I don't even know where to begin about last week. Seriously, when we sat down to supper on Friday night, there was a likely chance that I was going to fall asleep right into my spaghetti. And when you hear about everything we did last week, you might fall into yours too!
Monday of last week was the quietest of the days of the week- only rearranging my work schedule to accommodate one program practice for Lauren after her regular school day. It got slightly more complicated when she insisted on coming to the office with me. But I didn't fight too hard since I knew it meant one less trip from Milton to Turbotville to Lewisburg, my normal run when I have to pick up and return back home for any reason. And so, Lauren and I spent the rest of the day together until it was time to pick Joshua up from school.
Tuesday was special because Jason had a big business event that he had organized in State College that required fancy clothes and a nice dinner and cocktail hour. Sign me up. It was extra fun because we got to spend the evening at the Nittany Lion Inn, and I always have loved it there. Maybe I just felt like I was sort of back home at PSU, if only for a few hours. I even got a chance to sit down in the lobby and read a Collegian for the first time in, ahem, 14 years. Sad but true. Jason did an amazing job with the event that he and his team planned, and it really was fun to watch him as he worked. I did my part by being slave labor for the set up duties that we had, but it was almost a flashback to the work that we had done on the Kiwanis Committee a long time ago that was the beginning of us dating. So, fun memories all around for Tuesday. The kids were home with our amazing babysitter, Jen, and all were having a great time. Sadly, Jen is thinking about moving on from Lewisburg, and so the search is on for someone that the kids will love just as much as they do Jen. And I have to tell you, that's going to be a tough one. We returned home to two snoring mini-sized Dugans, and one Mara who was wide awake, sitting in the middle of our bed watching a show. There was no way she was going to go to bed without me. She promptly crashed when I rocked with her, but bless her heart, she was exhausted. It was after 10 when we returned home.
Wednesday morning started bright and early--- scratch that--- PAINFULLY early as Jason, Lauren and I all had to be at the school by 7:15 for the annual Legacy Breakfast. It was a great morning, celebrating all of the special things that happen at Meadowbrook, and we were thrilled to be there. But I may have wished a few times that this was a lunchtime event as I was coaxing the kids to get up and around much earlier than usual. It's amazing how changing the schedule even a little bit in the mornings just throws off the whole thing. But we made it. Lauren sang with her class and did an outstanding job. She was waving at us like crazy, and sang her little heart out with all of the motions like a champ. We were so proud of her.
Thursday was Joshua's field trip to Lake Tobias with his class, so we were up and out early again to head to the bus. I so loved having a day to spend with just Joshua (well, just Joshua and the other 23 first graders and all manners of parents that were along with them). I considered it a great success that I did not toss my cookies on the school bus as we made our way down the windy road to Lake Tobias. The kids had a blast riding the safari and feeding the animals, going to the reptile show and getting to touch a real snake and aligator, and enjoying the petting zoo. We had a nice picnic lunch and just enjoyed a beautiful day together. We really did have a nice time.
Friday morning was Lauren's preschool field day. I've now attending five of them in a row, and each year's event is an exact carbon copy of the year prior. So you can imagine that I was less than thrilled about this one. (Imagine how I'll feel when Mara gets to this stage!) But I still had a great time playing with Lauren and getting to know her friends a little better. She seemed to really enjoy all of the activities- mostly the face painting and the dress up station. I know you're shocked. She loved the parachute and potato sack races too. We also ended with a picnic lunch in the gym where each child was given a medal. Lauren wore hers proudly for the rest of the day.
Saturday evening, the kids got to play with Jen again, as we finally had a chance to go out to dinner at The Melting Pot in Harrisburg. We had been planning it for months with some great friends, and were thrilled to have it all finally work out. Only part of our group was able to go, but we didn't let that stop us. We had a great time, ate some wonderful food and enjoyed a night out. Jen brought a 2 for 1 babysitter deal as her boyfriend, Ben, was in town for a visit, and had asked us if we minded if he came along with her to play with the kids. Since she has been sitting for us for so long and we trust her judgment, we said it was OK. It seems to have been a great idea, because the kids keep talking about how much fun they had playing with Ben. Apparently he is a huge sports fan (as is Jen) so you can imagine that Joshua had a blast!
And as if all of that wasn't enough fun, this morning was the nursery school field trip to T & D's Cats fo the World. The special treat today was that Daddy was able to join us, so we were both excited about that. The kids loved getting a chance to look at all of the animals, and I marvelled at the fact that people were dumb enough to think that a tiger or a lion would make a good pet. Honestly. Lauren had hoped to get to see monkeys, so she was thrilled at the whole set of monkey cages she got to spend time looking at. I especially love her mean lion face in the picture below!
This week will be far less exciting, and for that I am grateful. It's time to get back to some semblance of a normal schedule at the office, and get back into our normal routines. I'm hoping I can actually remember what those normal routines are!
