WELL. This weekend has not followed that usual pattern. Friday night sucked because Dude went to see Bill McKibbon speak and I had to do the whole bedtime routine by myself. And we got in a stupid argument (that was quickly resolved, but still). My hopes for a good weekend were just not that high. But then Saturday was so fancy-free that it more than made up for Friday night's craptitude. And Saturday night, our neighbors brought dinner over to our house after the girls went to sleep and we had an adult hang-out on the deck, kicking back a few bottles of wine and getting to be fast friends with them. It was the perfect ending to a glorious day!

Dude only worked about four or five hours today, which felt like a day off to me since an hour-plus of that time was nap time. And then he went for a walk with the girls while I just...chilled by myself. I kept pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. When they got back, we all walked down to the Muddy Boot Festival to see this ultra-cool band, Weinland. They are SO good. You really should check them out. There weren't a lot of people there and we sat on some hay bales in front of the stage, leaving plenty of room for the girls to dance. Buggy stayed pretty close to me (as she usually does in big social settings) but still rocked out. She especially liked the drums. Belly, on the other hand, was ON FIRE (not literally, but you know what I mean). She ran all over, hugged other kids, danced like a maniac - by herself - directly in front of the stage. See exhibit A...

And then she pulled off the grandest trick she has ever even attempted. Right there...in front of a hundred or so people...to the complete shock and amazement of her parents and sister...Belly did an effing headstand. I. Am. So. Not. Kidding. The kid put her head down on the cement and did a perfect head-and-hands tripod, without wavering. She did not get her legs perfectly straight up in the air but she was DOING A HEADSTAND at 22 months old. I really, really, really wish I had a photo of this unbelievable feat, but I was paralyzed with my mouth agape. Other people were pointing and cheering her - Dude and I were flat-out stunned. Then she righted herself and kept on dancing. To the best of my knowledge, she's never seen anyone do a headstand and I think she's only seen a somersault once before (a few months ago I did one in the family room and the girls looked at me like, "Stop it. You're embarrassing us."). I have no clue what inspired today's display, but I can almost guarantee there's more to come. Starting Wednesday, the girls are taking a six-week class called "Baby Circus" with a local dance-acrobatic company. Whatever reservations I may have had about shelling out the dough for such a silly class are gone. My money is now on Belly being the star.

To top it all off, it's NFL Kickoff Weekend. Have I not mentioned my undying love of the NFL? And that I'm a huuuuuuuuuuuge Green Bay Packers fan? And that I still get a knot in my throat when I think about my Brett being a Viking? It's going to be a ka-razy season, friends. I will try not to post about football too much because that's not really the point of this blog, but know that I will be screaming at the television - for better or worse - a lot over the next four months.

The only downfall of this weekend is that Dude just left for Boston. It reminds me of the days when he was a tour manager and I'd feel so deflated when he left town. That's how I feel right now - a little sad, a little lonely already - except that he'll be back in just a few days instead of a few weeks or months. Thank GOD those days are over.

I'm off to watch the last quarter of the Packers-Bears game that I paused earlier. GO PACK GO!