29 weeks

OMG, today has been rough.  We just got back from a 4-day camping trip to the high country in Yosemite National Park.  It was a really fun trip, but I definitely did not take it easy enough, and I didn't sleep well even though I brought some sleeping meds, so I need some recovery time.  Unfortunately, we came home to sweltering temperatures, busy schedules, and a hubby who left town the next morning for a conference, so I am just beat.

So.  To sum up Yosemite - it was a looooooong drive but a beautiful place.  We did several hikes and scrambles up granite domes.  The dads took the kids rock climbing while the moms went for a walk along the river.  The moms took the kids to the lake while the Dads did a classic backcountry multi-pitch climb.  It was freezing at night.  The park service decided to close the campground the day after we left because squirrels had died of the plague (?!).  And a forest fire started up the day before we left, too.  Fun times!  Actually, it WAS really fun.  Just tiring.  Very tiring.

Today, we had our group violin lesson, and then ran some errands.  We picked up a few piano books, so I can start trying to teach the kids to play.  We went grocery shopping.  We bought soccer shin guards, which I'm not totally sold on, I need to ask my soccer-playing friend.  And now I've been gradually trying to clean up the house, unpack from camping, and catch up on laundry and dishes.  We still don't have a working dishwasher, and I'm getting pretty tired of hand-washing everything.

My brother decided spontaneously that he and his family would visit next week, staying with my mom who lives about a 45-minute drive away.  My kids start school next Wednesday.  My mom wants me to have my kids skip one of their first days of school so they can spend extra time with their cousins.  I think that's outrageous, but it's hard to say - I tend to overreact to my mom's ideas, and the way she proposes them is also really offensive so I have a hard time being objective.  Her words were something like "See if they can skip a day of school, those kids REALLY need to see their cousins."  My mom never asks - she orders.

Anyway.  Outrage aside.  I'm exhausted.  I guess the third trimester exhaustion is setting in, combined with lack of sleep.  And a missing hubby.  And 5-year-old twins who've been home all summer.  I can't wait for school to start!  And now that the kids are settled down for the night (OMG it's after 9:30, how does bedtime get so out of control?!?!) I am going to get ready for bed soon, too.