Steph is out-of-practice!

Ok - so I know it's been a while (7 years to be exact) since my girls were 5, but I had no idea how rusty I was in dealing with that age group!

Brantley came up to WI on June 8 - just a short two weeks ago. Since then, I have been a cocker spaniel, the beatuy parlor lady, and Joe, Brantley's prom date. I have been to a Disney Princess party at the Y, craft day at the library, and have watched the world premier of Camp Rock on Disney Channel. Come to think of it, I have now seen every show on Disney Channel - twice - as it is permanently playing on my T.V. And the cooking!! I forgot how nice it was that my girls can not only fix their own breakfast and snacks, but Morgan actually cooks dinner, too. Gone are those days! I am back to being in the kitchen almost full-time. No sooner have I cleaned up from one meal/snack than Brantley is ready to eat again! And we no longer can have "fend for yourself" nights for dinner. And can you believe that Brantley actually needs help in the bath? I haven't had to do that in a while!

And the toys...since Brantley is afraid of being in the basement by herself, that means that all the toys from down there are now up here - cluttering my family room. I have been forced to place two baskets in an out-of-the-way spot behind my couch to be the catchall for all the junk. I swear I pick up all day long, and even though the house is perfect when I go to bed, it is already a complete wreck after breakfast! Brantley does like to play in her room, and since that is upstairs where I don't have to see it, we only pick that up about every other day...I have learned that I am completely anal about the cleanliness/straightness of my house. I feel like I spend way too much time asking her to "put that away," or "pick that up," or "please flush the toilet," and "turn the lights off when you are done." I sound worse than my own mother! (Sorry, mom!)

I am exhausted! Either I am getting too old for little ones, or else I am just really rusty! I know that my girls were just like her - worse in fact, because there were two of them - but I don't remember all the work. I guess it's like childbirth: you soon forget just how painful it was. I have forgotten just how much work kids are! (The only difference this time around - at least Bryan can take over with all the "playing" once he gets home from work. He isn't nearly as much fun as me, but he will have to do!)

All that being said, we (or at least Brantely) are having lots of fun. This week: The Bee Movie, a juggler, a My Little Pony party, and whatever "unscheduled" make-believe play she concocts. Hats off to Sandy and Mom for their dedication to full-time motherhood!!!

**A slight disclaimer: All this being said, let me assure you that my girls are still just as hard, only in a different way. I still have their junk strewn all over the house, but they are much better at picking it up when I go nuts than Brantley is. They are still dominating the T.V. it's just with other channels I have no interest in, like E! and MTV. And maybe I don't have to do a ton of meal preparation for them, but the amount of driving to and from activities/friends' houses takes up just as much of my day!

Gotta' love them - and I do!

Nothing Exciting Ever Happens in WI!

Or at least, that's how we feel. Seriously, nothing is going on!

Mom and Dad and Mr. and Mrs. Black came up last weekend so the guys could play golf at the Kohler courses. They made it through one full round at Whistling Straits, and didn't get but to the 4th hole or so on Blackwolf Run before the rain/storms came. They weren't too upset, though, as they received their "raincheck" in the form of in-store credit to use at the pro shop!

Mom, Mrs. Black, Morgan and I went to Appleton to shop at some scrapbook stores and to hit the mall. We had a great time. We were all very proud to have limited our spending to "just the essentials." Mrs. Black gave Morgan a gift card to Abercrombie for being such a good hostess, and mom gave her some money to spend at the mall (since she knew Morgan was saving up for this really expensive camera and didn't have any money to spend) so she was in hog heaven. We enjoyed the long trek (1 hour and 15 minutes one way) and getting to catch up on all the latest gossip.

Saturday night, we went to Kohler's nicest dining facility - The Immigrant Room at the American Club. It was really good. Bryan and I don't eat like that very often!! Thanks Mom, Dad, and Mr. and Mrs. Black! (Morgan even tried caviar!)

Jordan had spent the weekend with her "best" friend here in WI shopping in Chicago for a graduation dress. The girl's step-grandmother (who is really quite young and hip, apparently) even gave Jordan some money to spend! So needless to say, she too, was in hog heaven!!

Bryan had to leave very early Sunday morning to go to SC to pick up Brantley. As usual, his plane was delayed on the way home, and they didn't get home until after 1:00 in the morning!

The girls' last day of school was Wednesday. Neither seems too sad at the thought that it would be the last time either would see the school or those kids...although I think Jordan will definitely be sad to leave some of her friends.

Bryan and I celebrated our 1-year anniversary last night. We ate at this really nice restaurant on one of the other well-known golf courses. It really wasn't all that great. We also spent the night at this historic bed and breakfast. That was really fun.

Which brings us to today and our fun time of running errands.

So truly, nothing exciting ever happens in WI! I can understand why the girls are anxious to get to camp!