Whirlwind week

Its been a busy week! We spent Friday the 13th on all things birthday. I went to school with my daughter in the morning to watch as the headmaster gave her a much-anticipated birthday pencil in chapel. (amazing how excited the kids get about this!!) Later that morning the whole family visited her classroom to bring sugar-free popsicles to celebrate her birthday, then we left school with a car full of kids to enjoy the skating party. It was tons of fun--one small sibling of a party attendee came up to me and exclaimed "this is the best day of my life!" We had friends sleep over, and wouldn't you know the stomach bug that's been going around decided to hit my house at about 10 p.m. My daughter and I both spent the night being sick. Luckily, her friends were so worn out from skating that they fell asleep early and nobody but my daughter was upset about it! She says that her birthday was great despite its fateful ending.
We had no sooner cleared kids out of the house than we packed up and headed out for a spring-break vacation. I found an incredible last-minute rate on a very nice hotel in New Orleans, so we made the 6 hour drive with the kids and dog and enjoyed several days there. My husband and I have a special connection with New Orleans. My mother's family is from there, and that is where my husband and I met. We had our first date there, were married near there and have always loved it. We stayed in the French Quarter and I'd have to say it was certainly very different being there as parents as opposed to newlyweds! Different things were interesting and fun. The kids enjoyed the ferry rides across the river, the horse-drawn carriage ride and the hotel pool. We adults loved the sights and sounds, the restaraunts and the memories brought back by familiar places. It was a wonderful few days. We came home just long enough to unpack and repack, then drove 1 1/2 hours in another direction to visit my parents and the 5 nieces staying with them. My kids absolutely love their cousins and don't see them often enough, so for them it was Disneyland. They had a ball.
We finally came back Friday night and slept soundly in our own beds. This morning, I had to face reality! I spent a solid 9 hours unpacking, cleaning, cooking, putting things away and washing 10 loads of laundry. Luckily, the kids were happy to be home and played contentedly all day. The two-year-old had grown weary of traveling yesterday and had been throwing tantrums at the drop of a hat, but he transformed instantly once he got home and back into his routine. He played so long in his sandbox today that he fell asleep in my lap after his bath!
We had a wonderful week, but I am ready to slow down and get back into our routine. Hubby starts his new job Monday and my daughter goes back to school, and life will be calm and quiet again.