I Haven't Forgotten You (Or: I Miss You Too, Margaret!)

Sorry everyone - didn't mean to leave you hanging like that! I've actually been surprised by how much blogging became part of my routine; it felt very strange to not sit down at the computer every night this past weekend.

And I have good intentions of keeping this up - probably not at breakneck speed as per March, and likely something slightly more sedate, yet I still plan on making it worthwhile to check in now and again.

However, good intentions were no match for the weekend that was. Odysseus The Husband finally returned, beat off the suitors vying for my hand, and stormed his way right back into my heart with a bag o' Tim Hortons crullers.

Then, we hit double digits here:

(No - she's not wearing a toga. Birthday cake and presents for breakfast? That's just how we roll over here.)

Just look what her mother bought her for her birthday. A girl's first Terry Pratchett is a very special occasion...and she looks suitably impressed. I'm just waiting for her to get going on them so I can read them next - I haven't read the one on the right yet.

Crazy driveway times with the neighbourhood hoodlums. Note The Girl's bare feet - why wear shoes if they're just going to get wet?

While the kids were gallivanting, we were cleaning. And polishing. And organizing. We're trying to get out of our lease early, and someone wanted to come see our house tonight, so we had to spend the weekend making it look more like the pictures.

(Oh you guys - I should totally have taken before/after pictures of my linen closet. It is amazing. I open the door and sneak looks in every time I go down the hallway.)

Of course, a house showing means actually leaving the house. So tonight we took the kids out for dinner (they were in shock. We never eat out, except for family vacations. They were totally over the moon).

And went on a date!

Recognize her? That's Sarah Vowell - one of my favourite authors. If you don't know her books, you may have heard her voice as "Violet" in The Incredibles.

(Seriously - she is one of my favourite Americans. She loves her country but hates so much of what's been done in its name, all with the sassiest and bitingest sarcasm you can stand.)

She just happened to be doing a reading at our local Barnes and Noble, so The Husband and I wedged our way into the standing room only crowd (hola fellow nerds!).

The kids kept themselves entertained, too:

(Be still my literary heart. Little reading munchkins always make me mellllllt.)