unnecessarily wordy travel log

Annabelle and I just got back from a trip to see my family.

Everyone has opinions on traveling and what's safe/not safe in this great new world, but we weighed the pros and cons and the pros won. We're supposed to go up for Christmas but who knows what will be happening in the winter (or next week) so we jumped on the chance to go now. The Lord and Travelocity shone upon us and we were able to get reasonably priced flights. I knew some people might not be comfortable visiting which I completely understood. It was warm enough that we could visit outside or at the beach if necessary.

Our tiny town airport only opens security 40 minutes before the flight leaves. Christopher called to see if we needed to be there earlier these days and the man who answered said, "Eh. They can come whenever they want." We could almost see him shrugging his shoulders through the phone. That's the type of professionalism they have at that airport. It was by far the most sanitary flight I've ever been on. The seats were sprayed down between flights and everything was very clean. The plane was boarded from back row to front which is a system I've been promoting for years. They handed out wipes as we boarded and gave out prepackaged snacks in ziplock bags. Annabelle's favorite part of flying is the snack and beverage service so she was disappointed.

Back when the corona craziness started I immediately thought of our annual Aunt Camp and was sure we'd lose that on top of everything else. Each year Aunt Camp gets easier for the camp counselors (Erika and I). The girls are very self-sufficient and beyond food don't require much from us. We might add new little campers in the next few years so we're relaxing while we can. We've always done a few trips to children's museums or the zoo but this year we kept to ourselves at playgrounds and on walks. Sesame loves spending time with the cousins on both side and I love every time she creates new memories with them. 

I bought the official 2020 Aunt Camp matching dresses. Next year Erika and I will buy ourselves matching diamond bracelets.

Daniel wanted he and I to get a covid test in the middle of our visit. There were various reasons I didn't think that was necessary but I obliged and off we went to the drive-through testing site. We arrived at 7:09 and sat in the car for FOUR HOURS before we did the test. The whole thing was very poorly organized. It was supposed to start at 8:00 but the testing didn't start until nearly 10:30. Each time there was a tiny bit of movement, we got very excited and sat up straighter. Most of the time the cars ahead of us were only moving because the driver gave up and left. We went through all the stages of grief in that parking lot. Daniel has a very mathematical/engineering mind and kept up a steady commentary about every new development. "If we calculate the number of cars divided by the amount of time needed to complete each test we can determine the amount of time it will be until we test. Let me check twitter for updates. You know what they say in the studies about the Rt factor and protein found in red blood cells." I knew nothing about the study but I do now. I could have contributed my personal study on why the Ulta in our town is only doing curbside pickup but he was busy listening to conference calls about hemophilia. All in all, I would not give the testing experience a good yelp review but the company was entertaining.

I'm so glad we were able to visit Grandma. I thought we might have to visit outside but since I had a negative test she was fine with us going into her house.  

I adore being with her and every time we're together we play rummy. My humility prevents me from saying who won the game this visit. Annabelle captured this heartwarming picture featuring my double chins.

Autumn and Joanna drove down for a visit on Saturday. They're always so sweet to make time in their schedules for me whenever I go home. The plan was to have a breakfast picnic on the beach. The first couple of hours were a big failure. I had a terrible headache, we were hungry, we couldn't find an open beach and a variety of other issues. The beaches were only allowing in 25-50% capacity and we went to four before we found an open one. Autumn never once let the bumps stop her from having a good attitude. She brings the good times party bus wherever she goes. Joanna was a lifeguard for several years so I selflessly let her take AB into the waves. It had nothing to do with the fact that I don't like getting saltwater on my face.

Joanna and Autumn have barely aged a day since our favorite beach picture of 10 years ago. I cannot say the same for myself.

 

Mom had hip replacement surgery while we were up. We didn't plan on being there for the surgery but it worked out timewise. Erika and I decorated her living room. Elizabeth and I delivered coffee and frozen lemonade and watched a video of hip replacement surgery on youtube. I tried to set up a race between Mom with her walker and Grandma with her cane but the contestants were not available. It would have been hysterical. 

