Havin' fun and relax'n

Yesterday after school I went to C's house. C is one of my teaching partners and one of the few people at work that I like. I understand her form of communication. I walk into her room several times a day to complain about the very things that I tell you about.

One of our other teaching partners, M, also went over. M is our team leader and has more experience at the school. She is great for answering questions and is really funny.

I had SO MUCH FUN! You all know my tolerance for alcohol so there was no way that I could drink anything but they enjoyed a few drinkies. M had to be driven home. That was only a little scary because she was convinced that she would be driving herself. You can't drive a car if you can't stand up straight. It's just not allowed.

C's roommate N came home and the fun continued. I have been really missing the relaxation that you get from just hanging out with some friends and complaining about life and talking and maybe a few mixed drinks.

I got home late. The kids were in bed. Mr. Husband was actually just starting his shift of tutoring people in China. I came in and gave Mr. Husband and kiss, took a shower and went to bed feeling happy, smelling cleaning and being very relaxed.

The kids were very excited to see me this morning. After much jumping around and shooting how much everyone loves Mommy, we got dressed. I decided that we were going on and adventure.

We took the not long for adults but painfulllllly long if you are less than four feet tall walk to McDonald's for breakfast. The kids did not know that we were going there and only figured it out when we were within 100 feet of it. Then #1 was pretty sure that he had thought of the whole thing.

We got some breakfast and the kids played in the giant playland structure. #1 was afraid to go to the top and the twinnies are too short to climb it on their own. I finally decided that enough was enough and we were either going to have kids climbing or we were walking home. I had to climb inside the whole thing and go down the twisty slide several times just to show them how. After the first few times #1 wasn't scared anymore and even started helping Middle Child.

I had to help a few other children around the twinnies age. I was shocked at how many fathers were there with little children. I know that I shouldn't be because Mr. Husband stayed home with our kids for so long but it was surprising to see. The Dads were trying to get the kids to climb and the kids were scared and I was the only one considered an adult that was crazy enough to climb up and help them. Two of the Dad's thanked me on their way out.

We came home, I had a nap and when I woke up we ordered pizza. We usually have school on pizza Friday so this was great to change it up a little and still have our pie.

We started cleaning, which Mr. Husband had been doing since he got out of bed. (Apparently the cleaning bug has bitten him and he is into cleaning everything. It's great because the place is looking good but hard because I want to sit on my butt and that's not allowed. ) Mr. Husband wanted to mop the floors and asked that I take the kids outside while he did that and they dried. I was happy to escape cleaning, I mean take the kids out.

We went on another adventure around one of the ponds that is here. We live on a nature preserve which in most cases sounds so much cooler than it actually is.** While we were avoiding the giant anthills full of biting ants, we almost missed the alligator that was laying on the bank of the pond. Let me type that again, the alligator.

Now, yes there are alligators here. I live in the south and they live here and we don't talk to each other but you never really see them in nature unless they are on the news or on your mother-in-laws porch. I always tell the kids that they are there and to be careful but apparently we weren't careful enough.

It was always at least 20 feet away from us. The twinnies didn't even really see it and #1 only saw it after I pointed three times and said it ten times and finally gave up and started trying to get us away just in case and then he said, "Oh, there." As if we see them all of the time.

It was only about five feet long and wasn't very big. Not like you would be afraid of it eating your head but it would could definitely eat a cat or small dog. We weren't gunna mess with it. I know that most of you think that I'm insane and would likely try to wrestle Crocodile Hunter style but there was no way that I'm going to do anything like that with the kids there.

We came home and had fun. The kids seem to have forgotten about the alligator and were happy to see Dad after so long. (Maybe 30 minutes, maybe.) It was great.

The only part that sucks at all was that I noticed that I was starting to swell up on the way home. I knew that I had been bitten by mosquitoes a few thousand times during our little adventure but I shouldn't be swelling like that for mosquitoes. We decided that I should take a Benedryl and not chance me having a further reaction. This means that I have had two reactions since we have moved here.

It only proves that I'm allergic to the South.


** To me it means that there are lots of mosquitoes and that five foot tall birds that know that they are protected by law and never get out of the way of your car and force you to look crazy in front of tourists while you run after the birds clapping your hands to get them to move because honking the horn is not effective. Really, it's pretty but not as cool as it would sound. You don't get to go in and explore because I'm scared of what I would find/have eat me. They even have wild pigs. Who's actually ever heard of wild pigs in the United States?!?