June 17, 2003 - 10:05 p.m.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Oy, life has been crazy lately. The kids are out of school, I was away last weekend, and we are all gearing up for vacation. I'm hardly going to be home in the next couple of weeks! Last night I went to the gym and took a cardio class followed by some weight work, so I was out much of the evening. Tonight was the nanny book club meeting, and I just got home about 20 minutes ago. Tomorrow I am going climbing at the Rock Gym, which means I will miss the girls' piano recital. I feel a little guilty for not going, but, while it would be fun to see how H and M do with their simple little songs, sitting through similarly uncomplicated pieces performed by a dozen children I don't know doesn't hold much appeal. I think the girls are too young to really care, so I should be able to get away with being absent.

Thursday night I should be home, but will need to work out and pack for my weekend in NYC. This weekend is my friend Gabriela's wedding, and I am headed to Manhattan for that. It's the black tie one I have mentioned before. It will be really weird to watch her get married; she's three years younger than I, and in college she was sort of my surrogate little sister in many ways. Still, quite a few friends will be there. I look forward to hanging out with them and seeing everyone all dressed up for a fancy New York wedding. I may also stand in line and try to get same day tickets for a Sunday matinee of a Broadway show. There are plenty I would love to see, so hopefully that will work out! Other than that, I hope to wander around Central Park a bit, since I have never been in the park during any of my visits to the Big Apple. Isn't that weird?

Next week I plan to keep the kids really busy so that the week goes by quickly. I am so eager to have my vacation that it's likely to drag if we just stay home. We may go for a bike ride, go mini-golfing, visit a museum or two, or hang out at the pool (if the weather warms up enough!). Friday the 27th I fly to Charlottesville, Saturday the 28th Sam and I drive up to DC, and Sunday the 29th we fly to San Juan. After that our itinerary is: Monday, St. Thomas, Tuesday, Martinique, Wednesday, Barbados, Thursday, at sea, Friday, Aruba, Saturday, at sea. I cannot wait! We stay in San Juan until Monday afternoon and then fly back to DC. I'm not returning to the Boston area until Wednesday the 9th, though.

The family will be in Cape Cod until the following Sunday, so I will have the house to myself for a few days. Despite my busy life up until then, I think I will take advantage of the family being away and have a dinner party that weekend. I've always wanted to have a semi-formal dinner party, so even though it'll be a lot of work, I think it will be really fun. The problem will be whittling down the guest list to a number that will fit around the dining room table (12 max, I think) without offending anyone!

Tomorrow I am taking the kids to the Nanny Appreciation Picnic being thrown by one of the local nanny agencies. They promised to have clowns, games, face painting, etc. I'm not sure what's in it for the nannies other than not having to plan activities for the day, but we'll see. If nothing else, it will get us out of the house and we may meet some people and make new friends. B loves picnics, and it is at a playground, which will make M happy, especially if there are monkey bars!

today's project: bubble wrap prints - these were awesome! All you have to do is paint on bubble wrap and then press

musing about: little Gabi getting married!

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