Not the typical dinner with the in-laws

So Ryan ditched me last weekend to go fishing and MILF oogling in Seaside, FL with his buddies from high school. And for those guys the weekend started Thursday morning. For some reason when I went on my girl's trip the weekend started on Friday.
Yeah, I feel a bit shafted but that isn't what this post is about.


Anyway, this left me alone with the babies all weekend. Let me be more specific-- this left me alone with my children-- one of whom I am in the process of potty training. For those that have potty trained a child surely you remember how much the beginning stages of it sucked. Again, that isn't what this post is about either. I'll be kind and spare you the gory potty training details.

This post is about dinner at the in-laws. Saturday, my mother-in-law, Bubbles, graciously invited me over for dinner--along with the rest of the six pack, Lois (Steph's mom) and Joe and Donna (Steph's brother and sister in law) and all the kids: Carmella, Beau, Livi, Max and Julia.

And, that my friends, with the mousehead on his forehead, is Poppy, the other host of the fabulous dinner party. He is also the other half of the fun couple Bubbles and Poppy. Together they are also known as the parents of my husband, grandparents to my children or those that bring champagne to all events-- even baby showers and children birthdays. Great, no make that, AWESOME couple. (PS. Remember this when you redo your will, k?)

I could tell though that Bubbles had high hopes for an elegant evening. The table was beautifully set, the food wonderfully perpared, the drinks delicious, the wine hand picked from our trip to Napa . . . But, you know, by this point, really, she should know what she is getting into when she invites this crowd to dinner. Sure she may have wanted and planned for an uber sophisticated evening with friends and family but I think she should have thought more carefully about her guest list.

The good news is that I had fun, the kids had fun and I think, everyone had fun. Dinner was amazing.

Afterwards we played our favorite game--Loaded Questions. Except, we didn't exactly have the game with us and no one could be persuaded to go out and buy it. So instead we made up our own questions and played our own version of Loaded Questions.


You know Bubbles, really, what is a broken wine glass? A borrowed shirt? Two drunk daughter in laws and some unruly kids trashing your house? What is any of it when you consider the memories and the fun of such an evening. Doesn't your heart just feel fuller, your soul enriched? Doesn't it?

Here are some more pictures.


While I'm at it, for the uninterested . . .
Weekly log: 34 miles
Man oh man did this week ever suck. With the heat index everyday near 100 and the bad air code orange or red alert I have really struggled. I feel so far away from my training goals. Right now I am plugging away and looking towards the fall when cooler weather arrives. Getting out there and running is a challenge everyday. I'm just getting by with the endorphins. They are keeping me sane.

Items found: bad attitude, apparently.