Creature Bug

Buying My Own Mother's Day Present

About Mother's Day...

Here's my confession: I bought my own present. And while it was more than what Jason would have spent on me, and I perhaps didn't consult him about it as much as I should have, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

And if you hand me the microphone on Mother's Day and ask me, "What are you going to do now that you're a mom?!"

I'd raise my fist into the air and yell victoriously, "I'm going to Disneyland!"

Okay, maybe I won't actually be going to Disneyland. But I could. Because I'm going to Pasadena, California, to visit my sister and Disneyland is practically right there. I might see if I can't sneak in a short trip just to go on a roller coaster or two. I do love roller coasters.

Technically, I'll be home on Mother's Day because I planned it that way. I do actually want to be around my children on Mother's Day to enjoy the whole Hallmark moment of becoming a mom and having my heart and my life and my hips forever and irrevocably altered. The card, the hugs, the breakfast in bed...yes, please. I want all that. Next Thursday, however, I'll be jumping on a plane and flying south for four days.

Four whole days. Four whole nights. Me and my sister. Hanging out. Having fun.

The last time my sister and I hung out--just the two of us--I was seven months pregnant with Sydney. I flew down to North Ft. Myers, Florida, for a week and it was quite fun and adventurous. Just now, I chuckled to myself when I read my blog excerpt from March 29, 2004:

"Oh little fireant, why did you have to bite my "piggy had none" toe? I realize that perhaps I smashed hundreds of your friends as I trod on your little ant hill, yet there was no reason for you to smite me so harshly. Maybe you felt that my feet had had too much fun in the sand of the beautiful beaches and swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. And true, my feet had quite the time strolling down the fantastic 5th Avenue in Naples. But you may have had some pity for them since they did get a little bit sunburned, and my ankles are swollen too from all the walking. It's bad form to bite the feet of a pregnant lady."

But there are certain limitations to having fun at seven-months-pregnant in Florida. First of all, I went to bed around 9 pm every night. Secondly, my ankles acted like two giant sponges and soaked up all the moisture in the air. Just put me in a room, and I could dehumidify it in two minutes flat. And, of course, the fireants didn't do me any favors either.

This time our visit together will be different. No pregnancy, so I can stay up late, go on roller coasters, and drink a beer if I want. No kids, who I would have to constantly remind my sister to stop harassing ("gentle" is not part of her vocabulary). No fireants, hopefully. Just a whole lot of hanging out, eating food, and having fun doing whatever we'll be doing. What larks, Pip! What larks! (...points to you if you know what book this line is from...)

So, my gift to myself for Mother's Day is a weekend where Jules gets to stay with Jason's parents, and Sydney gets to have her own weekend with her daddy, and I get to hang out with my sister. Sounds like the perfect gift...for the whole family.

Which, as it turns out, sounds very much like the kind of gift a mother would give.

Speaking of gifts...this post was inspired by Johnson and Johnson and their new charitable giving site Johnson's Baby Cause. Thanks to Parent Bloggers Network for hosting the blog event.

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Week 197: Say Uncle (and Auntie too)

Last week, Jason's brother (Nathan) and SIL (Carolyn) flew into town. They live way the heck out in Rhode Island, so we don't exactly get to see them on a regular basis. In fact, they hadn't ever met the tiny rockstar who goes by the name of Julianne. Yes, indeed, they had a lot of catching up to do.

But before they got caught up with the girls, they had to get caught up with us. Naturally this involved dinner at the Kennedy School because eating at McMenamins is mandatory when family is out to visit the left-coast. The other mandatory event is perhaps less thrilling: family photos. Of course we're all crazy about photography around here, so there's no shortage of energy in that field. Nathan and Carolyn, however, weren't quite as enamored with the idea but I think Sarah made the experience quick and painless. While I certainly understand the whole "we just had our family pictures taken less than four years ago" mentality, when you're involving children who tend to get birthed, grow up, and grow hair (or not, as the case may be for poor Jules) families look a lot different through the years. So. New one required. No tears shed. Success.

Yesterday we took advantage of having Nathan and Carolyn to ourselves for a whole day and drive out to Newport to visit the aquarium. Sydney was quite keen on them seeing the "fishies that are all around in that big tunnel," and it's tough to say no to requests for beach trips.

So we borrowed Jason's parents' minivan, packed a bag of snacks, strapped in the kids, and a few hours later (after lunch at McMenamins in McMinnville) found ourselves at:

 

Fish are cool.

But even more cool?

Having your picture taken with your Uncle Nathan and Aunt Carolyn as a shark swims in the background. Seriously. How often does that happen? Hopefully only when there's a super-thick piece of glass separating you from Mini Jaws. Otherwise, that's really not so cool. (Sidenote: did you know the aquarium has slumber parties in the shark tunnels? for CHILDREN? I can't even tell you how terrifying that sounds to me, but that's probably because I read Jaws at a young and impressionable age.)

It was all very exciting, and after spending a few hours in the car as well as a couple hours at the aquarium Nathan and Carolyn became quite the experts at entertaining the girlies. Jules was smitten with both of them, especially with Nathan's Red Sox hat. Ah, the indoctrination begins early.

   

It was such a treat to get to spend time with Nathan and Carolyn, and the girls loved having them around. Between car trips, and coffee runs, mismatched shoe adventures, and discussions about vegetables, house plans, the weather, and New England sports teams, there was never a dull moment. Sydney is already making plans for the next time she and Carolyn get to make cupcakes together...hopefully next year when we move into the new house.

Tomorrow, Nathan and Carolyn fly back home, and so they left early this evening to spend their last night with Jason's parents. No less than a half hour after they had gone Jason said, "I miss my brother." Yes, it's hard when the only sibling you have lives so far away. But it certainly makes visiting them that much more wonderful. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get to see them in June when we're back east this summer, and as I mentioned to them as they left, "You'll see us on the blog." Thank goodness for airlines, for emails, for cell phones, and for blogs--they are at least a good way to make the east coast seem a little closer to the west coast.

*****

(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.