i have to admit that my brief illness did slow me down but not for long.   today was a kick ass day in the preparation department.  after i dropped the kids off at school i went into the dells for some shopping - stopped at kohl's to spend a birthday gift card i received and then to the outlet mall for some new shirt, socks, and jeans.   picked out 2 pair of jeans to try on and bought them both! that rarely happens.

then i got to eat at my favorite local restaurant - the cheese factory.  oddly enough, cheese is not made there nor is it a factory.  anyway, it is a vegetarian restaurant with a cultish 'course in miracles' twist.  i highly recommend it when you are in the area.  i had the veggi-tofu rice bowl.  i believe it is the only restaurant in wisconsin that does not sell brats.  and i got to talk about amsterdam with one of the dutch waiters.  he warned me of pickpockets and bike thieves, both of which i knew about but it was still a good reminder.

i picked up the kids from school after their nice send-off party.  big props to the kids' teachers for sending them off with journals, fresh markers, and a list of kid-appropriate activities in amsterdam. they also put up a world map to show the kids where we were going.   and the cook made muffins because she knows david is a big fan.  david has been going to this school for 2.5 years already and they really like my children so that makes me happy.

i set up a playdate for david so i could focus on more packing this evening.  he got picked up, taken out for dinner and ice cream, and was returned to me 5 hours later!  this is what i call 'the perfect playdate'.  david fell asleep 5 minutes upon arrival home.

but the big news of the evening is that i am 95% packed.  the last 5% are shoes and toiletries. 

i also folded and put away 5 loads of laundry with 2 more in the works.  yes, i am a machine.  

however, now i have a splitting headache.  but i don't care because i am mostly packed.

now if only my house were clean.  :-(

oh, and caring for 1 child instead of 2 is like a thousand times easier and way more enjoyable.  it was way less than half the work.