My cousin Gabriella related this story about the after effects of our visit:
“Also, today, something very strange happened. Benny, was whimpering by the PackNPlay that Laura slept in, and we did not know why. So we picked him up and put him in to see what he would do. He climbed up on the pillows that were in there and began staring at the pictures that you gave us of Sara and Laura. Then he started whimpering. It was the cutest thing. It seemed to us that he really missed both of them and loved their company.”
April 30, 2009
Benny love
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April 26, 2009
California cousins day 4
We’re on the plane now. It happened. We visited my family again and did it fairly sucessfully.
Today was a wrap up day after the wrap party. I got of sleep till 8:30am. That was probably the best 12th anniversary gift I could have gotten. Bob actually ground his coffee beans outside so I wouldn’t wake up.
Steph’s household kept up it’s schedule of games with the M’s going here and yonder. It was also a day of blessed conversations. My perrenial complaint as a mother is I can’t finish a thought. I’m very distractable by personality. Adding my kids to the mix means I am a challenged conversationalist. Since this whole visit was about, well, visiting, this problem frustrated me.
Today, the kids didn’t arrive till 10am. I talked to Mitch about being a doctor. I got to walk outside with Mia, Mason, and Steph. It was a lovely 20 minutes.
I’m not sure how the babysitting crew faired. Mom looked a little wild-eyed when she dropped off the kids. We got no thoughts about TS3 in 2010. I quizzed Sara at the airport and she didn’t give me any sense of what calamity had happened. Laura is definitely clingy this morning. I think it’s been a long confusing trip for her. Regardless, I will take the gift I’ve been given.
A dark spot has been Wayne’s sinus infection. He’s been miserable the entire trip and just pushing along. He’s been such a good sport for how bad he’s felt.
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April 25, 2009
California cousins day 3
Wayne decided wisely to stay at Steph’s and sleep. I rounded up the girls to head to Tamara’s. The day and weather was truely glorious. Just as I was ready to take the girls outside, it was time to head to Tamara’s. Sara thought we were heading to Ella’s. Ella sounds like Gabriella. Plans kept changing by the moment.
Tamara treats us like royalty. She was by herself (one of the plan changes) and had a feast awaiting. The girls were enchanted the Benny. He is smaller than Murphy and probably more pliable. I took several minutes to settle carseats before I made it into the house. When I arrived, they had fed him, tucked him into bed, and played tug-o-war with him. He got fed more over the next 24 hrs than he’d ever been. The girls were in heaven.
Tamara upped the ante by pulling out the m&m’s to put in pancakes. Only Sara’s Grandmother has done that. We had sausages and a veggie fritatta/quiche and berries. I was stuffed. The kids settled down and the adults got to talk at the table.
Then Bob and Gabriella arrived. More food was brought out and the feast (gorging?) continued. Mom observed that it was very Italian in it’s feel. Bob had bought pastries from his favorite French bakery. I called it lunch and sampled a part of a black currant scone and cinnamon and sugar brioche with carmelized cinnamon on the inside.
Laura napped. Me, Gabriella, Sara and Benny went for a walk. Sara was so proud she got to walk Benny by herself. I got to walk and talk to my Uncle. Life is a sad mix of incredible work stress and a busy, exciting time with Gabriella as she decides about college.
Then it was time for me to leave. I returned to Steph’s and goy to take a quick nap before our evening events.
We got ready despite blond dog hair and black velvet dresses not mixing well. Steph had a lint brush and took our photos. Mia said I looked pretty.
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April 24, 2009
California cousins Day 2
Plans kept evolving on this day. Laura’s eyes stirred my carefully laid plans. We left Steph’s at a leisurely time of 9:30am. Wayne wasn’t sure he’d get to his meeting on time. We arrived at Pixar and Wayne had to bolt. I trusted my GPS to get me to San Mateo. Luckily, Sara and Laura took naps so there was no cries for bathroom breaks as I spent 10 minutes driving the streets of a rough looking Oakland. The Nuvi decided I needed to go over the Bay bridge and see the city. I would have voted for driving south on the East Bay. I did not crash and I made it to Julie, now Ferd’s house.
Laura was sleeping in the PT cruiser. We drove up by the garage and there was a nice gate to keep kids safe. The house has changed since Julie was there. It was beautifully redone. It quickly became apparent that we had a problem. Two members of the household had eye issues and were not excited about my declaration that Laura might have viral conjunctivitis. We decided to stay outside and eat lunch on the patio. Sara fell in love with a ceramic bunny and started carrying it around with her much to my chagrin.
I got to see Bonnie and Ferd and Jerry for the first time in 2 years. And I did it carefully. With lots of hand washing. The girls did better once they were fed. They collected leaves and tried to play in the potting dirt. The sandwiches with salami and provolone was incredibly tasty. Laura and Sara were happy to see Nanna. Julie didn’t come due to Amir’s arrival from Korea early. So the girls played on their own.
We picked up Wayne from Emeryville and I squeezed in the back. Ferd and Bonnie decided not to come to Mitch’s birthday party. It made it reasonable to have 9 adults around the table. We munched and snacked since guests didn’t arrive till 7:30pm and we didn’t eat steak till 9:30. European style. Sitting down to that meal was lovely, with all the family around. The younger cousins seemed to immersed in TV and tired to really play together.
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April 23, 2009
California cousins day 1
Definitely a travel day. Our flight didn’t leave till 11am. We left at 9am. We had some time to put finishing touches on the packing. Sara cried on the flight when she wasn’t next to her Dad. She settled down once the movie was available to her. I’m still surprised that at 5 she gets anxious on planes for all the flying she’s done.
The rental car took over 1.5 hours to obtain. Wayne had left us in the airport so I let the girls run to their hearts content in the empty side of baggage claim. Both girls took naps in the car. It was a relief to get to Stephs. We joined the whirlwind which is the M’s life. Games, practices, sports here and there. We worked out way right in. Everyone went to a lovely pizza place where the kids could play games and buy small toys, kind of a controlled Chucky Cheese. The pizza was very good. Julie and the kids joined us. Ella and Sara hung out with Mia. She is very cool in their eyes.
Home and beds were good. Murphy didn’t steal our socks till the morning.
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April 17, 2009
2nd Tooth
While still sound asleep, Sara runs in, “Daddy wake up! I lost my 2nd tooth!”. Hard to muster excitement at 6:04am… by Wayne
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April 11, 2009
Aprons for four
I just finished mixing together brownie mix with my 2 and 5 year old girls. As you can imagine, it was a wonderful mess. Egg yolks flinging everywhere. Chocolate on the new pajamas. I was just noting that we now all have aprons. The first apron to appear came when I last visited Wisconsin. I bought a Badger Red apron. Wayne added to the mix with an adult size Ratatouille apron for himself and a cute pink one with a little embroidered rat for Sara and sometimes Laura. I just got a pale green apron from our Mom’s group clothing exchange. Sara wore it tonight. Laura stuck with the familiar rat. So now we have a complete set for our family. It’s a contenting feeling.
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April 8, 2009
Sara’s first tooth
Sara lost her first tooth today. She lost it in school. Karen placed the bloody tipped tooth in an envelope with the sweet words, “Sara’s tooth” and sealed it to keep it safe. Laura insisted on seeing the tooth especially the blood part. Wayne was coming back from a trip to Pixar. He stepped into his role valiantly. Sara keeps one pillow by her side. I had her put it under there. I wanted to give the tooth fairy every opportunity. There was a dollar under her pillow the next morning.
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