Zoos, Rummikub and back again

I'm officially 9 for 9! On niece's birthdays, that is. Present and capturing the moments up close and in candid color as each one of them entered this world and present when each one of them has celebrated every birthday since. There are more than 350 miles separating me and their birthday cupcakes but I have never wavered in the face of the hordes of tyrannical trucks swarming along I-35. Well, maybe I've wavered a little bit but I looked that near-paralyzing fear of eighteen-wheelers straight on and plowed forward anyway.

Something about my parent's house makes me very sleepy. Maybe it's the way that when the kids wake up my parents make them breakfast and take care of all their needs. I wish I could say I accomplished this or that, ran five or six miles in the beautiful weather they were having, or just....something. Wish I could. What I CAN say is that I slept until almost 11am one morning and almost 10am the next. Sleeping past 7:30am is just the height of decadence in my world lately and I wallowed in it like a fat sow.

In addition to sleeping, we made it to two zoos, ate a ton of food, saw a movie (Race to Witch Mountain....kids loved it but seriously. It stunk) and played Rummikub relentlessly. Relentlessly translates into all evening, past midnight, two nights in a row. Surely this contributed to the late sleeping. Rummikub is incredibly addictive and plays very well to my weaknesses of not being able to let go of something. Especially if I'm losing. I lost count of how many rounds we played but I didn't lose count of my win / loss stats. That would be 0 for ?. No wins. Nada. Pulled a Detroit Lions. I'll be looking for redemption when we meet again so prepare yourselves for some wicked melds.

In typical Spring Break fashion the kids gorged themselves on the Disney channel and marathon sessions of Hannah Montana, I Carly, and a few other shows with rich twins living on a cruise ship or hotel or some other hospitality industry. Symptoms of SBOS were rearing their ugly heads so the Disney / Grandparent Spoilage Detox began in earnest today and the withdrawals were epic.

I tried to distract myself from that maelstrom by attempting my first ever homemade marshmallows. You know, kids driving you crazy? Whip up a tasty treat that is easily and cheaply found at your nearest supermarket! I think they'll turn out fine, but after spending a good 20 minutes scraping rapidly hardening sugar syrup out from every nook, cranny, drip pan, underneath the drip pan and off the actual burner, it may be a while before we enjoy these gooey goodies again. Or maybe I just won't go off and start folding laundry while the pot of sugar is set on high. That would probably help. Can't wait to toss one in my coffee tomorrow morning though. No more 11am wake-up calls for me. Not for a while anyway.