There were 60 people in front of us in the ticket line on the way home. I ended up having to throw away my full bottle of expensive curl cream so we could take our luggage through security instead of checking them. I did not want to do that but we would have missed the plane if we stayed in the ticket line. That move ranks as one of the top five travel mistakes of my life. If you've ever thought to yourself, "You know what sounds like a fun time? Pulling 50lbs of luggage through the Atlanta airport while keeping track of a 6 year old who is struggling to pull her own small unicorn carry-on bag. The 6yo will accidentally leave her bag on an elevator and that's how I'll learn that the sensor to keep the door from closing does not work properly. I'll add in a backpack, a water bottle, and an ice coffee I'll make the mistake of buying before realizing it's nearly impossible to carry said coffee while pulling one bag with each hand. I'll then settle myself at gate A4 only to be told I'm supposed to be at gate D4 on the other side of the airport. There's no way I can pull and carry and bribe while keeping the coffee from spilling so it has to be thrown out while 90% full. We'll roll into gate D4 with literal minutes to spare. No one will offer to help as I carry the 50lbs to the very back of the plane, bumping into every single aisle seat along the way. No one will offer to help when I try to swing them into the overhead compartment either. All this while wearing a facemask that is restricting my breathing. All this will lead to sore muscles the next day." Don't do it. Ask me how I know. 

Here's hoping our visit at Christmas doesn't get canceled. Looking at you, 'Rona, to not get in the way of a good time.

Does Jimmy Carter have double chins?

Last week, Mom, Grandma, and Elizabeth came to visit. They never comment on the state of my house, but I was cleaning and vacuuming like they would arrive with a magnifying glass and sue me for every speck of dust they found. I assure you I'd have lost the million dollars I don't have if I was fined for every spot left unclean.

The main outing of the trip was a visit to Jimmy Carter's boyhood home. There isn't much to do in our town, or within three hours of our town, so JC's has become The Place to bring visitors. It's JC's, the library or the playground. The paparazzi snapped this photo of me playing secret service and escorting Grandma down the stairs while she asked why Jimmy wasn't going to meet us for lunch. "I come all the way from Massachusetts and he can't meet me for lunch?" 

I'll be honest. I tried to photoshop my double chin out of this photo. I rely on picmonkey to be my poor man's botox but sometimes it doesn't work and I end up looking like a cartoon character. We all have our burdens to bear and multiple chins is one of mine.

I didn't picture my life one in which my little girl would be playing in a southern cotton field on a breezy 78* day in November, but here I am. 

Multiple times a day I tell Sesame she's my best girl. She always responds with "You're my best girl too, Mama." I've always wanted her to be close to her relatives but this trip presented an unexpected issue. "Actually Mama, you're still mostly my best girl but Aunt Squiddzen (Elizabeth's nickname) is my best girl too. It's like, her than Grammy than you. You're still my best girl but more like my third best girl." Well. That backfired. I've promoted them too much. I've raised them too high on a pedestal! 

She's still MY best girl.

The biggest takeaway is that Jimmy Carter does not sing You Raise Me Up

I have very few marketable skills, but one is the ability to draw out blogging about events for an entire month. I need to wrap up our visit north so I can get onto other events like mice invading our pantry and other such news from the homefront.

* We gave Mom a surprise 60th birthday party. She knew we were having a get-together but didn't know the real reason why. We sent her off with Annabelle and Ivy while we got ready for the "cookout." AB knew about the party and hoping she wouldn't spill the beans was putting a lot on her little shoulders, but she did relatively well. When she mentioned the party to Grammy, she immediately tried to backtrack and take the words back. "I told Grammy when we get to Uncle Daniel's for the party, but I meant when we got there FOR THE COOKOUT. We're having a cookout not a party."

