VBS

Before I tell you about VBS, let me just say quickly that I know a couple of you have given me cases to give to my little detective. Thank you! :) The reason that he has not "solved" them and gotten back to you yet is because I have not yet passed the cases on to him. We have had a very busy couple of weeks, so he hasn't been so obsessed with his business...and because he has not been obsessed with it, I haven't gotten around to giving him the assignments. I figure that I'll wait until we don't have so much going on and he's back to being obsessed with getting cases to solve. He will be very excited once I do actually tell him about them!

One of the things that has been keeping us busy is that the kids have been attending VBS (Vacation Bible School) at my parents' church this week. It goes every day from 9-12 and they love it. Since I am literally never without my kids, I was excited to have a little time to myself. In fact, I was really looking forward to it. I had visions of actually using the couple of hours to get something productive accomplished. That hasn't really happened for a couple of reasons though. First, my parents church is a half hour drive from us (the kids have been there a couple of times with them and really like it, and so they decided that they wanted to go to their VBS). So, there really would be no sense in me dropping them off and driving all the way home to get things done here, only to have to drive all the way back to pick them up a short time later. So my plan was going to be to drop them off, and then head to some quiet location nearby with my computer, and try to work on getting blog posts written (I know, I know...there have been none), weekly menus planned, grocery lists made, etc. Uh, not so much.

As it turns out, I have ended up spending a good portion of my time at the church just hanging out while they do their thing. The first day, I could hardly bring myself to leave at all. I think I ended up sneaking out for a half hour. Don't get me wrong, the kids were fine and excited to be there. But, I don't ever drop my kids off anywhere, with the exception of their own church class that lasts an hour and a half each week. Really, not anywhere. I know that it's a normal thing to do, but it is not something that I am used to doing, nor is it something that I'm comfortable doing. I could not just walk into some place where I don't know the people and my kids don't know any of the other kids and just say, "Have fun. See you in a few hours." Sorry, not gonna happen. The place was completely chaotic with all the kids, volunteers, etc. and nobody knew my kids at all. It was all a bit disorganized for me. So, instead, I sat and watched the festivities for most of the day. Jake and Addi didn't even know I was there most of the time, but once in a while they would catch a glimpse of me and were always excited when they did. (I throw that in there to let you know that my kids are still at the age where they want me around. It's not like they were wishing I would leave!)

By the second day, I was able to venture out to Costco for a quick trip...not to actually buy anything, mind you. But, I did walk around and write down the prices of a few things as I am determined to get my monthly grocery budget and shopping organized and under control. So that was a small step in the right direction. Yesterday and today, I actually left for a little bit longer and sat in a Starbucks with my computer and good intentions. Really though, I used my time marveling at how crowded Starbucks stays and wondering about the lives of these people who just sit there and hang out all morning. I mean really, where are their children? Don't they have jobs? Things to do? Things to accomplish? Or, maybe, their kids were in VBS and they were wondering at my life and what made my life so easy that I had time to just waste an hour and a half away at a coffee shop, playing on my computer with no kids in tow.

My goal for tomorrow (the last day) will be to sit at the Starbucks and actually accomplish SOMETHING. I would love to have something to show for my absolutely unheard of time away from my children. I'm not making any promises though.

Because I have been hanging out at the church watching the kids though, I have gotten to see them in action, which I love. They are having a great time, and today, I managed to get a couple short clips of them singing the songs. Perhaps I'm biased, but I think they're pretty cute! Oh, there is a cowboy/western theme to the VBS, so Addi went decked out in her cowgirl gear today. She's in her cowboy boots about 90% of the time anyway, so it wasn't much of a stretch.