Trip summary

First, the people who work for Northwest here are assholes. I was not able to get a gate pass for David to help me when we left, even though before I made the reservation their customer service people told me it wouldn't be a problem. That didn't start my morning off right. Then the flight attendant was a bitch. I put matthew's car seat rear-facing because that is supposed to be safer, and she told me if he got crushed in an impact between the 2 seats she would not be able to help me and it would be on me. I told her I would take that responsibility and that if we had an impact that severe his neck would be broken if he was front facing. I then thanked her for the wonderful customer service she was providing. Yep, that's the nice southern belle bitch in me. Anyway, the children were very well behaved on the flight. I knew I would need to feed Scarlett so I took the dvd player out for Matthew. Clifford was playing as they announced it was time to sore electronic devices for landing and when I turned it off Matthew screamed "more woof woof". Kinda cute but he was really upset with me. He didn't understand and I didn't have anything "better" than a dvd to distract him. Fortunately he did not fuss for very long.

Sunday we went to church with my family - both children were very good in church. My younger sister sang a solo and when she went up to the front Matthew kinda yelled out "Aunt Ash" - my sister loved it that he called her without prompting! While the offering was being collected the pianist was playing a special and when she stopped Matthew asked for "more please". I just love how vocal he has become! I also noticed in one of the hymns that he took the hymn book from my dad and then started swaying back and forth. A little farther into the song he started singing the tune, and actually got some of the words! Precious!

Scarlett was very attentive when it came time for the sermon! My mom knew it was naptime so she kept cradling her trying to get her to go to sleep but Scarlett would fuss so my mom would sit her up. When she was sitting up she stared at the preacher while he preached.

Near the end of the service Matthew was getting kind of restless so I pulled out the tupperware container of Cheerios. As soon as he saw it he loudly said "YUMMY". I was a little embarrassed but all of the people in the church were understanding and thought he was cute.

Monday we took Matthew fishing for the first time. He didn't seem too interested, but I guess that's because we didn't catch anything. He preferred watching the cows and horses. We were out playing in the yard and Matthew suddenly took off for the road. He headed straight for the combine that was left out in the field at Granny's. He wanted to climb and play on it, but I think he's a little too small. So instead my mom gets the lawnmower for him. They sit on it and she starts it up. He immediately started trying to push her off - he wanted it all to himself! So we shut it off and let him sit on it, but he wanted to go. It was pretty funny watching her try to sit on the edge so he could sit in the seat and drive! Maybe we have a farmer in the making?

Granny was doing MUCH better than our last visit - she was like a different person. I think she really enjoyed the babies this time. I am relieved that her health is so much better.

We had some professional portraits taken and I can't wait to see the proofs! I know it will be hard to choose though. The same guy who took these also did my wedding pictures 10 years ago so I am familiar with his work and have always been pleased with it in the past. His wife gave me a goody bag for Matthew as we were leaving and she put in a lot of candy. She mentioned that it might be good on the flight home. Yeah, just what I want - a sugar loaded toddler! LOL

The airport experience was much better at home than here - they gave my daddy a gate pass so he could go with us and help through security. It was much easier having an extra set of hands! Other passengers actually helped me get the car seat on the plane, but the flight attendant was very nice this time. It was amazing how much better I was treated on the return trip. The only negative was that the short term parking was closed and David could not park near the airport - he would have needed to take a shuttle to help me at baggage claim, so he just pulled up to the loading/unloading area. I was able to manage all the luggle and the children for a short walk to get to the car though, so even that wasn't too bad.

As nervous as I was about the experience, I felt like Superwoman that I was able to handle it! Silly I know.

Of course my visit home was wonderful - I always get homesick though because I really want to live closer to my family than we do. David is happy with his job and the economy here is awful, so it would be difficult to sell our house if we decided to move, so I kind of feel stuck here for a while. Hopefully things will change soon and we can relocate somewhere closer. Then of course I feel guilty for getting homesick because I know David is happy - and shouldn't I be happy anywhere that he is happy? And honestly, I am happy, I just know I would be happier if we lived in Georgia!

Off to Georgia

Tomorrow I'll be going to Georgia for a few days. I am SO nervous about the flight - I will be travelling alone with Matthew and Scarlett. I am taking Matthew's car seat for the flight because I don't think he would stay in the seat without it. So I'll have to manage getting me, Scarlett, Matthew, a car seat, and a diaper bag on the plane. Oh boy! I am crazy! Fortunately the airline told me I could get a gate pass for David to help me get through security to the gate. I also bought a traveling toddler to use to attach the carseat to a carry on. We used it on our Florida trip and while it wasn't super easy, it is easier than adding a stroller to everything else I need to carry. So I will strap Matthew to the carry on, Scarlett will be in either the sling or snugli, and I will have one hand free. Sounds good, right? So why am I so nervous?