* Dad took me to see Josh Groban for my birthday. In case you missed it, I said JOSH GROBAN. I spent many years hoping he'd propose to me which sadly (and obviously) he did not, but I hold no ill will towards him. I will continue to adore him all my days. I spent weeks leading up to the concert giving what I believe were beautiful renditions of his songs to Annabelle who was not appropriately thrilled. Come to find out, she had Josh Groban and Jimmy Carter confused. She didn't understand why I was singing along to a music video with Jimmy Carter.

The geriatric crowd and I enjoyed Josh very much. When Dad and I went to see Josh ten years ago, 80% of the audience was under the age of thirty. This time, I saw less than forty people my age. I was surrounded by grandparents. The others my age may have moved on, but I remain loyal and true. 

* We went strawberry picking with various cousins and relations. I babysat Zack and Molly for years and years, but now they're both taller than me and Zack was talking about how he has three years left before college. I need them to shut down that growing up stuff. I love them both, but now that Molly is older we've gone from little cousin/big cousin to friends and it makes me so happy. She's so funny and I love how her personality is still as big as ever. Annabelle has gotten quite a few hand-me-downs from Molly and this orange and pink dress is her absolute favorite. She's been wearing it for 3 summers now and says it's her "traveling dress." I wish I had a picture of Molly wearing it at this same age since it was her favorite as well. 

* I took Annabelle to a walk-in clinic. All week long she had been developing weird marks on her face. Naturally, they were barely an issue before we left home when I could have taken her to our doctor, but they took a turn for the worse as soon as we left the state. I'll keep the description of them to myself, but Sunday I decided we needed to see a medical professional because I had diagnosed her with boils. The Russian nurse said it was impetigo and prescribed an ointment to use for a vague 7-14 days. I'm sure she also wanted to prescribe shoes for Elizabeth, who unexpectedly showed up to "entertain" us as we waited and immediately took off her shoes in the very germy, very public exam room. 

* We had our 4th annual Aunt Camp. I was very popular this trip north so Aunt Camp could only be two nights instead of our preferred three or four, but I made it a priority. It's very important to me that Annabelle spend time with her cousins whenever possible and I want to see Erika as much as I can. Annabelle got a headache, fever and threw up on the first day which damped the mood but we partied on. Daniel watched the girls while Erika and I went to our favorite gift shop. We visit every year and encourage any purchase the other wants to make. When earrings are only $7-12, it makes financial sense to buy 3 pairs. 

Aunt Camp has really become a hands-off event. Besides judging the occasional chalk-water tea content and handing out constant snacks, we didn't have to do much. We gave them water and plastic dishes to play with and they were happy campers.

We never get a picture of Erika and I, but you can count on us to get a million pictures of the girls. It's in my aunt contract to supply matching clothes every year.

We encourage sharing at Aunt Camp, but sharing isn't caring when it's your child shares hand, foot and mouth with her sweet cousin. That's not the type of souvenir we like to have from camp. The spots started shortly after the headache and random vomiting, so I had to call our doctor on a Saturday for which I apologized profusely. I haven't had to call him since the quarter swallowing incident of 2018, but I still felt like a needy parent. He said it sounded like a complication of impetigo and recommended I go to urgent care if she got another fever. That brought us to urgent care visit #2 where she was diagnosed with HFM. Our go-round with HFM was so much easier than I expected but poor Ivy was hit hard. Here's hoping next Aunt Camp has less germs and more days to play. 

I have not learned the art of a short recap

I didn't mean for so much time to pass between posts but that's how it goes every time I go home for a visit. I think I'll have time to read and blog but in reality I do very little of either.

