I know... it's been way too long. I've been on hiatus. We left for NC 2 weeks ago, and I made it all the way there with both kids intact. We got stuck behind an accident once on the way down, and I was getting stressed out and irritated. Sadie piped up from the backseat, "It's okay, Mommy. Just look outside at the flowers." It's sad when a 2 year old knows how to de-stress better than I do. Anyway, we finally made it, and they were just about perfect for the whole trip.
Notes of interest:
Sadie rode in the golf cart with Aunt Sharon and her cousins, and Josie got kicked in the tummy by Caleb (4 months her senior). He got in trouble. We ate pizza with Papaw and Mamaw. There was much "watering of plants" by Sadie and Great Grandma. Josie kept escaping through the backdoor and crawling down the ramp into the sunporch. Josie tried real milk for the first time. And cheese. Sadie told Grammie, "And NO snoring!" and told Great Grandma, "Me want to snuggle wif ya!"
Josie pulled up all by herself for the first time - on Great Grandma's cedar chest. They both went swimming in the pool at Papaw's house, and they had a grand ol' time splashing and squealing. We went to my cousin's wedding (I sang) which was outside in this gorgeous garden... but it was HOT. They had to wear sun hats, and they sat under an umbrella. Well, Sadie did. Josie mostly crawled around on the grass. Sadie started crying when I sang "How Beautiful;" she said it made her sad! I think it must've made her homesick. They were both a big hit at the reception... they got to hang out with lots of people from church and with cousins that they don't get to see very often, so it was fun.
They saw the baby bunnies at Cameron's house, and Sadie fed the goats. There was much playing and goofing around with Uncle Thomas, Josh, and Aunt Elizabeth. Thomas taught Sadie to say, "Holy Lord!" which is good only in a praying context. :)
The bad news: Sadie stepped on a bumblebee in the park and got stung on the back by a wasp (at Papaw's) on the SAME day. She squished the bumblebee ("Mean Ole Bee!") and Papaw took care of the wasps. The good news: She isn't allergic. She didn't swell at all and didn't cry very much either. Papaw showed her how toothpaste takes the sting right out (but only Crest!).
Sadie was jumping on the bed at Great Grandma's, and I sang the "5 Little Monkeys" song. When I got to the part about "Mama called the doctor and the doctor said:" Sadie answered, "Let me look into your ears...."
We also went to play with my cousin Heather's kids for a while, which was fun. We went to lunch with some friends that I used to work with, and we visited with lots of family. Seems like it takes at least a week to get everything in, and we still didn't make it everywhere that we wanted to go. It's amazing that there are so many people that we need to see and things that we need to do in such a small town!
I got a tan.
On Thursday, I left with 5 of my girlfriends from high school/ college for a girls' weekend. It was the first time I'd been away from either of the girls. I was scared! Of course, they didn't even miss me until the 3rd day. They had just as good of a time without me (which was somewhat of a blow to the old ego, but I'm thrilled that they're well-adjusted).
I had the most unbelieveably fun time with my friends... we definitely have to do a girls' trip more often. If we wait to do it just once every 10 years, we only have maybe 3 good trips left!!!
I'm saddened to report that the trip back was not quite so wonderful. We were stuck in traffic, we got behind an accident, and it RAINED. Not light, drizzly rain... MONSOON rain. The whole trip! Of course, since it was raining, my windshield wiper stopped working. The driver's side. The passenger side was fine, so for 2 hours I drove in the dark, in the pouring rain, leaned as far to the right as I could so I could see out the right side of the windshield. Then my phone died. I gave up. Went to a hotel. Tripped. Turned ankle. Whacked head on light fixture. Sheesh.
Thank goodness the rest of my trip was so wonderful!