Hi! Remember Me?

Life has been crazy the past few weeks. I haven't had much computer time, so I'm really far behind on reading blogs and writing on my own. Now that Sammy's birthday is over, I think life will get back to normal.

The day of his birthday, we took the kids to the Mall of America and did all the tourist-y things, like touring Underwater Adventures (an aquarium) and riding rides at Nickelodeon Universe. The kids were cranky and tired afterwards (okay, I admit it - the adults were, too) but it was a fun day.

The party was on Sunday, and I thought it went great! This year, we rented a banquet room at a nearby hotel, and I think that worked out well. It saved me the stress of having to clean (and KEEP clean) my house beforehand, and I think it was well worth the $100 for the 4-hour rental. My only regret is that we didn't pay the extra $50 to rent it for a full 8 hours. You'd think 4 hours would be plenty of time for a 3-year-old's birthday party, wouldn't you? Of course, the first hour was devoted to decorating and setting up food - but we had to shut things down when the party was still going strong, and I felt bad about that.

The banquet room was attached to the pool, so the kids had a great time swimming with their cousins. I discovered that Natalie is a Pisces at heart - a little water-baby. Being the second child, she misses out on a lot, and one of the things I regret is that I didn't have a chance to bring her to Community Ed swimming classes like I did when Sammy was a baby. I plan to fix that by signing her up for the next session.

So, there's my update. I promise to be around more now.