I felt like we took half the house...2 kids, diaper bag, snack bag, breastpump bag, my purse, Liam's toy bag, my side dish....and gifts. Whew! It felt like a lot more...
We didn't head down until the afternoon, so I was able to get some chores done around the house (made breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, did a few loads of laundry, etc) and as I was happy to be accomplishing a few of these tasks. Well, I NEVER do this, but I decided to take the laundry basket upstairs and fold the laundry on my bed. Not sure why I took the basket upstairs to fold (typically I fold it on the couch or living room floor), but perhaps it was because it was all clothing, and I knew it would have to go upstairs regardless? Dunno. But it was a DARN good thing I did that. I plopped down the laundry basket on the bed and started foldin' away. Winston looked at me and said, "You know we need to leave in 15 minutes", Ok. I was nothing short of a disaster.
I had not showered in 2 days, had a
wide-band leopard-print headband on, my hair pulled back in a ponytail, no makeup
on, and was still in my pajamas. And he
tells me that we need to leave in 15 minutes?!
I had to take a shower! Do my
hair! Put on makeup! Accessorize!
Load the car! Prep my breast pump
bag! Give George a bath! Dress the kids in their most adorable
outfits!
Ah!!!!!
15 minutes?!?!?!
So I did what any crazy woman would do…ran to the shower,
threw off my clothes, started shouting out directions to my husband, and
thinking about how I’m going to be out, showered, dressed, and loaded in the
car in 15 minutes.
I decided to focus on getting my hair dried and
straightened. The makeup could be
applied while driving in the passenger seat.
So, “pack makeup”. Check! I decided on throwing on a dress that
required little maintenance, was clean, ironed, and seasonably appropriate. So, “long strapless maxi dress”. Check!
I needed jewelry and accessories, so, “throw in bracelets and watch into
purse”. Check!
As I’m doing all of this and multitasking like a manic
Mommy, I start cracking up at how this kind of stuff happens. I feel like I was having déjà vu. I start thinking about how I’m always the “prepper”
and “packer”. My husband is the “child-gatherer”
and “loader”. Those are our roles. That is how we do. This is how we get places. It is nothing short of a miracle to have us
loaded up and pulling out of the driveway.
We feel like we are rock stars if we are only 3 minutes behind. Aye!
Winston does his job well.
Kids are dressed in their most adorable outfits ever, everything is
loaded in the car, and now we are ready to go.
Once loaded in there, we turn on our music, and enjoy the ride. Liam gives us a play-by-play of what he sees
outside his car window, then passes out.
(Liam could never fight the relaxing lull of the car) George enjoyed a bottle (that I straddled the
seat to administer) and then he too, passes out. Winston is drumming his fingers on the steering
wheel, and I’m putting on my makeup in the visor mirror and pumping at the same
time. Yes, a sight for sore eyes. (Don’t worry, I wear a stylish blue and brown
polka dot cover up while I pump in public)
It was a lovely day, the sun was shining, the driving was easy, and the
company was pleasant.
We arrive at the in-laws house, and my Mother-in-law runs
out to greet us. She was ready to get
her hands on Liam and George. We unload
everything, and are ready to relax. We
enjoyed snacks & munchies, visited with each other, and cooed at baby
George. George was lovin' the attention,
and Liam was busy playing with toys.
Liam brought all of his firefighter gear, and put all of it on. (His firefighter gear consists of snow bibs,
outdoor jacket, boots, hat, aspirator mask, and air tank.) Although we tried to discourage “his gear”
there is no way he was NOT going to
wear it. Liam loves to be in full
firefighter gear, whether it’s hot or cold outside. Even in the hot summer heat, he wears
it. He gets red-faced, sweaty, and over-heated,
but he manages to push through it. Just
like firefighters.
Before we knew it, we were all outside enjoying the day. Forrest (Winston’s brother) and I played a
little corn hole game while Liam ran under the bean bags that were flying above
his head (it was his choice to run under them, not ours), and we were laughing
at how bad we were. A little while
later, Liam decided he wanted to play with his new soccer ball that Winston
bought him the day prior. Of COURSE we
HAD to bring the *new* toy to Nana’s house.
So Liam and “Kiki” (otherwise known as my sister-in-law Karaline) start
kicking the soccer ball back and forth in the back yard. I was out there with them, just standing
directly in the sun to feel the warmth on my skin (keeping in the sunlight,
right?). Well, Liam kicked the ball a
little too hard in the wrong
direction. We all stood with mouths open
and watched the ball go OVER the retaining wall, and then OVER the cliff in
their back yard. Now, I thought the ball
was a GONE-r. But apparently, there is a
walking trail that runs behind their yard that the ball COULD have landed
on. When we saw the ball bounce over the
cliff, Liam immediately burst into tears, and was inconsolable that his new soccer
ball was gone. Luckily for us, Nana came
to the rescue and insisted we check the path below. So off we set…Kiki, Nana, Liam, and me. We found the ball, and all was well in the
world again.
We finished the day with eating strawberry cake, vanilla ice
cream, a cup of coffee, and more visiting.
We hit the road to go back home, a little fuller than we arrived, and
with more stuff than we came with. My
mother-in-law sent us home with leftovers, and I’m not going to complain! On the way home, we didn't turn the music
on. We let the boys fall asleep with the
gentle lull of the car, and Winston and I chatted. We had our chance to have un-interrupted
grown-up conversation for an hour. It.was.perfect. Those are my favorite conversations.
The
sun was still shining, and the company was still great J
