Last night, I was all by myself. The girls were asleep and Chris was spending the night at the Normans, catching up with his bud J. I spent the evening watching The Office and looking at craft blogs. Once I was thoroughly stocked with sewing ideas, I got ready for bed, slightly resentful that nobody put toothpaste on my toothbrush. I couldn't fall asleep for awhile and got to thinking about Anna. It's been a very long time since she's asked me to hold her. I still do of course, but she doesn't entwine herself around my legs when I'm cooking dinner and whine to be picked up anymore. Not that I miss that...but, actually I kind of do. And she plays by herself or with Sonja all day. She still likes when I play with her, but she doesn't require me in the room to be content. It's just slowly dawning that she is growing more independent everyday. Good thing her daddy is never going to let her get married. I would sure miss her.
Anyway, enough melancholy.
Today is packing day. Tomorrow morning, earlier than bright, we are embarking on our first road trip ever to Georgia. We are leaving without a dvd player, but I won't say we will come back without one. It's a 12 hour drive says Mapquest, 10 hours says Chris, 18 hours says Sonja. We shall see how this goes.
Alright, I need to change over laundry and wrap up a dolly, papoose style.

Pictures of the girls with some Philly friends-

Patton kids and the hilarious Winnie the Pooh viewing:

Livingston kids from a few weeks ago:

And last week, the Kirklins came back from OH and we had a grand reunion for the kiddos. This picture is missing three kids, but there were five baby girls within 9 months of eachother.

Cute Amelie, tolerant Janie, possessive Sonja.

Exersaucer mania:

Legos.

Sonja getting her duplo on.

Lot's of fun, but now we're all spread out again...sniff.

Viking lady is safe, for now. Tuesday was our roughest day yet; I was on the verge of drafting a craigslist post- 'Rotten machine, cheap.' After a good cry though, I admitted we needed counselling. Perhaps Joann Fabrics had a session for troubled relationships like ours? Viking lady was hesitant to leave the desk and travel across town so we talked things through- that is I stared at her cryptic manual- and finally, at very long last, discovered the source of our tension. I'm too embarrassed to say what the problem was...technically, it was my fault, but she could have said something! Anyway, we're on the mend now, piecing things back together, seeing eye to needle eye. We worked together yesterday for several hours without a single fight! A first in our eleven month relationship. So I think we may have turned a corner seam.

I'm seconds from throwing this viking lady out the window. Five...four...three...

Today we visited a wonderful little town called Storyville, an adorable preschooler world in the Rosedale Public Library. My friend, Heather, read about it online (and you can too) and we made plans to check it out this morning. It was supposed to be about 25min from us, but a treasonous act by Garmin left us in an unsavory area of Baltimore- Anna: "What's that?" (pointing at a blinking neon sign complete with silhouette on the side of a building) Me: "Uh...a misnomer. Gentlemen do not go there." Yes, that kind of unsavory. At this point, we dispatched an SOS to Heather and she got us out of there quick. FYI: there are two Kenwood Avenues and the one in Baltimore is not the one you want. The library's website lists the address as Baltimore, but GPS considers it Rosedale, and you should too.
Anyway, this place was AWESOME. It is only for children up to five. There must be a parent with each child. The kids have to pick up the things they play with so the place isn't wrecked. Library workers walk around with Clorox wipes, sanitizing things. There are relevant books incorporated with every play station. Only 60 people are allowed in at a time so it isn't crowded. You can stay in as long as you want. The coat room had a glider for nursing and a family bathroom. It is the ideal place for the half neurotic, semi-germophobic, fully overprotective parent. In case you know anyone like that. =)

Here are some pictures:

This is the kitchen of 1 Storyville Lane. Anna was pulling the highchair over to feed the doll from the table, just like mom. And then she's checking on dinner.

Living room wall decor in 1 Storyville Lane. Also featuring Anna's friend Isaiah.

This is the construction zone. No hardhat required.And here is the grocery store.

The bin for oranges is empty because this shopper was intent on weighing all of them.

Over at the harbor: Anna knocked these birds from their buoy......rocked out in this dingy......and climbed through the driftwood.During all the above, Sonja surveyed from the baby bjorn. Now for the photo shoot in the Baby Garden:
Two little flowers- Sonja and Amelia.

Round inlay mirrors- endless entertainment.

It really is a great place for the kids. We were there for almost two hours, only played in half of the areas, and took 71 pictures. If you're anywhere close, you should check it out. And if you do, we're up for going again anytime!

Advice for the day from Sonja-

First of all, don't get all wrapped up in politics, or blankets. Try to be level-headed.

Second, get out and vote. If you don't, then you can't complain when they stick it to you. Thirdly, when you do vote, don't drink the Obama koolaid. Be responsible, please.

And finally at the end of the day, just sit back, read a good book and watch election coverage, like this!