In Spite of the Bad Mother Award...

Yesterday afternoon we walked inside the house after a long, rainy trip back home from Indiana and my 6-year-old asked, "Mom, can I get a bath? I haven't had one in four days."

!!!!!!!!

You see, we shuffled kids around Indianapolis (thank you, Aunt Gayle!), and then all of us finally ended up at Grandma and Grandpa's again, sharing one tiny bathroom in their tiny house. It was fun, but it was... close and we were constantly on the go and everyone assumed that somewhere along the lines, the little guys were catching a bath here or there. False! So if you happen to need a boost in your mothering ego, you can think to yourself, "Well, at least my kids have been getting regular baths" and you would be most justified in thinking that we have all lost our minds around here.

We did have a great time though. I went shopping, but after last year, I promised myself that no sale was worth standing in line at 5:30 in the morning. But I must not have been in a holiday mood this year either- I spent a whopping $35, including lunch at Panera's and a visit to Half-Price Books. What was wrong with me? John and I went to the mall together later in the day, and he shopped for me while I piddled around and got a chair massage from the Chinese people in front of Bath and Body Works. I think he got something in the lingerie department. I hope it is a new robe; it's possible that he has noticed that my old one has holes in some very unfortunate places. It's also possible that this is a repeat of the first Christmas after we were married, when my gift came from Frederick's of Hollywood... but surely he knows better than that. Plus, I take comfort from the fact that JC Penney is a far cry from Frederick's of Hollywood.

We went to The Cheesecake Factory afterwards and split their appetizer sampler and a piece of Kahlua Mocha cheesecake.... mmmmmm! And the next evening, we had dinner out again and then went to Goodwill together, because Indianapolis has the most fabulous Goodwill stores and we are both cheap. We topped it off with a visit to Starbucks, so maybe we aren't quite cheap enough. In the meantime, the kids played with their cousin Hannah, raked leaves, and went to the movies and Bouncer Town with their Grandparents. John got to spend quality time getting trounced by his brother at chess and talking with his father late into the night, and a good time was had by all. Thanksgiving 2007 was a happy one, whether we all had baths or not.