I am a warrior

So I really wanted to post yesterday, but I just couldn't. Why? Well, because I was too busy being a warrior. A conqueror. An absolute superhero, capable of super-human feats.

Yesterday, I singlehandedly took three small children on a daytrip.

Through the miracle commonly known as Facebook, I have had the opportunity to reconnect with many college friends. OK, sidebar. I love Facebook. Really. Facebook understands me in ways that few people do. Facebook realizes that I crave relationships, but that I only have a few minutes at a time to satisfy that craving. Facebook also knows that I need a place to vent, to ask parenting questions, to post bragging pictures of my children, and of course… to talk about Katy Epling in the third person. I heart Facebook.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

So a month or two ago, a college friend posted that she & her daughter were heading to the zoo and jokingly invited any of her Facebook friends to come along. I mentioned that I would be up for a daytrip to the zoo, but needed more notice. Through this witty little exchange (another thing I love about Facebook: Facebook never judges my wit.), my friend decided to organize a little get-together for a group of us who had been sorority sisters, along with our children. Before we knew it, dates & arrangements were set and we were getting ready for a good old-fashioned reunion. Why did it take us 9 years to come up with this idea????

Plan A was to meet at the Columbus Zoo, but since yesterday was 90 bazillion degrees, we decided on COSI instead. And for those of us who have just a little extra dose of crazy, we met at Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch first. And to add even a little more spice to our day, I also made a stop to visit some other friends in the area who I hadn't seen in almost four years (but who I had been able to keep in touch with thanks to--you guessed it--Facebook). Did I mention this was all with my children?

So yesterday morning I packed up the Lamb (5), the Monkey (3), and baby Roo (2 months), and we drove 2.5 hours to Spaghetti Warehouse—but not without 2 false starts. The first was to change plans with our non-sorority friends because we got a late start. The second was because the Lamb announced as we were getting ready to get on the Interstate, "I don't think I've gone potty since I woke up this morning."

We had a very fun lunch followed by an even better afternoon of playing, exploring, meeting lots of beautiful kiddos, and a little bit of catching up. It was more fun than I had dared to hope, not knowing how the kids would do with a long drive, no naps, and lots of new faces. I have to admit, I grew up less than 3 hours from COSI but had never been there before. Now I can't wait to go back! J But the exhibits weren't the best part. It was so nice to reconnect with some fantastic women & moms, almost all of whom were just girls when I had seen them last. I was so happy to be a part of that great afternoon.

We left COSI at closing and ran to our friends' house for just a quick visit. They also have a new little baby and I wanted to sneak a peek. She is too cute! She's also bigger than Roo, even though she's two months younger. He is such a tiny little peanut. J Then we went to McDonald's for dinner (OK, first we went to Chipotle, but the Monkey—who drinks roughly ½ gallon of milk per day—had a total meltdown because I told him they don't have milk there. So we loaded everyone back into the car and drove across the street to McD's. I am honestly not usually that nice. But the poor guy was so exhausted and had been so good all day, he deserved some milk, darn it.), followed by a quick change into PJs in the van, and then the big drive home. With everyone still in a good mood.

What did I tell you, folks? Warrior.

I am actually feeling a little guilty, though. I can't really claim to have done it all myself. I was over an hour late getting on the road, but I wouldn't have made it at all if it hadn't been for my mother-in-law and husband. Both of them took time out of their work day to help me get everyone ready, the van packed, and even to facilitate the almost-forgotten bathroom break (which took place at my husband's office). Where would I be without my trusty sidekicks? ;-)

So today I've been resting on my laurels a bit (Laurels are those fancy Egyptian cotton sheets, right?) and haven't gotten much done even though I've been home all day. But I manage to carve out time for the important things, like blogging. Blogging is Facebook's fun but slightly-more-time-consuming cousin. I heart blogging almost as much as I heart Facebook. Anyway, now that I have three sleeping children, I believe that I should probably attempt to get a few things done that will make my hubby happier than this blog post will. But come back tomorrow, because tomorrow I have a tale for you. A tale of how this blog came to be. A tale of Kanga & Roo.