It's official...

I rock. Cathy Zielske says so. :)






















Last week I recorded a concert for her on VH1 and sent the video tape off to her. This is what I got in return (plus some KI goodies). How cool is that?!

It was a relaxed, albeit hot, weekend. We filled up the pool and the kids spent hours splashing and playing. Bad mom that I am, I didn't even take a picture. Maybe tomorrow because I know they'll be bugging me to get out there at the crack of dawn.

I did scrap a page for a challenge at Scrap Artist's Anniversary Bash. The challenge was to use bad photos on a layout. Actually I think these photos are awesome action shots, but unfortunately, I couldn't figure out a way to realistically fix Emma's runny nose. They looked so good on the camera too. LOL

Update #2

So I had a big post written about more crap in our lives and I realized that it's all pretty boring so here's a quick recap instead.

Poor Neil
Neil is working super long hours...doesn't get home till 2.15 a couple of nights a week. The kids don't even see him some days. We're all missing him. I don't know how he survives on so little sleep. Hopefully it will all be over very soon.

Andy's Birthday
We celebrated Andy's 4th birthday with a party on the 15th. We had a BBQ with a couple of neighbors and 3 friends from school. It was 105 degrees on the patio when the party started at 5 pm, but the kids didn't mind. We bought one of those big Quick Set pools and they had a blast jumping in that, running through the Slip-n-Slide and playing on the playset. (I don't want to post a photo since I don't have permission from the others kids' parents.)

CHA
I went to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association's big summer trade show) last Saturday with Jackie. It's always fun to go see all of the new products coming out. She bought lots of great stuff for the store. I ran into a few digital scrapping buddies and met a couple of other online friends so it was a fun day. We went out to eat with a couple of great women from our Design Team. It was great to see Beth again and to meet Amy in person.

Blah Blah Blah
That about sums up my life. I'm trying hard to maintain my sanity while single parenting. I could never, ever do this alone. The kids get along for the most part, but I just need a break every now and again. Does that make me a bad Mom? Neil usually puts them to bed so that he can have some time with them. And the added bonus is I get to feed Alex and get him to bed in peace. But with him not home, I'm doing all of it. Fortunately, it hasn't been too bad, but I'm finding that the balance of Mom vs. Robyn time is getting way off and I know that's not a good for any of us.

Well, the kids are "camping" in their "fort" under the dining room table now and I can still hear some rustling and whispering so I'd better go investigate.

See ya on the flip side.

Update #1

Yeah, I'm so clever with the titles. Since I'm so far behind, I figure I'll just do weekly recaps to get caught up. I've actually heard from a couple of friends about my lack of updates. Wow, I actually have readers. LOL

Fourth of July
Let's see. July 4th was fun. We just hung out at home during the day and then went to the big fireworks in Aurora. It sounds totally lame, but we picked up dinner, parked at the mall and had a picnic in one of the green areas around it. They block off all the streets and shoot the fireworks off really close. It's actually one of the best firework shows I've ever seen. They certainly don't skimp. Strange event for the evening...we actually froze! Mom of the Year didn't take coats. It's the Fourth of July for crying out loud! Luckily, I had several of Alex's blankets in the van so between the picnic blanket and receiving blankets, we stayed warm. Alex slept through the entire thing!! And the booms were so loud that you could actually feel them in your chest. Gotta love that kid. :)

I took TONS of photos during the fireworks, just playing around with different settings. I haven't really looked at them or done any editing, but these turned out pretty cool.

Road Trip
On July 5th, the kids and I drove to Iowa and met Susie and the boys, Linda and Lily, and Rosie and the kids for our annual summer get-together. We stayed in an average hotel, but we had a blast as usual. Hanging with them always fills my soul and reminds me how lucky I am to have such good friends. We have truly experienced the best and worst of life together. I love how we manage to just pick up like we saw each other yesterday. Now that the kids are older, they really have fun playing together. It's actually amazing how well they all get along considering they see each other no more than twice a year. Love that our kids are friends and will have true lifelong friends when they're adults.














































Love My Guy
We were back on Friday night for my photography class at Studio D. It was a better class; we went outside and actually shot photos. The instructor gave us scenarios and we had to figure out the settings to get the shot. Very helpful. Neil was late getting home so we picked him up at the Naperville train and he took the kids to the Riverwalk while I was at class. He's such a good guy. He fed the big kids dinner and gave Alex his cereal.

The weekend was spent hanging out and doing some prep work for Andy's birthday party. Nothing too exciting.

That's enough for now. My life isn't that exciting! ;)

Check back later for the next update. I'm almost finished.