we Monday-ed around...

 The day started with a coffee, after a quick kitchen cleanup.  Then, the pool...home, ahh...but not for long!  Miss Charlotte Claire had forgotten her lunch.  Now, in days long past, if one forgot one's lunch, one ate a school lunch and we paid it back.  Or one shared with a friend or sibling.  Mom didn't pack all those younger children into the 15 passenger van at the drop of a hat.  (Once when a child at school was throwing up and had to be picked up RIGHT NOW, I had to get all those younger children buckled in to that big van, and lo and behold, they were playing house, and two of the little boys had sundresses on, because they were being their sisters...I HAD to change them first...)

Anyway.  I had been pondering a trip to Kohl's because I wanted to try on a bra. There was one for sale for $19.99, with 30%off, but I didn't want to order it without trying it on.  So when I saw the text at 11:15 that Char forgot her lunch, lunch is at 11:30, so out the door I went...may as well drive to Kohl's too, with Miss Camille.  (I found two, and splurged!)

Then to Target quick, where I found a pair of shorts in my size for $5.40, and a nice new top for $6.  Cam found some nice jean shorts.  We are leaving for Arizona on Thursday morning, so summery clothes:  nice.  I think it's like 99 degrees there.  We also bought some snacks for the plane (shelled pistachio nuts, low carb bars, trail mix for Cam).  

Then home....ahh, home.  Not for long though.  I had promised Miss Charlotte Claire that we would go to The Parade of Homes, and Monday was the only free night.  So right back out the door we went.  Char and Cam have always had an affinity for housing design and decorating, and have loved going in and checking out the new builds.  

Seven hundred thousand dollars for a house in a housing development?  phew.  But they sure are nice!  Our house is such a big rectangle of practicality, seeing the high ceilings (high heat bills! challenging to paint, or dust, or change the light bulbs!), and the huge walk in closets (that could be another bedroom!), the houses seem almost too ostentatious to me.  I'm also not sure I'm a fan of such open concepts.  The huge kitchen island being right in the living room?  And, all the built-ins:  what if you want to change things, they seem so permanent.  One house had floating stairs, just polished wood beams with no backs, um, I would slip and break my leg.  And since the ceilings are so high, the staircases are so high...we went up and down so many stairs yesterday!  There were features I envied, our lives would have been almost perfect if we had had one of those huge mud rooms with a dog bath!  Imagine not having all your coats and boots and winter gloves right in the entry of your kitchen/dining room!  

Ah well.  We know going to those things makes us hate and despise our horrid awful house.  :)

Dinner...ha, we had planned to put chicken in the crockpot in between outings, but Paul had put beef in there...beef tongue.    ugh.  I didn't even so much as approach that crock pot, much less taste it.  I was a nice mom, and brought the girls through the McDonald's drive through.  I had had some pizza which I shouldn't have had, but the houses had chefs in the kitchens making gourmet food...we didn't sample any at all until we got to the last house, and it was this fantastic pizza, with sausage and veggies...Camille didn't want hers, so yeah, I had two slices...they WERE very small, but sill.  I was not hungry for dinner.  We brought chicken nuggets home for the boys here, and Sonja went out to dinner for her friend's birthday.

Anyway.  This fine morning I might be going to the store quick with Kathryn and her little ones, then Grace is coming over with the kids.  I need to get up and vacuum, and start to think about packing.  I did make a list, but have to figure out what clothes I'm bringing.  I did buy a sun hat yesterday, as Aaron said he got a farmer's tan just being outside for five minutes the other day.  :). 

Well, have a really nice day!