Slow goin'

Since we got to my brother's house on Monday, we've kind of taken a slow approach to getting the day started. Right now it's 11:30am and I'm still in my pajamas.

Yesterday, we hung around the house and let the kids just play in the morning. Our plan had been to go to Stone Mountain, but the weatherman had other ideas. So we had lunch at home before heading out for the day. The afternoon consisted of Monkey Joe's -- one of those indoor inflatable jumpy places, Borders and Fuji Hana hibachi grill for dinner. I have pictures to share, but no cord to upload them from my camera, so you'll just have to use your imagination for now.

My boys had never been to a hibachi restaurant before. They loved it! They each caught fried egg in their mouth and couldn't get enough of the fire. (I'm trying not to worry about their fascination with pyrotechnics.)

Annie, in one of her wanna-be-cool 'tween moments, passed on the flying egg, until she saw everyone else doing it. Guess fun outweighed cool; I'm glad.

Camryn caught an egg in her mouth and was so proud of herself.

"It's my first time to ever catch the egg, Aunt Amy!" she kept saying over and over.

Charlie was quite interested in the chef.

"When did you decide to be a cook?"

"How old were you?"

"Do you ever cut yourself?" (You know, flying knives and all.)

Of course as cool as they thought the hibachi chef and his tricks were -- the giant flame and the onion volcano were favorites, there was no way those boys were going to bother eating what he cooked. So as we all enjoyed steak, shrimp, chicken and veggies from the hibachi, Robbie and Charlie munched through cheeseburgers and fries.

Poor Jack, though, being 3 years old and not getting a nap does not lend itself to staying awake for the hibachi show. He slept soundly through dinner!

By the time we got home, I was ready to sleep soundly, though I didn't go to bed for another 4 hours -- it was Biggest Loser night.

I have a wicked cough that started as a tickle in my throat but seems to be finding a home in my chest. It is kicking my butt. It wakes me up in the middle of the night (who am I kidding? Cough or not I'm usually up in the middle of the night). So I've been going back to bed around 4 or 5am and sleeping late -- until after 10am two days in row!

The cough just kind of comes over me quickly. Last night I coughed so hard that I thought my water had broken -- until I remembered that I am not pregnant, which is when I realized that I just peed myself a little bit.

I am hopeful that Stone Mountain might be on the agenda for this afternoon. It's gray and cloudy, but not rainy. I remember thinking it was so cool to go there when I was a kid. I'd love to take my kids to see it. Plus, what better way is there to wear out five kids than to hike them up the side of a mountain and back down again?

Just peachy

Hey y'all! Greetings from Georgia! Actually, there are so many northern transplants here that I haven't heard anyone say "y'all," or "fixin'," or "reckon."

Despite my apprehension, the trip from southern Indiana to my brother's house in Kennesaw, Georgia was not too bad. Oh sure there was the "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom" 15 minutes after we left the gas station where everyone said they didn't have to go potty. And there was the "Are we there yet?" about 140 times. But I was pretty pleased with how everyone -- including me -- fared on the trip.

Had I known what was about to greet me when I stepped out of the car, I might have left my seat belt on, the engine running and told the kids I'd be back to pick them up on Thursday. I don't want to give you the impression that anyone was misbehaving, because they weren't.

But take five cousins ages 12 and under -- three of whom are little boys -- who haven't seen each other since Thanksgiving, stir in one 90-pound dog, and a mom who has been solo parenting for 10 hours worth of drive and you've got the makings for a lot of noise. Happy noise, to be sure, but noise definitely.

Within the first two hours of our arrival, we went to the park once, let the dog escape twice, and doled out snacks three times. No matter, my niece and nephew are adorable and have grown so much since we'd last seen them, it was all definitely good.

We were playing in the back yard and Robbie, Camryn and Jack were all climbing a tree. (If you can call 4 inches off the ground climbing.) Happy to be out of the freezing rain of Indiana and in the warmish-Georgia climate, I took off my shoes and socks. Jack, who is 3, was quick to follow suit, which I thought was cute. That's when my sister-in-law Erin came home and said "Jack! Where are your shoes and socks?!"

Oops! Guilty.

Camryn wanted to show me everything -- flips, tree climbing, her fancy purse, her Sleeping Beauty dress. I love spending time with them, especially since my kids are all beyond the cute preschooler ages. The dog is another story.

Toby is a sweet dog, but he's so BIG and so energetic. Think Marmaduke. The kids were all laying on a futon watching a movie tonight and Marma -- I mean, Toby -- sat his hind end on the futon and his front paws on the floor! The kids all hollered, my brother called Toby into the family room, tossed him a ball and the scenario played out over and over again.

Thank goodness this was after my margarita!

Then before the movie was over, Charlie wouldn't give Robbie a ball (which I had repeatedly told Charlie to put away), so Robbie slugged him. That was enough for me. I sent them both to bed. Robbie for punching, Charlie for disobeying me about the ball in the first place.

When I left the room where Robbie was (supposed to be) sleeping, I saw the light on in the room where Charlie was (supposed to be) sleeping. I opened the door to find him playing a video game. Just as I was about to read him the riot act, my brother piped up.

"I gave it to him." Guess turn about is fair play. And it's vacation, so I didn't get too upset. And I was too tired to do anything about it.

They've all had trouble settling down tonight. I hope that means they'll sleep in late. We're climbing Stone Mountain tomorrow. And word has it that crabby kids get left at the top.