Category Archives: Vacation

There and back again

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Holy holidays, Batman. I’m exhausted.

We had the privilege of spending the holidays with my mom and then down in Florida with Adam’s family, which was a blast. The drive down was easy, if a bit long (roughly 12-13 hours with all our stops), and Ethan handled it beautifully. We tried driving overnight on Christmas so that we wouldn’t mess with Ethan’s schedule too much, which worked pretty well. He woke up a few times, but overall he stayed right around his normal waking time. He also got to experience his first Cracker Barrel biscuit, which is always a treat.

florida2012 013We got to visit Islands of Adventure, which means I was hands-flappingly excited about seeing Hogwarts. No, seriously. I thought my in-laws were going to disown me if I didn’t calm down. Ethan really seemed to enjoy the parks – he’s at the age where even though he can’t really go on rides (save carousels and trains and the like), he loves looking at the spectacle. The Dr. Seuss section of the park was perfect for him – lots of crazy music and zany Seuss-y stuff to look at. I was impressed with how well Ethan handled the parks in general – they can be so unpredictable and loud that I was concerned about whether he would be able to nap. I didn’t take into account the fact that the constant buzz is easy to get used to, so he had a particularly excitable live-action white noise machine at his disposal.

I turned 25 while we were there, and my siblings-in-law threw me a little party! It was the sweetest thing. They completely surprised me! There were gifts (a necklace with my name on it – a rare find – the DVD of Benny & Joon which I have never seen before, and Hufflepuff souvenirs!), red velvet cupcakes, and pink champagne with crazy straws in it. I was so touched! That night, we went to my sister-in-law’s rehearsal dinner. Margaret is Adam’s second-oldest sibling and is such a sweetheart. I wish we got to see her and her husband more often. The rehearsal dinner was great, with an abundance of Greek food and our first chance to introduce Ethan to his paternal great-grandparents! 

On the day of the wedding, I got to give a short reading by Remy Charlip and dance the night away with my little member of the Rat Pack:

florida2012 061The wedding was absolutely lovely. Margaret and Scott hired an Irish band and served an abundance of the best barbecue I have ever had. Hands down. Sorry, Uncle Don, but you’ve got serious competition (so I think you should make me some of yours. You know, so I can compare and double-check). I wish I had taken more pictures at the wedding, but I was so busy cramming as many miniature bananas foster boats into my mouth as I could that I sort of forgot about the camera. Ethan stayed up the entire time, only conking out near the tail end of the celebrations – we danced him out!

We visited Sea World the next day, which was a really great experience. I had wanted to go there ever since I was a little girl, so I was having the time of my life. By the way, Manta is an amazing roller coaster – a bit terrifying and disorienting, but the concept of the ride is just so clever. The real standout at Sea World is, obviously, the shows - I SAW SHAMU, Y’ALL. My childhood came rushing back to me and, yes, I cried like the sap I am. The Shamu show itself is quite hippie-dippie-kumbaya-we-are-the-world, but I lap that stuff up.

florida2012 134New Year’s Eve was low-key. So low-key that I didn’t actually make it to midnight. I’m such a mom. We played Apples to Apples, had a bit of champagne, and called it a night! We decided not to drive overnight again, so we just left first thing in the morning. The drive home was uneventful and it was so good to get home. It worked wonders for our morale to get a break from everything and just relax in a new environment, but we were happy to get back and sleep in our own bed again.

Now that we’re home again, we have to get back to business: the business of finding Adam (and possibly me) a new job. It should be a combination of interesting and utterly terrifying. Fortunately, we have Tiny Hulk Baby to see us through.

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I promise I didn’t die.

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I just went on vacation (!!) for a few days and then got lazy. Many apologies! I know you were all clinging desperately to the edges of your seats, just waiting for a post. I totally get it. I’m just so very famous that I forget the little people sometimes.

Anyway, our trip was a lot of fun! We went to the Outer Banks to visit my dad and stepmother for a long weekend. Basically, that translates to “I held Ethan exactly twice because Grandpa was relentlessly snuggly”. I was so glad to give them the time together – Dad had only gotten to see Ethan twice up to that point, so it meant a lot to me that I was able to give them four days to bond.

So, to sum up our trip:

We made a stop in Suffolk, VA to grab breakfast at a place called The Plaid Turnip. I saw the name and I just had to know. As it turns out, it’s a pretty standard diner menu – though easily some of the most delicious diner fare I’ve ever had – in a relaxed, groovy, artsy-cafe atmosphere. It was fantastic.

As soon as we arrived, my dad practically rugby-tackled me to get dibs on Ethan, he was so excited! E was starving, so Dad got to give him a bottle.

Adam and I immediately went to the beach for about an hour, but the wind was so high that the sand was actually hurting us! We headed back and settled in for a relaxed evening. Donna (my stepmom) broiled some steaks, we watched most of the fourth season of Mad Men, and my dad volunteered to take the night shift with Ethan. I still woke up at 3:00 AM and went to help anyway. Ah, well!

