Thursday Thirteen #11 - Why I need to get away this weekend

Thirteen Reasons I really need to get away this weekend! Yes, I know - many of you came here expecting to see the "Thirteen Reasons That I Love My House" list that I promised last week. Sorry - that one is going to have to wait until next week because I really need to go through with this trip that we've got planned this weekend and with my third child coming down with a sore throat and fever tonight, it's looking like it might not happen. Becca and Hannah seem to have gotten over this bug (not strep, at least not for Hannah anyway) after a couple of days, so I'm hoping that by Friday, we might still be good to go. Of course, that'll probably be when I'll come down with it. Sigh. So in the interest of thinking positively (something I'm not usually that great at), I'm giving you the thirteen reasons why I really need to go away this weekend. Stay tuned next week for the things I love about my house - I promise! :) It's October - This was the only weekend that my friend Mary and I could find in October that meshed with soccer schedules and other commitments to do our annual October trek to the outlet mall down by her house. Not to mention that her hubby has Saturday off (he only gets weekends off every 6 weeks) and has offered to watch all 4 of our older kids so that she and I will only have to take Becca shopping with us... I haven't been to visit Mary since March - It's definitely my turn to travel since Mary and her kids have been here in April and July. My kids are expecting to go - And they are really excited about it since they haven't seen Mary's kids since July 4th weekend. I really don't want to have to break their hearts unless I absolutely have to. I'm anxious to see how big Mary's gotten - In July, she was only 3 months along with her 3rd baby and not showing very much yet. She's now starting her third trimester and I can't wait to see how much her belly's grown! Speaking of babies... - There won't be too many more chances for us to hang out before her baby is born in January and Mary won't be coming up to visit for Becca's 2nd birthday on January 21st since that day also happens to be her due date. Brownies! - This is a tradition of ours whenever we get together. We make a pan of chewy, chocolate brownies and don't share any with the kids. In fact, we even hide the pan from them and use a code phrase "taking a time-out" for when we are sneaking one - because we stand facing the corner when we eat them, just in case a kid happens by. So, "hmmm, I really need a time-out" has a totally different meaning on these weekend visits! It's been a couple of busy, hectic weeks - I really just need to plain get away. To a house that isn't mine and where I don't have to worry every moment about all the things I need to do. Shopping - I so look forward to these shopping trips with Mary because I can stock up on off-season clothes cheaply for the girls and start buying for Christmas and birthdays as well. Mary - We have been friends since 1990. That's 17 years! We talk on the phone for hours every weekend and still never seem to run out of things to say. I only wish that our other close friend, Kristi, could come on these visits but that's a long story. I've already requested Friday afternoon off - It's a 2-hour drive so things go much better if we can get there about dinnertime instead of right at bedtime. If I pick up Abby right after school gets out and we leave from there, it should work out perfectly. And since I haven't started packing yet, having the early afternoon to myself to get things sorted and the van loaded will be wonderful. The next few weekends are already booked - We have plans on the next several weekends already so if we don't go now then it probably won't happen since we'll be into November by then and Mary will be up here after Thanksgiving for Hannah's birthday party anyway. The drive - Is it weird that I'm actually looking forward to the drive down there? The kids usually do well in the van and having 2 hours to listen to music or podcasts and think is something that doesn't happen very often. Besides - call me crazy, but I like to drive (as long as there's no snow, rain or construction). Did I mention brownies and shopping? - So I can't actually think of a 13th reason, but I think that each of these should count as two anyway... :) So I was really disappointed when Ron got home tonight and went in to say goodnight to Abby only to discover she was running a fever of 102 degrees. Which is a degree higher than Hannah's ever got on Monday or Tuesday. So no school tomorrow for Abby - this is the first day she'll have ever missed. Here's hoping this will be as short-lived as it was for her sisters! And that I haven't jinxed things by being optimistic and posting this list... Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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