It was a mostly good weekend, though as always, far too short.

Friday evening, we met up with the Hickses and Jeremy and Elizabeth to celebrate Elizabeth's birthday. We went to TGI Friday's for dinner, and it's been a long time since I've encountered a kitchen so flipping slow. It took them a good 45 minutes to put the entrees on the table -- granted, we'd ordered an appetizer, but that should only have slowed things down maybe fifteen minutes.

The kids were about to go crazy with boredom. Penny climbed all over me and Matt, and Jess drank almost two full cups of chocolate milk, and about half of K.T.'s green apple soda. Which might have contributed to the disaster -- No more than two minutes after the entrees finally arrived, she threw up. Several times. All over herself, and managing to splash K.T.'s dinner, so K.T. couldn't even have it boxed up to take home.

After they left, though, we finished eating, and though I'd initially been looking forward to one of their desserts, we decided to go elsewhere, as it was already almost Penny's bedtime.

So we went to Cold Stone Creamery, where Penny demanded green (mint) ice cream, and nearly pitched a fit at the thought of us marring it with sprinkles.

We didn't get home until after 9, and it was 9:30 before we got Penny put to bed.

She slept in a little Saturday morning to make up for the late night, but not a lot -- she was up a smidge before 7.

But she was in mostly good spirits, at least. After Matt was up and we were all dressed, I took her to run some errands and then go to the library. She surprised me by not wanting to stay at the library to play, so we were actually home in time for lunch and her nap.

She's been fighting her naps lately, but Saturday I think she only talked to herself for about two minutes before dropping off.

After she woke up, we piled into the car and drove across town for Savannah's birthday party. Except that Savannah's mom had only invited a couple of kids, and apparently one of them was having his own birthday party later that evening, and the other'd already had plans when she got the invitations out, so it was more like an elaborate play-date for the two girls.

Not that they seemed to mind.

Penny was dragging again by the time evening rolled around; when she was picking at her dinner, I asked, "Are you tired?" expecting an indignant, "No!" But instead she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand and nodded. So we stepped up the evening timetable a bit, and got her to bed about half an hour earlier than usual.

It seemed to be the right answer. She slept until 6:30 Sunday morning -- about normal -- and was far more chipper.

Sunday morning, after the grocery shopping, we paid a visit to Becky, my friend from work who had her baby while I was in Cancun. The baby was tiny and wee and adorable, and slept the whole time we were there. Of course, because that's what two-week-old babies do. Penny had been practically vibrating with wanting to see the baby, but once we got there, she took one look and was done -- she spent most of the visit dancing around Becky's cat.

After her nap, we splashed in the pool for an hour, and then she begged to go see Ray-Ray. I sort of suspected that her keen interest in Ray-Ray was due mostly to the fact that he's almost always watching a movie when we go over to their house. "Why don't we invite Ray-Ray to come over here?" I suggested.

But just as I was about to stand up to get the phone, I saw Melissa (Ray's mom) walking up the driveway. As it turns out, Ray was playing in his pool, and wanted Penny to come out. So she changed back into her bathing suit, and they played in the pool, the yard, and the street until dinnertime.

After she went to bed... Well, see, I spent most of two hours Sunday morning dreaming that K.T. was trying to teach me how to play World of Warcraft in some weird tutorial room with several dozen computer monitors, only one of which was mine. After spending an absurd amount of time watching Matt play (he picked up a trial version while I was gone), and then listening to everyone talk about it at dinner Friday night (I was the only adult there who didn't play) I just gave up and took it for a sign.

I spent most of Sunday, between other activities, downloading the stupid thing, and the patches, and creating an account and a character. I started actually playing around 8:30 last night, and I was pretty well aware of the time until maybe 9:15, and then suddenly it was after 11, and I realized I was in a "just one more thing and then I'll log out" mode.

There goes any hope I ever had for being able to do anything productive with my evenings.

But at least it's more interesting than Madame Bovary, the book club book I'm supposed to have finished by Wednesday. I'm about 75 pages into it, and I have yet to encounter anything to make it worth my time. Reading about someone else's ennui? Pretty damned boring. Every time I pick it up, I get about 8 pages in and start yawning prodigiously.

Maybe I should pick up a copy to keep around for insomniac episodes.

--Liz