My favorite band

Lots has been happening in my world lately.

Last week I traveled to the Washington DC area to see the Smashing Pumpkins play two concerts on their 20th anniversary tour. My good friend picked me up at the airport on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I forgot my cell phone at home which led to a very irritating series of events which delayed our meetup by about 3 hours. On top of that, the first show wasn't the best one, and included some serious drama. By the time I arrived at my cheap and not-so-fancy hotel that evening, I was beginning to wonder if I'd made a mistake taking the trip. I was tired and feeling pretty emotional about having left my still-nursing twins behind, and all the unrest of the day caught up to me.

The next morning, after NINE HOURS of uninterrupted sleep, I felt much better. We spent the morning running errands (purchasing a new cell phone and the new Smashing Pumpkins documentary). Then we managed to watch the first disc of the documentary. And that evening's show was probably the best Pumpkins show I have ever seen. We had 2nd row seats, right in front of Jeff. About 6 songs into the show, as the opening notes for my favorite song, Soma, began, this couple materialized and tried to claim our seats. The usher actually wanted me to step out into the aisle to sort things out. I told him that I'd come all the way from Texas to hear that song and that they just needed to work it out. Ha! Seriously, I would have left during any other song. My friend played damage control with the usher, and all was well. I managed to hear Soma uninterrupted, but I didn't manage not to cry during it.

The other great thing that happened on the trip was that I managed to donate all the breastmilk that I pumped to a woman who lives in the area. She had a breast reduction surgery when she was younger, so doesn't produce enough milk to nurse her baby. She has been feeding him strictly breastmilk for his entire 9 months, though, by accepting donated milk. She drove to my hotel on Thursday morning to pick up what I had pumped during my trip. I was so thrilled not to have to dump everything! Plus, it felt nice to help her with her situation--she was almost out of breastmilk in her freezer when she saw my post about donating mine.

By Thursday afternoon, I was really thankful that I'd had the opportunity to take the trip, see my friend, and see the Pumpkins play. This newest incarnation of the band is by far the strongest bunch of musicians that Billy's ever surrounded himself with, and I fully enjoyed almost every minute of the performances, barring the cover of Pink Floyd's Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (which they played on night 1).

Now, if I can just manage to find the time to watch disc 2 of the documentary...sigh.

nice things

Today at dinner, without being asked, the eldest got his own silverware and napkin, and then got napkins for me and his dad. He said, "Mama, I set the table!"

What a sweetie.

I'm going to miss him. And the daughter. And the youngest. And my hubby.

But I'm going to see the Smashing Pumpkins! Yay!

more sickness, but obama! and massage!

So today, the youngest threw up at the end of his nap. UGH. Just when I think he is getting well. It was a tough afternoon/evening. But tonight, a fellow mom of twins is here giving me and the hubby some well-deserved massage therapy. Very nice. And then I log on to check election returns and they've already called it for Obama. Yay!

am i crazy?

I was supposed to go on a trip for my 40th birthday. With girlfriends. To, say, New Orleans or someplace. And when that started to crumble, I thought about having a girls' weekend at a nice hotel here in Austin. But I never managed to get plans off the ground for that, either.

So instead, I'm flying to Washington DC in less than 2 weeks to go see the Smashing Pumpkins on their 20th anniversary tour. It's a two-night spectacular, so I'll be attending both shows. These shows are taking place almost a year to the day that I was put on bedrest when pregnant with the twins, and had to miss the Austin show at the Backyard.

The husband is taking vacation time from work (don't worry, kids, he has 118 hours of vacation left for 2008) so that I can go.

Happy birthday to me!