The Cutest Sleepover of all

The great family visit is underway and seems to be going swimmingly. They all landed (all 21 of them!) on time yesterday morning and got to their hotel in pretty short order. I left here for a bit to meet them, let my cousins in at our place so they could drop off their stuff, and to go to lunch with them. It was actually raining just a tiny bit, which I was bummed about, but was really warm and not bad to walk around in.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the water, and then I pointed them all at Faneuil Hall and told them to entertain themselves all afternoon...lol. Meanwhile, I brought my very special little guest to work so that she could hang out with me! That was really fun...Tinkerbelle got to meet Papa Bear and Boss Foxy and all of my other work friends. The Guy That Hates Me was out of the office, so she missed out on his shining face, but she got to see everything else. She was mesmerized by the 38th floor window...she spent about an hour looking out it! And she was incredibly impressed that the partners have couches and TV's in their offices...that was just the coolest thing ever. But it was the tray of leftover cookies in the conference room from a lunch meeting that actually elicited a desire to work here when she grows up.

After about three hours she had had enough, and it was a good time for me to leave (early). That coincided with Munchkin calling and saying that she was coming home (she had stayed at a friend's the night before and all day). So me and Tinkerbelle walked over to meet her at the train station, and then back home. The family spent the afternoon shopping and looking around and enjoying the city, and were coming back to their hotel (and our apartment) around the same.

I had called around a bit to some little restaurants in the North End to get a reservation and found a super sweet old Italian guy who said "We can seat 35, I will close the whole restaurant for you!" So the whole family, me and Munchkin, The Boy, Smoking Hot Roommate and the Rocket Scientist, Big Sis and the Brain Surgeon, Papa Bear and his Lady Friend, and The Boy's Sister and her wife all met at a really cute little Italian restaurant and had a GREAT meal! (Note, Dearest New Cousin #1 was drinking iced tea all night...if that isn't a sign, I don't know what is...)

On a separate note, the best non-tourist thing you can do if you are in Boston is to wander over into the North End and find a little restaurant that is on one of the little side streets. They are all really small, family run (the owner was the guy that I talked to, and he is also the chef, his wife is the hostess and the wine server, and his kids are waiters and cooks...only the busboy and a cook were not related) and the food is great! Unless you don't like Italian food, in which case don't go.

We made a quick stop at Mike's Pasty, and then everyone was pretty beat so we went back home. I had a really good time, and I hope they did, too! They are gonna do the freedom trail today, and maybe a duck boat tour, which is all fun stuff. Munchkin is hanging out with them today, so she gets to play tour guide a little bit, which she will enjoy. A lot of them have never been to Boston before, so this is all brand new...I kinda wish there was a Red Sox game for them to go to (or, at least to go hang out around Fenway for, since getting 21 tickets would have been an issue) but they are on the road all week:-(

Tinkerbelle stayed over and she did great! It was the first night she ever stayed away from her Mom, save for a couple of days that her Grandmother stayed over and watched her while Mom was away. So this was her first night ever away from home and away from Mom (even though Mom was only a couple blocks away:-)) She slept in Munchkin's room, and they were both so tired that they fell asleep pretty much right away. When I went to bed and checked in on them both snuggled up under the covers, I kinda almost maybe cried a bit...:-)

Anyway, I walked Tinkerbelle and Munchkin and my cousins over to the hotel this morning and dropped them off. I wish I had the day to hang out with them, but I really do have some work to do, and they will get along just fine without me:-) We are gonna try and do chicken fingers tonight...and a couple of my cousins want to go out for a bit, so I may do that, too. Maybe Munchkin can show them her bar hopping skills for a bit...lol...they will be so impressed with my Mothering skills...

Last question...what is with the total lack of comments and emails and IM's recently? Have I become that boring? Do I need to tell you about the time that BFFg and I had to drop some names of gang members to avoid being stabbed in a bar when we were like 16? Because I can do that if need be...