Oh yeah, we also bought a portable dvd player. Matthew has always been very good on flights, until our trip to FL, then he was a little fussy part of the time. Since I won't have David (or anyone else with me) to help entertain him, and I will have Scarlett in my lap, I decided it was worth the investment to have a tv option. I am fairly "anti-tv" but sometimes you need that help. So we have some copies of Curious George and Clifford that will be in our carry on!

the little lotto player

I noticed Matthew playing with some spare change that somehow found its way to the floor. I'm not crazy about him playing with change, as that is one of the biggest choking hazards around our house. I mentioned it to David, in a nice nagging sort of way, since he's the only one who brings loose change into the house - mine either goes in my wallet or in the car, not in my pockets. He told me he would try to be better about putting it away, and then told me he had noticed Matthew playing with a penny earlier in the evening. Turns out Matthew had taken down one of the magnets off the refrigerator and was playing with it, then he found a penny, so he started trying to scratch off the magnet! Yep, he's a little lotto player in the making. When we were in Florida David's dad had gotten some scratch off tickets and let Matthew scratch them off, so we know exactly where the idea came from! Hopefully if he strikes it rich he'll take care of me in my old age ;)

What an idiot!

Somehow I have been posting to my blog but nothing was showing up. A friend pointed it out to me today, thinking that I meant to start blogging but never did. Boy do I feel stupid. I was using an editing software but somehow was submitting the posts wrong. Now to get them to show up I have to copy & paste, but when I do that all the links & pictures & stuff are not working. I am for now working on getting all the content up, then I'll try to add the other stuff, but until then, hopefully someone will enjoy reading all my thoughts from the past few months! LOL I have never felt dumber!

My idiotic moment of the day however, was when I managed to fall up the stairs this afternoon. Yep, UP the stairs. We were out in the yard playing and Matthew found a big rock. He played with it for a while, then left it in the grass to play with his truck on the deck. Scarlett & I sat in the swing while Matthew played. He asked for his rock, and rather than have him go back in the yard to get it, I told him to wait on the deck and I'd get it. Somehow as I'm coming back up the steps (about 7 of them) I trip and fall. I managed to hold Scarlett in a way that she didn't hit a thing, but I am sore and bruised. As I sat on the steps trying to compose myself, Matthew got upset. He sure is an empathic little guy.

Nice weekend

Saturday morning David and Matthew had a guys' morning out. David loaded Matthew and his shirts in the wagon and they went off to the dry cleaners. After dropping off the shirts they went to the barbershop, where they both got haircuts. Then David took Matthew to the park and let him play for a while. It was nice for them to spend the morning together, and nice for me to have a morning alone with Scarlett.

Yesterday we went to a nearby apple orchard. Matthew seemed to really enjoy it - we looked at pumpkins and he played in their straw play area. They also had an old tractor set up for children to climb on and he liked "driving" it. We went on a hayride that took us through the orchard where we were able to get out and pick apples. I think it was neat for Matthew to see where apples come from, even though I'm not sure he's old enough to make the connection. We did let him pick the apples, so maybe! He also went on a pony ride - one of the kind where the ponies go in circles. He loved that! Then we let him play in an inflatable pumpkin - he seemed a little nervous in it at first, not sure of his footing, but he got the hang of it and jumped and ran around. Then we shopped in the bakery for apple treats...YUM! The only downside to the day was the hot temperature - it is hard to do fall activities when it is 90 degrees!

back to work

Today was my first day back at work. I didn't feel at all ready to go back! I also hate having to send Scarlett to daycare. I know daycare is an issue every working mother deals with, and I am fortunate to have a center that I really like and feel comfortable with. I was lucky when Matthew was an infant that I could schedule my work around his naps but then he got to an age where he didn't nap enough for me to work the hours I needed to work. So we found a daycare and he's there part time. Since he is there part time, that means I have 3 days/week I can work from home. Even if Scarlett sleeps good, there's no way I can get in the hours I need to in 3 days/week if she's at home, so my choices were to send her to daycare 3 days/week or send Matthew every day and work while Scarlett naps. I don't like either option, but since I know eventually I wouldn't be able to work enough hours when she is napping, I decided to send her with Matthew 3 days/week. I guess I also feel like that is "fair" to Matthew - I would feel bad changing his schedule because of her. Of course when we think about "fair" I am not sure it is fair to Scarlett that I am starting her so much earlier than I started Matthew, but what can I do?

Anyway, it was a mostly good day except I had to go feed Scarlett around lunchtime. She hasn't been very receptive to the bottle and they called me after trying to feed her and listening to her fuss for half an hour because she was hungry. She just doesnt' seem to know how to latch on to the bottle nipple. Hopefully it will get better.

She nursed a lot tonight, I guess to make up for not eating a lot during the day. She's in bed now, hopefully she won't wake me up too often!

Florida

We just got back from a trip to Florida. I was hoping to go to the beach but we weren't able to squeeze it in. We arrived Thursday night and some other family got there Friday. We stayed with David's mom but visited his dad too. All in all it was a nice visit. It's always nice to have family around because I can take naps :)

We went to a little water park in their town that is pretty neat. Matthew seemed to enjoy playing in the sprinklers they have. Of course I got soaked too!

The flights were not too bad - I was nervous but both children were fairly well-behaved. They had their moments though! It makes me nervous to think about flying with them both by myself, but somehow I will manage.