It was so stupidly hot most of our visit. The day we arrived was 66* but every day after was sweltering. I am not the best version of myself in the heat. I get very annoyed with life in general and have very little patience. I thought a great idea for our last day of Aunt Camp would be to visit the splash pad. Contrary to the website, it wasn't open so we tried another park Daniel knew of. It was closed for an old car show. We tried a third park but it didn't open for an hour and a half. All it had was a fire hydrant stuck in the middle of a cement enclosure so it wasn't what we were looking for anyway. Morale in our car was dropping rapidly so I called a fourth park with a wading pool to find out the hours. I wasn't about to make the girls sit through a drive to another failed park. The woman on the phone said it was open until 5:45. I found an open park! The day was saved! I was the Aunt Camp MVA (most valuable aunt). We picked up Chickfila and I got the girls enthusiasm back up. THE NEXT PARK WAS LOCKED. The sign said it didn't open for 45 minutes. I was so close to breaking in. I didn't travel for two hours to be defeated. Two lifeguards showed up and we thought they'd let us in early but no such luck. They sat on their chairs for half an hour while 17 children waited in the grass. They said no one could swim, or stick toes in, until noon because of insurance. Insurance shimnsurance. It was 98* with high humidity. Children were falling apart. A certain mother might have been on the brink of organizing a revolt against the wading pool. Like I said, I'm not my best self in the heat. Once we all got a chance to cool off and have some fun we all decided it was a good trip after all.

Halfway through Aunt Camp, Ivy started sitting on her potty every time AB sat on hers. She'd announce that she peed, Annabelle would get off her toilet to check, then tell Ivy to sit back down and try again. They looked like Jacks in the box, hopping up and down. At one point she was laying on the ground in front of Ivy's potty out by the pool encouraging her to keep trying. "Just keep trying, Baby Ivy! Keep trying and you'll get better!" This pattern repeated for several visits to the bathroom and by the end of our visit Ivy was saying when she needed the potty and using it almost full time. Erika did nothing but buy the potty and monitor handwashing.

It took 10 months to potty train Annabelle. She didn't get it until four months ago. Apparently she's now enough of an expert to train Ivy. I'm thinking of making this lucrative and starting AB's Potty Encouragement, LLC.

Tuesday night we went to fireworks and Wednesday we went to the parade. We almost didn't go to the parade because of the heat but I'm so glad we did. There's so much change going on so it was nice to do something I did as a child. Annabelle loved it. She danced and clapped and collected candy. She was so ladylike about picking the candy. She'd run over to the pile, inspect every piece, then pick one and bring it back to. She never took more than one because she wanted to share with the others.

Baby Ivy is my favorite.

The photographer for the local paper was fascinated with her. I can't say I blame him. She did have the cutest outfit.

It was with great sadness that we left yesterday. The visits always go by so fast! When we got to the airport the man behind the counter said, "You know the flight is delayed? You got the email?" If I got the email and knew it was delayed I would not have shown up five hours early. Mom and Elizabeth hadn't left the airport so we reconvened and came up with a plan that didn't involve me entertaining Sesame in an airport for half the day. Suddenly the handle on the collapsible wagon we travel with broke. It was at this point that Annabelle bit my arm. She NEVER bites. I know she was overtired but it was not acceptable. I was already over the day and it wasn't even noon. Elizabeth said she'd find a way to fix the wagon and she did. We drove to a mechanic, she took the broken wagon in and reappeared with it completely fixed. I told her I wish I had the courage to waltz in there for help. I've been known to leave the grocery store without an ingredient instead of asking for help. She said she did it so she'd make it to the blog. LET'S ALL RECOGNIZE ELIZABETH.

We finally got on the plane at the time it was originally scheduled to land in Georgia. We had our tray tables up and seatbelts securely fastened when the captain announced that Air Force One was in the area and all other air travel in the area was prohibited. We sat on the runway for an hour. 

The pilot tried to lighten the mood by telling us it was 6* cooler in Atlanta. What a blessing. While we sat, I realized my fitbit was counting steps even though I wasn't walking. Donald may have delayed my flight but I did earn 347 steps while sitting still. Last time we flew we couldn't land because DT was in the area and we hit turbulence which made AB throw up. I'll take free steps anyday.

short on words because I have no words left

Setting: the airport and Massachusetts
Cast: the usual suspects

We walked 40 minutes across the airport only to have a windowless seat. 

