First thing this morning Ben, Emma and I piled into the van and headed north to Naperville to meet some friends for a playday.  We left so early that I literally got them up, put them in the van, and we were off.  They thought it was so fun to eat their cereal in the van during the trip.  Isn’t it funny how the littlest things can make kids so excited?  Pour some cereal in a baggie, and you’re some kind of super mom.  Go figure. 

Anyway, our trip was uneventful and we landed at the Madzinski’s about 9:30.  We were getting together with my friends Amy, Carrie, Jessica and Kim.  I hadn’t seen Jess and Kim in ages, so I was very excited for the day.  And, since we have nine kids ages of 14 months to 5 years old between the five of us, I knew the kids would have a great time, too.   Of course, I was right!  We played in the basement for awhile at first.  It was interesting how all the kids kind of wandered around on their own exploring all the toys almost like they were casing the joint or something.  Of course Jack and Charlie were excited to have everyone at their house, but with that always comes such a challenge.  It’s so hard for kids to have a bunch of other kids invade their space and start playing with all of their toys.  The boys did pretty well with so many guests, though. 

Jessica’s Chase and Ben bonded pretty well.  He is about 8 months younger than Ben, which at their age certainly isn’t much.  They are both kind of quiet in larger groups, and they both love their super heroes (of which Jack and Charlie thankfully have a bunch), so they found a semi-quiet spot to play with their “guys”.  Emma went straight for the firefighter’s coat.  That thing was as hot as could be, but she kept it on for a long time.  I guess she really is all girl in some ways…even if the dress up stuff is boy-oriented!   

After playing for awhile, we decided it was time to head out to the pool.  There were eight kids and tons of toys (yet very little water) in that thing, but they all absolutely loved it!  The best thing about wading pools is that even the little ones can play without the moms needing to be in with them.  Now if we can just figure out how to get them to leave us alone so we can catch up and gossip without so many interruptions!  Seriously, every time I get together with my good friends who have young kids I whine that I didn’t get enough time with my friends!  We vowed, as always, to make the next get-together Mommies only.  Now, if we would just stick to it…

Amy and I did get a chance to have some time together, since everyone had to leave (including her kids with Mike) for other engagements or naps.  We snuck in an hour of chat time while my kids went through just about every toy Amy’s boys have.  It’s amazing to me how someone else’s toys can be so much more interesting than your own.  When we finally hit the road home at 2:20 or so, my kids were sound asleep within fifteen minutes and slept almost the whole way home.  It was awesome. 

Overall, it was a very fun day, and well worth the 2 hour drive there and back.  It’s kind of like those master card commercials…tank of gas, $45.00…a day with great friends who you see way too rarely…priceless.