A Sleepover at Grandma's!

My Mom and Dad are in town again and I think winter is my new favorite time of year just because it means they will be visiting more. I love that they can come down and hang out with us, my mom will come and cook for me and even clean up! It is such a treat! We have said many times that the one thing we miss out here is having family around. We love to have dinners and sit around after and visit, so its nice to have them over for an evening of company. And of course, for the kids to see them. Mav is still a little young to get too excited, but it makes Tula's eyes light up when you tell her Grandma or Papa are on their way. Oh, and if I say Sadie is coming, that's it. She will wait by the door till she gets there. "Sadie, yes?" "Papa, yes?" She asks and asks after I tell her they are coming. As soon and Grandma or Papa walk through the door she will go running for a big hug, but moments later her eyes are darting around the room for her beloved Sadie. When Sadie is there, Tula is elated. When Sadie is not there, you have to tell her about 10 times that she is not coming, Tula will just keep asking.

So yesterday I loaded the kids up and we went up to my parents place for the afternoon. I got to go for a pedicure with Grandma while Papa watched the kids for a few hours. Then we loaded up and went for dinner at Houston's (quite possibly my favorite place to eat). We met John there, he came straight from work. We had an interesting dinner. Tula was basically a pill the entire meal. In fairness to her, we went out way too late and it is kinda dark in there which I think throws her for a loop. But she decided last night that everything was hers and Maverick couldn't play with anything. So every toy I gave him to entertain him in his highchair she would grab from him and say "mine". It was lose lose. If she took the toy from him, he would cry. If I took the toy from her and gave it back to him, she would bawl. I have no idea what came over her, we have never had these issues before, but Houston's was not the place for me to resolve them all so I basically just tried to ignore her and eat as fast as possible. It was a tad stressful (um, okay a little more than a tad) but luckily I had John and my parents there so we kind of all took turns entertaining and playing hot potato with the kids.

We split from there and my parents took Tula back to their place for a sleepover. What a treat! I got to sleep in till 9:30 am today, which I haven't been able to do in forever. And then, I got to wake up to just Maverick. It was so quiet. It was so, so easy. I kept thinking about how I thought it was so difficult when I had Tula at this age. Gosh, I had no idea. One baby, six months old...piece of cake! We went for a big long walk when we got up and then he was ready for a nap. He slept and I got ready and did some stuff around the house. No interruptions. No noise. Peace and quiet. I am not going to lie, it was glorious. Of course I missed Tula, but I needed the break too and I was thankful for it. I thought a lot though, this morning while Mav slept and I really had essentially nothing to do. About how crazy life gets here sometimes and there are days that I think to myself "I cannot wait till they are all in school". I realized that today, in the silence, that this must be sort of what that would feel like. It's a nice break, and I loved having it, but I also liked knowing that Tula would be around tomorrow morning and the next. I get why moms are devastated when they take their "baby" to kindergarten. I realized today, that once they start going to school, they don't stop and these crazy busy morning will be long gone. I will be that mom wandering around Target by myself peeking in at all the babies in the infant carriers or waving hello to the toddlers sitting up in the cart. I was reminded, once again, that this time in my life is so short and so precious.

I also made a point today to be totally available for Maverick when he was awake. I was able to play lots with just him today, we went to the grocery store together and bought him a bunch of food to puree, as I am pretty sure he is getting sick of bananas and rice cereal. I have been too lazy to start the whole baby food making process again, and just have been really inconsistent with solid foods with him. Dinnertime has been a fussy time for him lately and I think he is just hungry so today he tried sweet potatoes for the first time. Not only did her gobble them all up quickly, but we totally avoided the evening grumpiness so I think we have found the ticket. I felt motivated today to be a better Mommy to Mav. I have just felt so busy with Tula and Mav is such an easy baby that it has been too easy to just deal with her and not pay as much attention to the baby. Or just give him rice cereal cause he doesn't know the difference. But today I was able to focus all of my energy on him and we had a wonderful day. I love that baby boy so, so much.

Tula came home just before dinnertime and burst through the door with a huge smile on her face. And a great big hug for me. What a wonderful way to be greeted after not seeing her all day. I asked her if she had fun at her sleepover and she said "yes"and of course a bug head nod. Mom told me all about their day and it sounded like Tula had so much fun. I love, love love that she can go up there and sleepover and come home happy. It means the world to me that she feels so comfortable at Grandma and Papa's. And it means the world to me that they take such good care of her and give me a break every once in awhile.

Thanks Mom and Dad for all of your help with the kids! You guys are the best! We love it when you guys are in town and miss you when you are gone! Watching you guys and your love for Tula and Maverick truly warms my heart. And thanks a million for the break last night, I needed that! Can we do it again tomorrow?