24/6

24/7 is an overused term that's hardly ever realistic.  (and for the sake of my parents reading this post, 24/7 means 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.)  i mean, people say it all the time, but how many things are truly every minute of every day?

well.  i'll modify the term slightly to 24/6, and you will have a quite accurate account of how much time i spent with my two children last week.  on a trip to atlanta.  in a hotel room.  with a jam-packed schedule full of touristy plans.  and no adult back-up since chris was in work training.

24 hours a day.  6 days in a row.  no exaggeration. the only time i had to myself was in the shower.  so, naturally, i took very long showers, at least twice a day.  that was a perk: i was super clean.

i'm honestly too tired to even write much more about it.  perhaps next week i will have regained some energy and will tell you all about the gazillion questions i was asked that i couldn't respond with "ask your father", and the mini-meltdowns i attempted to thwart each afternoon, and the bickering that finally reared its ugly head on day three.  ("just ignore your brother," i told susanna at one point when i had reached the end of my rope.  "that's what i'm doing.")  praise the Lord for the free hotel happy hour every evening. i'm guessing that the powers-that-be at embassy suites realize that a significant portion of their clientele are parents who need alcohol at the end of super-long days with their kids.

so i'll let the pictures speak for themselves. and really, we did have a fabulous trip.  i'm just not sure i'll be doing it again any time soon.

sunday:  conked out on a very long drive -- in chris's small car.  just like our last trip, the SUV's battery decided to die right before leaving.  we have since replaced it and cross our fingers there will be no repeats in our future

monday: checking out the fishies at the aquarium

enjoying soft drinks from all over the world at the coca cola museum.  the tour guide encouraged us to try his favorite, the "beverly" from italy.  liam's face immediately scrunched up and he spit it into his cup -- it was the nastiest thing i've ever tasted. thanks, smart-aleck tour guide

you'll begin to see a theme with liam and a wide-open mouth.  i have no idea why

olympic park

serendiptiously, at the braves game that night, they gave out free braves caps (to be seen in later photos).  non-serendiptiously, on the back is the logo from the sponsor: Napa, the rival of chris's employer Carquest.  at least liam had the t-shirt right

tuesday: the tellus science museum, about fifty miles north, was worth the drive

oh how i wished our physics professor aunt leslie were with us ... science has never been my strong suit

there's that mouth again

whew.  that's nine pictures and we're only halfway through the week.  i'm sure you'll wait with bated breath for the second installment.  in the meantime, i'm going to go recuperate a bit more.