Our childhood home is being sold so this visit we're trying to do all the lasts. I wanted to be sure Annabelle got to sleep in my old bedroom so we've been staying in there instead of the guest room. I told her all about the sleepovers and fun memories we have in this room.

We went strawberry picking this morning. The oldest and youngest in our group walk at the same pace so they stick together. I love that Sesame is old enough to remember these special times with Grandma.

Annabelle- water bottle, pajamas, blanket. Living the relaxed life.
Elizabeth- doing all the hard work

to grandmothers house we go

Last week AB and I took a last minute trip down to my hometown.

We had somewhat of a rocky start. I went out to the car to turn it around to make packing the trunk easier. Sesame saw me pulling into the road, thought I was leaving her behind and came charging out of the house wearing only a shirt and diaper. She was dragging her blanket and crying hysterically. I had no idea she was there until I almost backed into her. My car was half in the driveway and half in our very busy road while I tried to explain I wasn't leaving and she needed to go back in the house. She was so upset. When we got on the road the GPS told me to take exit 31. I'm bad at directions but I knew that wasn't right. I knew we should go straight. I wondered if maybe the GPS knew there was traffic on our route so I followed it. It brought me to Trader Joes. I like TJ's but not when I'm wrongly sent there while still recovering from nearly running over my baby. 

The day after we arrived Annabelle started getting sick. Christopher and I both had the flu so it was only a matter of time before she bit the dust. She was coughing and had a fever of 103. We made trip to urgent care to rule out her yearly bronchitis. The doctor wanted her to have an xray done to see if she had pneumonia. The nurse handed me the lead vest to put on and something that looked like a bandanna to put over my thyroid. I confused my thyroid with my ovaries and tried to wrap the thing around my waist. Apparently the thyroid resides in ones throat. Obviously I did not go to school for anatomy.2

 

The poor girl woke up every single night from coughing spells. She'd ask to come in my bed and when I brought her over she'd put her knees under my chin or her legs on my neck. I didn't sleep through the night for days on end. Elizabeth kindly offered to sleep in the guest room with her so I could sleep upstairs and get a full night rest. I slept in that room for 21 years but haven't since I got married. It felt a little sentimental. I did a celebratory dance at the thought of sleeping all night.

As these things go, I woke up twice because I was cold but AB didn't wake up once. Of course.

Elizabeth is preparing for her licence test so I took her out on the road to pass on my road skilz. It was terrifying. She drives slower than any little old lady I have ever seen. I constantly had to tell her speed up. She has issues with being on the wrong side of the road. She may look happy and confident...

 but this is how I felt driving with her. I feared for my life.

One afternoon we went to Target to see Joanna Gaines new line. I didn't want to go and be the stereotypical white lady walking around Target in leggings, but my desire to see the new items was overpowering. I loved it all. I loved seeing all the Christmas things too. Annabelle was as enthralled as I was and she told me "we should buy dis one and dis one AND DIS ONE IS THE BEST OF ALL!" She is her mother's daughter.

It's always tricky trying to visit Aaron when we're in town. He has a very busy work/social schedule and the only time he could fit me for the 9:45pm-12:15am viewing of Thor. I seldom leave the house after 8, let alone arrive at the theater at 9:30, but I'll do anything for my favorite little brother! I forgot to bring a real snack to share with him and Elizabeth but I handed out what I had- sticks of gum. You can always count on me to bring a real party.

We spent our last night at Daniel and Erika's. The girls adore each other. Baby Ivy is growing so fast and they can really play together now. Ivy is a genius child who can already spell her name. She's not even 2 yet. The minute I found that out I really buckled down on Annabelle learning to spell her name. Ivy does have a significant leg up by having such a short name.

