny in a movie...just not in my real life. Did I mention that my car got egged at my dad's house? Or that my sweet daddy washed it off for his pouty little girl?

It now takes two carts to get all my groceries to the car (one to shop, but two to get them to the car), so I took K out as I paid. Little octopus arms hit the exact right button and cancelled the transaction, so I had to dig out my card and pay all over again.

Again, not a huge problem, but I think K's shopping-with-mom days are numbered.

Ah, glad to be home! Now our summer can officially begin.

I promise writing news this week. Life's crazy here, but I do it to myself!