Vanity

Tomorrow morning my sister is driving me to the airport.

I will be getting on a plane to Nashville, TN... without Andy and without Jack.

For six days.

I haven't cried yet.

It doesn't mean I won't.

That is a long time to not snuggle your baby... or your honey for that matter.

But at the moment, the most distressing thing about the trip is that I can't wear my contacts for the entire trip.

I just had to go and get a swollen eyeball the day before I leave.

I had to make an emergency stop by the optometrist today.

He gave me eye drops.

And said, "no contacts!"

I hate wearing my glasses.

They are not cute.

And now every swanky person I meet in Nashville is not going to know me as "that really cool girl from Seattle." Instead I will be "that girl who would be cute if she just didn't have those awful glasses."

Sigh.

Well Nashville, here I come. Please know that I wanted to wow you with my style, but have been advised to refrain by a healthcare professional. Perhaps we will meet again (well, we haven't officially met yet, but you know what I mean) and I will show you my true identity.

Nashville here I come.

And while I may make light of the concerns about leaving Andy and Jack, I'm really nervous.

Wish me luck!

While The Cat Is Away

This weekend I was gone from my family for two nights.

That is the longest ever!

I was co-coordinating a retreat for 15 women in Chelan (Eastern Washington). I had such grand visions of being that woman who left meals labeled in the fridge and her house spotless. Instead, by the time I handled all the bits and pieces I needed to organize for the retreat, the best I could manage was a whiteboard list of acceptable and easy foods for Andy to feed Jack.

I guess leaving is something I will get better at with practice.

I was okay on Friday night. Even when I got a text message from Andy that said our night-time babysitter had forgotten about her commitment and was on her way to Portland, I didn't really worry. She came back guys, it all worked out. In fact, I wasn't ever worried. I know that Andy is totally capable with Jack, despite his teasing and self-depreciating remarks.

But by Sunday, when all of the tasks of the weekend were finished, I REALLY missed my boys. I couldn't get home fast enough.

When I got home, I discovered Jack calmly eating an almost well-balanced meal, a spotless kitchen, an empty laundry basket and drawers full of perfectly folded clothes, and a warm hug from Andy. When Jack was done eating and was out of his highchair he ran all around me and was eager to play tickling games. In the middle of each round he would stop and kiss me several times, like he was saying, "I'm so glad you're home mom! I just can't get enough of you!"

What a wonderful, wonderful feeling.

What We Did in Texas

Our trip to Texas was wonderful.  Just the right amount of play and rest.  

Jack didn't sleep very well at night, but he's making up for it now, that's for sure!!  Yesterday he was only up for an hour between 8:30 and noon.  

We were visiting Andy's mom and grandparents.  His mom was so generous and had planned a whole adventure for us.  We went to SeaWorld and Six Flags.  At Six Flags she took Jack and Andy and I got to ride all the adult rides.  We did take a break to put Jack on his first amusement park ride.  He LOVED it!

We ate good food, visited one of my cousins and her family and enjoyed warmer weather than we get at home.  

Take a look:

Here's Jack eating his birthday lemon.  

We spent his actual birthday on an airplane and didn't give him a cupcake.

I think he liked the lemon as much as he would have liked the sweets.

And don't worry.  His great grandparents showed up with a cake at the hotel.

And we'll have a party for him... eventually...

This is my favorite picture from our trip.  Doesn't Jack just look so amazed?!

This was on a tour boat of the river walk in San Antonio.

Andy and Jack playing at Sea World.  This was Jack's favorite part, though we didn't discover it until we were on our way out.

He also sat wonderfully through the shows and grooved to the loud music.  

This was his favorite part of Six Flags.  Before we left we let him crawl all around the water park.  I had a blast watching Andy chase him and get caught by the spontaneously squirting water. 

It really was a lovely week.  But now I have to deal with the aftermath.  I'm sitting here in my gym clothes, trying to convince myself that I will actually enjoy the gym once I get there.  My lame attempts at self-peptalks are failing me this morning.  I just want to sit at home and cuddle my boy and enjoy a morning of nothing to do.  

It might also have something to do with the fact that I went last night and Jack was so tired/travel-confused that I only had run about five minutes before the childcare staff had to come get me because Jack was hysterical.  

Ugh. 

But, since I'm already dressed for it, I suppose I might as well just go.

One... two... three... 

sigh.

go.

go.

Nope, I still really don't want to... but I guess it is good to do things we don't want to do once in a while, eh?

I'll spare you the rest of my lamenting.  Hope your day is full of more motivation than mine!