We drove home yesterday and I can say without one bit of exaggeration that it was the longest drive in the history of drives. We're going away for Thanksgiving next week but we're flying so I won't have the weight of getting there solely on myself.  With me in charge we'd end up at Trader Joes instead of Tennessee. 

forts and lights

Mom and Elizabeth have been visiting for the last week. They've been here many times so we no longer have the urge to show them all the local sites. Don't get the idea there we have many local attractions of interest. We have a few attractions worth noting, a number of playgrounds and a pet store. Mom is always able to find every historical site no matter the city and she learned about a nearby fort built in 1726. It served an a military base used by several different countries until 1963. 

I knew we'd be doing a lot of walking so AB kindly lent me her most compact yet fashionable backpack. 

Even though Annabelle is only 3 I occasionally like taking her to attractions that aren't child geared. I explained the museum and some of the artifacts to her and she understood quite a bit. She really latched onto the fact that soldiers used to live there. She told Elizabeth "the soldiers were so handsome." She picked up a phone, put it to her ear and said she was calling "her soldiers." She comes by this attraction naturally. It's in our DNA.

I've been to many a fort in my life and this was easily the best. The rooms were set up similar to back in the day and almost the entire thing could be walked through/touched/sat on. In front of the window was a table and two chairs. Annabelle sat down and demanded I "pretend eat pancakes" with her while Grammy was our waitress.

Elizabeth was poking around and found these hidden in a chest in the guard house. The pink feather boa and Libman dustpan are most certainly genuine artifacts of the 2010's. 

We had a picnic supper near the fort. I took 25 pictures of the sunset. Sesame, as she always does, made herself at home in the sand and would have stayed for hours. She'd sit in the middle of the highway to play with sand and dirt.

 We stopped by the falls on the way home to see them lit up. 

Before we left I brought AB to the potty. I touched her face and said "you have a messy face from your crackers." She looked at me for a minute, touched my face and said "You have a weird face." She's so good for my self esteem! I wished she had compared me to the beautiful lights instead. 

Christmas 2016

People are pulling down their Christmas trees and here I am, talking about our Christmas five days later. I like to keep the holly jolly going until well into the new year.

We celebrated our own Christmas at home the weekend before Christmas. We had a North Pole breakfast with snowmen shaped pancakes and Christmas straws in the morning, played in the snow and opened gifts at night. Annabelle gave me a music box that plays Edelweiss which she told me about four days before I opened it. Every time she talked about it she would tell me, "But Daddy said not to tell you 'bout it." She asked for a whistle and a jump rope, both of which she got in her stocking. Christopher bought the whistle and I have a feeling it might accidentally on purpose get temporarily lost it if goes too annoying. 

We went to a Christmas Eve service than made the long commute all the way across the back yard to my aunt and uncle's for Christmas festivities. Sesame was so! excited! about all things Christmas. It wasn't my favorite holiday season in general but she definitely made it better. She was only 9 months old on our last Christmas here so this year she was old enough to enjoy everything.

She's worn this dress 3 years in a row. I hope it still fits when she's 14.

She was having a fantastic hair day.

Aaron passed out the gifts on Christmas morning and this tag stumped us all. We have neither a Cristy or a Della in our family. We're not known for great organization skills on Christmas morning but this takes the cake as the most random.

Annabelle's single stroller wasn't big enough for her ever growing family of babies so Grammy and Grampy got her a double stroller. She quickly learned to maximize space and stuffed in no less than 7 assorted dolls and animals. She pushed it across the yard to Memere's then abandoned all the babies so I was once again on Grandma babysitting duty.

66% of us are smiling so I call this a successful family picture.  

Baby Ivy and I got some good cuddles in on her first Christmas. She is so cute. I wish Daniel and Erika would have stuck her in my stocking!

She knew it was important to do some planks and burn off all that wrapping paper she ate!