Sunday, August 7, 2011

Just What the Doctor Ordered

My mom was right; I have been too busy this summer. I have loved all of the traveling and hustle and bustle, but last week was a glorious break. On Monday and Tuesday, we simply hung close to home. I went to the gym to work out, cleaned up the house, took Lily to swim lessons, went to the pool, and made wonderful dinners. Lily is doing great with her swim lessons; before I know it my swim school drop out will be tearing across the water.

On Wednesday, after swim lessons, I drove the girls to West Virginia to stay with their grandparents for four days. Driving by myself on long trips is not my strong suit. The nice part about trips on my own with the girls is Caroline sits up front and Lily has the back all to herself, therefore no fights! We listened to the first few chapters of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Later, we switched to the kids' station on satellite radio. Even Caroline has started to enjoy listening to it. Kids music has improved so much over the years. Once we got into the mountains, it started to rain. Between the downpours and trucks the ride got a little hairy, but we made it! Rob's sister met us partway so I didn't have to drive all the way out to the farm. On the drive back, there was even more rain and fog. Again, I made it fine (with the help of a sing along to the 50's station). By the time I got home I had been driving for 8 1/2 hours. I was really worried that I'd get lost. I was pretty impressed with myself.

On my first kid free day, I used the time to work on an online class and catch up on my T.V. I watched The Closer, an french film with subtitles, and Food Network. There were no interruptions, no arguments, and no demanding to watch something different. I can't remember the last time I had uninterrupted T.V. time. On the next day I ran countless errands without anyone asking for a snack, a drink, needing to go the bathroom, or trying to change the radio station. I met my friends for lunch. That night Rob and I went

to the movies. We spent Saturday looking at dogs and went out to dinner.

On Sunday, we drove to West Virginia to pick up the girls. Rob commented on what a nice trip it was without yelling in the backseat. On the way we got a flat tire. That was even more manageable without kids.

The girls had a great time and I hope my in laws did too. Of course they bickered all the way home, but it was easy to ignore them when we were so rested.Heck, we even joked about it. Things are back to normal now. Everyone is relaxed and glad to be back together.

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