This weekend kicked my ass in the most major of all ways. We spent most of it in Knoxville moving my Mom into her condo that she recently purchased. And then…after three days of minimal sleep combined with maximum physical exertion, we came home Monday morning so we could spend the day resting after our busy weekend.

Oh, wait. That’s not what happened. We went to a relaxing calm cookout at the home of some friends.

Oh, wait. Not calm and relaxing…that’s not what I meant. I meant, INSANELY AWESOME because they rented those inflatables and we got to play on them! Grown-ups never get to play on those things because the kids hog all the damn fun. But WE got to do it! And it was awesome!

(Except for the burns on the elbows from going SO DAMN FAST. Like lightning. I’m awesome.)

Eventually - we had to admit that maybe we were all running on some bit of drunken exhaustion energy and maybe we should go home and pass out. Some of us didn’t wait until we got home.

All in all? A productive weekend. We got my mom moved, hung out with my brother who still can make me laugh so hard I nearly pee in my pants, walked around in the scorching heat with my Dad, spent a total of 16 hours driving (during which AndyZ was a perfect angel - THANK GOD), and ate a lot of unhealthy foods. (Mom - please remove the ice cream candy bars from your freezer before we come visit next time, thanks! I feel really guilty for eating them all. And also really bloated.) And I now have decided that the best way to end a busy weekend is bouncing on a giant inflatable slide. Or maybe that’s just the best way to end every day.

I’m totally going to ask Santa Clause for one this year.

I did two things for the first time last night: I attended a political event, and I blew dry my hair.

Actually - it’s not the first time I’ve ever used a hair-dryer on my hair. There was the fateful attempt to blow it dry straight about five years ago. And then those times in the early 90s when I was trying to see how big I could get it. So - last night was the first time in 5 years, AT LEAST. And I did it because I decided I should shower before my political event, betting I’d make a better first impression if I didn’t smell like sweat. Unfortunately - it takes 2+ hours for my hair to dry naturally - so I had to speed things up a little. And you know what? It was a huge pain in my ass. You people who blow dry your hair every day? I feel for you. I couldn’t do that every day. It’s just so….boring.

The even last night was fun. I spent 15 minutes just looking for a place to park, to avoid going into the function. I was that nervous. I drove by the restaurant about 10 times, trying to peak in to see what was going on. When I finally walked in the front door, an organizer welcomed me, gave me some stickers, and sent me on my way. I got a beer, found someone who was smiling and asked if I could sit at her table. (CAN YOU BELIEVE I DID THAT? I’m so awesome.) By the end of the night I had made three friends. One of them wasn’t even a citizen (yet) and wouldn’t be able to vote. BUT - she really wanted to show her support so she came out anyway. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

I only stumbled on my words a few times and actually asked a few questions of my table buddies. I instigated conversation! That’s the power Obama has over me - he can make me be social.

The event was exactly what I wanted: A group of people who would clap and yell when I did. And we all did just that. It actually made me very proud of my town because we had a decent turnout. For a red state. And people were very passionate about it - and it was a great thing to be a part of. There were only two people who tried to break up our party with snide comments (it was at a restaurant, so a lot of the customers weren’t with us) but they were both completely ignored by the crowd. No one even bothered to respond. We were just there to listen…and we weren’t going to let anything interfere with that. It was perfect.

I’m very proud of myself and I even signed up for a mailing list! And sent a response to a text message I got asking me to volunteer. I said YES to volunteering! (Like I have ANY time to spare - but at least my intention was there!) I left the place energized and empowered. If Obama doesn’t get elected this fall, it won’t be because I didn’t do my part.

I mean - I used a hair dryer - I’ll obviously stop at nothing for my cause.

I’ve been very busy the last few days, as demonstrated by my lack of posting. We have a friend from Seattle in town, LilZ came back from his trip out west (I’m shocked he even willingly got on the plane to come home he had so much fun), we had to go school supply shopping (my favorite time of the year), and we had not one - but two social events to attend this weekend. (One of which has video proof here. If you listen closely - you’ll get to hear my kids names! Which I don’t keep secret, I just keep them out of type to avoid future employers stumbling upon entries about their potty-training exploits.) That is exactly two more than we’ve attended in the last year, I believe. We don’t get out much.

TWO SOCIAL EVENTS. (I thought that needed repeating.)

But - to avoid any emails wondering if I had fallen off the face of the earth - I thought I would take the time to post my two favorite photos from the last few days. The truly represent the range of life with my daughter. One moment she’s making you pee on yourself you’re laughing so hard - and the next? You’re considering shipping her off to the gypsies you heard about when you were a kid. The ones your parents swore would take you. Surely they’ll take your kids, right?

We were invited to a birthday party yesterday for a little boy from NikkiZ’s school. Unfortunately, somewhere in the chain of invitation (we were invited through a few people) I missed the part about “Bring a Bathing Suit.” The mother of the little boy pieced together this amazing ensemble from her son’s wardrobe to serve as a bathing suit for NikkiZ. It is - by far - the most awesome outfit she’s been photographed in. Doncha’ think?

This photo is just as awesome, however. I was trying to get a picture of NikkiZ in the t-shirt LilZ brought her back from Sea World. She had also covered herself in stickers from the same park, I guess because they matched the shirt? Who knows. Either way - you can see how clearly pleased she was that I was taking her picture. I think this expression captures the essence of her opinion of photography in general.

LilZ’s paternal great-grandmother passed away this week. She watched him while I was in classes for the first several years of his life. She has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for awhile now, and her health has been deteriorating, so her passing was expected. But - it’s still a figure from LilZ’s childhood that is gone now and he is spending the weekend with his Dad’s family attending the funeral and such.

I drove him to the town of the funeral on Friday and we spent some time at a local park until his Dad called to say he was in town as well. It was a nice little trip and hopefully a bit of fun to cheer LilZ up before dealing with a few days of sadness. We took NikkiZ on a train ride around the park and she really enjoyed it. I also found a shaded corner of the park to nurse AndyZ in - adding Spring Park in Tuscumbia, AL onto my list of Places My Boobs Have Been Exposed To Feed My Kids. The swamp boat tour in Florida is still the best place on the list, but Spring Park is a nice addition.

After we rode the train, LilZ asked to take this picture:

He often thinks of stopping and taking pictures of me with the kids. I’m so glad he does to prove that I’m around in a lot of our adventures. Since I’m typically the one with the camera, I worry they’ll wonder where I was during each of these outings. Luckily, he stops and considers this periodically and takes pictures. Proving I wasn’t at home on the couch watching endless episodes of Buffy and Angel while pigging out on Potato Chips and Ice Cream.

Even if that is what I might want to be doing.

I only have a minute but I wanted to tell you how NikkiZ braved those giant inflatable playground thingies this weekend at the Fourth of July celebration we went to. We’ve never been able to get her on them before, but LilZ helped her out and they weren’t really crowded (yet) so she was willing this time. She LOVED it all. I think LilZ was a little worn out taking her through the inflatable obstacle course NINE MILLION TIMES, but they both had a blast. Here are some of my favorite shots.