A WEEKEND AWAY

While Ted and I do not own a summer home, we are lucky enough to have several friends who have lovely ones. And believe me when I tell you we cultivate those relationships like hothouse roses. It all pays off in the summertime, when we spend several weekends down the shore as guests of said friends.

The only drawback is that we all have kids now so weekends are slightly different than they were 10 years ago, as we now have anywhere from six to two dozen

brats

 charming offspring running around, depending on who has stopped by.

But it's hard to complain, really. Ted does the vast majority of the child-watching while I spend most of my time like this:

Me Poolside

If I do have to take over the role of responsible parent, it's usually because Ted has to work for a couple of hours:

Ted Working

But I have found that children can be easily amused for long periods of time with electronics:

My Version Of "Watching The Kids"

So I can go back to this:

Mother Of The Year

Also, if you wait long enough, children fall asleep. Especially when they are worn out from playing in the pool with Ted all day. That leaves us free to enjoy a romantic sunset:

Sunset

And dine like civilized people on a meal that does not include chicken nuggets, peanut butter sandwiches, or cups of milk. Instead, a real meal is prepared and we drink out of glasses that are actually made of glass and don't have Star Wars characters on them (all of which is a rarity in my own home):

Grown-Up Dinner

It was a great weekend, a lovely time spent with dear friends (seriously, we love you guys. Not just for the house, either. Though that doesn't hurt, I'm not going to lie).

The only flaw was one of my own making. You see, I have a "thing" about sunscreen.  I think it's a holdover from my childhood, when my mother would slather it on my sister and I in huge amounts, and back then there were no sprays or "dry feel" options, it was all thick, disgusting lotion and totally gross.

So even though in my head I know better, I hate sunscreen. As a result I don't really use it much. Another thing I hate? Bathing suit tops. That's right. As much as I loathe the French, this is one thing that they have right - bikini tops optional! So mine end up like this:

Yes, I Am One Classy Lady

You can see where this is going. Lots of Exposed Skin + No Sunscreen = I'm An Asshole. Funnily enough, I don't get burned very often, like maybe once every other summer. But when I do... And this weekend was a bad combination of very hot sun and a very nice breeze. So even as I was baking, it didn't really FEEL that hot (I realize this makes me sound like a complete moron. I have no real defense). By Sunday afternoon I was sporting quite the "glow":

Me, Very Red and Slightly Disheveled, Holding Mazzy, AKA Cutest Baby Ever

I don't even care, though (shut UP, Mom! I know about skin cancer!). It was an awesome weekend and I can't wait till the next one.

XOXOXO

ABC