You should listen to your mother...

My parents came to visit for the weekend!!  They kept the kids with them at their hotel room and I had a day to myself on Saturday. I got a new haircut (with BANGS!) and then went home to a mostly quiet house (Ken was still home) and just sat for a bit.  I did end up doing a bunch of laundry and clearing out some piles in the living room. I also watched about 5 or 6 episodes of Bones back-to-back with no interruptions!!
Saturday evening I met my parents and the kids for dinner at a Thai restaurant.  My kids love this meal that looks like a birds' nest with crunchy noodles around the bottom topped with chicken, mushrooms, carrots, etc.  I went home and watched some more tv.  Oh! And um...folded some more laundry!!
Sunday we went to church and then said goodbye to my parents.  The kids took some good naps and then we went out to a birthday party for our godson, Ian, who is turning 6.  The party was at the skating rink and Ian's mom had invited their whole neighborhood! We had a great time skating and running around the rink.  Even Benjamin got into at the end and walked around the rink holding my hand while I skated.  We went around two or three times like that and it was the hardest I worked all night! Do you know how hard it is to skate as slowly as a not-quite-two year old walks??

We got home in time to watch the GIANTS WIN THE SUPERBOWL!! Which I had cleverly arranged as Ken's birthday present.
Monday Ken had to work early, so I had to get the kids up and moving by myself.  I made bacon and eggs for breakfast and had everybody in the car and we were on our way by 7:30! That's a record at our house!!  I got to work early and realized that a) Frances hadn't brushed her teeth before school and b) I didn't have my keys for work. I later realized that c) Henry hadn't worn a shirt to school, just a zip up jacket.  So much for my record, huh??  I searched my car in the parking lot before I went in and didn't find my keys.  When I went home at lunch I looked for my keys and didn't find them. I even looked in the grass in our front yard.  I called my mom to get her to look in her van. Then I called the church to see if someone there had turned them in.  When my mom called me back to tell me there wasn't anything in her car,  she also asked if I had said a prayer to St. Anthony.  I rolled my eyes JUST A TEENY TINY LITTLE BIT! I swear!! And then I told her I would say my prayer.  After work, I drove to the skating rink to check there. On my way there I finally remembered to ask St. Anthony.  No luck at the rink. I even called a friend in the church choir to check our pew while she was at choir rehearsal that night.  When I got home from work, I was letting Henry out of the van when I happened to look down in the grass right beside the van.  The grass that I had checked earlier in the day.  The grass that was not hiding anything 5 hours earlier! And guess what I found!?!  MY KEYS!!!  The moral of the story is: Listen to your Mother! And say a little prayer while you're at it!