photos and our up coming family vacation

most of these pictures (if not all?) are from Oma (Ben's mom) during a parent-free weekend stay the kids spent with her.  I've (fairly) recently discovered instagram which,  in cahoots with facebook, renders this blog basically meaningless drivel that is out of date and usually just me ranting about how awful i am anyhow...

all that said, here are some pictures:

They're growing up fast, eh?

June is on the other side of the threshold staring at us with those creepy eyes that insist summer is here...
We're getting ready for our FAMILY VACATION (10th-16th).  Most of our family vacation attempts are at best, not awful, at worst really, really, swear-off-all-future-family-vacationing awful.  But here we are attempting it again.

We rented a house in Chincoteague (as Ben says, we spend our daily life practically camping in a cabin in the woods, why would we spend our vacation just as isolated - so we've rented a house in a town, a compromise between Ben's downtown city/hotel vacation dream, and my backpacking in wretched climates vacation dream).  I think we'll all be rather comfortable. And as another lessons learned, we're only packing a small portion of planned meals and we'll be having some of our family fun eating out (yes, that raises all sorts of nutritional concerns in me, but hey, lets live on the edge once in a while. A week of nothing but bacon will at least earn them shiny hair? - at least ben and i won't fight about it...)

In preparation for this fun family vacation, Esther and I are starting Misty of Chincoteague tonight.

Ok. well. hope your summer (or winter - stephen) is off to a good start. We'll see you around... hopefully...

Mother's Day and Others Day

I've taken to spending my short breaks at work (which i force myself to take every time my head feels like it may explode or my fist might "accidentally" try to punch someone in their GIANT head - ends up being about once every couple of hours) catching up on my google reader and posting to my [pathetic] blog.

Mother's day was good. Had first breakfast in bed with ben of tiramisu and strawberries. had second breakfast with my parents and brother and ceci. Ben took the kids to have lunch with his mom and I rode my motorcycle all over the place... my arms are actually sore (i know, isn't that so weird??).  Esther was super cute about mother's day. she was so excited to give me the present she made at preschool that i had to remind her a dozen times that it was a surprise and she couldn't tell me what it was. Also, she has insisted that today is Asa day and tomorrow is Esther day. Because they both need days where we tell them how special they are to us and get them special treats...

May has gone by in a flash so far. I guess that's what happens when you have event after event after event after event after... oh man, i'm soooo tired.  This weekend is the Jacob Backpacking trip to commemorate my cousin Jacob who died suddenly and tragically (dec 2010) and MAN, yep i'm still pissed...
Anyway. i'm looking forward to remembering him through blisters and woods and fires and sleeping under the stars.

After this weekend... i have nothing planned until mid-june. well, that's not entirely true. i plan on fixing up the trails in the woods around the house, making (and using) a campsite up on top the ridge behind the house, playing in the garden, taking the kids to get ice cream at Bonky's, sniffing ben's neck, and other such joyous undertakings...

if you need me, i'll be the dirt-smeared girl in 2-day old clothing at the top of the big walnut tree howling like a monkey and grinning like a loon.

recovery through reclusion...

the grants are in. the fairie festival is over. no surgical procedures on the horizon (at least until we can reschedule). 

and now for some hiding out at home with my smooch-faced babes and ben... 

monday was rough. i probably should have taken a sick day, but i just couldn't see a way around it. And honestly, if i'm going to try and shoot fire out of my eyes at everyone i come in contact with, it's probably better to be hiding out in my office all day then at home with my kids (whom i've already probably damaged beyond repair).  i've been trying to take it easy. re-collect the bits and pieces of myself that have fallen off here and there.  i've even been dressing particularly frumpy to go to work the last three days (ben says it's a backlash from costuming for fairie fest for three days straight).  

All in all the weekend was good. i made more $ than last year, but still not quite enough to justify the whole rigmarole of it. so this was my last festival as a vendor. i think i will save my talents for gifts within the family and  maybe small commissions if/when i can carve out the time.  on the upside i have lots of stock left for the babies that are all about to be born this summer. 

work is slowly killing me. i'm still trying to figure out a way to be happy here rather than trying to find a new job. but i'm just not sure how to do that. i'm toying with the idea of talking to my boss, but i should probably have a more concrete idea of what/how to present whatever it is i can come up with that will make work more tolerable. 

Once i can get copies from those who are good enough to take photos i'll post them here. in the mean time, there's a couple on facebook and one or two on instagram... 

if you don't see me in the next couple of weeks, i'm fine, just tired.