It's Me! The World's Least Reliable Blogger!

Holy cow, people... how did it get to be November 29th? Like most of you, the time from Halloween to New Year's Eve is just one big Event (that's right, "event" with a capital "E") in our house.

Where did we leave off? Ah yes, the giant deer mouse/chinchilla/creature from parts unknown that was busy lurking outside the house... so, it's gone. Which is like the worst thing ever. Because that means it is somewhere in the yard, plotting to steal my car and drink my liquor.

What else has happened?

Jake's surprise party was a huge hit... say what you will about Dave & Buster's (if you are Hugh you say that it is the threshold to Hell), but there are few places easier to have a tween scene birthday. They stick you in this big ol' uglier-than-sin private room with a buffet consisting of such delicacies as mini cheeseburgers and nachos, toss a couple of bartenders in for fun and then hand the kids cards worth roughly 2 hours of game time... you eat, the kids play mind numbing videos and attempt to earn tokens that equal craptastic prizes... then you march everyone back in to sing and eat Sprinkles cupcakes and 3 hours later the party's over and you get to go home to your still clean and shiny house.

Thanksgiving was spent over on Catalina. A week of good friends, good food and good drink... it was like a beer commercial. Or maybe an add for anti-anxiety medication... pretty fabulous if I do say so myself. Especially since we were within tripping distance of a playground, a skate park (the skate park of doom... holes in the half pipe and toddlers on trikes) and the mini-golf course... which, if you are travelling with a group that includes 9 children, makes a delightful vacation for all. Also, the adults could drink and not worry about driving... which is good because karaoke on that island kicks off about 2 p.m..

Did I really mention alcohol 3 times in that one bitty paragraph?

And now we're home and getting ready for Eva's 4th birthday (Monday the 3rd) as well a long weekend trip to New York (yes, we are once again pulling the children out of school for travel... my girlfriend, Jenn, warns that I am one personal day away from homeschooling) to show the kids the magic that is: Manhattan at Christmastime.

I hope the giant rat doesn't move in while we're gone...