It is still amazing to me that we have kept our little playgroup going for almost 8 years now. That’s a long time. I don’t think any of us really thought it would work out as well as it did when we met at Gymboree all the way back in the end of 1999. All of our kids were in the same "class" and we just kinda clicked. They were all our first babies, we were all around the same age ourselves. We made fun of the kids/moms/teachers we didn’t like(horrible, I know, but they did deserve it and we didn’t do it to their faces.) Like Hunter who couldn’t close his mouth cause he was SO huge, the teacher who kept calling Beau "bew" and Ryan "brian"- Yeah, she’s a girl- that same teacher who looked like Salma Hyack from Studio 54. We started having playgroup every friday after gym rotating houses. At first they were all just lumps on the blanket when we got together, but they finally figured out that they could play together and became friends. We’ve watched our kids grow up together, have seen new babies born (lots!) since the original crew, lost one husband to cancer, held eachother up, vacationed together, given and received so much advice and support, celebrated together, cried together, painted, remodeled and decorated, experienced a bunch of relocations- some really far like Michigan and Georgia and some just further out on Long Island or to a new house in the same town (come to think of it, I am the only one in the playgroup who has NOT moved since we’ve started). Loved eachother. A lot. Laughed even more than that. I don’t know what I would do without these girls. They are the best. These are MY GIRLS.

Celeste was in town with her girls from Georgia so we were (almost all) able to meet up for dinner at our locale- PF Changs. Unfortunatley, these days it’s very rare for all of us to be together in the same place at the same time. Usually someone is missing. It kind of rotates. Then later in the week, we met at Maureen’s house for a kids playgroup. Again, Jeannie and her crew and Maureen and her’s were absent. Maureen will be in to visit at the end of the month (yea!!!!) with her kids. We have to work on Celeste and Maureen coordinating visits.

This coming March will be our 3rd year of the mom’s going to the Hotel Hershey for a spa weekend. It is the best, most relaxing vacation. Although it does somehow end up taking at least one of us over 7hrs to get there when it should be a 3-3.5hr ride. Again, the attendees rotate (Jennifer, Celeste, Maureen E and I year One- Jeannie just had a baby and Maureen Z couldn’t come in from Michigan. Jennifer, Maureen E, Maureen Z and I year Two- Jeannie’s sister was having a baby, Celeste couldn’t make it from Georgia) but we were really hoping that everyone could make it this year. Until Jeannie dropped the bombshell on us at dinner- she’s due with her 5th baby that weekend!!! So we will see what this year brings for our trip.

One of my favorite things about the kids getting together is that no matter how much time has passed since they have seen eachother last, they just pick right back up from where they left off last time. Now with the big ones in school, some of the middle ones in school too, and everyone with after school activities, it makes it really hard to visit as much as we used to when our big activities were gymboree or naps. But we will always make it work. We like eachother too much not to. And maybe there will even be some prom dates or weddings in the future. Well, one can hope, right??!!

I’ve been a bad, neglectful blogger. So to the few of you who actually read the blog and wait for new stuff, I apologize. Here is a bunch of new and unrelated stuff that has been going on around here:

Coach Graeme has made his long awaited debut back here in our house. We picked him up at the airport on Wednesday evening and have been having lots of fun (and eating) since he arrived. This is the poster that the boys made for Graeme, which we brought to the airport. No pictures of Graeme yet, but he promised that I would get to take some sometime soon…

Really, the boys couldn’t be any happier that he is here (sorry, Nelson).

Today I had the pleasure of taking pictures at a surprise 70th birthday party. It was for (see if you can follow this one…) Patrick’s teacher from first grade’s father. It was a super party, great location (and great light for me), super weather, and he was really surprised. Working on the post processing so look for those later this week.

I went to Robin’s bachelorette party Saturday night in the city. Had a great time and it was really nice to meet some of the other wedding party girls. Had dinner at an awesome restaurant in the Lower East Side called the Stanton Social . They have a great concept there. All the dishes they offer are pretty much appetizers. So you just order a ton of different dishes for your table and they keep coming out and you all just pick and try everything. Love eating that way. I highly reccommend the edamame there. It was so delicious.

After dinner we saw a show called Absinthe at Speigelworld which is at the South Street Seaport. The reviews called it Cirque du Soleil on acid. It sure was! Crazy, crazy stuff going on in that tent! Quite ummm…provacative, funny, naughty, wild, gasp out loud kind of stuff. I think my favorite was the rollerskating act. They were flying around and around that 4ft circle so fast. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Although the boxing guy was quite lovely to look at too. The girls who did the (I don’t even know what to call it really) high wire acrobatic twin act were so incredible. They were so strong and graceful but the music and the whole thing were enough to give you the creeps a bit. Ok, a lot a bit.  And it took me all the rest of the night until we hit Jamaica on the train ride home to figure out the name of the Rocky Horror character that the main stage hand guy looked like…RiffRaff. A fun night in the city. I think Robin had a good time too. She and two of the girls were going out dancing after the show but I had to bail. I made it home at 1:30am as it was. Wish I had the occassion to do that kind of thing more often. I really like going into the city. Just the people watching alone is enough to keep you amused for days on end.

And for two days in a row, I left the beach before anyone else. Drove home alone. Came home to a completely empty house. Took a shower in total peace. Only carried a teeny tiny bag. Only did stuff for myself for a few hours. Weird. But oh so nice. I really cannot remember the last time I was home in the house totally alone. Don’t know when it might happen again either.

For those of you who know me, you know how ummm…obsessive I am about my calendar and my lists. These days the list is IN the calendar, which really makes me happy! However, if I have a bunch of errands to do or if I need certain things from the stupid-market or someplace else, a new list is made to bring along. I LOVE crossing things off as I do them during the day- it gives me such a sense of accomplishment. And on the other side, it bugs me to no end when something on the day’s list is not crossed off THAT day. And (this part is really bad) sometimes when I’m out doing errands and I run in someplace that was not originally on the list, I will go home and write it down JUST so I can cross it off! How do ya like that one?

Not all weeks look as busy as the one in the above picture, but most are pretty close especially during the school year. Who has gym, soccer, school, a school event, baseball, a drum lesson, a playdate, music, a birthday party, a mets game, religion. And for me what laundry, grocery shopping, errands, birthdays, appointments, carpools, trips, doctor appointments, dinners out, photoshoots…It’s enough to put you (me) over the edge if I couldn’t write it all down and then, more importantly, cross it all off.

I now do a college planner calendar book as it goes from August to August which is really the way my year is best organized. I just finished last year’s book last night and I really cannot believe that another year has passed so quickly. Of course, I save every year’s book so if I ever need to know where I was or what I was doing on a certain date…there it is. And it’s kinda fun looking back and seeing what we were up to during that year.

Better run…the list is calling for me to throw in more laundry. Ugh. But then I can at least cross it off!

No beach, no pool, no mets game today. Saturday was too iffy to go down to the beach (anyway, I had a looooong overdue hair appt in the morning and John didn’t want to head down without me. I didn’t get back til around 12:30 so by then it was too late anyway). And today it was cloudy in the morning and then way stormy. John was going to go to the Mets game with the big boys, Nelson, and his dad, but when they all arrived over here, it was thundering and lightning like crazy, so they skipped it. The boys played video games and worked on their school summer packets a bit. It finally stopped pouring after Timmy’s nap so we headed outside for a few pictures (I know you must be so surprised by that!) so that John could take his nap in a little peace. So you can still have some outside fun on a rainy day. As long as you have your ribbits…