buh bye now...

The kids leave in a few days for MN. I am super excited for some time alone, but of course I'll miss my babies. I've started a list of things I need/want to get done while my hunny-bunches-of-energy are gone.

1) Clean out the garage. I have four or five totes of "stuff" sitting on my garage floor waiting to make their way up to the attic. I tried going into the attic once, but only with a lot of encouragement from my babies cheering me on from below, remember? The fiasco ended with me cursing all men (because putting heavy totes into a hot, buggy attic is clearly not for my kind), breaking a freshly manicured thumb nail, and most importantly, promising myself that I'd never again attempt to put anything in the attic. JM swears that this is a man's job and that he'll handle this. Perhaps I'll let him do it while I supervise. I'm great at that.

2) Finish my bedroom makeover. I started my bedroom remodel about four months ago. I talked about it here and here . It got a fresh coat of paint, new furniture, and new bedding. I have yet to hang anything on the walls or decorate beyond a framed picture of my grandparents on my nightstand. I'm planning to rearrange the furniture, hang a mirror, hang black and white pictures (maybe of the kids?), and HOPEFULLY move out the treadmill-turned-closet.

3) Road trip to Michigan. This weekend, JM and I will make the trek to Grand Rapids so I can meet some of his family! I'm SUPER excited to meet these amazing people I've heard so much about! JM is an incredible man, and it'll be nice to be a part of "his world" for a weekend! He's been so patient and understanding, driving to FTW to see ME all the time; I'm ready to go to his stomping grounds for a couple days! The following weekend, Megan and I are taking a day trip to St.Joe, MI. One of her teacher friends told her about the quaint little town, so we figured we'd take the day and explore. From there, we're going to Chicago, where we'll (hopefully) meet up with Adam and Gary for dinner/drinks, before getting the kids back the following day!

4) Try a new eatery. Every time my kids are gone, my old boss promises to take me to a local restaurant that I've not yet experienced. Last time we went to Henry's for a burger, YUM! And the time before that we went to Aboite Grill, where I tried tons of new foods! This time we're thinking either Bourbon Street in downtown FTW, or Joseph Dequis in Roanoke. Either choice will be delish, of course! I can't wait!

5) Get back-to-school ready. My baby starts school in less than four weeks. I CANNOT BELIEVE that Lilly is going into kindergarten already! We had a BLAST school-shopping last weekend. Nana definitely took care of Princess Lilly, preparing her to enter kindergarten as fashionable as possible! Lilly is very excited to go to a new school, but I can't help but worry about her making this very big change. Lilly has been through a lot of change in the past two years and has handled herself very well. I'm sure this will be no different. But still..she's my baby! I need to get myself ready to send the queen off to kindergarten. (Prayers please!)

The last time the kids were in MN was when Jeff and I started spending time together, outside of work. We were together EVERY evening and really got to know each other. It was AMAZING! I am TRYING to embrace my eight kidless days as much as possible, as I know it'll be December until it happens again!