The next morning, we took Ethan for a walk on the beach for the first time. He loved it. How do I know he loved it? Because he was passed out for most of it! The ocean is the ultimate white noise machine. He also discovered that his hand is an excellent pacifier substitute.

Focus on the cute baby and ocean. I am well aware that my neck could have been the inspiration for The Blob.

 We spent a lot of time on my dad’s porch. The view is gorgeous, the temperature was fantastic, and Ethan loved all the sights and sounds.

Not a bad life when this is what you see every morning!

We were the morons who forgot the mattress for the Pack n’ Play, so Donna improvised with a fluffy down comforter. I was terrified and considered just co-sleeping for the weekend to avoid my son, you know, smothering himself in feathers. As it turned out, though, he loved it and slept like a log the whole time. We were able to mash it down enough to make it into a very safe mattress alternative, actually! I still checked on him obsessively because, you know…paranoid new mommy. But we let him play and enjoy it!

Pre-mashdown. The green thing is his “lovie”, which is a little soft blanket with a monster head on it. He is only without it when he’s swaddled – it really calms him down to grip something when he’s upset!

Our weekend consisted mainly of us going to the beach for a few hours at a time while Dad and Donna hung out with Ethan. We hit a couple local restaurants – Barefoot Bernie’s and Tortuga’s Lie, both really good and fun – and just took it easy. The weather wasn’t terribly hot, which was nice for soaking up a little sun, and even though the water was on the cold side, it was gorgeous and felt really nice and refreshing. I’m not one for swimming in the ocean because I’m not a strong swimmer and jellyfish scare the bejeezus out of me, but Adam is basically a fish. He had a blast.

On our last evening, we took Ethan to the beach since it was shaping up to be a lovely sunset. I wanted to get a few more pictures . I am a little in love with my camera (it’s a Nikon Coolpix – thanks, Aunt Gail!) because even though it’s a pretty standard point-and-shoot and I have absolutely no editing skills, I get shots like this:

Unexpectedly enough, Ethan really likes his sunglasses. To the point where he fussed if we took them off. He really is my child!

We dipped his little toes in the ocean for the first time…

…to which he strongly objected.

But he calmed down just a moment later and started to enjoy himself again. I took him out a little further so he could see and hear the ocean and so we could have a couple minutes of time together, just us.

And then it was time to go home…but not before getting a few more minutes of beach time with a proud grandfather.

It was a great trip. I know I needed it, and Adam definitely needed the break. We both felt really recharged and refreshed upon our return home. Good thing, too, because Adam had an audition the night of our return! We’re still waiting to hear back, but I’m crossing my fingers. He’d be great. No bias.

It was a bit of a bummer to come back to reality after a whole weekend free of worry, but I can’t emphasize enough how much it helped to have a break like that. It’s not that I’m working myself to the bone, and my anxiety has been improving immensely, but I still think it’s important to take a real break now and then (if it’s possible). We’re probably never going to be able to afford a legitimate week-long, just-parents, all-out vacation unless something extreme happens for us financially, but just that quick beach weekend with family did wonders for us. And honestly, that’s plenty for me. Sure, it would be nice to someday jet off to some exotic locale for a week and sip mai tais, but I’m happy with a beer on the beach a state away. For now, that’s more than enough.

On the upswing

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It seems that I am finally getting to a point where I can honestly say that I feel better.

I have gone over a week without a meltdown. I have gotten close several times, but I was able to get myself in check before losing control. I’m positive that most of this has to do with the fact that Ethan is on a fairly regular schedule now, which allows some designated “me time” every day. Since Adam generally works nights, I’ve been allowing myself to rely on him a little more during the day so that I can take care of myself and the apartment – plus, this allows him more time with Ethan instead of me monopolizing baby time. There’s really no reason why I should take Ethan on every single errand if Adam is at home. And it’s so freaking cute. I love watching the two of them together.

Baby smiles are also helpful. Ethan has become a grinning machine. I used to sometimes think that he just didn’t like me, but when he gives me one of those dimply grins and wrinkles his little nose, I turn to mush and realize that he knows me and finds comfort in me. That has made a world of difference.

There’s something deviously brilliant about the way babies develop. They show up cute, sleepy, relatively quiet, and snuggly…which lulls you into a false sense of security for the whole day-night reversal, long screaming fits, etc. that appear a few weeks later. So just when you’re about to lose your mind from that, they start smiling and cooing…which is a warning sign that teething is on its way. Well played, tiny humans. Well played.

In other news, we’re going to the beach for a few days to visit my dad and generally take a break from actual life. I am hands-flappingly excited about the prospect of getting away for a bit. My dad and stepmother are planning to watch Ethan for a night, so we’re planning to have a date night. I have a feeling that I won’t have to do much mommying over the weekend…my dad is so thrilled to get to have some grandpa time. Is it totally Bad Mommy of me to be really looking forward to having a break like that?

Ah, well. If it is Bad Mommy, I’m sure the sangria I have in the fridge will make me feel better about it.