... and back
We are home!
It's what one might call "humid" 'round these parts. Eeeech. But home!
I had my Ohio baby shower this afternoon- I got to see some dear old friends. catamy713 (Amy) and Gracie actually gave me a Mad Hatter Tea Party theme, with gorgeous cake, n' all. I have STUFF arriving by post within the week or by next week. Lots of onesies and my Indiana relatives quadrupled by board book collection.
Mom's party on Saturday was a bit of a 2-parter. My friends mostly showed up early, Mom's later, which meant I could bail out to bed when I needed to. My aunt- Carol- drove in from P'Burgh for the festivities, which was sooo sweet. My in-laws were a bit fish out of water amongst the bohemians, but what can you do. I don't think they'd been exposed to that much weird in a long long time. I was charmed that Amy's youngest girl (just turned 7 this week) was the most gracious creature on the face of the planet and made my 8 and 11 yr old nieces -then later my 11 yr old cousin- entirely included in play time. "Want to climb the tree? Want to see the hidy-hole?" (the mini attic that was my own domain at her age and was a graffiti friendly zone... also the current home of the barbies, I think) All 3 more lately arriving girls got similar looks on their faces- going from somewhat reserved and maybe a bit anxious to a bit relieved and glad for something to do that wasn't so ADULT and BORING.
Mom's brother's family headed out to Cali early today to meet up with the second oldest cousin from that troupe of 6. He's been in Afghanistan for his latest tour in the Marines. Same cousin who's getting married next month. The eldest- also a Marine- is getting promoted to Captain Tuesday, I believe. Wow- Catching up with my uncle and aunt was a true gift from yesterday. We've not had much interaction since I've grown up and our diametric opposite philosophy and politics has made for more awkward than anything. However, nothing like a shared experience of (impending) parenthood to start us on a very solid and extremely positive point- plus I got to hear about all the cousins, which is what I wanted.
I strongly suspect I will fail to be chill tomorrow, but at least I'm home and can theoretically sleep in. :)
It's what one might call "humid" 'round these parts. Eeeech. But home!
I had my Ohio baby shower this afternoon- I got to see some dear old friends. catamy713 (Amy) and Gracie actually gave me a Mad Hatter Tea Party theme, with gorgeous cake, n' all. I have STUFF arriving by post within the week or by next week. Lots of onesies and my Indiana relatives quadrupled by board book collection.
Mom's party on Saturday was a bit of a 2-parter. My friends mostly showed up early, Mom's later, which meant I could bail out to bed when I needed to. My aunt- Carol- drove in from P'Burgh for the festivities, which was sooo sweet. My in-laws were a bit fish out of water amongst the bohemians, but what can you do. I don't think they'd been exposed to that much weird in a long long time. I was charmed that Amy's youngest girl (just turned 7 this week) was the most gracious creature on the face of the planet and made my 8 and 11 yr old nieces -then later my 11 yr old cousin- entirely included in play time. "Want to climb the tree? Want to see the hidy-hole?" (the mini attic that was my own domain at her age and was a graffiti friendly zone... also the current home of the barbies, I think) All 3 more lately arriving girls got similar looks on their faces- going from somewhat reserved and maybe a bit anxious to a bit relieved and glad for something to do that wasn't so ADULT and BORING.
Mom's brother's family headed out to Cali early today to meet up with the second oldest cousin from that troupe of 6. He's been in Afghanistan for his latest tour in the Marines. Same cousin who's getting married next month. The eldest- also a Marine- is getting promoted to Captain Tuesday, I believe. Wow- Catching up with my uncle and aunt was a true gift from yesterday. We've not had much interaction since I've grown up and our diametric opposite philosophy and politics has made for more awkward than anything. However, nothing like a shared experience of (impending) parenthood to start us on a very solid and extremely positive point- plus I got to hear about all the cousins, which is what I wanted.
I strongly suspect I will fail to be chill tomorrow, but at least I'm home and can theoretically sleep in. :)