Only a day away...

Vacations... I am realizing at this very moment how they really are a true escape. The problems of the world seem to all but disappear.

It's wonderful!

Until it occurs to you that while you can leave your problems, eventually you have to go home to them again.

Today our Disney vacation draws to an end and we will leave the place where magic happens, where dreams cone true, and where wishes are realities.

Tomorrow my problems will find me, right where I left them.

Problems are patient. Children could learn a thing or two from them.

It's been a fantastic week enjoying my children, even the moments (hours?) where they've been driving me insane.

I will miss The Mouse, but I will miss the G-walts more....

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time fir me to live it up for one last hurrah at Epcot (followed by a 5k, obstacle course and scavenger hunt, cause why not? More on that later!)

What Me and Susan Boyle have in Common

If you're like me and you keep and ear tuned to celebrity gossip, you've no doubt heard stories that start something like, "So and So was admitted to the hospital today suffering from exhaustion." How ridiculous, right? Who suffers from exhaustion inasmuch as they can call it an actual illness?

ME. **I** am suffering from exhaustion.

I now have the answer to "What happens when you host three kids (on top of your own three) and their mother for nine days, host their father for the last four days, in that period of time do four spin classes, run several as-yet-untallied miles, hit up a yoga class, do a little strength training, tend to at least 657 loads of laundry, beach it, pool it, dance around with the older four to Laurie Berkner, answer to two chipped teeth, attempt to stay sane amidst two teething babies, pay $32 to take your kids to a movie (popcorn and bucket 'o Coke included), have an evening out that involved a level of intoxication you haven't seen since your college years, mop your kitchen floor every night for sanitary purposes, oh, and throw a birthday party for your goddaughter on the ninth day?"

On Day Ten, you crash. And boy, do you crash hard.

But let's face it, I loved every minute of it. I had really great time. Phenomenal! Fun fun fun fun fun. But I think I literally had fun until I dropped.

They left at 4:27am on Monday. Of course when house guests depart it's time to get back to "normal" which for me entailed laundry, laundry and more laundry, final cleanup for the prior day's birthday bash, a thorough scrub down of my grody floors, and general mothering to my brood of three.

I needed to be productive. Productivity was required.

Monday I lagged. Tuesday I dragged. Wednesday I couldn't get out of bed. Holy Crap.

At first I thought I was suffering from the standard cold. But when no congestion surfaced and my only symptom was a froggy throat and sheer fatigue, I self diagnosed with exhaustion. Doesn't that make me sound cool?

Today I am upright again, although still brain foggy and bleary eyed. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be!

Stay tuned for a selection of the over 1000 photo taken my me and Amber. (For those of you counting, that's 55 shots per mom, per day. Makes it sound less.... excessive.)

Dearest G-Walts:

We here at the M-nez Ranch are so happy and thankful to have spent the past days with you (as to the exact number, I have lost count--I am not even entirely sure of my name at this point). Our favorite moments include the following (in no particular order):

The traditional Carvel Ice Cream cake (since there were two this year, is the tradition now changed to "eat TWO Carvel Ice Cream cakes"?)...

The redneck back yard bath, of course...

Our evening trip to the beach, armed with Publix subs, even though we had to escape from the rain...

Baby Savannah's Birthday Beer Burger Bounce House BBQ...

Parents Gone Wild a.k.a. our night of dinner and drinks (Cheers to Nanny Pam!)....

Having mid-trip kitchen demo, cause you know, why not?...

Watching Cole and Siennah play Mommy and Daddy and go grocery shopping with their baby doll...

Watching Mason and Sebastian run wild and constantly up the ante on who has more energy...

The cumulative five minutes that neither Teething Savannah nor Teething Lila were crying...

Being Cape Crusaders...

Refereeing Car Seat wars...

and When all was quiet and the kids were finally asleep, actually getting to have a conversation.

Indeed, there were moments where we thought it'd be easier just to go ahead and tear all of our hairs out, but now that things are getting back to normal here it just doesn't seem quite right.

Looking forward to our next rendezvous in September, our 8 day Disney trip. (Seriously, are we insane? I am thinking yes.)

With love and adoration,

The M-nez Crew

Rey & Chicks + Six: Day Four

Notice there was no "Day Three"?

Seriously, who has time to blog when there are six kids in the house?

P.S. A six pack of children should come with a six pack of the above, kind of a survival kit of sorts.

Rey & Chicks + Six: Day Two

Highlights from the day include:

• A super fun, labor intensive, sand consuming, sun soaking, Bob the Builder eat-your-heart-out trip to the beach
• A proper education on what really happens when a baby eats an undetermined amount of sand
• A minor scare that we'd been robbed, but really it was just a teensy case of forgetfulness
• Someone* falling on his or her ass on the slippery rain soaked garage floor
• A trip to Target (it's always a good day when a trip to Target is involved)
• A super special girls only dinner
• A raucous round of "The Force Game" a.k.a. Light Sabre play that gives me an ulcer.
• Bedtime that didn't involve a million lectures, bribes, threats and that resulted in six sleeping children instead of three giggling ones.

*Names omitted to protect the gravity challenged.

But without further ado, following is what I shall title "The Beach: A Photo Essay"...

Rey & Chicks + Six: Day One

Traditions: Everybody's got 'em.

Turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
Tossing the bouquet at a wedding.
Baptizing newly born babies...


Here at the Bi-Annual G-Walt and M-nez Super Summer Suaree, we've got traditions, too.

We eat a Carvel Ice Cream Cake.
We plan lots of fun stuff and have so much fun it should be illegal.
We give our kids a country folk style backyard bath.

This year, we are hosting Amber and her crew (and Brian too, in a few short days). But until he arrives, we've dubbed ourselves Rey & Chicks + Six. Jon and Kate, eat your heart out.

You'd be amazed at the efficiency of a backyard bath. And did I mention the water conservation?

And the FUN?

Never will you laugh so hard as when you're friend is bathing your children in your backyard. Somehow I ended up as the photog for this little event. Ironic as Amber does it for money.

First up: Cole.



Next, Sweet Siennah (See-anna, if you're Cole).





Mason and his scraggly long hair... he looks like he lives in the wilderness these days.





Despite the shampoo's Tear Free quality, Sebastian was bawling that it was burning his eyes even before a sud neared his cherubic little face.


So he cried.



LilaGirl, loving up the water. She took the insanity of it all in stride.



Savannah, no so much!





They were all clean, dry, and ready to be snuggled into the beds. Especially this one.



I guess you could say the other ones were a little resistant to sleep.



The plan was for Amber and the girls to be sleeping in Mason and Cole's room. Lila is bunking with me and Rey, and the boys are "camping" in Lila's room. Siennah, not one to be left out, opted to sleep in Lila's crib so she could be with the boys. She was the second child asleep tonight, and seems really pleased with her bed.



Who won the prize for the first kid asleep???


Almost two hours after the original good night hugs and kisses, the boys are still asleep.

Apparently our plan of wearing them down to get to sleep early is a failure.

Tomorrow, beach. Stay tuned.